Payment for my trip

[ransam]

my trip is completely paid for.
I was given a bunch of Disney gift cards for my birthday. I was wondering is there any way of combining them into one card?
also when I leave my credit card connected to my magic band at the resort to bill everything as a deposit, am I able to pay at the end w/ another form of payment?

thanks.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I'm not sure about combining gift cards, but I know as long as you go down and pay before you check out you can use another form of payment. I put my ATM/Visa card on file last trip but paid in cash our last day there so nothing was put on my card.

[Fangorn]

As for combining gift cards, the answer is yes. If you go to the Disneygiftcard.com site, there is an option to "manage gift cards". If you go there, no only can you get the balance of your cards, but if you create an account you will be able to transfer the balance from one card to another. It's a relatively new feature (maybe a year?) but it works well. I've been using it since it became available.

Steve

[VWL Mom]

I'm not sure about combining gift cards, but I know as long as you go down and pay before you check out you can use another form of payment. I put my ATM/Visa card on file last trip but paid in cash our last day there so nothing was put on my card.

You are allowed to pay with gift cards/cash but it needs to be done before limit which may be before checkout. For example, I believe the values now charge you card once $500 is reached, moderates $1000, and deluxe $1500 so check with the front desk when you arrive.

[Mendelson]

Alternatively, when you check in you can just hand over all the gift cards to the CM (well, you can do this at any point during your stay, really) and ask them to put those on your account and charge them at checkout for any incidentals you pick up along the way.

My wife was buying the discounted gift cards in huge chunks prior to a land/sea vacation last year. The poor travel agent very graciously accepted and input something like 100 gift cards for us.

[Fangorn]

Alternatively, when you check in you can just hand over all the gift cards to the CM (well, you can do this at any point during your stay, really) and ask them to put those on your account and charge them at checkout for any incidentals you pick up along the way.

Unless something has changed since December, this isn't possible. You can certainly use gift cards to pay for your trip up front, but the Resorts will not accept gift cards "on account" once you're there. You can use them to pay charges after you've incurred them (used your magic band, for instance), but they will not let you create a credit balance with gift cards (you can do it with cash, however).

I had more than one manager explain to me (I tried to do in on several occasions with different CMs) that Disney policy is to refund any credit in the exact manner that the original payment was made. If they allowed you to use gift cards to create a credit balance, any credit due you at the end of the trip would have to be put back on the specific gift card(s) from whence it came. Since they cannot guarantee that that card even exists at that point in time, they will not allow it at all.

Steve

[Jack Skellington]

Alternatively, when you check in you can just hand over all the gift cards to the CM (well, you can do this at any point during your stay, really) and ask them to put those on your account and charge them at checkout for any incidentals you pick up along the way.

My wife was buying the discounted gift cards in huge chunks prior to a land/sea vacation last year. The poor travel agent very graciously accepted and input something like 100 gift cards for us.

How and where does one purchase discounted gift cards?

[VWL Mom]

How and where does one purchase discounted gift cards?

There are a few ways, some easier than others. The two that I like because I think they're pretty safe are:
1) buying online at Target and using a your RedCard to checkout (5% discount)
2) buying through Sam's Club (4.7% discount) plus now through - June if you pay with Chase Freedom you will get another 5% cash back

Sometimes your credit cards will run 5% off at grocery stores (i.e.: Chase, Discover) so I'll pick some cards up at the grocery store when I shop.

[Linnie]

There are a few ways, some easier than others. The two that I like because I think they're pretty safe are:
1) buying online at Target and using a your RedCard to checkout (5% discount)
2) buying through Sam's Club (4.7% discount) plus now through - June if you pay with Chase Freedom you will get another 5% cash back

Sometimes your credit cards will run 5% off at grocery stores (i.e.: Chase, Discover) so I'll pick some cards up at the grocery store when I shop.

Do you have this purchase the gift cards online or can it be done in-store also?

[magicofdisney]

At Target it can be done in store also. You just HAVE to use your RedCard to get the discount.

[Mendelson]

It takes some work if you're not used to it, but the savings are big.

My wife buys discounted Target cards (at about 6 - 7 percent) at a site called gift card zen. You cannot, however, use those Target cards in the Target store and use your Red Card at the same time - it's one or the other. BUT, you can use those Target cards at Target.com to buy Disney cards and get the 5 percent Red Card discount, stacking them, getting somewhere around 11 - 12 percent savings.

Nothing to sneeze at.

Our previous trip, which was a cruise/WDW combo, was (and I gulp every time I think about this) around $10K. We saved $1000+ doing this.

[Jack Skellington]

Thank you! That's a great savings tip. I went to gift card zen, it appears Target cards are on for a 4% savings at present. Still great with the 5% Red Card savings, 9% overall is pretty good.

JS

[Mendelson]

Thank you! That's a great savings tip. I went to gift card zen, it appears Target cards are on for a 4% savings at present. Still great with the 5% Red Card savings, 9% overall is pretty good.

You're welcome! Good luck. And then you'll have dozens of Disney gift cards that you'll have to enter into an email (my wife keyed the numbers and I double checked them as she went along) to your poor travel agent (we used a TA) who will then herself have to turn around and enter for your payment. I kept telling myself the whole time, "We're saving lots of money, we're saving lots of money..." And the TA was a really good sport about it.

[Fangorn]

And then you'll have dozens of Disney gift cards that you'll have to enter into an email (my wife keyed the numbers and I double checked them as she went along) to your poor travel agent (we used a TA) who will then herself have to turn around and enter for your payment. I kept telling myself the whole time, "We're saving lots of money, we're saving lots of money..." And the TA was a really good sport about it.

Now that you can transfer funds from one gift card to another using Disney's semi-convenient tool on the giftcard site, it's a tad simpler to just move money to a single gift card as you accumulate them. Then you only have to deal with one card/number when you actually go to use your gift cards. Once the funds are transferred, you can just throw the now empty cards away.

Steve

[Mendelson]

Excellent point, Steve!

[JPooh]

I'm curious, how do you use both the Zen Target card and the Red card.

[VWL Mom]

I'm curious, how do you use both the Zen Target card and the Red card.

You set your default payment to the Red Card and it deducts the 5%, then you enter your gift card as form of payment and finalize the transaction. Just know, going into it, when you use any of the gift card resellers you assume a risk that the card may be empty, paid for with a stolen credit card (newest scam), etc. While many report no issues, there are many that report issues. I'm not familiar with GCZen personally but recommend you do your homework and read the reviews before purchasing.

[Mendelson]

Good point. I can say about GCZ from personal use that they guarantee the displayed rate. If you get a card that's empty or the wrong amount you tell them and they refund, no questions asked. Of the couple hundred we've bought over time maybe four had an issue.

You set your default payment to the Red Card and it deducts the 5%, then you enter your gift card as form of payment and finalize the transaction. Just know, going into it, when you use any of the gift card resellers you assume a risk that the card may be empty, paid for with a stolen credit card (newest scam), etc. While many report no issues, there are many that report issues. I'm not familiar with GCZen personally but recommend you do your homework and read the reviews before purchasing.

[sainter]

You're welcome! Good luck. And then you'll have dozens of Disney gift cards that you'll have to enter into an email (my wife keyed the numbers and I double checked them as she went along) to your poor travel agent (we used a TA) who will then herself have to turn around and enter for your payment. I kept telling myself the whole time, "We're saving lots of money, we're saving lots of money..." And the TA was a really good sport about it.

You can also create a Disney Vacation account where you can enter the gift cards as you get them and when it is time to pay for your cruise or vacation, you call and have it transferred. As a bonus, for every $1000 you put into the account, you get another $20 Disney gift card mailed to you.
This means the TA does not need to enter them. At least with a cruise,(I don't have experience with a Disney World vacation doing this), you are allowed to make payment this way even if using a TA.

[Linnie]

It appears perhaps target has caught onto the stacking of discounts as the disney gift cards are now only available to purchase on store.

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