Disney Visa Promo worth it?

[DisneyAddictTom122]

Debating whether or not to apply for the Disney Visa card on the WDW website for our upcoming trip. Offer says that if you spend $500 within first 3 months of opening it you get a $200 credit in return. My thought is to apply about a month before we go to WDW in order to use it there (in which we would easily reach that $500 mark haha) and afterwards $200 credit is applied basically giving us $200 back from what we spent. On top of that most places at WDW have some sort of discount I thought for Disney Visa Card members. I know the annual fee is $50 I believe but I don't see that as an issue because we travel to WDW 1-2 times a year so the discounts we could use with the card might work out for us. Anyone used this promo recently? Does it qualify for the Visa discounts some places have? Trying to figure out if this is worth it or not because in my mind I'm saying no brainer for discounts alone however I'd like to get some outside opinions. Thanks to all that reply

 

[Meeko5]

I paid for my trip on the Visa card once it arrived, then had the $200 GC plus the 1% reward money to spend on the trip. Well worth it, but I got the $200 for the no fee card years ago. As long as you are able to cancel before the fee hits, or intend to use it enough to make your annual fee worth it I say go for it! Free money

 

[sluggozmom]

It comes out to $150 after you take into account the $50 annual fee that they charge the first month.
On top of the 1-2% more free money through the year, and additional perks at Disney.
I took it for the year. As the year was coming to a close I started transfer my auto pay bills to my no fee Disney visa. When I called to cancel they offered me a $50 credit to cover the fee and keep the card. I passed as I had already moved everything over.... shortly after that, the no fee card began offering an additional 3% on the bigger household bills. Win win!

 

[greentea]

You could also keep an eye out for the $200 gift card after $500 purchase that pops up regularly for the no-annual-fee version. Referrals aren't allowed on this forum, but if you have a friend or relative who has the card, you could see if they've gotten a referral email recently with the offer. Or if you get credit card offers in the mail, sometimes you'll get one that way too. The no fee card means it's not an issue to just hang onto it for the discounts even if you don't plan to use it often after the bonus.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I'd find an offer on the no-fee card. But if you can't/don't like it get the fee card and downgrade to no fee for merchandise discounts on future trips.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It comes out to $150 after you take into account the $50 annual fee that they charge the first month.
On top of the 1-2% more free money through the year, and additional perks at Disney.
I took it for the year. As the year was coming to a close I started transfer my auto pay bills to my no fee Disney visa. When I called to cancel they offered me a $50 credit to cover the fee and keep the card. I passed as I had already moved everything over.... shortly after that, the no fee card began offering an additional 3% on the bigger household bills. Win win!

Fwiw, I think the bonuses on spend categories are targeted, meaning not everyone got those offers.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Both Disney Visa cards have equal discounts at Disney.

 

[Angrose]

I just recently saw links to the Disney no fee card with the $200 bonus gift card on doctorofcredit.com. Do a search for Disney and they should come up. Make sure you use a recent link.

 

[leebee]

In a nutshell, yes, it's worth it. Find an offer with a $200 gift card. Open the account and use it for everything that first month; groceries, gas, coffee at Starbucks, whatever... just hit that $550 (because you have to cover the annual fee charge). You'll have $200 to spend at WDW; in fact, I got my gift card before I got my first bill! Keep using the card and you'll earn 2% on gas, groceries, and restaurants (I think... check the categories) and you'll rack up some more "money" to "spend" at WDW. Also, you can get a 10% discount at some WDW restaurants when you use your Disney VISA or pay with your Dream rewards redemption card. There is a free character shoot photo at Epcot and a discount at World of Disney when you spend $50 or more and use the VISA to pay. SO... while the Disney VISA might not be the best card out there, rewards-wise, there are plenty of rewards to be had to use at Disney, and that gift card is like $150 in free money!

 

[Nick6300]

We like taking the no annual fee Disney Card for the shopping discount, but generally don't use it for the tour discounts or really anything else. The Disney premier card with $50 annual fee with the 2% (instead of 1%) rewards on Disney purchases... In my opinion, I prefer to get a $200 bonus offer after spending $1000 in first 3 months, 1.5% rewards on ALL purchases, not just Disney, no annual fee: like the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa. It also has $600 phone theft/damage insurance if you pay your phone bill with it which seems like an awesome benefit for me as my phone always breaks. The photo opp at EPCOT, which was our biggest draw... now it's only a digital download instead of actual photo. And for frequent goers of this event, it's nearly always Pluto and Minnie. There are just several other, better cards with a $200 bonus for no annual fee or several hundred dollars with a fee, see:

http://www.creditcards.com/top-credit-cards.php
There is also a forum on credit cards here.

If you do get/cancel the Disney card... from personal experience, Chase (card issuer) doesn't allow you to successfully re-apply within 18 months from last card (to prevent trying to get bonus frequently). They also commonly deny your app if you've had other card apps recently. I get a new card about 4x a yr., still have 800+ Transunion, but won't be able to get a Chase card again unless I wait on getting another card for a while (I've tried). Getting so many cards are not for everyone, obviously. I'm a banker/credit analyst and otherwise very frugal! There are several bloggers, ebay sellers who will advertise the $200 bonus with their referral info (sell for $1), so they can use your referral to get a $50 bonus (some solely do this as a job, several times a day).

For our upcoming 8/24 trip to All Star Sports 20% room only = $690 for 7 nights)... we used Barclay Arrival Plus mastercard (spend $3k for at the time it was 50k miles, 5% rewards redemption bonus, 2 miles per $1), and the Wells Fargo card for $775 bonus - so the hotel stay was sort of free. I'll likely cancel the Barclay after trip to avoid annual fee of I think $95 that was waived first yr. To get to the bonus, I buy stuff I would anyhow: gas cards from a trusted ebay seller for 7-10% off, SW airlines ($143 for $150) and Disney giftcards (for food and merchandise this trip) at Sams Club (think it was about $475 for $500), prepay Verizon, apt rent, car ins., etc. We are taking the regular Disney card just for shopping but may not use... since you have to spend $50 to get the discount, and we often buy our Disney shirts for cheap (~$10) at Kissimmee Walmart/surrounding stores.

 

[North of Mouse]

Several years ago, I received an invitation for the 'no fee' card with a $200 sign bonus and 'no' purchase amount. About a month later DH got one too, thought, why not?? He also go a $200 bonus with same terms. They don't do this anymore (I don't think), but we sure enjoyed our $400 total at Disney that year!!

Since then we've both gotten the 'fee' card offer that pp's have mentioned, but we're not interested. Just us, but we refuse to pay a fee for a card.

As for using it at Disney, we don't buy 'souvies' anymore and only use it at the few restaurants that offer discounts if we don't have AP's at the time (can only use one). The AP's have great discounts this year (their 45th anniversary) until the end of Sept. on lots of the restaurants and some stores (20%). Just got back and saved a bunch.

 

[MrPTato]

Just got one in the beginning of the month. Used to purchase an annual Gold Pass and got the $200 credit back a couple days later on the account. My wife has the card and we like the perks that it gave us in the parks, but now with DVC, they are not quite as good. I would say its worth it for the $200 credit and the meet and greets. I will probably downgrade mine before the next AF hits as hers is out main card. She is also signed up for the 4% back on utilities through the summer.

 

[DisneyAddictTom122]

All great responses...Question regarding the no annual fee Disney Visa though. Is this one that you can sign up for through Visa or is there a link through the Disney website to get it? I have a bank account with Santander and they do offer a Disney card that I could get for my Debit card, does anyone know if that would be the same and could get the discounts at certain places in WDW?

 

[DOREEN1779]

When the Chase Disney Visa card first came out, they offered a $200.00 worth of points incentive but even more valuable was the accelerated point offerings. I have not received any offerings in quite a long time and have not heard about anyone else getting them. I am thinking of cancelling because my other reward programs are so much better.

 

[adelaster]

I got an offer for the no fee card and it's presently in the trash. You guys are starting to make me think I should have used it!

My rational for passing was:
-It's a Chase card. Chase only allows you to get 5 cards in a 24 month period.
-The reason I care is I have both Southwest Chase cards. Using them for the sign up bonus & earning the companion pass is a great benefit. Once points are all used, close the cards. 24 months after recieving the original bonus, you are elligible to sign up & get it again. I don't want to complicate/endanger this as it is far more valuable longterm.
-From what I could tell, aside from the original giftcard the rewards on the Disney card are not great. My primary card is a Capital Venture that earns me double points on everything. For flights/eligible hotels & car rentals, I use the Southwest cards, which earn double and translate to a slightly higher payout in value-but only on Southwest Flights. Capital One has a purchase-eraser for various travel items with minimal restrictions.
-After that $500 for a $200 giftcard I would never use the card again. If I want a discount I'll get an annual pass.
-If I got 2% back on the $80/month spent on gas for a year, I'd earn $19.20 reward dollars-only usable with Disney. As others have noted, it's not the best. It's not the worst option either though. I'd say for a family that drives often to disney it might be decent. For a someone who flies and travels outside of disney, it has no allure past the open bonus.

 

[gottalovepluto]

As far as Chase approvals go remember it's 5/24. If you've been approved for 5 or more credit cards from any issuer in the last 24 months you will be declined.

 

[adelaster]

As far as Chase approvals go remember it's 5/24. If you've been approved for 5 or more credit cards from any issuer in the last 24 months you will be declined.

Thanks for that clarification, I worded it poorly!

 

[littlbugmom]

For the DPV, is it possible to purchase a $150 Disney Gift Card and have that as part of the necessary $500 purchase?

 

[Tikitoi]

What (if there is) is the timeframe for using SW points? I'm talking ones that you get when you initially sign up.

 

[Angrose]

I got an offer for the no fee card and it's presently in the trash. You guys are starting to make me think I should have used it!

My rational for passing was:
-It's a Chase card. Chase only allows you to get 5 cards in a 24 month period.
-The reason I care is I have both Southwest Chase cards. Using them for the sign up bonus & earning the companion pass is a great benefit. Once points are all used, close the cards. 24 months after recieving the original bonus, you are elligible to sign up & get it again. I don't want to complicate/endanger this as it is far more valuable longterm.
-From what I could tell, aside from the original giftcard the rewards on the Disney card are not great. My primary card is a Capital Venture that earns me double points on everything. For flights/eligible hotels & car rentals, I use the Southwest cards, which earn double and translate to a slightly higher payout in value-but only on Southwest Flights. Capital One has a purchase-eraser for various travel items with minimal restrictions.
-After that $500 for a $200 giftcard I would never use the card again. If I want a discount I'll get an annual pass.
-If I got 2% back on the $80/month spent on gas for a year, I'd earn $19.20 reward dollars-only usable with Disney. As others have noted, it's not the best. It's not the worst option either though. I'd say for a family that drives often to disney it might be decent. For a someone who flies and travels outside of disney, it has no allure past the open bonus.

As far as Chase approvals go remember it's 5/24. If you've been approved for 5 or more credit cards from any issuer in the last 24 months you will be declined.

The Disney card does not fall under the 5/24 rule. I am 9/24 and just was approved last month for the Disney Premier card, $500 spend receive $200 statement credit. I found that offer on the Disneyland website.