Anyone have Southwest. Visa AND Disney Visa?

[DisFans4]

We currently have the Southwest Visa that has a $99 annual fee. We got a lot of points just for signing up and spending the required initial amount within the timeframe to get a lot of points. (I think I was get 50,000 for spending $3000 in the first 3 months). We charge everything and pay it off each month.

Does anyone have both the Southwest card (to get free airfare) and also the Dis Visa? I think there is a annual fee for that card too,which is why we hesitate to do it.

Anyone think it is worth it to have both?

 

[Jaime4004]

We currently have the Southwest Visa that has a $99 annual fee. We got a lot of points just for signing up and spending the required initial amount within the timeframe to get a lot of points. (I think I was get 50,000 for spending $3000 in the first 3 months). We charge everything and pay it off each month.

Does anyone have both the Southwest card (to get free airfare) and also the Dis Visa? I think there is a annual fee for that card too,which is why we hesitate to do it.

Anyone think it is worth it to have both?

We have both! Actually the only two credit cards we do have. I have a few bills that are automatically put on SW CC. And usually groceries and gas. We use the disney mostly for everything else. It's nice to have a few extra disney $ when we go. And we have tons of SW points currently, don't fly often but will probably have enough for the 5 flights we need when flying next April.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

We have both, but use the Southwest card a lot more. We had the Disney Visa first. We don't pay an annual fee on that one. We only put my husband's business expenses on the Disney Visa so it's a nice way to separate those things and get a little reward at the same time. We maybe accumulate $50 in Disney Reward dollars a year. We get a ton of points on the Southwest card (we did the 50,000 promo last year and we flew to Disney last year for "free", my husband went to TX for a funeral, and took his brother on points for a snowboarding trip to Colorado). We already have enough points for our roundtrip flights to FL in September and are hoping we have enough points to go to Las Vegas or Lake Tahoe for Christmas (point usage during this time is crazy high, obviously). It's nice to have the points there in case we have to take a flight we weren't planning on (like the funeral) and not have to touch savings so it's more important to me to use that card than our Disney one.

 

[Lisa0620]

We have both, but use the Southwest card a lot more. We had the Disney Visa first. We don't pay an annual fee on that one.

Ditto, I'm just keeping the Disney card for charging trips and getting first crack at free dining, etc. We put EVERYTHING on the SW card, I love it.

 

[scottmel]

I have SW, Disney and Chase Rewards and Rewards is far better deal. Great bonus categories where you earn 5% back instead of Disney 1%. I use SW for my internet shopping but have never paid an annual fee. I cancel, then they offer me a great deal to sign up again so I do....I don't use Disney much b/c rewards are lousy but it is nice for tour discounts, early booking sometimes etc.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

We do.

 

[Lucille1963]

My husband and I each have our own SW Visa, I have an additional SW Visa for my business and we both have Disney cards too.

 

[MomToOne]

I have Disney Visa for free dining and store discounts, Southwest for the signup bonus, United for free bag check/early boarding (I tend to fly them most), Chase Freedom as my day-to-day best rewards card, and a Visa from my credit union because they don't charge a foreign transaction charge.

You can get a version of the Disney Visa with no annual fee - that's the one I have. The annual fee one isn't worth it to me - I get better, more flexible rewards (i.e. cash) with other cards.

 

[cepmom]

we have both cards as well...primarily use the SW Visa for everything though, and only the Disney Visa when it's required to get a special discount (free dining promo etc) For us the SW is better because we accumulate enough points every year for DH to be an A-list preferred member and we are able to get enough points get a companion pass every year, which allows me to fly free (meaning no points used) with DH anywhere SW flies to. We've had so many free flights thanks to SW that I lost count...I think the last flight I paid for was in 2008 maybe :

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We have both but our SW card is only $59/yr. We earn a 1way seat to MCO probably every other month.
Our Disney card is no annual fee. We like it for the 0% for 6 mos for cruises & WDW packages. It's a great deal.

We just got the Capital One Venture card for our Med cruise. It's no annual fee and no international transaction fees.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I have both and DH has SW visa. His is for business expenses so we get points. My SW visa is for everything I can possibly charge so we pet points. We fly a lot so this really saves us money. I only use dis visa for Disney, pretty much, so I end up getting about $50 gift card for our trip each year from that. The SW points add up much faster, DVisa is only 1% back. The premier DVisa has a fee, the older one does not. Hth!

 

[leebee]

DH and I are both on one Disney VISA account, he has one in his name with DD19 as the second person on the account (it's "her" credit card for college expenses, incidentals, etc. but in his name as 18 year olds can't get decent credit) and DH and I each have a SW VISA. We each got 50000 rr points last year, and again this year when we each opened new accounts. Other than using the SW card to get the points (had to spend $2K in the first two months, we use the Disney VISA for everything, as long as there's no fee attached (we can't use if for DD's tuition as that has a 3% service charge) and pay it off every month. We go to Disney about every other year, and I usually have $850-$1200 in rewards on the Disney card. We only stay at values or offsite, so it's like getting our vacation paid for. Yes, other cards give better rewards, but this card dedicates the rewards to Disney. It's MUCH easier to talk DH, who is not the biggest Disney fan, into letting DD and me go to WDW if it's basically "free!"

 

[ValpoCory]

We charge everything and pay it off each month.

I've noticed a lot of posters include this disclaimer on credit card threads. Why? Is this due to a fear of being judged? It's cool with me if you get some free flights while working off your debt at a pace you are comfortable with. I mean we're on a Budget Board. We're not talking about about opening a credit card to get the perks only to get more credit to go further into debt. Even then, I wouldn't judge you for doing it. It's your life, and I am in no position to tell you what to do. I like a world with people judging other people less.

 

[lizzi6692]

I've noticed a lot of posters include this disclaimer on credit card threads. Why? Is this due to a fear of being judged? It's cool with me if you get some free flights while working off your debt at a pace you are comfortable with. I mean we're on a Budget Board. We're not talking about about opening a credit card to get the perks only to get more credit to go further into debt. Even then, I wouldn't judge you for doing it. It's your life, and I am in no position to tell you what to do. I like a world with people judging other people less.

I completely agree with this. Also, you don't build credit by paying in full every month, contrary to what many people think.

 

[MinnieForMe]

We have both. If you are looking to get the best bang for your buck. It is NOT the Disney visa. If I were in the market, I'd look for the best sign up reward I could find which is usually the Chase Sapphire (40k points which is worth more if you use it for travel through their portal- you can even transfer it to Southwest points or simply take it as a $400 statement credit if you really needed Disney money).

 

[MomToOne]

I completely agree with this. Also, you don't build credit by paying in full every month, contrary to what many people think.

This is completely incorrect. You DO build credit paying off every month - usually very good credit. One of the items that matters most for your credit score is your debt to available credit ratio. If it is low, it's good, and your score will be higher. Even if you carry a $0 balance, as long as the account is open and active, it helps your ratio and that in turn helps your score.

(Also, people need to know that the credit cards still report the outstanding balance on your card before you make your payment that month - whether you pay off 100% of the balance, or 10% of that, the outstanding balance reported is the same.)

Now, that said, you may not be a customer the credit card companies are looking for, but that is totally different than not having good credit.

 

[Psychodisney]

I think the reason people say they pay it off if just to make the point that you can use it like cash/debit and reap the benefits (points, miles, etc) of the card.

 

[leebee]

I've noticed a lot of posters include this disclaimer on credit card threads. Why? Is this due to a fear of being judged? It's cool with me if you get some free flights while working off your debt at a pace you are comfortable with. I mean we're on a Budget Board. We're not talking about about opening a credit card to get the perks only to get more credit to go further into debt. Even then, I wouldn't judge you for doing it. It's your life, and I am in no position to tell you what to do. I like a world with people judging other people less.

I mention paying it off every month because I don't want to wade through the 87 posts that will follow, reminding me that if I don't pay it off, the interest paid to get the points will negate any savings that the points represent, how irresponsible it is to have credit card debt, and that I'd better read Dave Ramsey NOW. Many people on this board think credit card debt is just about the most terrible thing that could happen to someone and aren't shy about commenting on this.

Regarding having multiple credit card accounts, it does NOT help your credit score to have lots of accounts, and if you are applying for a car loan or house loan it will actually hurt you, as it decreases your debt to value ratio (or is that increases... inverse relationships get twisted in my brain!). When you apply for a loan, they look at those credit card accounts as potential balances against you, even if they have a zero balance. Buying something and paying it off over time actually HELPS your credit worthiness. Banks look to see that you have been able to make a financial commitment and pay it off regularly, over time. THAT helps your credit rating.

 

[MomToOne]

Regarding having multiple credit card accounts, it does NOT help your credit score to have lots of accounts, and if you are applying for a car loan or house loan it will actually hurt you, as it decreases your debt to value ratio (or is that increases... inverse relationships get twisted in my brain!). When you apply for a loan, they look at those credit card accounts as potential balances against you, even if they have a zero balance.

Having multiple credit card accounts does actually help your credit score slightly. The reason it does is that it signifies more creditors have found you worthy of credit. Initially when you open a new credit card, you score may drop slightly because it will bring down the average age of your accounts, but over time as the accounts age, you get a slight boost from having more accounts open.

And as I said before, one of the things that matters the most to your credit score is your credit usage ratio. Multiple accounts can often make it easier to get a better ratio IF you use the accounts only lightly and pay them off each month, because you can get a larger total credit line. (It can sometimes be easier to get 4 cards with a $2500 limit on each rather than a single card with a $10,000 limit.)

But as you said, when it comes to getting a home loan or car loan, then credit score is only one part of the equation. Depending on other items, banks can get squeamish if you have too much open credit. But that can be on multiple cards, or on a single card - they care about the amount of open credit that could potentially be abused, not the number of cards it is on. And, the higher the credit score you have, the less squeamish they will be about it all. I have credit limits on my credit cards almost equal to my annual salary, and have never had a problem getting a car loan and just recently refinanced my mortgage without the bank blinking an eye. If they had had a problem, however, all I would have had to do to make them feel better would be to quickly close some accounts (which wouldn't have been a problem, since I don't carry a balance).

There is no one size fits all answer. Credit is neither good, nor bad - how you use it is the important thing. People need to stop trying to put the fear into others over the fact that they are considering holding multiple credit cards, if they use that credit responsibly.

CreditKarma has a good credit score simulator that you can enter different things like closing a credit card, adding a new credit card, increasing the limit on a card, etc and you can see how it will affect your credit score. It's free, and an interesting tool to play around with if you have any questions about how changes will impact your score.

 

[VLee]

We have both and use the SW Visa almost constantly for everyday expenses and pay it off by the month. We have earned the Companion Pass for the last 3 years and have used the SW points to make our air reservations. I love points because I can sometimes make multiple reservations--taking advantage of good deals-- until we are 100% sure of our plans and then cancel the flights that I do not need. And those points are returned to my account without penalty. At present,we have the CP and at least 200,000 pts in the account.

I only use the Disney Visa when they offer discounts or bonus dollars for spending a certain amount each month.