Disney Visa comprehensive details (and tips please)

[noryglory]

Where on earth is there comprehensive info about the Disney rewards Visa? I am thinking about getting one to accumulate points to use next May at Disneyland when my son and I meet up with my college friend and her two kids for a fun get-together.

How much is the annual fee, how do the points rack up (do you get more for buying Disney things, for instance) and how do you cash out and use them, what are the blackouts if any, etc etc etc. Disney's website is vague, Chase's website is vague. Argh!!

Thanks also for any tips or tricks to getting and using this card to maximize its points value.

Forgive me if this has been discussed ad nauseum, or if there is a better forum to post this question, I couldn't find any threads...you are welcome to direct me to those posts if so.

 

[CindyH]

Here's a link to get the card:

http://www.firstusa.com/cgi-bin/webcgi/webserve.cgi?partner_dir_name=disney_15giftcard_ch01_6m

How much is the annual fee
No annual fee

How do the points rack up (do you get more for buying Disney things, for instance)
You generally get 1% of your purchase as a "Disney Dollar". Some merchants/vendors will participate in a program that gives you more.

You call about 1-2 months ahead of your trip to have a card sent to you. Once you get it, you can call anytime to have your accumulated points transferred to that card. Depending on your billing cycle, you might even want to call while you're at DL and transfer any new points.

How do you cash out and use them
Accepted at most restaurants and stores in DL/DCA. I think the only place that doesn't take them are the cart vendors. No blackouts.

Thanks also for any tips or tricks to getting and using this card to maximize its points value.
No tricks, we pretty much use this card for everything, even our auto insurance annual payment.

 

[noryglory]

Thanks CindyH!

I went to Chase's website last night and did NOT get this information--interesting that this one is from Firstusa.com instead. This has MUCH better info. Thanks a lot!

 

[DangerMouse]

is this the site you visted?

http://disneyrewards.disney.go.com/

it was helpful for me.

 

[noryglory]

Hi Dangermouse, even better!!

I must be some sort of dork because I could never find anything on my own!! The Disney vacation planning page had a link to apply for the Visa, but with no info. I guess I didn't look very hard and decided to rely on the good graces of the people here to point me in the right direction--but honestly Disney ought to market their own card better with more links to this stuff from pages like the vacation planning one, to make it easier for lazies like me. This is good stuff!!

Thanks, now I can actually have some information to decide on whether or not it's a good fit for our family.

Muchas gracias!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

Don't forget that there are special Disney Visa cardholder character meet-n-greets. (I know they have this at WDW...I'm guessing they have it at DL too...) You have to have your card for proof...but you get a 100% free photo of you at the meet-n-greet with whatever character(s) they have out at that place.

 

[DangerMouse]

Hi Dangermouse, even better!!

I must be some sort of dork because I could never find anything on my own!! The Disney vacation planning page had a link to apply for the Visa, but with no info. I guess I didn't look very hard and decided to rely on the good graces of the people here to point me in the right direction--but honestly Disney ought to market their own card better with more links to this stuff from pages like the vacation planning one, to make it easier for lazies like me. This is good stuff!!

Thanks, now I can actually have some information to decide on whether or not it's a good fit for our family.

Muchas gracias!

de nada!

 

[RainyDayPixie]

The free meet n' greet and photo is PER visa, not per family. DH and I both had cards and got 2 photos. When you redeem them, some CM's let you pick any picture you have on your photopass. Others make you pick a character photo. Either way, we got lots of free photos!

Also, free stroller rental (at least through Sept, I think).

 

[Peaceableone]

I hope this isn't too late.. meaning you haven't signed up yet...

I signed up the past week or so. We are planning a Orlando WDW/Cruise vacation. As I went through the Disney website, I ran across this..

Hopefully I did the link right. Basically, it is sign up for a Disney Chase card. After your 1st purchase, you will get a $40 credit back to your card. You get 6mos. interest free on all purchases and if you book a cruise, a $50 stateroom credit. You also get the normal credit card pluses like the Meet n Greet, stroller rental, reward points, etc.

I can't get the link to work.. I will try to send to you via email.. If I can

 

[wendypooh22]

I heard somewhere that you could go to guest services and they would be able to give you a card with your reward points... Is this true?

 

[thedarksyde]

I just requested my card be sent to me, with 55 points on it! YAY!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We have over $200 and our trip isn't until December! Lots of free food for us!!!

 

[Lostgirlz]

We have the Disney Visa, and while it is cute I don't feel like you get as much as you could from it. Yes you get 6 months no interest if you book a trip THROUGH disney travel using the card. They also do not know if the free stroller rentals, and other rewards they were doing for it this year will happen again next year. No you don't earn more points shopping with disney. If you use your card to purchase things in the parks like hats and what not if you spend a set amount like 50 bucks they I believe give you 10% off. You have to spend 100 dollars to earn 1 dollar on your rewards, so in order for it to really add up you need to use it for almost everything. Like I said while the card is cute it's a bit more trouble getting points added up unless you want to use it for all your purchases. We got the card for our trip to use it to book on, but like I was told this month the offers they had for the card may no longer apply next year.

 

[noryglory]

Hey Lost,

I have done all the research and tend to agree with you. I shared the info with my husband and he said something to the effect of "so you spend $1000 bucks and they generously give you $10 to buy a frozen banana in the park."

I'm really happy for the folks that use this card religiously and have that cash by the time their trip comes, but 1% is soooo little for the amount we use our card for, and I'm not sure I would really use all the other perks to their advantage. We have an Alaska Airlines card and I think it would be more advantageous to keep that and rack up 20K miles (both by flights and by purchases) to get a free ticket or two to John Wayne which would normally cost us about $299 give or take, get our $50 companion ticket, etc. If I compared percentages I think I come out well ahead with the AA card.

Thanks to everyone else for their info, though!! Glad it works so well for you all. Perhaps if we need to book our trip out in advance and want to take advantage of the 0% financing it will start looking like a better option for us.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We have the Disney Visa, and while it is cute I don't feel like you get as much as you could from it. Yes you get 6 months no interest if you book a trip THROUGH disney travel using the card. They also do not know if the free stroller rentals, and other rewards they were doing for it this year will happen again next year. No you don't earn more points shopping with disney. If you use your card to purchase things in the parks like hats and what not if you spend a set amount like 50 bucks they I believe give you 10% off. You have to spend 100 dollars to earn 1 dollar on your rewards, so in order for it to really add up you need to use it for almost everything. Like I said while the card is cute it's a bit more trouble getting points added up unless you want to use it for all your purchases. We got the card for our trip to use it to book on, but like I was told this month the offers they had for the card may no longer apply next year.

For some people this card works great, for others maybe not. We use ours for just about everything. I charge something and go home and immediately send that payment through on line banking to chase so I don't have to worry about over charging and having a huge bill at the end of the month. I have never once paid interest on the money we spend and we have had the card for about 4 years now. We go every year and this year will have over $200 of free money in the park. That will probably take care of most of our food. When you add in the free stroller rental, free pictures and dining discounts it is REALLY worth it for us.

I can't imagine calling to request my card and them saying "oh no, I'm sorry that isn't offered anymore" That is the sole advantage of having that card, it's not like it has a real low interest rate or anything.

 

[disneyscootergal]

For some people this card works great, for others maybe not. We use ours for just about everything. I charge something and go home and immediately send that payment through on line banking to chase so I don't have to worry about over charging and having a huge bill at the end of the month. I have never once paid interest on the money we spend and we have had the card for about 4 years now.

This sounds very interesting. I want to use our card for all of our grocery spending, but my husband is worried about building up yet ANOTHER credit card bill. Can you tell me how this payment through online banking works? Do you think all banks do it--we bank in a Federal Teacher's Credit Union.