How I Saved Over 13% on my Disney Cruise

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I am a big Disney fan, but most recently I have become a HUGE Disney Cruise fan. My first cruise ever was a Disney Alaskan Cruise for seven nights, and I adored it.

Even though I genuinely believe that a Disney Cruise is worth every single penny, I still love saving a buck or two whenever I can. This blog post will help you save money on your Disney Cruise.

Looking for the perfect Disney Cruise for your family? Find out which is the best Disney Cruise Ship.

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Discover It, Credit Card

There are many ways to save money on Gift Cards to spend at Disney, but recently my favorite has been through a promotion with my Discover It card and BJs Warehouse.

If you are a Discover It customer (if not use my referral link here to get $50 statement credit) you have good news from January 2018-March 2018, and October 2018-December 2018. You will earn 5% cashback on wholesale clubs (BJs Warehouse, Sam’s Clubs, and Costco) for six months of the year in 2018!

And if you are a new credit card holder, you will receive a double cashback bonus at the end of your sign up year.

If you are a new credit card holder and max out both quarters ($1,500 per quarter), you are looking at saving $300 this year alone.

Warehouse Clubs and Target

Looking to save even more?

Warehouse clubs (BJ’s Warehouse and Sam’s Club) sell Disney Gift cards from 4-6% off.

I typically purchase my gift cards through BJ’s online site. I do this because guests do not need a membership to shop online and depending on which gift card you are buying, you can get free shipping.

Even though I used to be a member of Sam’s Club, I’m no longer, but at the time of this writing, you could save 4% on the $500 e-gift card. The benefit of purchasing this is that the gift card comes automatically, and you can spend less time combining small denomination gift cards.

If you have a Target Credit Card, you can always save 5% in-store and online on the gift cards. If you plan on purchasing in-store, make sure there isn’t a limit at your local store.

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My Method To Save Money on Disney Cruises

This January, I grabbed my Discover It Card and went straight over to BJs and purchased 16 $100 Disney Gift Cards.

I spent only $1535.84 on gift cards that were worth $1,600 (4% savings). Then I earned 10% cash back on the $1535.84 which saved me an extra 153.58. Overall I spent only $1,382.26 for $1,6000 for Disney Gift Cards for my Disney Cruise – and overall savings of 13.6%.

How Do I Pay with all These Gift Cards

I book my Disney Cruise through Sunset Chasers Travel Agency and I’m always in constant contact with my travel agent. Since I have many gift cards lying around my house, I head on over to DisneyGiftCard.com and combine up to $1000 into one gift card.

Combining all the gift cards makes it easier for both my travel agent and myself. First, I only have to send the travel agent about five gift cards instead of all of the different smaller denominations. Second, even though I keep all the gift cards until the cruise is over, just in case something happens, I have the gift cards I need in case I need a refund. Third, any extra funds, I can keep on the gift card and use it for onboard spending.

Why Purchase Gift Cards

Even though I haven’t been to Disney World since 2012 and Disneyland since 2014, purchasing gift cards is a smart idea to stretch your dollar. You can use the gift cards to buy almost anything Disney related including hotels, park tickets, and meals.

Mainly for the cruise, I found the gift cards to come in handy to pay for our cabin, port adventures, tips, Palo, and any extras I incur.

Final Tips

I treat my credit cards like debit cards meaning that I pay everything off every month. I do not recommend purchasing the gift cards if you do not have enough cash flow to pay off the gift cards right away.

In order to pay off my credit card build, I set up a separate savings vacation fund and I automatically move a small sum into that fund for each paycheck. That way, when it is time to buy $1,500 worth of gift cards I can easily pay off my credit card statement at the end of the month.

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