Disney Visa Rewards - How much did you get in dollars / points?

[ThisIsTheYear]

I'm sorry if I'm not using the right terminology, I'm new at this. With the money you spend on the credit card, do they give you gift cards after you've earned a certain amount? If so, I was wondering how much you got back? Right now I have 1% of purchases. I was wondering if it's worth it to use it for everything then pay off each month.
Thank you!

 

[Ava]

I think everyone gets 1% back on the Chase Disney Visa, that's the standard reward rate. Sometimes they run promotions where you'll get 3x or 5x the rewards on certain categories (i.e. groceries, gas, etc) or when you spend above a certain dollar amount in a month. You'll get those via e-mail or regular mail if you're chosen for the promotion.

Also, they don't send you gift cards. Once you have at least $20 in rewards available, you can order a Rewards Card (which pretty much works like a gift card, except it has an expiration date). Personally, I would just wait to cash out until you are taking a trip to a Disney park. Spending the rewards dollars at the parks is the best use of them.

 

[wlake]

Also, they don't send you gift cards. Once you have at least $20 in rewards available, you can order a Rewards Card (which pretty much works like a gift card, except it has an expiration date). Personally, I would just wait to cash out until you are taking a trip to a Disney park. Spending the rewards dollars at the parks is the best use of them.

How long can you leave the rewards on your credit card without ordering a rewards card? I'm thinking of getting the Visa, but we don't have a trip planned for at least 2 years!

 

[kristenrice]

How long can you leave the rewards on your credit card without ordering a rewards card? I'm thinking of getting the Visa, but we don't have a trip planned for at least 2 years!

When you earn the points, they show up on your statement as your "rewards balance". They are good for 7 years from when you earn them and they drop off on a rolling basis. The statement indicates how many points expire and when.

When you want to redeem the points (or about 2 weeks before you want to redeem them), you request a "rewards card". You must have a minimum of $20 in rewards to get the card. That card will be pre-loaded with however many rewards dollars you've redeemed and THOSE dollars (along with the card) will expire December 31 of the next year.

Once you have a "rewards card", redeeming more rewards dollars is as easy as calling the number on the back of the card and requesting redemption. I had $200 left in my account (not on my card) and I literally called the number while I was shopping at the resort. By the time I got to the checkout, the points were there.

It's best to only transfer the points you know you'll need and then transfer the rest as you need them. IF you find yourself with a card about to expire, you can use them to buy a gift card. Some people have reported that this doesn't always work. I am not 100% sure that they are *supposed* to do this, but I have been successful.

 

[disneylandkitkat]

i usually get roughly 5 dollars a month.... i enjoy colecting them then getting a free meal at disney with my fiancee

 

[hlkeck]

We put a ton on this card (a bunch of our bills) to get as many points as possible. We use those points to pay our yearly fees on our DVC membership. We don't earn enough to pay it all - but usually 75% of it. Which is what helped us decide to get the membership in the first place! Those yearly fees aren't cheap, so it's nice for it to be free dollars --- as we do pay off our CC bills every month, so we're not losing it in interest on the backend...

 

[mrsklamc]

Mine only accrue for 5 years, not 7.

 

[wlake]

Thanks!

 

[thumphries56]

I'm sorry if I'm not using the right terminology, I'm new at this. With the money you spend on the credit card, do they give you gift cards after you've earned a certain amount? If so, I was wondering how much you got back? Right now I have 1% of purchases. I was wondering if it's worth it to use it for everything then pay off each month.
Thank you!

you have to reach $20.00 then you can get one. I pay all my bills I can on card and get my grocries on it and put the money back as I pay each thing and at end of month I pay off card and I get free dollars. like now I have 46 free dollars. you can just wait till you get ready for the card and order it. it takes about 3 weeks to get it. but if you are planning a disney trip it makes for good free spending money. like me I plan on going in dec 2011. and the way I have it planned I should have about $200.00 by my trip. hey that's free money.

 

[ThisIsTheYear]

Great, thank you so much!

 

[FINFAN]

just had to jump in to say your thread reimds me of the credit card commercial where the call goes to a guy in Siberia or somewhere, he answers "My name is Peggy" and "Happy Time" when a customer yeilds a $.50 reward, lol......funny commercial.

That is all, back to your thread

 

[JCMHutch]

I'm sorry if I'm not using the right terminology, I'm new at this. With the money you spend on the credit card, do they give you gift cards after you've earned a certain amount? If so, I was wondering how much you got back? Right now I have 1% of purchases. I was wondering if it's worth it to use it for everything then pay off each month.
Thank you!

I had the card for many years and didn't really start using it until 3 years ago. The points add up after a while. DH & I are really focusing on using the card for all our household stuff and this year I have started the process of using for all our utility bills. Up until now we've averaged 6-8 points a month and this year hope to get more.

Last year we redeemed points for the first time and had $100 when we paid our trip off and then another $60 when we went for spending money (we bought furniture, which gave us a nice boost!). This year, we are planning on using the points we acrue to pay the cost difference between the value and moderate resort - in my mind its like having a free upgrade!

 

[binab]

We have the Disney debit card and average about $15 a month in rewards. Not too shabby for just paying bills and living everyday life.

 

[tzolkin]

Mine only accrue for 5 years, not 7.

Mine are 5 years too.


Also, it's important to note that although the points may not expire for several years unredeemed in your account, the rewards cards have different expirations dates on them.

For example, even though the points in my account don't expire until 2016, if I have them transfered to a rewards card they will expire with the expiration date printed on that card. There is no way to transfer any unused points back to your account.

We usually wait until shortly before a trip (when we know we're definitely going) to request the rewards card and transfer the remainder of our points to that card right before we leave (or you can even do it over the phone once you're there).


We pay for all of our groceries, gas, and various other expenses with our card so we earn a few hundred dollars for each trip that we can use the card over the phone to pay off part of our package before we leave home and/or use toward food/misc. expenses during our trip.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We must spend too much money because we usually go every year to year and a half and usually have around $600 in free money. As long as you pay your card off in full every month it is great way to help pay for vacation expenses. On our next trip we will be using our dollars to pay for the dining plan for our DVC stay. Our own version of free dining.

Do keep in mind that some utilities charge a fee to pay via credit card. Our gas & electric charges a $3,50 flat rate. I only charge those bills if they are over $500. Good luck collecting free Disney money!

 

[KibbyCat]

My husband and I each have a Disney Visa with lots of points accrued. We're planning our first trip with the kids and will be transferring our points to the card. But, aside from using the card in the gift shops to buy souvenirs, how do you use it? I've read people's posts that they've used it to pay for their rooms or dining plans. How is this done? I thought you had to pay online at time of booking for those things...

 

[MissBritt]

just a correction... they expire in 5 years from your account, and in 2 years from your rewards card. so they can be good for up to 7 years if you work it right.

 

[Tosie]

We have had ours for a few years now. This past trip we used our rewards to pay for a Beachcomber Shack at Typhoon Lagoon.

A couple years ago we had enough for our park tickets.

Dh uses it for business and he entertains clients regularly. He also throws a big party in NYC every year -in 2010 the party cost $18K. Lots of rewards!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

just a correction... they expire in 5 years from your account, and in 2 years from your rewards card. so they can be good for up to 7 years if you work it right.

If you get the rewards card in the beginning of the calendar year watch out for the expiration date. In 2008 and 2009 I got mine in mid January, and it expired on Dec 31 that year. In 2010 I got it in late February and it has a Dec 2011 expitation date. I got all of them at Guest Services in the parks. In 08 and 09 I even had them check (at several GS locations) to see if they got new ones in and they didn't.

 

[shoney]

I just checked my statement...I have 1776 points and they start to expire 11/11, so that will be five years since I last took out points. I think at some point we'll go for 5 nights and try to have the whole thing paid for. I don't want to go when it is too hot, and I don't want to go during school breaks...too crowded....it limits when we can go!!! Boys are older now so it is hard to take them out of school for a week!