Disney Reward Visa - Is it worth it??

[nickmom]

Another disney visa user here. Like everyone else we pay off the balance every month. I also have monthly bills paid directly to the card and use it for everything. We use our dollars towards our annual maint fee. That is a big help for that bill that is due in Jan just after Christmas. We have been averaging about 200-250 reward dollars a year.
Carla

 

[bom_noite]

I agree with everything everyone said: BUT A WARNING (and an alternative):

I travel alot - and I mean more then you can dream of: Last year I was at 220 days in Europe. This year, I have been home 15.

I got one to earn points - and it worked! It saved TONS! One time my expense check was late - so - we paid 3 days late! The interest rate shot up to 27%. Card was immediately cancelled.

I had put 150K USD in 18 months of travel with ZERO missed payments. And, paid in FULL each month. One time, 3 days late and WHACKO! Ok, MY FAULT! But, I figured I could call and explain. Someone who racks up 150K in travel should get a break. No, not at all.

As long as you pay it off - a wonderful product - but dont EVER be late!

My Alternative: If you travel alot and spend money on hotels the most lucrative program (and their is no second) is the Holiday Inn program. They have a ton of hotels (worldwide) and many different choices (Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, HI Express, Candlewood Suites, etc.).

The bonus point structure is second to none. They always have promotions and you can find little known ones by checking flyertalk.com.

While I travel 200 days a year - the town I stay in and work in Holland has no Holiday Inn - so - to get my points I check out on weekends and drive somewhere that has a HI!

If you STUDY the program - it is a ton more lucrative then the Chase program.

 

[PIERCEDRN]

Our favorite perk, and just as valuable to us it the special Exclusive Character visit area in Innoventions next to the fire truck. Cardholders only can get a special photo session with a couple really popular characters and a coupon for a free 5x7. The Character Connection had a 45 min line, we walked up to the fairly well hidden Visa site and a WORLD FAMOUS character snuck up behind us and held my DD4's hand as we walked in with no wait at all. My kids were in heaven, we really felt like royalty with our private photo session, but we were sworn to secrecy about who's in there.
Trust me, it was one of the best parts of our last trip.
BOB

 

[culli]

Our favorite perk, and just as valuable to us it the special Exclusive Character visit area in Innoventions next to the fire truck. Cardholders only can get a special photo session with a couple really popular characters and a coupon for a free 5x7. The Character Connection had a 45 min line, we walked up to the fairly well hidden Visa site and a WORLD FAMOUS character snuck up behind us and held my DD4's hand as we walked in with no wait at all. My kids were in heaven, we really felt like royalty with our private photo session, but we were sworn to secrecy about who's in there.
Trust me, it was one of the best parts of our last trip.
BOB

And you can use it everyday if you want. We used it 3 times our last trip and got 2 of the kids (left youngest at home) DS with Mickey and DD with Minnie then a group shot 5x7. Not only the photo but you get a few minutes in a private type room with just your group - the line is outside so it is not like most character lines. Kids where going nuts as 4 or the 5 times Mickey was there and when he wasn't Minnie was there - actually 4 of the 5 times Mickey and Minnie where both there - I think the other mind have needed a potty break! We have the Disney Visa mainly for that and the disneyshopping.com free shipping and 15% off - much cheaper then buying stuff at the parks. Sometimes you can combine the VISA discount with other % off they always seem to be running. However I have not found any consistency of when I get to double dip. I really don't use it for disney rewards, I use my airline FF mile cards so I can GET TO Disney more often!!!

 

[anonymousegirl]

I agree with those who say they are better cards out there, rewards-wise. We use one cc, a Chase British Airways Visa. We pay it off each month and charge absolutely everything to it, from groceries to gas to $30,000 in new windows for our house. We even paid our re-fi costs with it. For this, we can fly to London for free each year, or save the points as we did a few years ago, and flew partner airline Qantas to Australia first class.

I did look at switching just for a year to rack up some Dis dollars, but the return on the money spent is not as good as my mileage cc, so I opted out.

The big thing is to pay it off each month and never late! Then this card may be worth it to you.

 

[MaryJ]

$50.00 on board Disney Cruise credit per room booked. We love ours. We use it for everything. We get $750.00 per year in rewards dollars.

We used our card to pay for our upcoming cruise and also received the shipboard credit. We will be using the reward $$ for trips to the spa and shore excursions! We have been saving them up for this cruise and should have close to $1000 by the time we leave.

 

[experiment818]

Why not let your money work for you and pay off every month as you still would not be carrying a balance?

True. I just look at it like paying my bills, since most of my bills are paid by the Disney Visa. So, every week or two when paying bills, I just log onto Chase and pay them off.

wow 42,900 in cash expenditures in 6 months, $7,150 per month. Would love to know if you are somehow paying a mortgage on your Disney card???

We usually earn between $300 - $400 per year in reward dollars. This has been an unusual year for us because we bought our first house. We had a lot of money in savnigs to buy everything we needed for the house. We paid for everything with the card.

No, our mortgage is one of the few bills we do not pay with our Disney Card.

 

[disneynutz]

As stated by previous posters, it is worth it for the Disney discounts and perks. We use other cards for cash back and frequent flyer credits.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We just got our Disney Visa last sept. We got it for the 6 months no interest on cruises. We used it for our deposit - got 6 months no interest plus points. Then used it to pay the balance - got another 6 months no interest. To get the $50 on board credit (in addition to any your TA is offering) you must put the entire cruise on this card.

You can also use the disney rewards towared the Disney Cruiseline bus.

 

[glennbo123]

I have a couple of other cards that offer various rewards/cash/points. Once we hit the max for the year we switch to another card and start over next year.

 

[Karenj2]

We put our DVC purchase on it!! Might as well get a few meals along with the deal, while we're at it. And, as other posters have noted, we won't be keeping a balance on the card.....(saving that for the home equity line of credit).

How many points did you buy? Were you able to pay it off immediately, or do they offer 0% financing for DVC purchases?

That'd be an AWESOME way to buy into DVC, but since I'm not a member (yet) I can't put 160 points on my CC...

 

[Ksp]

We use our disney visa mostly for regular purchases - groceries, gas, occasional clothing shopping, etc. Over the course of the year we earn enough points to pay for a dinner or two and small souvenirs while at Disney. It always feels good not to shell out more cash while at WDW!

 

[TwoGirlsandDisney]

We had the Disney card before we bought into the DVC. And we love it. We love it. We put our DVC downpayment on it, and it and earned points for it, plus it was interest free for 6 months, since it is a Disney purchase. Now we put our annual dues on it too. We might as well get some points on something we have to pay anyway. We usually earn enough points to pay for our 10 days no expiration passes. We have been thinking about taking a big chunk of our DVC loan and putting it on our Disney card, so we earn the points while paying off the loan quicker.

The discounts are also great. Park tours, Broadway shows (we are in NY).

 

[glennbo123]

How many points did you buy? Were you able to pay it off immediately, or do they offer 0% financing for DVC purchases?

That'd be an AWESOME way to buy into DVC, but since I'm not a member (yet) I can't put 160 points on my CC...

Karenj2, we bought 200 points at AKV. $2,500 of it can be left on the card at no interest for 6 months, I believe. My guide entered them as two separate transactions -- $2,500 and the remainder. I think I'll still just pay the whole thing off anyway, since I funded some of the purchase through a home equity line of credit and already have the cash, it's not saving me anything on that interest. But, I wanted to run the transactions through the card in order to get the rewards.

 

[flechette]

Love the card! We generally earn around $350 a year, as of this Jan we used the entire amount against annual dues and had the remaining dues debited from our checking account monthly.


One thing that makes this a keeper to me is No Annual Fee on the credit card. That said, we are considering a Costco Amex card - if only to cover the purchases we make there where we can't use the Visa ;-}

 

[jdg345]

We just got our Disney Visa last sept. We got it for the 6 months no interest on cruises. We used it for our deposit - got 6 months no interest plus points. Then used it to pay the balance - got another 6 months no interest. To get the $50 on board credit (in addition to any your TA is offering) you must put the entire cruise on this card.

How did you get the 6 months on the Balance? Don't they have to do some special paperwork at DVC for the Deposit? Who did you need to call to get it setup?

 

[jdg345]

I have a couple of other cards that offer various rewards/cash/points. Once we hit the max for the year we switch to another card and start over next year.

Exactly! 1% back doesn't suck ... it's a shame no one offers a card that gives 3% back on everything. That'd be cool!

 

[jdg345]

Love the card! We generally earn around $350 a year, as of this Jan we used the entire amount against annual dues and had the remaining dues debited from our checking account monthly.


One thing that makes this a keeper to me is No Annual Fee on the credit card. That said, we are considering a Costco Amex card - if only to cover the purchases we make there where we can't use the Visa ;-}

That's exactly what we do, plus we get 5% off on Gas with the Costco Amex and 3% on Restaurants and 2% on Travel. Chase should give us a better deal, like 2-3% if we spend it at The World.

 

[Laxmom]

How did you get the 6 months on the Balance? Don't they have to do some special paperwork at DVC for the Deposit? Who did you need to call to get it setup?

No. We booked our cruise thru Dreams and just had to tell them it was with the Disney card. Then when we posted the balance payment, there was a box to check online at the Dreams website that you check that it is a Disney card.

I don't know about the DVC but I think everything is done by your guide on their end. Just let them know it is a Disney card.

 

[jdg345]

No. We booked our cruise thru Dreams and just had to tell them it was with the Disney card. Then when we posted the balance payment, there was a box to check online at the Dreams website that you check that it is a Disney card.

I don't know about the DVC but I think everything is done by your guide on their end. Just let them know it is a Disney card.

Thanks!