Money Saving Tips for Discount Disney Gift Cards
This covers our best money-saving tips for buying discount Disney gift cards via Target, Kroger, Meijer, Sam’s Club, Best Buy, and beyond. Some deals offer big savings for your Walt Disney World vacation, while others are modest but easier. (Updated December 11, 2023.)
Since we are pretty big on stretching our vacation dollar with all sorts of travel hacks, we thought we’d share some of the best methods for scoring discounted Disney gift cards. Some of this might sound complicated and intimidating, but it’s really easy once you get the hang of it, and the upside is so tremendous that it makes the effort of learning well worth it.
With that said, I understand that this is not going to be for everyone. If you don’t have a credit card or are uncomfortable making online purchases, this definitely isn’t for you. While there are a few 101 level travel hacks here, a couple of the tricks are more 404 level.
As good deals come and go, we update this post with the best options for saving money on Disney gift cards. (If you see a “last updated” date at the top of this post, it’s because we’ve found a new limited time deal.) Some of them are convoluted and have limited applicability. Others are open to everyone but have stricter purchase limits.
Regardless, this is one of the easiest way to save money on Walt Disney World vacations–and one of the few that is “stackable” with other discounts. Subscribe to our free email newsletter for a heads up if or when more Disney gift card deals go live.
With that said, here are the various options for saving money on Disney gift cards. Note that these are not always available–they come and go. If you click a link and full price gift cards come up, you’re not missing anything–the deal isn’t being offered!
Costco
Costco Wholesale currently is selling $250 Disney eGift Cards for $225 (deal available as of December 11, 2023–no end date is known). You need to be an active Costco Member and signed in to your account to purchase at sale price. This is delivered via email, so the recipient’s email address must be supplied in email field on the Shipping Address page.
There’s a limit of 2 Disney gift cards per membership, meaning $500 for the price of $450. These can be combined with other gift cards via Disney’s online management tool. We’ve seen scattered reports (with hit or miss results) of some Costco members being able to make two different transactions, each with 2 gift cards in them.
It seems like you’re more likely to be successful if you have a membership with multiple members on it, each having a unique ID. Or if you place one order one day, and another the next. Regardless, don’t be surprised if your second transaction is unsuccessful. (We haven’t heard of anyone managing 3 or more orders. Two is the max.)
Sam’s Club
From time to time, Sam’s Club members may purchase Disney gift cards for 10% off, to be delivered electronically. When offered, these deals are online only and while supplies last; prices may vary in club. The last time we saw this offered was at the start of the Christmas 2023 shopping season.
Note that this is an eGift card, and it will be emailed within 48 hours of purchase. It’s also worth noting that Sam’s Club is available via various credit card and online cashback portals. Almost all of those explicitly exclude gift card purchases from receiving cash back, but it still doesn’t hurt to try. Might get through and end up saving even more money!
Best Buy
Another currently unavailable but frequently repeated discount is Best Buy offering 10% discounts to My Best Buy Plus or Total members. For those who are unfamiliar with it, this is essentially their version of Amazon Prime, offering expedited shipping and access to exclusive sale prices.
It’s also not uncommon to find discount Disney gift cards are sold at Best Buy without the need for a BB+ membership. That’s happened multiple times for Black Friday or Cyber Monday, with the retailer selling $50 Disney gift cards for $45, or a savings of 10% off.
Where this deal gets really sweet is if you have If you have any Chase credit or debit cards (or the Best Buy card), as many of these have targeted offers for 10% cashback at Best Buy. That should be stackable with this offer, making the discount even better.
In terms of fine print, you’re limited to one Disney gift card per transaction and account, although some people have reported success placing 2 separate orders or buying more with different accounts. Others have had their subsequent order(s) cancelled, not that we know from personal experience or anything. Basically, it’s YMMV after the first order.
Kroger Fuel Points
For those of you near Kroger grocery stores, this is one of the better “everyday” ways to save on Disney gift cards (well, technically, you’re saving money on gas, but it’s because of the gift cards). Normally, every dollar you spend at Kroger earns 1 fuel point, or 2 fuel points on gift card purchases. On occasion, Kroger offers 4X fuel points (sometimes it’s for a period of weeks, sometimes for a single day), which really sweetens the deal.
For every 100 fuel points you redeem, you save $0.10 off every gallon of gas (up to $1/gallon off) you purchase on a single fuel purchase. The precise value of this deal varies based upon how large of a gas tank you’re filling (and how empty your tank), so obviously those with trucks and larger vehicles are going to do better here.
Let’s say your gas tank has 25 gallons of empty space: the normal offer could be worth $25 for every $500 spent (5% savings). With the 4X deal, you’re looking at 10% savings. Stack this with a credit card that earns extra at grocery stores, and this can be one of the best deals out there when the 4X bonus is available.
While we use this for Disney gift cards, like many of the offers here, the same theory can be applied to a variety of other stores, including Target, Lowe’s, Southwest Airlines, GAP, iTunes, and Visa. Note to be mindful that the generic ‘Visa’ gift cards have an activation fee, which more or less kills the deal.
Target REDCard
The Target REDcard gets you an automatic 5% discount on any purchase at Target, including gift cards. Among other things, Target sells Disney gift cards both online and in-store, making for a simple way to save 5% on your Walt Disney World vacation.
If you don’t have a Target Red Card it might be worth getting one just to take advantage of this deal. Consider this: many Disney fans are Disney Visa cardholders (a fairly crumby credit card, honestly) because of the Disney perks. However, by virtue of this one deal, the Target Red Card is unquestionably a better card from a rewards perspective for Disney fans.
It may not have Mickey Mouse’s picture on the card, but the Target REDcard gives Disney fans (who know how to use it) greater rewards. You can also take advantage of it with the Target Red Debit Card, which can be a good option for those who don’t want a credit card…or another one.
Meijer Mperks
If you live in the Midwest or one of the other regions in the United States with Meijer stores, they often run $5 off $50 promos on gift cards. When available, this is limited to a total of 10 rewards purchases–or $500 in gift cards–per Mperks account. (Meijer routinely runs this offer, usually multiple times per year.)
This means you can purchase a single Disney gift card for $500 and you’ll earn ten rewards of $5 (or $50 total) to use on future purchases. This essentially makes it identical to the BJ’s deal, albeit without the membership and Chase Freedom credit card requirements–the only catch here is that not everyone has Meijer stores near them. Sadly, we don’t!
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Another good deal available from time to time is via BJ’s Wholesale Club. Members can purchase a $500 gift card for a discounted amount, sometimes as low as $469.99 during sales. This savings isn’t huge on its own, but it’s sometimes the best option–and it can be “sweetened” for some Chase credit card holders.
That’s because if you have a Chase Freedom credit card, the quarterly 5% bonus category can include PayPal purchases, and you can use pay on the BJ’s site using PayPal linked to your Chase Freedom credit card. In that scenario, the effective cost ends up being under $450 for the $500 Disney gift card. Double win!
Warehouse Clubs
Even easier than the Kroger Fuel Points is the discounted Disney gift cards Sam’s Club and Costco sometimes sell. These gift cards (or packs of gift cards) aren’t always available, and when they are, the savings are usually 4-6%, but if you’re not too keen on the other methods (or don’t have Kroger near you), it can be a “better than nothing” scenario.
This deal can be sweetened if you have a Chase Freedom credit card, as wholesale clubs are one of the rotating 5X categories (this quarter, in fact). Speaking of credit cards, make sure you have the correct credit card when visiting your warehouse club of choice (Sam’s Club now accepts Visa; Costco stopped accepting AmEx). You don’t want to have to pay in cash, causing you to lose out on that bonus!
Cashback Portals
Another way to sweeten the deal is by combining the gift card churning with cashback shopping portals. There are a variety of these, and the percentages of cashback they offer can vary based upon what promos they’re offering, and the product purchased. I like to use cashbackmonitor.com or evreward.com for a quick “at a glance” comparison of the cashback portals.
I use cashback portals fairly regularly, but this typically does not hold true when it comes to gift card churning. Many retailers exclude gift cards from their cashback offers, and while you can still game the system to get cashback on gift card purchases (although they are technically excluded, the retailers and cashback sites often do not effectively communicate as to the substance of the order), it’s inconsistent.
More importantly (for me, at least), I’ve heard stories of people being blacklisted from certain online retailers as a result of “manipulating” the cashback portals for their gift card purchase rackets. This is another “your mileage may vary” situation, so consider giving it a try for greater savings.
This is another option that can be leveraged in myriad different ways, and with cards that have nothing to do with Disney. If you’re really serious and/or crazy, you could go full circle and apply the principles gleaned here to do manufactured spends. I’m not going to go into further detail on that, as the line between that type of churning and “gift card laundering” is a thin one. Both sides of that “line” are totally legal, the latter might cause some headaches.
With all of these strategies, I’d recommend not doing this too far in advance of your trip; if you’re doing any of this 3 years in advance, you aren’t beating the system at all–you’d be better off making actual investments given typical ROI and the time value of money.
I’d also recommend not tying up more money than you can afford to be stuck in limbo; if you’re paying interest on credit cards to fund this, you’re also losing in the grand scheme of things. Finally, be careful. While all of this is perfectly legal, businesses aren’t exactly “fans” of customers exploiting their policies. If you are cycling a lot of money through any retailer solely in gift card purchases, you might draw some attention to yourself, and risk catching their ire.
With all of that said, good luck leveraging these Disney gift card hacks to save a little more money on your Walt Disney World vacation! With a little work, these strategies can be incredibly valuable and make those exorbitant prices a little more palatable. Once you learn the ropes with using these tactics for Disney, think bigger picture. There are entire blogs and websites devoted to travel hacks, including churning, manufactured spends, etc. Once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are almost endless.
Likewise, if anything sounds confusing, feel free to ask questions–everyone starts from the beginning, and my explanations as someone who has been ‘hacking’ for a while might be insufficient for walking beginners through these processes from start to finish.
Need Disney trip planning tips and comprehensive advice? Make sure to read Disney Parks Vacation Planning Guides, where you can find comprehensive guides to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond! For Disney updates, discount information, a free download of our Money-Saving Tips for Walt Disney World eBook, and much more, sign up for our free monthly newsletter!
Your Thoughts
Have you tried purchasing “discount” Disney gift cards to cut the cost of your vacation? Any other strategies you’ve used to save for a Walt Disney World trip? Questions about any of the techniques we’ve shared? We love hearing from readers, so please share some of your favorite ways to save, or any other thoughts or questions you have, in the comments!
I use the cash app with boost. It was 10% at whole foods and Krogers. At whole foods I go a 75 gift card for 67.50. And a Kroger as well I would get a 75 gift card for 67.50 and I would earn fuel point as well. You can only get 7.50 of every hour. I work at whole foods so I was able to just a go buy a gift card every hour on the hour. Cash app changes the boost every few weeks. But u can start buying a gift card every week or so. The currently don’t have Kroger right now and wholes foods is now only 5%
Several retailers now will not allow using gift cards to purchase other gift cards – it’s historically been a common way to launder money, and because anti-money laundering laws are becoming increasingly stringent, retailers are trying to crack down in order to comply.
target took away my favorite hack last year… i used to collect the target gift cards they give away with various purchases (purchase 3 body washes, get a $5 target gift card, buy 2 boxes of diapers, get a $10 target gift card). all things our family used, so i wasn’t spending money i wouldn’t be spending anyway. when i’d get $50 worth of target gift cards, i’d use them to buy disney gift cards. disney and movie theater gift cards were “entertainment” and you were allowed to purchase with target gift cards without a problem. i did this for at least 5 or 6 years. then suddenly last summer i went to purchase disney gift cards before a trip and found out they had stopped allowing this a couple months before. my free disney money was sadly no more 🙁
I highly suggest you edit the section that suggests purchasing Target gift cards on Raise. I purchased $800 in gift cards only to find out you CANNOT use them to purchase another gift card. That should be stated at the beginning of that paragraph so thats its clear.
The Shopkick app offers the Disney Gift Card as a reward option! 6,250 “kicks” gets you $25 and 12,500 “kicks” gets you $50. This is my favorite app because it’s so easy to get points as long as you remember to use it when you’re in the store!
Tom you should try shopkick for FREE disney gift cards. You earn “kicks” which are points multiple ways. Then convert your points, or kicks to Disney gift cards. You can earn kicks simply by walking into certain stores. Earn more kicks by scanning the bar code on select items in the store. Earn even more kicks by purchasing those items. You can even earn kicks with online purchases!
Don’t forget to check BJ’s. They run an 8% special about once or twice a year.
It appears that Target only gives the 5% discount if you actually USE the RedCard. I signed in with RedCard, put the Disney cards in my cart and immediately saw the 5% discount…but when I changed the payment method to a different card, the 5% discount disappeared.
I just blew $200 on Target gift cards on raise. Please edit this post. You CANNOT USE TARGET GIFT CARDS to purchase Disney gift cards on Target.com even if you have a Red Card, it will apply it directly to your red card.
American Express is offering $15 cash back off $50 at sams club. Buy gift cards from sams club through ebates to save more. Added offer on mine and my husbands card :>)
Yes this is true. They should correct this. U can use target to bug most restaurant gift card while Your in store if that he’lp
This spring Target changed their policy on using giftcards to purchase giftcards on the website as well as in store. You can still use the Target redcard to get 5%.
I used my Chase Freedom card at Safeway to buy my Disney gift cards. While not technically a direct discount, you do get 5% back as ultimate rewards points that can go towards travel.
As a frugal spender and a 10 years of retail management under my belt- I absolutely love how you phrased one of the last paragraphs. That some of these aren’t specifically against policy (and might create a policy – for Target and those cancelled purchases?) but that no business wants to lose money like this. I’ve never seen someone give such a great warning! You can do it, but if you do it for hundreds or thousands of dollars you’re going to catch their attention and possibly create an issue! Thanks for giving this insight to others, sometimes its really hard to explain that even though something isn’t against a policy, there are probably still some common sense limits that one would benefit from using!
In my area, CLT NC you cannot purchase any gift cards, including Disney, at Target with a Target gift card. I’ve been told a number of times it’s due to fraud 🙁
No dice on using a Target gift card on Target.com: ” please review these errors
Sorry, you can’t use a Target GiftCard to purchase this type of card. Please choose another payment method.”
Discovercard is offering 5% cashback at wholesale clubs through March 31st. Bjs discounts it’s giftcards by 4% and I ordered through ebates for 1% which I may or may not get. Total savings 9 to 10% on $1500.
we have a sam’s club membership (we get $10 back for every $500 we spend) and we use our cashback credit card to get extra cashback. I’ve hooked our card up to the DOSH app which gives us 2% back on sam’s club. You can only get back $20.00 every 24 hours with Dosh so we only buy $1000 worth of cards at a time. We’ve bought $2000 in cards and gotten back $40.00 from dosh and gotten $40 in cashback rewards from sams. They’ve recently raised the price of the $500 cards at sam’s to $489.98 which actually makes getting 7 of the $150 cards @$144.98 a better deal (You get $1050 in giftcards for $1015)
The Sam’s Club $10 Cash back/$500 does not apply for gift cards. I just found out myself. I was wondering why my cash back wasn’t adding up, but if you read the fine print you will see they don’t qualify
I have looked at raise.com but it only has a 2 star rating and it looks like it’s a scam.
Where do you see that raise.com only has a 2-star rating? I’ve used them dozens of times for various gift cards, and only had an issue once. Once I reported the balance discrepancy, they refunded my money within 48 hours.
I have been using Raise for years as well as Cardpool for many places. Both have been great, and are quite reputable.
I too have been using Raise for years. Back in the target churning days…Today we still use raise to save on our Disney trips. We purchase walmart gift cards during the rasie promos and get up to 7% off then use the walmart giftcard to purchase disney giftcards from samsclub.com (now with free shipping).
I’m so afraid to use raise.com. They have so many negative reviews and the people are saying it’s a scam.
I just used raise.com and cardcash.com to fund my flight with no issues. I bought Southwest gift cards at 7%- 10% off each ($50- $250 gift card). They both have a referral program to get $5 when you “refer a friend” and they make a qualified purchase. I sent it to my mom, husband, and 4 office friends (they are the best). I saved even more! They all bought Southwest gift cards, and I gave them cash/ check for the amounts they purchased.
I got $60 in referral credits and they each got $5 off of both websites. That’s another $60. I got $120 off on top of saving 7-10% . My flight would have cost me $1088 to fly round trip for 5 and I paid roughly $870. If I just used the website discounts it would have been almost $100 which isn’t bad. I highly recommend both raise.com and cardcash.com
Did you use raise.com with Target to purchase the Disney gift cards?
I will be going on a Disney Cruise this spring. How much do you recommend one needs to bring for the trip? I will be going with my wife and three kids (all under 13 years of age). We want to have fun but be frugal at the same time. Any recommendations on things worth spending and what not to purchase? I’ve been told one can have a lot of fun on the cruise just enjoying all the inclusive activities and events.
Thank you for your insight. We are very excited to be going for the first time!
Im so excited for you all! We will be sailing next spring and I can’t wait! So, on our first Disney cruise in 2013 I only brought about $300 for spending money for the 4 of us as I was on a very strict budget. That was outside of the cost for excursions and gratuities. We bought a couple souvenirs, spent an arm and a leg on a meal at Atlantis that was decent and I had a couple mixed drinks on the ship. Otherwise there wasn’t a lot we needed to spend for. All depends on how much you want to spend really. There will be photo ops, those cost a lot or you can just take your own shots here n there. I did purchase several of our Disney photos, spent around $85 on those. There are shops on the ship and then shops in ports. Maybe check out Facebook and see if your cruise has a group set up, just type your ship name and date into the search bar. People also do a game called fish extenders where they exchange gifts all cruise once a day and leave them outside the cabin door, they have meet n greets.
I’m sure your family will have a blast! Remember the sunscreen, don’t pack too many outfits, and most of all just enjoy!!
We did a cruise recently and spent $0 (except for tips and the wine package). It was a 4-night so we skipped excursions and spent nothing on souvenirs on ship. I bought souvenirs in advance. We had a fantastic time. DCL really is pretty much all inclusive.
I agree with Reece. I have done this as well at Walmart and also at Target. It’s a great way to stack savings!