Disney Visa--How do you use yours?

[BlakeNJ]

I currently have a Sony card. I never use it unless I am purchasing a surprise gift for DH since we have a joint credit card. Anyway, I am considering canceling the Sony card and getting the Disney Visa. Can you pay your DVC dues on a credit card to earn reward points? I thought that since we spend money at Disney and put it on our card, why not put it on a Disney Visa and earn gift cards towards APs or future visits.

How do the rewards work?

Thanks,
Blakely

 

[BlakeNJ]

Bumping. Do any DVC'ers have one???

 

[Quilter007]

Very annoyed w/ the Disney VISA right now. They just changed one of the best benefits. Used to get 2 free strollers a day in Disneyland or DCA. Now it's only 50% off. Yeah, my kids are 5 and 9 now, so they probably don't even need them, but it's annoying that they changed it. We do use the reward points for food when we get there -- it's our own dining plan!

 

[AnnaS]

We have used it toward our dcl on-board account, towards park tickets but mostly towards our dvc dues.

 

[IggyLans]

Yes you can pay your DVC MF's with your visa... We use it for everything... groceries, gas, bills... etc, and pay it off every month. You earn 1% for every purchase you make. May not sound like a lot, but believe me, it all adds up.

 

[DisneyHumbug]

I use mine only for what I can pay in full every month. It does add up. Then when it's time for an AP, I put the rewards towards that. DD has one and uses it for everything!! We're going to F&W next month and she's planning on using her rewards for eating and drinking around the world.

 

[TAKitty]

You can pay dues with the Disney Visa but we usually use it to pay for food at WDW.

 

[twinklebug]

Bumping. Do any DVC'ers have one???

It's a Chase card - no I don't have one and won't until/if Disney contracts with another card company. Not likely to happen for a good long time though.

 

[mic_KY_mouses]

We love ours. We use it for everything...including utilities, groceries, large purchases. We pay it off every month so we don't have any finance charges. They're paying us 1% to use their card and the $$$ we earned this year will pay for our dining plan for our upcoming trip. We've never had a problem with Chase as the issuer.

 

[kt-scarlett]

Disney Visa currently has an offer of a $100 gift card for new cardholders. Since I already had a Disney Visa, my husband signed up, charged his AP to it and recieved the $100 gift card within two weeks. You can't beat that!

The link is incredibly long, I hope this works:

http://www.firstusa.com/cgi-bin/webcgi/webserve.cgi?pdn=disney_card_rewards_mickymont_100gc_altmed&page=cont&mkid=6HYQ01

 

[PSL]

I have one and use it to pay for EVERYTHING, including dues and we always pay it off every month. I ordered two DVC AP's the week before the price increase and used my Disney Rewards to pay for them and only ended up costing us $88.98 out of pocket! This has always been my goal for using the rewards and it's a great perk, hoping they won't start tacking on a yearly fee anytime soon or I've also heard that credit card companies might start charging interest starting from the time you make the purchase, which would not be a good thing...then I won't be using credit cards at all at that point but for now, I enjoy getting my almost free admission into the parks.

 

[helloconnie]

I am like the PP. We use our Disney Visa for all monthly expenditures outside of our 'bills'. We don't use our banking debit card at all, just the Disney Visa, then we pay it off at the end of the month. That way, we are earning points on everything we would normally buy, groceries, clothing, gas, eating out, etc.

I also had the Disney card before we decided to buy into DVC. So, I am in the process of putting the cost of my points on my card just to get the points, then paying it off. I should be able to use all my rewards dollars to buy our food for our next big trip in 2010.

 

[toniosmom]

I just recently got a Disney Visa and have started using it to pay for everything. I'm a little worried about getting a big bill at the end of the month, so I signed up online and every once in a while, pay whatever I have charged so far -- not waiting for the bill.

Does anyone know if this practice affects your reward points? I'm wondering if the reward points are based on what your statement balance is each month -- or -- is it based on how many dollars you charge to the card? I'm hoping that me paying some of these charges prior to the statement doesn't adversely affect my rewards.

 

[clutter]

I just recently got a Disney Visa and have started using it to pay for everything. I'm a little worried about getting a big bill at the end of the month, so I signed up online and every once in a while, pay whatever I have charged so far -- not waiting for the bill.

Does anyone know if this practice affects your reward points? I'm wondering if the reward points are based on what your statement balance is each month -- or -- is it based on how many dollars you charge to the card? I'm hoping that me paying some of these charges prior to the statement doesn't adversely affect my rewards.

I don't think it will. What I do is use the Visa for everything I possibly can. But I deposit my budget amount in my checking account at the beginning of the month, then write down all of my charges against it. That way I keep track of how much I've charged and stay on budget. (I don't write down things that are not budgeted and are paid out of savings, like auto repairs or Disney vacations.)

This year, I was able to get my points for my vacation up front. I ordered Disney gift cards to cover APs and DDP from my dd's soccer team's scrip program. They got 2%, I got 1%. All in all not a bad deal!

 

[Disneypubgal]

We use ours for everything... gas, groceries, dues, etc... we get at least on free annual pass with the rewards per year!! We never carry a balance so it is just like getting A/P for free!

 

[kkbeaton2]

I just recently got a Disney Visa and have started using it to pay for everything. I'm a little worried about getting a big bill at the end of the month, so I signed up online and every once in a while, pay whatever I have charged so far -- not waiting for the bill.

Does anyone know if this practice affects your reward points? I'm wondering if the reward points are based on what your statement balance is each month -- or -- is it based on how many dollars you charge to the card? I'm hoping that me paying some of these charges prior to the statement doesn't adversely affect my rewards.

No, it doesn't affect your points, because I do this often if I know I'm going to have a big bill at the end of the month. I'll pay some out of 1 paycheck and then the rest out of the other paycheck. I also use it for everything... gas, groceries, some monthly bills, Disney trips, etc, and then I use the reward card for lots of things, food, hotel stay (prior to being a DVC member), tickets/APs, purchases at Disneyland, WDW or even the Disney Cruise Line. I have had my card for many years now, and they have "purchased" many things for me!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I use my Disney Visa when I need to use a Visa or when I get a significant discount for using it (such as WDW tours). Otherwise, I use a card that earns Starwood points or FF miles.

I hate the way Disney Visa calculates the reward points so that you earn 1 more point each time you pass a $X50 threshhold. So then you make a small purchase to push your total over the next threshold and lose out anyway because the vendor takes too long to post it to your account. SPG points and FF miles on credit cards are much easier to manage and a better value for us. -- Suzanne

 

[dopeygirl76]

We have had our Disney VISA since before we went to Disney the first time - we actually signed up because they were offering a free DVD with signup - Lion King maybe?? Oh I can't remember anyway we didn't really go crazy with it until our first WDW trip it is the only card we use and we pay it off monthly - I ususally pay twice a month if it is a bigger purchase. Last year (Oct 08 trip) we had $600 rewards card and used it for our meals. We are close to that for our Nov 09 trip and will do the same - and I paid the dues with a check -didn't think of that!!!!!

 

[dopeygirl76]

Sorry I forgot to add - we had a problem during our Apr 08 trip with our card being used without auth (had to be car service we used) Chase took care of it immediately. Also we lost our home Feb 08 in a fire and needed a new card they sent one out immediately and were very understanding during my insanity time (forget about changing address for bills, I always paid online but we lost everything so the computer was gone also, they waived the late fee which was clearly my fault and COUNTLESS other issues that arose during the year from HE**!!!!!) We have never had any issues with Chase!

 

[MissMet]

I also use it for everything and pay it off at the end of each month. I even use it for my bills like my car & car insurance.

For my trip this fall I will have 500 RD to use for souvenirs & food. So basically, all this dream 12 day trip will have cost me is my plane ticket.

I LOVE this card... I'm thinking about switching form Bank of America to Chase so I can get the disney rewards debit card as well. My boa branch closed & now my nearest boa is 15 minutes away... I have a chase 5 minutes away & they offer the debit card which earns you .5%.