Disney credit card vs Airline credit card?

[Tech4444]

I'm not sure where to post this but I am weighing our options on what credit card to take advantage of the rewards. We have always done the Disney credit card but now with flights being so expensive we are thinking of making the switch to an airline card. What do you fellow Disney goers prefer?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Having a Disney card just for discounts is fine but there are so many good rewards cards that cover airline and hotel that actually using the Disney card save at discount time? Meh.

Chase Sapphire series is very good.

 

[SLThomas318]

We have a Disney card, but we've pretty much only used it to do the 6 months 0% when we add on points. Our regular every day card has a good cash back % with no limits. Best advice is to shop around. We were mainly flying frontier for awhile so we got their card to get the initial bonus miles, but have found using them is still costly because we need to add bags/seats (have little kids so we prefer to book seats) and you can't use points for those purchases.

 

[Tech4444]

Im leaning towards a Southwest card for the "Initial Bonus" and then go from there.

 

[SLThomas318]

Southwest stopped flying direct from our airport

 

[CarolMN]

Seems a better fit for Budget Board. Moving it there.

 

[DLgal]

Get a Chase Sapphire card instead. The Reserve if you qualify for it and travel a lot. Otherwise get the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

 

[kathy884]

I've heard great things about the Chase Sapphire cards, but never got one of those or looked into that. I see them mentioned at the top of lots of places that review travel credit cards. Southwest usually makes the list too of one of the better cards, but those Chase Sapphire cards are almost always listed at the top.

I really don't do all that much travel -- next year for example two vacations where I'm flying and one little get-a-way long weekend where I'm flying and that's it and is pretty typical for me. And two out of three of those are Southwest (one is a rare international trip -- more like once in a lifetime vs. regular travel for me). I tend to stay in the good ole USA mostly. Southwest is by far the largest carrier out of our home airport and in so many markets are really the only good choice for me.

I have a Southwest card and love it. What I especially love about the points are that I can make reservations with points for family members who aren't sure they will be able to travel way in advance with good deals and get all my points back if they cancel out. We for example are doing a family reunion in Sedona, AZ next year (flying in and out of Phoenix) and I used my points to get tickets for my 85 year old dad who wants to come, but wants the option to back out if he's not up to it. I also used points for my son's boyfriend who really wants to come too, but isn't sure he'll be able to swing it with work / school schedule. So I booked flights with good deals for amount of points used and I can cancel even just a day before and get the points back and points can be used for anyone unlike travel funds. Love, Love, Love my Southwest card.

It's super easy to book with points and use points.

 

[Tech4444]

We are officially going to switch to the southwest card. Thank you for the great review on it.

 

[_19disnA]

Any of the 'which credit card should I get?' questions depend on your spending habits, where you typically fly to/from and how long the credits are good. Having several different airline cards doesn't make a lot of sense since you likely will never accumulate enough points to be of any value. If you typically fly out of one of the airline hub airports, then their card probably makes more sense, but you still need to be a frequent traveler and spend enough on purchases for the math to work.

 

[Tech4444]

We use 1 card for all of our purchases to accumulate points for travel. As I said at the beginning I am considering switching from Disney Chase to Southwest. The Disney Chase is ok but having flights paid for would also be great.

 

[kathy884]

I know where you are coming from Tech4444. I heard on the news that airline fares in September are up 43% from a year ago.

Flights from St. Louis to Phoenix I booked for June of next year were 10% higher than I had budgeted, and flights from Midway Chicago to Phoenix were about 30% more than I budgeted. I was flying out five people and nice for me, five of the ten legs of travel I was able to book with my Southwest points I had accumulated, meaning I didn't have to up my travel budget.

Our flights to Orlando this past March were quite a bit higher than I've had to pay in the past too. I got a deal though for some February flights from St. Louis to Tampa for next year (Just $126 each way and booked one way with Southwest points).

Flights in general have just gone up a whole lot more than even general inflation.

Enjoy some airfare travel savings with your new card if you switch!

 

[Best Aunt]

The problem with using a specific airline's credit card is that depending on your local airport, you don't know what flights will be taken away.

If you live near an airline's big hub, then this might not be a problem.

If you live near a smaller airport which is not an airline's hub, you might find that suddenly the airline decides that it no longer wants to offer nonstop flights to MCO, for example, even though it has offered those flights for decades. That leaves you sitting on a bunch of frequent flyer miles which you can't use to get to your desired destination, or you can't use unless you connect through an airport which is not even close to being between your home and your desired destination.

 

[lorimt]

I have the Southwest card and love it but we are in Dallas so SW flies to most of our destinations. They offer frequent bonus points offers and we have been able to fly free a lot this year due to those. I recently got the Disney Visa and so far I’m underwhelmed. Will use it for our trip coming up and will probably cancel after that. It just doesn’t have enough perks.

 

[seashoreCM]

With an airline card you need to compare the points price for the flight with the cash price for the same (or comparable alternative) flight. These prices can vary separately from week to week or even on certain days.

 

[DCLMP]

Which airline has the best prices from your airport? I do not get the love for Southwest they have the worst awards program.

 

[MillauFr]

You are generally better off getting one of the 2% cash back credit cards. Redeeming the airline points is generally only a good deal for international first and business class tickets

 

[DisneyTexan]

With an airline card you need to compare the points price for the flight with the cash price for the same (or comparable alternative) flight. These prices can vary separately from week to week or even on certain days.

This isn't an issue with Southwest. The cash price and points price are directly proportional for each ticket. There aren't any fixed "25,000 point US ticket awards" or anything like that.

 

[EACarlson]

We use 1 card for all of our purchases to accumulate points for travel. As I said at the beginning I am considering switching from Disney Chase to Southwest. The Disney Chase is ok but having flights paid for would also be great.

Look closely at the Sapphire cards. You can transfer the points to a number of travel programs including Southwest and Hyatt. I have a trip to FL planned for January that I am paying flights and hotel with points transferred from my Sapphire Preferred.

With an airline card you need to compare the points price for the flight with the cash price for the same (or comparable alternative) flight. These prices can vary separately from week to week or even on certain days.

Not with Southwest, it's a very narrow band of 1.2 to 1.6 cents per point. When I've used Delta points I've seen from 0.7 to 3.4 cents per point.

 

[evedein]

Im leaning towards a Southwest card for the "Initial Bonus" and then go from there.

I'm also interested in South West for their "initial bonus". I'm trying to find more info. I've heard that the Bonus changes frequently. Any insight into when is the best time to apply or hints on how best to use their perks would be apprerciated.