So of course you can buy Disney gift cards with your hard earned money, but why bother when you can get them for free? Sounds too good to be true? Hang in there young Padawan, you have much to learn.

There are a number of ways to do this – and every little bit helps. At writing I have nearly $1,000 in free Disney gift cards to help pay for my upcoming trip.

Utilizing Target and Walmart Promotions

First of all, there is one critical piece of information you need to know. Most stores will not let you purchase gift cards with a gift card. There are two exceptions to this rule: Target and Walmart. Both will accept their store’s gift cards as payment for a Disney gift card. Both stores offer ways to earn free gift cards.

Target often runs deals where if you make a certain purchase, you earn a $5 gift card (sometimes more). Keep these together and use them to purchase Disney gift cards. You can still get the gift cards at 5% off with your Red card (Target’s credit and debit card program) if you purchase online, even while paying for your Disney gift card 100% with Target gift cards. You may need to back out of the purchase, and go back in, but the system will apply the 5% discount. To keep track of these Target gift card promotions check out Totally Target.

Walmart has an app called Savings Catcher that when you scan your Walmart receipt the app will give you cashback in the form of a gift card, if their competitor has a better price. Turn this cashback into Disney gift cards. This is less of a deal since there is no discount available on Disney gift cards purchased at Walmart, but it’s an option.

It is also important to note that both Target and Walmart have liberal return policies, where receipts are not needed. This is a great way to offload unwanted gifts for store credit, which can then be converted to Disney Gift Cards. (Please note: There is a limit on the cash amount of returns you can do at each store per calendar year as a theft prevention measure.)

Earn Gift Cards through Swagbucks

I have a love/hate relationship with Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a cashback program, and so much more. You can earn Swagbucks by doing daily tasks, looking at marketing material, and answering surveys. They also hand out rewards by signing up for offers. One Swagbuck is equal to a penny. Some Swagbucks are very easy to earn like answering the daily question, and others are more difficult. Some surveys are easy, and many more take forever, time out or fail to reward you. Since I work in marketing, I fail to qualify for most surveys, but others love it.

These Swagbucks can then be cashed in for gift cards, including Target gift cards, which can then be flipped into Disney gift cards as explained above. I’ve earned around $200 to date with Swagbucks through cashback, daily tasks and surveys.

Disney Movie Rewards

Have Disney movies lying around? Check the jackets for Disney Movie Rewards code. These prized codes can be inputted and “cashed in” for all sorts of merchandise and prizes, but my favorite? Disney gift cards! They are a hot ticket item, and often sell out so take advantage when you can.

Ticket stubs from Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and other Disney “family” movies can also be cashed in for points.

Movie reward codes can also be obtained for absolutely free on occasion with free giveaway codes worth anywhere from 5-50 points each. Twice a month you can earn free points via a Facebook quiz, and on your birthday they send a code with 100 points.

Each $10 gift card at writing is 1100 points, with a maximum of four $10 gift cards cashed out over the lifetime of the account. So open one yourself, and then have your spouse open another.

PLEASE NOTE: Digital movie rewards are attached to the digital file account, and thus should be kept together in one account to have access in a Disney Movies Anywhere.

Get a Disney Visa Card

The overall rate of return (1-2%) on Disney Visa Cards pretty much sucks, you’re much better off with a cashback card. That said, new members get a $50 Disney gift card bonus when you spend $500 in the first three months (or a 10% return). That makes it worth it. If you have a friend with a Disney Visa card (and chances are pretty good that you do) they may be able to give you a referral which bumps that $50 up to $200 for the same spend. That’s an amazing return for any card. This offer also often appears in your Disney account after you make your reservation. There are a few more perks to the card you can take advantage of on your Disney vacation, so it’s a card worth having.

Win Disney Gift Cards

That’s right, WIN them. A simple search on Twitter for “win Disney gift card” always returns several options – many with low amounts, but also low entries, which increases your chances of winning. I do this daily and have won several times – totaling $140.