Disney Rewards Dollars

[Dee77]

Can anyone offer more details on the character meet and greet in Epcot? I forgot that this is a perk for card holders. What days, time etc and how many people can go to this? Thanks!!

 

[JoRo]

We just signed up to get the card and the $100 through DVC. We dont plan on using the card much mostly because the rewards are not 1-1. We also wont keep a balance, maybe down the road they will improve the rewards for the card. Until then we keep our airlines CC because we need anyhelp we can get flying to our Disney trips. Especailly being new members to DVC we have yearly flights to DL and WDW .

 

[quirty30]

Can anyone offer more details on the character meet and greet in Epcot? I forgot that this is a perk for card holders. What days, time etc and how many people can go to this? Thanks!!

From the Disney Visa website (www.disneyrewards.disney.go.com)

Character Meet 'N' Greet photo opportunity offered daily between 1:30 PM and 4:30 PM at Innoventions West at Epcot®.
Must present a valid Disney Rewards Visa Card for admission (limited to 6 people per card).
Enjoy a personal photo experience with some of your favorite Disney Characters and receive a complimentary 5 x 7 photo. It's one of the most unique benefits of being a Cardmember at the Disney Parks.
Separate Theme Park admission required.
Operating times, days of week, and appearance of Characters may vary. See Guest Relations for more information.

 

[Mookie Blaylock]

Hello,

My DW and I are seriously considering applying for the Credit Card that gives Reward dollars. We want to dump our Citi Cards. Not to mention that on the first use they will send you a $100 Disney gift card. I was hpoing that some of you have it and can give us a first hand experience. I was reading the website about the card since they heavily advertise on the DVC website. Can we use the Rewards to pay dues? What are ther other advantages to applying for it since we go to WDW yearly if not twice a year?

Have there been any disadvantages? We do not carry a balance on CCs so we are not concerned about that discussion on "losing money" while trying to gain the rewards.

Please share, we are excited to hear!

Glad to here you don't carry a balance, reward cards lose all value with the higher interest rates and/or annual fee's they charge.

I had the Disney Visa for a few years, like others have said it gives you $1 dollar for every $100 you spend. Periodically they give you double or triple points/dollars on charges you spend at gas stations/grocery stores. The promotions are usually targeted and there is a cap of how many bonus miles you can receive. I canceled last year and focused my points on airline/hotel cards. However I am strongly considering purchasing a BLT contract which might put me in the market for another Disney card.

The main benefit that I see is that the rewards can be spent at Disney, which is rare. My hhonors Amex gives me the option of a 4 day non expiring hopper at 180,000 points which is outrageous. Also the Epcot experience is very nice, we had about 5-7 minutes of alone time with Goofy/Mickey and Minnie plus the free 5x7.

There are better reward cards out there but to take advantage of them you need to be a frequent flyer and generally fly internationally. I know I am strongly considering a Plat. Delta card however I hear that reward redemption is very difficult making the point mute. Most reward cards value points at about 1 cent and can even be less if you don't take the time to do some research. Some can be up to 7 cents but again you need to be in certain programs like the Membership Reward program have lots of miles and fly over the Atlantic.

Generally I expect 1-3% return per dollar spent on my cards, Which the Disney Visa gives you. There are few cards that return 1-2% back to you in cash but most have strings attached and plus it's more fun to save up for Disney dollars than getting a statement credit.

 

[VallCopen]

We got our card for the meet and greet exclusively. We went to the California adventure every morning around 11:00 am and got about 5-10 minutes of private time with the characters and got a free photo each day ( I do believe you have to get the photo that day or it expires, so don't wait to the end of the trip). We did however join DVC and we put the whole thing on our card, I paid off one contract then 3 days later paid for another contract then made an on line payment and then did this 4 more times, we now in 2 months have 550.00 available, we also put all the household expenses on the card and just pay it off every month - but becareful it is easy to overspend each month if not careful
You also get some discounts around the park and at a few restaurants.

 

[Dizny Dad]

We just love to use our Disney Rewards card for everything knowing we are lowering the cost of our next Disney adventure. Sure there may be better reward systems out there, we have even used a few, but we love using our Disney Cards.

Nothing better than handing over a big fat Rewards Card at check-in right after they say Welcome Home.

 

[work2play]

Another benefit is you usually get 10% - 15% off on Disneystore.com . I collect pins and this saves me quite a bit, they usually send a special promotion code in the statement mailing. The code is only good when using your Disney card during checkout.

I agree with the other posters that unless there is an additional benefit to using the Disney card, I use my other cards for better points.

 

[tvan]

we have had the card and works out great. the reward dollars are easy to transfer and there are extra discounts for having the card and every couple of months they pick certain catagories ie gas or groceries and give 5x the normal 1 point per dollar

 

[flechette]

While the dues questions was answered, I'd like to add to that: even if you only pay a portion of your dues with the rewards $$ - you can still have the remaining balance drafted monthly from your checking acct. We've done this for 2 years now and it makes budgeting much easier.

If you so desire - you can pay part of your dues with rewards $$ and then charge off the balance of your dues to your disney visa card and earn points on your dues balance.

We're reasonably happy with using the Costo Amex for gas, restaurants, and Costco and everything else on the Disney Visa.

 

[anbouk]

Absolutely !!!
With the Disney CC you need to spend $100. to get $1. back....stinks.
Other cc's have 1:1 ratio for every day uses.

Other CC out there with a better return! It takes us forever to rack up those Disney $ ! Plus the interest really stinks Only worth it IMO for Disney Park Perks.

 

[flechette]

When comparing other cards, be sure to check out what the reward structure is. Disney Visa you spend $100 to get $1 back, but spend that $1 as $1.

Some other CCs do offer a spend $1, get 1 point structure; but then you need 1500 points for a $10 - $15 dollar certificate. If you can get the $15 for 1500 points, it's the same break even rate as the Disney card. If it's $10 for 1500 points, it's a worse return than Disney.... $20 for 1500 would be better yadda yadda yadda - you get the point

The OP doesn't carry a balance so the interest rate really shouldn't matter (currently, changes are on the horizon...). Generally speaking; if the interest rate is important to you - you probably shouldn't be looking at a cashback/rewards card, they tend to have a higher interest rates.

Without a doubt, there are other cards that offer a higher rate of return. Whether they are better for you is more a personal choice.

I know hubby and I are planning to do some card juggling to take advantage of Discovers 5% offers, then Amex for 3% and 2% offers, then Disney Visa for everything else. There are still places that don't accept Amex, and occassionally Discover.

We're reasonably happy with what we use the Disney Visa for. Our interactions with Chase have been good. This January they caught fraudulent use of our cc and contacted us within an hour of it's usage. It seems our local Fuddruckers had been hit by a scammer who made off with a ton of cc #s (ours included). I have heard some horror stories about Chase - but so far (knock on wood) we've been very happy with them.


Good Luck in your decision making OP!
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[maburke]

Another perk with the Disney Chase Visa is free stroller rental at DisneyLand!

 

[Hmom03]

We build up a decent balance of reward dollars for our trips. I like feeling like I'm getting our meals and tickets for free. The only warning I would give you is that the rewards cards expire so you have to be careful about transferring rewards dollars if you aren't going to spend them before the card expires. It's not hard to manage though. YOu just need to remember to get a new card with a new expiration date instead of transferring to one that you already have.

 

[Piglet'sPal]

Do you get Reward Dollars for your Disney trip if you pay for the trip via your card?

 

[Sandisw]

Do you get Reward Dollars for your Disney trip if you pay for the trip via your card?

Yes.

 

[tortoni]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned that sometimes the Disney specials (eg, free dining) are offered to Disney Visa holders first. We had Christmas at Disney with free dining last year thanks to Disney Visa.