Canadian Disney Gift Cards

[kuhltiffany]

They have a big gift card display near the cash

Where in a Canadian Tire store do you find gift cards?

 

[Jason88]

Saw both $25 and $50 cards at the Walmart in South Surrey, BC today.

Was a nice surprise, didn’t realize they were up here now - I’ve been getting the $5 and $10 cards from Disney Movie Rewards for a while now in hopes of saving up for a trip, this will definitely help.

 

[Sparrow78]

Not sure this has been asked, but my family and I are heading on a Disney Cruise 2018 December my TA said I can use the Disney GC to pay for my balance is this right? Can I also use it as credit on board? Can you only get the GC at the Disney Store? I'm in Airdrie Alberta. Does it work out better then using my Canadian CC?

I'm in Airdrie! I actually found the gift cards at Safeway last week and superstore a few weeks ago!

Honestly, I didn't bother getting them. I used my US Dollar credit card instead. I've got a usd savings acct and buy occasionally watching the dollar and then just use my cc instead and make payments through online banking

 

[musika]

I found them again at Walmart in Halifax, $25 AND $50! I struggled whether to pick any up as I'm not sure I want to depart with the cash in our savings account right before Christmas. Good to see that they will still be bringing them in though. I thought it was a one-time thing.

I can ditto this for Dartmouth. Still not sure if we will pick some up or not. I'm not really sold on the value.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Well you do get a better exchange rate than if you charge the same amount to a credit card or get US cash. I just can't part with my money right now just before Christmas. If we see them closer to February, then I will probably get some. We will be charging all of our food to our room anyways, so one half dozen or the other how we pay for it.

 

[gskywalker]

I did a comparison after shopping in the states on the weekend. Using the disney gift card and using my Amazon(0% foreign exchange fee) visa within an hour of each other, the difference was around a half a cent difference (IE 1.282 with disney card, 1.287 with Amazon) which is just the spread visa charges. For me I will be paying for my trip with gift cards because I gain that half a percent, as well Amazon only gives 1% cash back whereas my other cards give me 1.5%-2% depending on whether it is at a grocery store or not.

 

[tpettie]

I have not had a chance to read through the thread but have a few questions. I bought a gift card for our family Christmas exchange. I have a Jan 2019 cruise wedding planned. Can the GC be used towards their stateroom payment? If it is used for that and they cancel what would happen to the GC amount?

Can the GC be used on the ship in general?

 

[Donald - my hero]

I have not had a chance to read through the thread but have a few questions. I bought a gift card for our family Christmas exchange. I have a Jan 2019 cruise wedding planned. Can the GC be used towards their stateroom payment? If it is used for that and they cancel what would happen to the GC amount?

Can the GC be used on the ship in general?

Basic answer, YES the gift cards can be used for cruise as well, both for payment of the cruise itself and on board. Not sure what would happen if the trip gets cancelled after GC have been used though, sorry.

 

[BijouBabe]

For any Calgarians I found $25 and $50 gift cards at the Walmart on 130th. Bought a couple $50 for a stocking stuffer for DS for our trip next year.

 

[mab2012]

I did a comparison after shopping in the states on the weekend. Using the disney gift card and using my Amazon(0% foreign exchange fee) visa within an hour of each other, the difference was around a half a cent difference (IE 1.282 with disney card, 1.287 with Amazon) which is just the spread visa charges. For me I will be paying for my trip with gift cards because I gain that half a percent, as well Amazon only gives 1% cash back whereas my other cards give me 1.5%-2% depending on whether it is at a grocery store or not.

I'd be careful with that comparison. When you use the Amazon card, you'll get the exchange rate in effect at the time the transaction is *posted*, not the time that the transaction actually occurred. That's typically a day or two after the transaction date, so the specific time that you used the card is not very relevant. Meanwhile, the Disney gift cards appear to be converting at the previous day's closing spot rate. So what you're actually comparing in your example is not the rate in effect at the time of the two transactions, but yesterday's rate on one transaction, and tomorrow's (or the next day's) rate on the other.

Nobody knows exactly what spread Visa uses; they're not telling, and direct comparisons are very difficult because of this delay between transaction and posting times, and the constant fluctuation of exchange rates throughout every day. It's typically figured to be in the 0.5 - 1% range, but your observation of that difference on your two transactions was almost entirely coincidental. The Amazon Visa rate could have been much worse or even much better than Disney's if there had been a big currency movement in the meantime.

I think you're right on the general conclusions though, even if the direct comparison could be misleading. IMO the potential advantages of using the Disney gift cards over Amazon or other "no-fee" cards are:

• Save the Visa markup. Whatever their spread is, and irrespective of day-to-day currency fluctuations, Visa is definitely making money there, and I'd rather not pay it.
• You control the timing. With the Disney card, the rate is set once per day, and you know (or could know, if you care to look it up) exactly what that rate is at the time of your transaction.
• You're not limited to use of your no-fee credit card.

For me I think the gift cards will be worthwhile for larger purchases where I can control the timing, like paying off a cruise. It means I can keep an eye on rates and if there is a sudden downward move in the Canadian dollar, that Disney gift card becomes a bit of a "get out of jail free" card. Plus the small percentage saving on that Visa rate and the slightly better credit card return is more significant on larger numbers. For smaller resort charges, where the bill is going to be paid on check-out date whether I like that rate or not, I don't think it'll be worth the hassle of going down to the desk to apply the gift card to my account. In that case I think I'll just rely on the Amazon card to give me a decent rate at the time.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

For any Calgarians I found $25 and $50 gift cards at the Walmart on 130th. Bought a couple $50 for a stocking stuffer for DS for our trip next year.

Thanks! Finally someone has found them in our Cowtown

 

[BijouBabe]

Thanks! Finally someone has found them in our Cowtown

Hopefully they start showing up at other areas and locations but I know the Rexall and Sobey's down this way have not had them so I was super happy to find them at Walmart.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Hopefully they start showing up at other areas and locations but I know the Rexall and Sobey's down this way have not had them so I was super happy to find them at Walmart.

No kidding... I have been stalking Safeway and Shoppers Drug Mart for them, as well as any other gift card board.

 

[drag n' fly]

For any Calgarians I found $25 and $50 gift cards at the Walmart on 130th. Bought a couple $50 for a stocking stuffer for DS for our trip next year.

I see them everywhere up in the north end.

 

[Aimee_Jane83]

I'm sorry I haven't looked through this thread yet but can someone please explain this to me? My boyfriend purchased me a $50 Disney GC for Christmas which says it will be good at the Disneyland resort for our upcoming trip. However he obviously paid for it in Canadian funds as we are in the Vancouver area, and he purchased it at our local Walmart. I was reading on other Google sits and they say that if paid in Canadian funds you can't use them at the resort as it has to be an American gift card. Why would they sell them in Canada if they can't be used as stated, and what happens to our exchange rate with the cards?

 

[22Tink]

I'm sorry I haven't looked through this thread yet but can someone please explain this to me? My boyfriend purchased me a $50 Disney GC for Christmas which says it will be good at the Disneyland resort for our upcoming trip. However he obviously paid for it in Canadian funds as we are in the Vancouver area, and he purchased it at our local Walmart. I was reading on other Google sits and they say that if paid in Canadian funds you can't use them at the resort as it has to be an American gift card. Why would they sell them in Canada if they can't be used as stated, and what happens to our exchange rate with the cards?

You can definitely use them at the parks. I've been using them to make payments on my room reservation in WDW in March. They are worth their value in Canadian dollars but when you use them in the parks it's converted to USD so it will only be worth whatever the exchange rate is. I believe they go off of the exchange rate of the previous day when you use them.

 

[hdrolfe]

I'm sorry I haven't looked through this thread yet but can someone please explain this to me? My boyfriend purchased me a $50 Disney GC for Christmas which says it will be good at the Disneyland resort for our upcoming trip. However he obviously paid for it in Canadian funds as we are in the Vancouver area, and he purchased it at our local Walmart. I was reading on other Google sits and they say that if paid in Canadian funds you can't use them at the resort as it has to be an American gift card. Why would they sell them in Canada if they can't be used as stated, and what happens to our exchange rate with the cards?

I believe it's fairly new that they are available for purchase in Canada to use at Disney. It used to be that they were only available to purchase at Disney stores in Canada, to use only in Disney stores in Canada. But that changed, at least a few months ago.

The exchange rate will be whatever it is when you use it, so it won't be worth $50 USD if you bought it in CAD. However, you can get an idea by registering it. I believe it's a bit better than if you were to purchase USD at the bank or use a credit card which charges fees for foreign transactions. https://www.disneygiftcard.com/ click on manage cards. If you purchase multiple cards you can combine them onto one so you don't have to carry a bunch around.

 

[friedela]

Not to take over the thread, but what is the benefit of getting these other than you can set a limit on your spending? From what I have read you still have to pay the exchange rate on every purchase?

 

[Pumpkin1172]

Not to take over the thread, but what is the benefit of getting these other than you can set a limit on your spending? From what I have read you still have to pay the exchange rate on every purchase?

If you don't have a forfex free credit card...your credit card charges you a 2.5% rate on top of the exchange rate. Unless your paying with cash ( which I would NEVER carry that much cash on me while travelling), then this is a good solution. We don't travel enough for us to warrant a credit card like this. So for me, it will help to offset how much cash I carry or what I will put into my credit card

 

[Ahmne]

I've finally seen these at Shoppers in Toronto. Waiting for PC points to merge with optimum and I will start cashing in for gift cards