It's taken me more than 15 years to start spending this $200...

[thistlechaser]

Long, long ago, Discover was running a promotion: Sign up for a credit card, and get a free GPS for your car. (This was well before cellphone apps.) "Great!" I said. "Sign me up!" As soon as I got the GPS, I canceled the credit card.

The Discover ran another promotion: Sign up for a credit card, and get a $200 Disney gift card. "Great!" I said. "Sign me up!" As soon as I got the gift card, I canceled the credit card.

Sometime soon after that I learned that opening and closing credit cards like that could hurt your credit score, so I stopped doing it. But I got a GPS and big gift card out of it, and my credit score is outstanding now, so no harm done.

The problem was, it was a Disney-only gift card. Now and again I went into a Disney store and checked the online store, but there was never anything I really wanted. Then one year I decided to just give it away, but that seemed like too much trouble (same with using one of those giftcard exchange sites), so I tossed it into a drawer.

I've really, really been liking this new The Lion Guard show, and what better way to show my support of it than buying merchandise of it? So I decided to buy this set. To be honest, I wouldn't have bought it if not for the card. I only want two of the figures out of it, and it doesn't look as well made as it might be, but... free. And a test to see if a 15+ year old card would even still work (it does, yay!).

When I first got the card, I had thought I might take a trip to Disney and use it there, but that never came to be. Hopefully more Lion Guards items will be added though, and I'll be able to keep chipping away at the balance.

Comments

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

You could always resell the characters you don't want on ebay or something (though if trading in the gift card was too much work, I guess reselling would also be LOL)

I love free stuff. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, true... on both counts. :P I need to be less lazy about selling things!

And agreed, it being free makes it all the more fun!

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

Wow. I'm surprised it is still valid after all that time. I know Amazon gift cards have an expiry date.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Me too! Happily surprised.

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't believe the balance on that gift card has lasted so long!! You are very lucky :p

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Agreed! So happy it hadn't expired.

[twissie.livejournal.com]

Hahahhaha whaaaaaat. I'd spend that gift card so fast! XDDD

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I had thought I would too! And I tried, I just never spot anything I really, really wanted. If I had ever gone to the parks, I'm sure it would have been a very different story...