Convince me the Disney Visa is worth it...

[agavegirl1]

Oh my goodness! I put my cell phone bil, utility bill and used it exclusively for purchases for merely 20 months prior to my last trip. I had the (whatever they call it) premium card that had an annual fee and still came out over $600 ahead. I used those points exclusively for dining and purchases for the first 5 days of a nine day trip.

 

[dottybean]

The rewards percentage, especially on the no-fee card, is not good. As others have said there are much better rewards cards out there. However, I keep the no-fee Disney card mostly for the in-park perks and have used it to book my trip when discounts are offered to Disney Visa holders before the general public. (You only have to pay the deposit with the Disney Visa to book the discount, and can pay the balance via another method.)

If you want a way to "force" yourself to save for a Disney trip the card might be a good option for you, but if you are looking for a good return in rewards dollars there are much better options out there. My go-to card is the AmEx Blue Cash Everyday - 3% back on groceries up to $6,000/year, 2% back on gas & select department stores, & 1% on all other purchases. I will probably upgrade to the one with an annual fee once I cash out my rewards dollars. The fee version ($75 fee) gets 6% back on up to $6,000/year in groceries, 3% back on gas/department stores, & 1% on all other purchases.

I was just looking at the Amex site. It says "cash back is received in the form of reward dollars that can be redeemed as statement credit." I'm looking for a card that I can use to cash out for gift cards (preferably target cards) will this one work that way?

 

[Marionnette]

I was just looking at the Amex site. It says "cash back is received in the form of reward dollars that can be redeemed as statement credit." I'm looking for a card that I can use to cash out for gift cards (preferably target cards) will this one work that way?

You could buy Target GCs with the card and then use the statement credit to cover the purchase,

 

[dizkids]

The 1% is not great at all.
I miss the 5x bonus days.

 

[msb578]

only worth it for free 6 month financing. If you book a WDW vacation package or Disney cruise or buy DVC points you get 6 mths free financing for each payment.

This has been a great benefit for us. I know most people say don't ever pay that way, but it's worked out well.

 

[lauriem7a]

I just signed up for the Premier card. If you go through the disney site here you get a $200 statement credit, assuming you can spend 500 bucks in 3 months:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/v...s://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/

Between the $200 (minus $50 annual fee) & the Star Wars Imperial meet & greet, it was worth it for me

 

[btk2333]

I was just looking at the Amex site. It says "cash back is received in the form of reward dollars that can be redeemed as statement credit." I'm looking for a card that I can use to cash out for gift cards (preferably target cards) will this one work that way?

Just out of curiosity why? Why wouldn't you just buy the gift card and then redeem the cash back towards the purchase?

 

[castle1]

Can this card be used for snacks/quick service or just in restaurants in the parks?

 

[DLgal]

Can this card be used for snacks/quick service or just in restaurants in the parks?

The credit card? It can be used anywhere that takes credit cards. Most everywhere at WDW does.

 

[castle1]

The credit card? It can be used anywhere that takes credit cards. Most everywhere at WDW does.

Sorry...I meant the reward card that you get when you redeem your points.

 

[gagirldawg95]

The reward card functions basically like a Disney gift card. You can use it anywhere at the parks, in Disney hotels and for tix, etc.

We have a premiere disney visa and I charge all groceries, restaurants and gas on it (plus Target) and all Disney expenses. We get 2% for those purchases. It carries a lousy interest rate, but we pay it off each month, so that's irrelevant. I agree with other posters than it's not the best reward card. But I enjoy having the castle on the front, and I always have a use for the rewards at WDW. And the photo perks and early notice of hotel discounts is nice. I can't get quite as excited about straight cash rewards, though cards that offer it are undoubtedly a better "deal."

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

Depends on your expectations. We wanted a Disney card because we wanted a Disney card. We do like the free picture too!

 

[Brer Shay]

I like the card. Yes, there are other "better" rewards cards out there, but I still use my Disney Visa for nearly everything. It puts what I consider to be "found money" into forced Disney savings. The Premier card which has an annual fee of $49-$69 gives 2%. I charge my full vacation, making note of when my statement closing date is, so that I can get the reward card to take on our trip. You can order a card once you have $20 to put on it and it is reloadable. The rewards card can be used nearly everywhere as a gift card in the parks, hotels, and most of Downtown Disney or to pay off room charges when you stay onsite. On our last trip (2 adults/7 days), we covered all our on site costs with the rewards card except for roughly $30.

I also love seeing the castle every time I take out the card.

 

[havaneselover]

I really don't care about the image on my card. It's all about maximizing savings for me. But capital one allows you to upload images so if you want to see the castle when you pull your card out, you could use a photo from a family vacation.

 

[btk2333]

I like the card. Yes, there are other "better" rewards cards out there, but I still use my Disney Visa for nearly everything. It puts what I consider to be "found money" into forced Disney savings. The Premier card which has an annual fee of $49-$69 gives 2%. I charge my full vacation, making note of when my statement closing date is, so that I can get the reward card to take on our trip. You can order a card once you have $20 to put on it and it is reloadable. The rewards card can be used nearly everywhere as a gift card in the parks, hotels, and most of Downtown Disney or to pay off room charges when you stay onsite. On our last trip (2 adults/7 days), we covered all our on site costs with the rewards card except for roughly $30.

I also love seeing the castle every time I take out the card.

wouldn't you prefer to have a 2% cash back card that has no annual fee and you could use to pay for anything including everything mentioned above but if you hit a hard time at work or an unexpected medical expense you could use the cash back to pay for something like that instead of having it sit in Disney dollars??

 

[kool_kat]

The accountant in me is really struggling with this thread. As I stated previously, I use the Citi Double Cash which is 2% cash back no annual fee. So if you charge 10,000 = $200.00 cash back.

The same on the 2% Disney card = 200 - 49.00 annual fee (if 100% Disney purchase) = $151.00 Disney gift card. Or 100-49.00 (if using for everyday purchase) = $51.00 Disney card Why would anyone take a smaller amount Disney card over cash? If you want to save for Disney then take your 200.00 cash back and go buy a Disney gift card.

And if you want to throw the bonus $200.00 in then compare it to the Thank you rewards card where you can get a $500.00 Target gift cards which = $500 in Disney gift cards plus 3x for travel plus the first year annual fee is waived. It just doesn't make sense to not max out on the best cash back. Especially when you can convert all this to Disney gift cards which still makes it a forced Disney savings.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

only worth it for free 6 month financing. If you book a WDW vacation package or Disney cruise or buy DVC points you get 6 mths free financing for each payment.

It's good for a free photo at the EPCOT meet & greet

What they said. ^^^

I like to book at ahead and pay monthly towards the trip out of my regular monthly budget rather than pulling a chunk of money from the bank to pay in full closer to the trip. So I use the Disney visa for this purpose. Zero financing.

Secondly the free photo is nice and a short wait. Also like the Disney store discount.

Otherwise I don't use the card but it sure is pretty to look at.
My main card is the southwest visa so we fly free twice a year.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

As previous posters have stated, the perks on the card have declined significantly over the last 5 years. I have used my Disney Visa exclusively for two years, and even gotten two people to sign up with my referral cards, so I'll have about $500 for our impending trip. After our trip I intend to research off site hotels and get a card that will hopefully provide us a free hotel stay on our next Disney trip, a million years from now.

The math doesn't work, and the perks have dried up. I would research a better deal for yourself. No reason NOT to carry a Disney card for your trip for the in park perks, but I will no longer be using mine to "force save" for a trip.

Just a reminder, no card is worth the rewards if you are not paying your balance in full every month. I know that you can finance a package on the Disney card for 6 months zero percent, but not everyone wants to buy a package "deal".

 

[hsmamato2]

I like having the 'free' version in my wallet for disney trips, on the off chance I may use it for something,like a free picture (last trip the line was TOO long to bother with on multiple days, we just kept walking) but as everyone here has noted the rewards are small compared with just about any other card.

 

[Ava]

I was just looking at the Amex site. It says "cash back is received in the form of reward dollars that can be redeemed as statement credit." I'm looking for a card that I can use to cash out for gift cards (preferably target cards) will this one work that way?

You can get gift cards with the AmEx Reward Dollars, but currently Target is not one of the choices. I have a separate savings account to save for vacations, so I just take the statement credit and then transfer that amount from my checking account to my vacation account since my AmEx bill is now that much lower.