One of the ways to save money on Disney Vacations is to pay with discounted Disney Gift Cards. Currently, BJ's Wholesale Club is offering the biggest discounts on Disney Gift Cards. However, you have to be a member to get the savings. Is joining BJ's Wholesale Club worth the Discount? Remember, the gift cards are mailed for free, so you don't need to live near a BJ's to take advantage of the offer.
BJ's offers two types of memberships: The Club Card Membership ($55/year) and The Club+ Card Membership ($110/year). There is no need to get the more expensive plus membership for gift cards, so let's look at the Club Card Membership. While $55/year is the standard price, there are ways to get a discounted membership.
First, BJ's offers a discounted club card membership for medical professionals. The medical professional membership costs $25/year and comes with a $10 credit to use on your first purchase. This makes the membership $15/year after the discount. https://www.bjs.com/content?template=B&espot_main=minisite_medical
Another option is to buy the membership through Rakuten using the $20/year membership coupon and get 8% cashback. This makes the membership $18.40/year after the cashback. If you haven't joined Rakuten yet, you are missing out on free cash back or American express membership rewards. Join now with our affiliate link (www.rakuten.com/r/PHARAO54?eeid=28187)
After searching for other discounts, I found no better deals. I went with the medical professional membership discount. I had effectively paid $15/year. To answer the question of whether this cost is worth the discount on Disney Gift Cards, I need to know the discount value of the total gift cards I intend to purchase for my upcoming Disney Vacations.
Let's take a look at the current cards and discounts on BJ's website:
The highest savings percentage is on the smallest gift card denomination ($25). The lowest savings are on the highest ($500). Of course, buying the smallest means dealing with more cards, which can be a hassle. If you buy one $500 gift card, you've offset the $15 membership cost and made $12.01. I have an upcoming Disney Alaskan Cruise to pay for, so I need many $500 gift cards, which is clearly worthwhile. For $25 gift cards, you'd need to purchase 10 cards ($250) to offset the membership cost.
For us travel points and rewards enthusiasts, you might also want to add in how many points you can earn by using your travel rewards credit card and a shopping portal. I'll delve into that in another post.
Now, if you end up with many gift cards, rembemer that you can consolidate them into one card with up to $1000 on it. Just go to the Disney Gift Card Website (https://www.disneygiftcard.com/) to get this done. I always do this as it's easier to keep track of one physical card and add fewer cards to my apple wallet.
Remember, a travel agent like Adventures by Mama Doc can use your Disney Gift Cards to pay for your Disney Vacation just as you can if planning your trip on your own.
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