Everyone knows how expensive a trip to Disney can get. When you add up tickets, hotels, flights, and dining, the costs quickly add up.
There are always ways to offset the cost of your Disney trip with points, and I’ve covered some of these ways in a previous post, but sometimes using points for Disney may not offer you the best value and you’re better off saving your points for better redemptions.
The next best way to save on Disney is by using Disney Gift Cards to pay for your trip.
Why Disney Gift Cards
Disney gift cards can be used to pay for almost everything in the Disney parks or downtown Disney, from souvenirs and food to official Disney tickets and hotel stays.
If you book accommodations or purchase admission tickets off of Disney’s website, you’ll be charged in USD. When you visit the theme park, you’ll also be paying in USD. Unless you have a US credit card or a Canadian credit card that doesn’t charge foreign exchange fees, you’ll be paying an additional 2.5–3% more for the foreign transactions.
One way to get around this is buying Disney gift cards. These are sold in grocery and office supply stores and various online stores in Canada and the USA.
Disney gift cards purchased in Canada are loaded in Canadian dollars when you buy them, but once they are used on the Disney website or in Disney parks, the exchange rate will be calculated based on the market-close exchange rate of the day prior. You can also register them online and merge balances up to $1,000 so you’re not carrying a wallet full of cards on your trip.
How to Save Even More
On the rare occasion I have seen Disney gift cards on sale at a Canadian grocery store, but the US has these sales more often.
Just this past week Bestbuy.com had 10% off $50 USD Disney e-gift cards. There was a limit of 3 per account, but I snagged few of these myself since we are heading to Disney in the new year. (Tip: Our members heard about this deal first – sign up to catch the next one!)
Giftcards.com currently has a sale for 10% off $100 USD Disney physical gift cards using promo code GCWEEK10 running til December 31, 2024. I just bought eleven of these. Since these are physical gift cards, you will need a US shipping address to have these cards sent to.
Last year, Costco.com had a sale 10% off Disney e-gift cards as well.
But the savings don’t stop there.
Currently, if you hold a Chase credit card, there is an offer for 5% statement credit on purchases up to $1000 made on Giftcards.com.
Signing up for Capital One’s shopping portal can give you additional savings. Capital One’s shopping portal operates like Rakuten, giving you cashback on purchases made through their portal. The cashback can be redeemed for gift cards for various vendors. You don’t need to be a Capital One credit card holder to use it – anyone can!
If you install it as a browser extension, it tracks your visit history and will often send you increased cashback offers on online stores you’ve visited. A day after visiting Giftcards.com, I got an offer to save 10% off my Giftcards.com purchase up to $250.
Stacking all these offers has saved me 25% off my Disney gift card purchases! Which essentially means saving 25% off all my Disney expenses.
Currently Disney World also has Canadian Resident Offers for discounted theme park tickets and hotel stays, which can help you save even more when combined with your discounted gift cards.
Maximizing Your Earn
When buying Disney gift cards, you’ll also want to maximize your earn.
In the scenario above, buying Disney gift cards off US platforms, I used my Chase credit card to pay for my gift card purchase. If Chase didn’t have an offer, I would have used my Capital Once Venture X. If you don’t have access to US cards, then use a card that doesn’t have foreign exchange fees like the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card or Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card.
If buying the cards in the Canada, use a card that has a good multiplier for the store you are purchasing the cards from.
If you missed the gift card sales and find yourself needing to use your credit card at Disney, then you’ll want to use a card that has a travel multiplier that works outside of Canada when paying for your resort stays and a card that has a good dining multiplier when dining at the Disney resorts or theme parks (they do code separately as restaurant charges!).
If you are staying at an official Disney resort, grab a MagicBand and put all your charges on it (ie. souvenirs, Lightning Lane charges, etc) so it goes on your hotel bill. Then you can use a card that has a travel multiplier to pay it off. In the case of the US American Express Green Card® or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you’ll earn 3x points on travel!
Conclusion
A trip to Disney World is no cheap venture, and saving every little bit helps. Points can help offset the cost, but Disney gift cards can be a great way to save on the exchange rate, and possibly even more if you there is a gift card sale going on. If you miss a sale, then make sure to at least use a credit card where you can maximize your earn.