Gift Cards Disney Chase Visa questions

[amjrsj]

Hi, I feel like I am a little late to the party here. I just opened a Chase Disney Visa and will get the promo of $200 Gift Card for spending $500 in 3 months (we put 100% of our expenses on credit cards and pay off monthly so that will be very easy for me). Does anyone know if I spend $500 in the first month do they then issue the card? We are going on a cruise and 2 days on property in Spring and I am wondering if I should budget to have that $200 for spending.

I also went to Sam's and bought some gift cards. I wanted to use the gift cards for on board spending (excursions, tips, honestly I don't know since I have never cruised).

I think I may have overbought gift cards so I read in another post you can load gift cards to a "Disney Vacation Account". Can anyone tell me more about that? Or is it safe to hold on to the gift cards in a safe place, do they ever start depreciating?

Also I have paid for my first half of my on property room (2 nights) on a credit card, can I put the rest on a gift card or is it better to use my Disney Visa when I get that?

Thanks!!! This is all new to me as we are normally just a "pay for it on our one card and go" type family.

 

[starry_solo]

Does anyone know if I spend $500 in the first month do they then issue the card? Yes, they do. It can take up to two billing cycles to get the $200 gift card.

Disney Vacation Account: This is where you load up funds to the account and after having loaded up $1000 and having it open for so many days (I think 90-120), you get $20. However, based upon a lot of posts on DISBoards, I would suggest NOT doing this, only because there seem to be a LOT of issues (lost funds, unable to get into account, etc.)

Disney Cruise: You charge things to your room so you can load up your shipboard account with a credit using the gift cards you have accumulated. Depending on the value of the Sam's Club Cards (were you able to get a single $500 card or do you have multiple $50 cards), you might want to combine a few of the $50 cards and make them $200-300 cards. As to whether excursions can be charged to the room, I am not sure. I would expect so.

Paying for room at WDW: Personally, I would put that on a credit card so if there is an issue with the room/property, it would be easier for them to refund you on the credit card (rather than a gift card)

 

[cassie58]

Also, if you pay off trip on Visa, you earn more rewards points that you can use for this trip or to save for next time!

 

[dwonderz]

I signed up for the same offer in early October (we were cruising in January) and I had the gift card by the beginning of December - turnaround time was pretty quick.

I would also use your Disney Visa for the rest of the room - you get the points and greater security that way.

Finally - I would make sure to take pictures/record the info of your gift card numbers and keep those safe just in case the cards get misplaced.

 

[amjrsj]

Thanks everyone! I could not get the $500 gift card so I just purchased 4 sets of the $150.... I already combined the first set of $50 to one card and need to do that for the others. Should I combine them all on one (I know the max is $1000) and if we don't use all the funds just hold on to it for a future trip? They don't ever start deducting money for not using a gift card do they? I like the idea of the vacation account but honestly I probably can just put funds from my paycheck to a separate account and that can be used for any vacation not just Disney. (My husband likes to only do Disney every 2 years, I prefer annually but hey I am married and I know it takes some give and take to make that work!)

 

[hsmamato2]

You should combine the gc's in amounts you think you want, I wouldn;t put it all on one card, once you combine, you can only transfer the entire amount from one card to another- IDK about paying for cruise with, never done that. But I would assume you could combine your gc's on the site,(always keep an empty card there in case you lose a physical card) and use as needed on your cruise to pay for things,just like money. If I had bought the gc's already,I'd use them first,then use the cc to pay for whatever is left.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just register them to your disney gift card account and then even if you loose the physical card you can transfer the balance to any other disney gift card you can get your hands on! Easy way to store Disney gift card money for long term for future trips. (And I too am scared by those DVA stories, with you 100% on just setting aside $$$ on my own.) I did want to say I've paid for Disney rooms in the past with gift cards and I would do it again. If some portion of the money is refunded to you it will go back on the Disney gift card you used to pay the room. If you're ok leaving the money in Disney Dollars don't hesitate to pay for the room with discounted disney gift cards you've acquired, but do remember to keep the card you use at the time of payment.