Updated Disney Gift Card Deals and More

[bnf0522]

Don’t do that. It’s a complete headache if you need a refund as you will have to spend more time with Disney on the phone as they would have to issue you new gift cards and you’d have to wait to receive them.

If you are going to use gift cards you need to put the effort into tracking every single one of them including every transaction and every transfer. Otherwise stick to charging to your credit/debit card. The effort isn’t worth it to some so they don’t gc. Where people screw themselves is when they try to get all the benefits of discounted DGCs, don’t do the tracking work and then find themselves with a locked gift card (locked DGC the day before my trip was literally me last week, I got lucky it was a 2 day lock and not a security fraud type lock which requires days or weeks to deal with and every receipt from every amount you loaded onto the card to get your funds back) or refunds to the abyss if you charged more than $1k on it. No bueno. Don’t be that person.

I totally agree! We used a lot of discounted gift cards to pay for our last trip and I numbered all of them and tracked EVERYTHING and kept all the gift cards until we returned. It seems like a pain, but if you find a tracking system that works for you, it makes all the savings worth it!

 

[Grankm21]

• Best Buy Amex Offer: Spend $250+ in one or more transactions at Best Buy & get $25 back with an Amex Offer.
  • Offer valid in-store and online
  • Expires 12/26/23. Post #20643 @bbsearchlight

Has anyone had luck with this offer being valid on Disney GCs? I know the offer states “not valid on GCs”. Wondering if that includes 3rd party GCs bought in store. TIA

 

[AJruns]

If you are going to use gift cards you need to put the effort into tracking every single one of them including every transaction and every transfer.

Newbie here, to the thread and gift cards in general. I don’t have a Costco membership but Venmo’ed two sets of friends who each got me two cards (one set arrived immediately and the other hasn’t shown up anywhere several days later). I’m unclear though what is involved in tracking them… I was going to combine them into one, and use through my travel agent for my upcoming hotel stay and on food/merchandise in the parks with whatever is left. I tried googling but don’t see any tips about this process and how/why the tracking is necessary, but I want to do this right (and I love a good spreadsheet)! Any advice or links to read are appreciated!

 

[Psychodisney]

• Best Buy Amex Offer: Spend $250+ in one or more transactions at Best Buy & get $25 back with an Amex Offer.
  • Offer valid in-store and online
  • Expires 12/26/23. Post #20643 @bbsearchlight

Has anyone had luck with this offer being valid on Disney GCs? I know the offer states “not valid on GCs”. Wondering if that includes 3rd party GCs bought in store. TIA

I've had success with mine on 2 cards.

 

[bighuskermav]

Newbie here, to the thread and gift cards in general. I don’t have a Costco membership but Venmo’ed two sets of friends who each got me two cards (one set arrived immediately and the other hasn’t shown up anywhere several days later). I’m unclear though what is involved in tracking them… I was going to combine them into one, and use through my travel agent for my upcoming hotel stay and on food/merchandise in the parks with whatever is left. I tried googling but don’t see any tips about this process and how/why the tracking is necessary, but I want to do this right (and I love a good spreadsheet)! Any advice or links to read are appreciated!

I think your plan is fine. I’ve always combined my cards into a single $1,000 card (never re-used). I’ve paid off cruises and hotels with $1,000 cards. If anything gets refunded - it should go back to the combined $1,000 card.

I suppose I have kept the original cards around (usually they are electronic and accessible through my email) in case something really went hay-wire. But I’m not tracking every little card and every little transfer from before it’s combined.

My big concern is to get them applied to my balance as soon as possible to reduce the risk of the numbers being stolen. There have been reports of people’s accounts being broken into on disneygiftcards dot com and having card balances transferred out. I don’t store any of my cards on there for that reason.

 

[dragonflymom]

Newbie here, to the thread and gift cards in general. I don’t have a Costco membership but Venmo’ed two sets of friends who each got me two cards (one set arrived immediately and the other hasn’t shown up anywhere several days later). I’m unclear though what is involved in tracking them… I was going to combine them into one, and use through my travel agent for my upcoming hotel stay and on food/merchandise in the parks with whatever is left. I tried googling but don’t see any tips about this process and how/why the tracking is necessary, but I want to do this right (and I love a good spreadsheet)! Any advice or links to read are appreciated!

Tracking transactions on your gift card is more for your protection in case the card is hacked, locked, lost or you want to inquire/dispute about certain transactions. Think of it as a DIY credit card activity log. If you don't want to do your own detailed spreadsheet for activity tracking, I find the transaction history log once you enter the DGC acct number and EAN on the disneygiftcard website to be sufficient, so I just take a screenshot after major activities and save it to my spreadsheet tab (one for each physical card I own) and replace old screenshots with new screenshots)--here's an example of the screenshot I took on one of my cards recently:



Separately, I do keep a detailed spreadsheet of all the E and physical cards I have acquired. Let me know if you would like the spreadsheet column headings and I can PM you.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Newbie here, to the thread and gift cards in general. I don’t have a Costco membership but Venmo’ed two sets of friends who each got me two cards (one set arrived immediately and the other hasn’t shown up anywhere several days later). I’m unclear though what is involved in tracking them… I was going to combine them into one, and use through my travel agent for my upcoming hotel stay and on food/merchandise in the parks with whatever is left. I tried googling but don’t see any tips about this process and how/why the tracking is necessary, but I want to do this right (and I love a good spreadsheet)! Any advice or links to read are appreciated!

I keep a spreadsheet of the vendor purchased from, date purchased, order #, date downloaded (idk if that one is necessary), card number, EAN, original value, date transferred, location transferred to. I have another sheet with my "permanent" gc where I list the above info and note current balance, date updated and transactions where money was spent from the cards (while at home, things like shop Disney, tickets, hotels, once in the parks I don't track that, I do keep receipts of merch I purchase with gc in case I want to return because the money is returned to the gc- happened to me last trip a shirt I bought didn't fit and I was able to return it no issues because I had the receipt and the gc). I kill the cards after a trip and start with fresh ones. Keep resort payments on their own gift cards, I changed my resorts last minute and disney froze my gc- if they hadn't unfrozen it I would have been out my trip spending money last week. Lesson learned.

I also keep a folder on my system with copies of all receipts for disney gift cards (including the little activation receipts from physical purchases) titled by date. For the friends who bought DGCs for you I would ask they each send you a copy of the receipt for your records.

 

[gottalovepluto]

For the Rakuten 10% staples in-store deal is there a waiting period after you add your credit card? I have vague memories of doing deals like this on RMN but having to wait 24 hours for the card link to be live. Rakuten appears to be available immediately?

 

[AJruns]

Thanks for the tracking tips, very helpful!

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I've had success with mine on 2 cards.

Did you only purchase physical gift cards in store? And was the total spent just gift cards or did you mix in a small amount of other goods (ie DVD) to mask the GC purchase from AMEX

 

[afan]

Did you only purchase physical gift cards in store? And was the total spent just gift cards or did you mix in a small amount of other goods (ie DVD) to mask the GC purchase from AMEX

I've always done in store and only the amount that meets the offer. Always gotten credit.

Only time I ever worried about the amount was when meeting an Amex sub.

You could be splitting the charge and that's why it's an even number, lots of reasons. They don't get the data to see what you're buying.

 

[Jimsig]

An update on my saga...

I purchased my membership this past Saturday online. I tried getting the DGC but it got cancelled for credit card reasons. The order for physical items to be shipped went through with out issues. So I tried again (triple-checking my CC info). Cancelled again - different credit card reason given. I know this card has enough room for the charge and it doesn't expire for 5 years. Try again - cancelled again. Went to Costco on Sunday to get picture taken and get membership card. Asked about the cancellations. Re-verified my membership and they said it should go through. Placed the order and checked it a few hours later. Nope - cancelled yet again. Thinking that it was a Sunday and there may be a delay, I decided to wait until Monday afternoon. Placed the order again and this time it was cancelled saying that I had exceeded the limit. Well, I only have the one membership (no spouses or family members that have Costco also). I initiated a chat through the phone app with customer service. They asked for my drivers license # to verify it was me and then checked a few things and then they initiated a phone call with me. They forced a new order through and I was able to get my 2 DGCs, which I transferred to an empty one.

It only took 7 attempts (6 via a mix of order via app and online via website plus their creating a new order) to get them. LOL

I'm hoping that the Dollar General near me has Disney cards for that 12/15 deal that you posted.

I had a similar issue the first time I went to buy a couple $100 Dis E Gift cards with my Target Red Debit Card. I had no issues buying regular DGC's in the store but on the Target website it would keep cancelling the order of the e cards. I finally purchased Two $25 cards and at different times and they went through. After those purchases I have never had an issue buying larger denomination cards. My feeling is that the system for some retailers is set up that way to detect fraud/stolen credit cards etc. until a purchasing history has been established for certain items.

 

[FoxC63]

There have been reports of people’s accounts being broken into on disneygiftcards dot com and having card balances transferred out. I don’t store any of my cards on there for that reason.

Proof is in the pudding. They're email account was jeopardized.

 

[FoxC63]

Tracking transactions on your gift card is more for your protection in case the card is hacked, locked, lost or you want to inquire/dispute about certain transactions. Think of it as a DIY credit card activity log. If you don't want to do your own detailed spreadsheet for activity tracking, I find the transaction history log once you enter the DGC acct number and EAN on the disneygiftcard website to be sufficient, so I just take a screenshot after major activities and save it to my spreadsheet tab (one for each physical card I own) and replace old screenshots with new screenshots)--here's an example of the screenshot I took on one of my cards recently:

View attachment 817318

Separately, I do keep a detailed spreadsheet of all the E and physical cards I have acquired. Let me know if you would like the spreadsheet column headings and I can PM you.

To all who don't know....

Have you ever read the back of a physical DGC?



Lost, damaged or stolen cards may be replaced only if original proof of purchase receipt and complete card number are provided.

@AJruns
If you want to understand all the information you're responsible for @gottalovepluto wrote it down...

I keep a spreadsheet of the vendor purchased from, date purchased, order #, date downloaded (idk if that one is necessary), card number, EAN, original value, date transferred, location transferred to. I have another sheet with my "permanent" gc where I list the above info and note current balance, date updated and transactions where money was spent from the cards (while at home, things like shop Disney, tickets, hotels, once in the parks I don't track that, I do keep receipts of merch I purchase with gc in case I want to return because the money is returned to the gc

We know this due to peeps posting here and on the original DGC thread what was required from them. Dates of Transfer is a must.

Post # 7 Disney Gift Cards 101

Fair Warning

• Verify Your Gift Card Balance: Some have reported gift cards were not activated when purchased and they had to go back to the store to resolve, receipt will be required.
• Discounted Websites: You should never combine Disney gift cards purchased from discounted websites with gift cards purchased from a regular store. If the gift card gets reversed <link or reported stolen, not only can Disney freeze your gift card but they can freeze your account. While trying to get your funds back, Disney may request proof of purchase. Therefore, we recommend saving all receipts and empty gift cards until your vacation is over. We also recommend keeping a spreadsheet of all transactions.

 

[FoxC63]

He keeps asking where Oatmeal is. We didn’t want to confuse him so we told him that Oatmeal got old and died. That’s what happens when pets get old. We won’t be able to see her anymore but we can still talk about her/look at her pictures. He doesn’t really understand it but I can tell he is a little sad and misses her.

Hugs to your son!

I remember when grandpa passed, DS & grandpa were two peas in a pod, just so close. The principal gave me some sheets of paper to help DS but they were copies of copies of copies, totally illegible not to mention outdated. I did my own research and found a book Our Tree Named Steve which was very helpful. DS was 6 years old.



Fourteen years later, I'm sure there are more books on the market to help with loss.

 

[FoxC63]

GIANT/Martin’s/Stop & Shop/Giant

​

GIANT​

• Earn 5x Points on Select Gift Cards
  • Includes: Barnes & Noble, Domino's, Darden, GameStop, Mix It Up and Roblox
  • $2,000 limit per household.
  • Excludes: Mastercard Gift, Visa Gift, GPR, and Wireless products or coupons cannot be used.
  • GIANT Weekly ad
  • Offer valid 12/15/23 - 12/28/23.

 

[FoxC63]

Dollar General

• Buy ANY 2 Select Gift Cards & Get $5 Off
  • Includes: Applebee's, Cracker barrel, Domino's, IHOP and Subway.
  • Limit one discount per customer.
  • Must purchase TWO
  • Excludes ALL $10 Gift Cards.
  • Weekly ad
  • Offer valid 12/17/23 - 12/23/23.

 

[bighuskermav]

Proof is in the pudding. They're email account was jeopardized.

Maybe, but I am not 100% convinced that Disney has the strictest 2-factor auth based on a few recent experiments I did. I’ve been a software engineer for 20 years…I ain’t chancing it. The best security practice is layers of security. I don’t feel comfortable storing cards on that site for the long-term. You’re welcome to have a different opinion.

 

[PolyRob]

I admit I have a very good tracking system, but I have old Disney GCs (some dating back to 2016). They were all purchased on ShopDisney at various times for $25 so that question was easy to verify, but I recently had a DGC locked from a ShopDisney order issue and it was such a pain combined with some weird transfer glitches that I am draining all my old DGCs on purchases, DVC dues, etc and starting fresh with some newly acquired ShopDisney physical gift cards.

It really isn't worth the headache. I spent hours on the phone (Duck Tales is BURNED into my brain... WOO-OO!) trying to recover less than $200. I can't even imagine what it would be like dealing with $1000 and a card fraudulently drained.

 

[arich35]

Proof is in the pudding. They're email account was jeopardized.

I am pretty sure they don't even have the whole card number on the site anyways. I guess they could add their own gift card and then transfer it