Disney Rewards Visa seems like a total crock.

[Disneyliscious]

I got the offer in the mail today for the $200 bonus if I open an account with them.

You would have to charge $9k to the card to get enough points to buy one park ticket. Their interest rate is 14.24%-16.24% and whats worse, if you are late on a payment, even once, it goes to 24.24%.

Now, as an added bonus to their "valued customers" if you have ANY other kind of account or loan at Chase which you happen to be late on, the interest rate on your credit card goes to 24.24%. How thoughtful of them.

And even MORE of a bonus to their "valued customers", once the rate is increased, it will never go back down.

No wonder they offer you $200 in free Disney money. They'll get it back 100 times over. Sure, they have to make a profit but being a day late on a loan you may have with Chase resulting in your credit card interest rate going to 24.24% indefinitely is insane. It is simply foolish to use this card.

It says "The penalty APR will be applicable to your account if you : fail to make any minimum payment by the date and time due". What? It has to be there by a certain time? What does that mean?

Many people pay their balances in full each month and don't pay interest. I get it. But what if an emergency comes up? Health or job loss? What then? No one is immune to this possibility. I just can't justify the risk being worth the reward on this one.....so in the trash it goes. Bank of America also practices this kind of "service".

I read a quote once that said "Interest is the penalty you pay for being poor". It definitely rings true with these banks today.

I am once again reminded today that I am thankful I don't have a single credit card.

 

[justbishop]

...so get the card, charge a $10 something on it, get the $200 GC bonus, pay off the small charge you put on it to get the GC on your first bill, then cut the card up

 

[lisa-upnorth]

we got them before our last trip-and it worked out great! We each got one and each got a $200 gift card for disney--which we used to by the kids lots of great stuff in the gift shops. In addition, you can charge your room/tickets/meals to disney and have 6 months interest free o pay it off-and you earn disney dollars for that too.You are right-not many,maybe $20 or $30 but it helps when you are on Main Street and the kids want ice creams and candy

 

[lisa-upnorth]

we didn't use the card much after that-and now have not used it in at least a year.But it was worth it for the free $400

 

[indimom]

I got the offer in the mail today for the $200 bonus if I open an account with them.

You would have to charge $9k to the card to get enough points to buy one park ticket. Their interest rate is 14.24%-16.24% and whats worse, if you are late on a payment, even once, it goes to 24.24%.

Now, as an added bonus to their "valued customers" if you have ANY other kind of account or loan at Chase which you happen to be late on, the interest rate on your credit card goes to 24.24%. How thoughtful of them.

And even MORE of a bonus to their "valued customers", once the rate is increased, it will never go back down.

No wonder they offer you $200 in free Disney money. They'll get it back 100 times over. Sure, they have to make a profit but being a day late on a loan you may have with Chase resulting in your credit card interest rate going to 24.24% indefinitely is insane. It is simply foolish to use this card.

It says "The penalty APR will be applicable to your account if you : fail to make any minimum payment by the date and time due". What? It has to be there by a certain time? What does that mean?

Many people pay their balances in full each month and don't pay interest. I get it. But what if an emergency comes up? Health or job loss? What then? No one is immune to this possibility. I just can't justify the risk being worth the reward on this one.....so in the trash it goes. Bank of America also practices this kind of "service".

I read a quote once that said "Interest is the penalty you pay for being poor". It definitely rings true with these banks today.

I am once again reminded today that I am thankful I don't have a single credit card.

If we had a job loss today, we would pay off our current balance with the money we have in the bank and adjust our spending to accomodate the change in our income. No risk involved since we are not charging more than we currently have in "cash."
Obviously, paying interest removes any rewards whatsoever. Earning rewards via a credit card only works if you can strictly control your spending. (We went years without credit cards after getting our own wakeup call years ago.) We have mastered the fine art and I'm more than happy to accept the rewards. At my current rate, I should have $700 in rewards dollars for my next Disney vacation...Works for me!

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

I got the offer in the mail today for the $200 bonus if I open an account with them.

You would have to charge $9k to the card to get enough points to buy one park ticket. Their interest rate is 14.24%-16.24% and whats worse, if you are late on a payment, even once, it goes to 24.24%.

Now, as an added bonus to their "valued customers" if you have ANY other kind of account or loan at Chase which you happen to be late on, the interest rate on your credit card goes to 24.24%. How thoughtful of them.

And even MORE of a bonus to their "valued customers", once the rate is increased, it will never go back down.

No wonder they offer you $200 in free Disney money. They'll get it back 100 times over. Sure, they have to make a profit but being a day late on a loan you may have with Chase resulting in your credit card interest rate going to 24.24% indefinitely is insane. It is simply foolish to use this card.

It says "The penalty APR will be applicable to your account if you : fail to make any minimum payment by the date and time due". What? It has to be there by a certain time? What does that mean?

Many people pay their balances in full each month and don't pay interest. I get it. But what if an emergency comes up? Health or job loss? What then? No one is immune to this possibility. I just can't justify the risk being worth the reward on this one.....so in the trash it goes. Bank of America also practices this kind of "service".

I read a quote once that said "Interest is the penalty you pay for being poor". It definitely rings true with these banks today.

I am once again reminded today that I am thankful I don't have a single credit card.

Chase is a business- a business that wants to make money. They offer a Disney reward knowing that some people will pay it off in full each month, but also knowing that most people won't and they will make money off of their interest payments.

If you are concerned about late fees, missing payments, etc., then for sure this card is not for you. For us, I am very careful with our money and pay it off in full monthly, and even if I could not I would still pay something to it on time so that my interest rate would not go up.

For us, it has been a good thing to have. I currently have over $650 in Disney Dollars and am still earning more for our trip in November. Each of our trips I have gotten a few hundred in reward dollars and use it to pay for extras (tips, souvenirs, etc.) at the end of each trip saving us a few hundered dollars out of pocket. I have been able to get the 3x and 5x bonus more than once (so for example last month I earned an addition $65 above the $39 I would have had).

I think it is good that you are being careful about what cards you use and are looking at what works for your family. I know there is a big push among some folks to not use credit cards at all. I think that is not always a good idea either, but I do think it is important to not spend more than you can pay off each month credit card or not. I also like the protection afforded me when I use my Via vs. my debit card.

 

[bonoriffic]

Oddly enough, I got the $200 offer in the mail yesterday and I am about to sign up today. I'm going to Disney in the fall, and if they want to hand me $200, I'll gladly accept. I have no intention to use the card other than to get the $200 after first use, and any other perks it allows in the parks. Then I'll cancel.

I'm not sure what your issues are. If you don't like the terms, there is nothing that says you actually have to use it other than 1 time. The difference is I'll have $200 in my pocket in a few months, you will have the satisfaction of being credit card free. (For whatever value that has)

Now if this was your only credit card, then I agree you can do much better.

 

[henderkm]

We use ours mostly for our regular monthly bills such as our cell phone, cable, and electricity bill and pay off the bill every month. These are bills I would be paying anyway even if we lost our jobs and the bill is usually around the same amount every month (except this month when our electricity will go through the ceiling because of the heat wave). We try not to charge incidentals on the credit card. We know how easy it is for a balance to get out of hand.

Although we don't earn much more than $100. a year, it's still worth it to us. Since we charge back to our room during our trips to WDW, the second day I will have the front desk empty the reward dollars on our room charges. That way, I don't have to worry about which restaurants or gift shops will accept the card.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

If we had a job loss today, we would pay off our current balance with the money we have in the bank and adjust our spending to accomodate the change in our income. No risk involved since we are not charging more than we currently have in "cash."
Obviously, paying interest removes any rewards whatsoever. Earning rewards via a credit card only works if you can strictly control your spending. (We went years without credit cards after getting our own wakeup call years ago.) We have mastered the fine art and I'm more than happy to accept the rewards. At my current rate, I should have $700 in rewards dollars for my next Disney vacation...Works for me!

Right. I've never paid any fees or interest to Chase Disney Visa - I don't really care what the interest rate is. If something happened to affect our income, I'd pay the balance out of savings and stop charging everything. As it is now, the Visa is paid out of checking like all the other monthly bills.

I currently have 736 in DDRD waiting for our trip next June, and I am expecting some bonus rewards next month from the 3x vacation spending promotion they did this summer. The 1% cash back is pretty minimal, but I like that those rewards can offset the cost of a Disney trip. (Although I could put cash back from other cards into a vacation account as well, I like saving specifically for Disney.) I'm a little surprised that Disney Visa cardholders didn't get to book the current free dining promotion a few days before the general public, but unfortunately, those dates don't work for us anyway. It is nice to generally have discounts available the weekend before everyone else - hope they are not doing away with that.

 

[DawnM]

They don't have any more "crock" type rules than any other CC out there.

I don't know what the fuss is about. If you don't want it, don't get it. If you are one to pay late, this isn't for you.

We don't carry CC balances so I truly do not care what the interest rate is.

Dawn

 

[Disneyliscious]

They don't have any more "crock" type rules than any other CC out there.

I don't know what the fuss is about. If you don't want it, don't get it. If you are one to pay late, this isn't for you.

We don't carry CC balances so I truly do not care what the interest rate is.

Dawn

Just as free checking has faded into the mist, free "interest" will follow suit. Banks WILL make money and with all the new regulations going into place you can bet that the days of 0% interest will soon be gone.

And as far as "if you dont want it, dont get it".......well......thats kinda like.....exactly what I said.

 

[DawnM]

Free interest? I didn't say anything about free interest, just that if you pay off your balances when they are due, there is no balance.

Dawn

Just as free checking has faded into the mist, free "interest" will follow suit. Banks WILL make money and with all the new regulations going into place you can bet that the days of 0% interest will soon be gone.

And as far as "if you dont want it, dont get it".......well......thats kinda like.....exactly what I said.

 

[indimom]

Free interest? I didn't say anything about free interest, just that if you pay off your balances when they are due, there is no balance.

Dawn

Agreed. And, if my credit cards start charging me ANYTHING (annual fees, etc) I simply would no longer use them. Right now it's an option that works for us, but I could just as easily use another payment option.

 

[bytheblood]

I think the answer is simple, but will most likely not be a popular one. If you can pay off your credit card balance at the end of the billing cycle, then get a credit card. If your financial habits are too great and you are worried about being late, over-charging or there is a general concern of not being able to meet your responsibility as a card-holder, you should not get the credit card.

Plastic was never meant to be a 2nd income, just a means to make purchasing easier at the moment.

 

[Sinderelly]

They don't have any more "crock" type rules than any other CC out there.

I don't know what the fuss is about. If you don't want it, don't get it. If you are one to pay late, this isn't for you.

We don't carry CC balances so I truly do not care what the interest rate is.

Dawn

What Dawn said
We love our Chase Disney Visa. We use the card to pay for everything that will take it then go online every few days and pay it off so we also could care less what the interest rate is. To us it's FREE $$ for Disney by paying bills and purchasing merchandise we normally purchase anyway. We currently have $1026 Disney dollars saved for our next trip

 

[EricaG]

We rarely use our Disney Visa for anything other than paying for Disney trips and Disney cruises. I like getting the 0% for 6 months, simply because for me, I'd rather keep the cash in my savings account (yeah, I know it's not earning much interest but I feel better with it being there) and pay the trip in equal monthly payments over the 6 months (which is what I've always done).

It may be a psychological thing, but I just like paying a smaller amount each month (as long as I'm not having to pay interest) rather than handing over a big chunk of money all at once. I've never had to pay interest to them on any trip I've taken, so I'll keep the card for that reason alone. If I was ever at the point where I doubted my ability to pay the trip off within that 6 month time frame, I guess I wouldn't take a Disney trip!

Even with the new banking laws, I think they'll still offer the 6 month no interest thing b/c there have to be a lot of folks who don't pay off the full amount within that time frame and then carry a balance--thus, the bank is still making money off those customers.

 

[gillenkl]

I think the answer is simple, but will most likely not be a popular one. If you can pay off your credit card balance at the end of the billing cycle, then get a credit card. If your financial habits are too great and you are worried about being late, over-charging or there is a general concern of not being able to meet your responsibility as a card-holder, you should not get the credit card.

Plastic was never meant to be a 2nd income, just a means to make purchasing easier at the moment.

Exactly! We just used $600 disney reward dollars on our last trip. We pay it off each month and use it for monthly expenses - I keep track of every cent we charge on it. I have also used it for braces and a new central air conditioner and then paid it off immediately. As with any credit card - you must pay it in full each month - or it forfeits the whole concept of "free" money/points.

I would definately use your card once just to get the $200 and then cut it up - it's free money in my book.

 

[RachaelA]

I could care less what the interest rate is because I never charge more than we can pay and if something happened that's why we have an emergency fund and a bunch of extra savings accounts.

We'll have enough in rewards to pay for both our DVC APs and the dining plan for both of us when we go next October. We bought our DVC on the card to get the points and paired it with the 3x rewards plus add in all our normal extra spending for rewards and I think its worth it. It forces us to save it for Disney.

We still have a Discover card we use for 5% cash back in certain categories each month plus any online shopping that gets anywhere from 5-20% back through them.

 

[MomToOne]

I'm not sure where the OPs anger at Disney Visa is coming from As others have said, their conditions really aren't that different than many credit cards. Some have better, some have worse, but that is why you read the fine print before you apply - so you can figure out which card is the best one for you. Only you can do that. And what is better is based on your personal circumstances - what is bad for one person, may be the best for another.

I personally have a Disney Visa, although other cards have better rewards for me so I rarely use my Disney card these days. But I keep it just for the special Disney Visa offers that occassionally come out (since it is a no-fee card, that's a no brainer). Mainly, I got it to book free dining ahead of everyone else for several years. I also like the discount you can get shopping in the parks at some stores - I've used that alot. And we've gone to the special character meets they have for cardholders several times. Those perks are worth maintaining a free account to me

If they ever start charging a fee, I'll close the account. As I will with many credit cards I have. I don't carry a balance, so I don't give a flip what the interest rate is. I don't pay late, so I don't care what the late payment fees are.

It works for me. If it doesn't work for you, don't get it.

 

[jolly holiday]

I also received the offer in the mail yesterday. Does anyone know how long you can earn points before having to use them? We aren't planning a Disney trip in the next year or two.