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Paying For Your Disney Vacation With Gift Cards

April 13, 2020

Whether you’re new to Disney Planning or you’ve been doing your research for awhile, you’ve probably heard about paying for your vacation with Gift Cards.

But, how does that work and what are the tricks to making them easier to work with?

Paying For Your Disney Vacation With Gift Cards

Paying For Your Vacation With Disney Gift Cards

Can you pay for your entire vacation with Gift Cards?

Yes! Disney allows you to pay for everything from Park Tickets, to Vacation Packages, to Special Event Tickets using Gift Cards.

Paying for your Package is no different than purchasing something through an online retailer.

A stack of Disney Gift Cards ready to pay off that next Disney vacation.
This is how I pay for my Vacations!

Why Pay With Gift Cards?

There are many reasons Guests prefer this form of payment.

  • Safety – Some people are hesitant to give out credit card information online, myself included. So, when I used a Travel Agent to book my first Disney Vacation, I paid off my balance with Gift Cards. Do I think she would have done something fraudulently with my information? Absolutely not! But, it was the form of payment I was most comfortable giving out via phone and/or email.
  • You may actually pay less for your vacation Sounds crazy, right? If you purchase discounted Gift Cards from stores like Target, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club you will be saving money right off the bat. At an estimated 5% Savings, that could mean a savings of $200 if you booked a $4000 Package. That’s souvenir money!
Tada Mickey!
Photo Credit: DisneyGiftCard.com

Does Having Many Disney Gift Cards Make It Hard To Pay Off My Vacation?

I purchase a lot of Gift Cards to pay for my Disney vacations. And because the Disney website tends to run a little slow for me, I like to pay off a large amount of money at one time.

Luckily, there’s a simple way to combine the balances onto one card. Disney Gift Card makes it super easy to combine Gift Cards.

Once I have a few hundred dollars loaded onto one card, I apply that dollar amount to my balance.

It’s as simple as that.

If you’re like me, you may want to keep all of your Gift Cards until your trip is over. Once the card is empty, it’s not necessary. But, I like to err on the side of caution.

So, I place them in baseball card pages and place them in a binder to keep everything together.

Photo op at Disney's Art of Animation

Keep Buying!

For many, once their trip is paid off, they stop buying Gift Cards.

But, I keep buying them. Because I purchase them for less than their face value, I like to think that I pay less for my souvenirs.

My credit card NEVER comes out during my trip!

It’s no secret that Disney is expensive. So, by only using Gift Cards, I know I can go home with money still in my checking account.

Always have access to your money

Lastly, another great thing I like about having your cards on Disney Gift Card is that you can access your money from anywhere.

Accidentally leave your Gift Card at home? You can easily transfer the balance to any Disney Gift Card in your possession.

Since my kids also keep their own Gift Cards, I like to think of it as an extra insurance policy. I don’t have to worry (as much) about them losing all of their money because I know I can always transfer their balance onto my card in a matter of seconds.

Ready to book your magical vacation?

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ExploreWithCatherine.com is not authorized or endorsed by, or officially connected with The Walt Disney Company, or any of their affiliates. For official Disney information, visit http://www.disney.com.

Hawaii Destination Specialist

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