Disney Visa through Sunshine Rewards for max points- "cash out" time?

[MommyBryn]

So I've seen it mentioned that some people use their Disney Visa to purchase through Sunshine rewards so they're getting double the benefit- the points on the card and at SR.

So...I've been considering it. Our next trip will hopefully be in 2011, at the end of Jan/beginning of Feb. So what I'm wondering is, as far as the time it takes to get your rewards (Disney Dollars?) from EACH of these programs, when would I have to "cash out" before that travel time in order to get them before we go? (I would prefer to do the card rewards beforehand as well...I've read that you can just have it done at Disney? But I'm the kind of person who really just needs to do it ahead of time and have it accounted for before we go) The reason I'm wondering is because I'm trying to figure out the exact amount of months I have before that point so I can see whether or not it would be worth it for us (like what exactly we'd need to purchase online between now and then, for example).

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Moving to the Disney Rewards Forum for the best answers.

For the Disney VISA, I know that you will need to have a minimum of 20 rewards dollars in your account in order to get your first card. It's been my experience has been that it takes no more than 10 days, but the website states that it can take much longer (perhaps during peak redemption periods or distance from distribution center?) The card comes by regular mail for no fee or you can pay to have it expedited for a fee.

 

[bumbershoot]

Sunshine has a 6 week turnaround time for cashouts (no more disney dollars, though, as the stores aren't selling them anymore) of giftcards. Paypal is different; you cash out any time during one month, and you get the cashout the last business day of the following month. And paypal has started charging fees.

Disney Visa, you can get a Rewards Dollars card at the parks and transfer money onto it right then.

I highly recommend joining the sunshine forums to learn all the ins and outs of how to earn money there.

 

[rflorek]

And paypal has started charging fees.

That brings up a good question - how come the only rewards/survey program where I'm charged a Paypal fee is SR? I don't see a fee with QR or Pinecone Research.

 

[MommyBryn]

So it's Disney Gift Cards, not Dollars, correct? I saw that but never came to change my post.

I'm familiar with the way programs like SR works, as I've done them before, but they've always been for cash and I've never had a deadline to receive the check by. I'll check out the forums. In my profile it says my payment method is Paypal, but it doesn't give me any other options. I'm assuming I can choose a Disney Giftcard later when I want to cash out?

 

[cglaura]

So it's Disney Gift Cards, not Dollars, correct? I saw that but never came to change my post.

I'm familiar with the way programs like SR works, as I've done them before, but they've always been for cash and I've never had a deadline to receive the check by. I'll check out the forums. In my profile it says my payment method is Paypal, but it doesn't give me any other options. I'm assuming I can choose a Disney Giftcard later when I want to cash out?

Yes, if you click on the link on the top menu "Rewards" it will take you to a page with all the options & gift cards. Only those for which you have enough credits in your account will have the Redeem button active (the others will be sort of faded out).

My profile also says that, even though I've never done PayPal. I think it is just a default item.

They also have Landry's cards, which you can use at T-Rex, Raiforest Cafe or Yak & Yeti.

A note on the PayPal thing only on SR. I remember a post in the forum they are trying to figure out why that has changed. They are aware, but as far as I know, are at the mercy of PayPal and are doing what they can to fix it or at least know why, if it can't be fixed.

I know some people like to get that instead of paypal because if you don't use up your whole Disney GC, you are limite and can only use it on Disney. However, I never seem to have a problem using them up

 

[M 'n C]

That brings up a good question - how come the only rewards/survey program where I'm charged a Paypal fee is SR? I don't see a fee with QR or Pinecone Research.

SR does not charge a paypal fee. That was a one time error as paypal did not give a heads up on their change in service and fees. SR now pays the fees on all of our cashouts so that we won't be charged that fee any more. There was a huge thread in the forums back in July or August announcing what happened and what they did to change the payment method so the fee would not be passed along.

 

[sunshiner]

Speaking of Paypal, did anyone see where QR said their paypal account was out of money so cashouts would be delayed. Wonder what that means, for how long. That doesn't sound good. I love Paypal cashout option, but giftcards are fun too, especially Disney and Landrys.

 

[MommyBryn]

Hmm, I hope we get approved! It would be really helpful...we only use CC's for things we would have purchased anyway and always pay off the balance every month, and I went through the list at SR and made sure we'd actually be purchasing through some of those sites anyway (to get both benefits), so it would be nice to have the card to help us earn a little bit! We already have an Amazon card through Chase, I hope that doesn't hurt our chances of being approved! (though like I said, we pay our balance every month, have never carried one, and have near perfect credit...only "near" just because we only started building credit, since neither of us had any, a few years ago...but we've never been denied for anything since)

 

[MommyBryn]

Oh, and thanks for the heads up on the Landry's GC's! That might be a good idea, so we could take DD to Rainforest Cafe one night and not pay OOP, and we'd be able to use 2 TS credits on a character meal (hopefully the Cinderella one) and not end up missing a meal...even though I don't know why I'm concerned about that...we ALWAYS end up with extra meals. I just figure it would be totally typical to be short the ONE time we use 2 credits at once. LOL

 

[M 'n C]

Hmm, I hope we get approved! It would be really helpful...we only use CC's for things we would have purchased anyway and always pay off the balance every month, and I went through the list at SR and made sure we'd actually be purchasing through some of those sites anyway (to get both benefits), so it would be nice to have the card to help us earn a little bit! We already have an Amazon card through Chase, I hope that doesn't hurt our chances of being approved! (though like I said, we pay our balance every month, have never carried one, and have near perfect credit...only "near" just because we only started building credit, since neither of us had any, a few years ago...but we've never been denied for anything since)

Good luck! Using the Chase card to pay for the SR purchases is what I do and I am amazed at how fast the rewards build up. Good luck and if you have any other questions feel free to ask here or over in the SR forums (probably will be answered faster over there).

 

[jnorth1007]

That brings up a good question - how come the only rewards/survey program where I'm charged a Paypal fee is SR? I don't see a fee with QR or Pinecone Research.

Were you actually charged more that the one month when Paypal made a change and didn't notify users of the change? I am curious because I haven't seen anyone say they were charged since that one month and since SR has started to pay the fees so the members wouldn't have to.

 

[jnorth1007]

Speaking of Paypal, did anyone see where QR said their paypal account was out of money so cashouts would be delayed. Wonder what that means, for how long. That doesn't sound good. I love Paypal cashout option, but giftcards are fun too, especially Disney and Landrys.

Wow! That is scary! I hadn't heard that but I don't do QR so it doesn't suprise me that I hadn't heard it. I would suggest he start following the trend and extend his cashouts some. I hate having to wait for my cashouts but at least I know that when I cashout my money is coming from money that SR has and that they haven't been using my earnings to pay people for credits that didn't actually get paid to him.

I have used the Landry's cards many times. We like to hit RFC at least once a trip and use the dining plan. It is so nice to know that dinner is paid for and I don't have to worry about it. Besides that I always use the Disney Gift cards. I wait until 7-8 weeks before my trip and I cash out for the biggest card I can. Then I use that like a credit/debit card at Disney. I keep a little register with my gift card and I mark my purchases and subtract from the total. Then each evening I can tell how much I have left and where my money went. I love it!!! I don't have to carry my debit card with me and risk it getting lost and I don't have to worry I will charge a fortune to my room only to regret it later. Good luck on your earnings. The Disney Visa rewards will only make it all the sweeter because you are earning twice on each purchase! What could be better!!!

 

[rflorek]

Were you actually charged more that the one month when Paypal made a change and didn't notify users of the change? I am curious because I haven't seen anyone say they were charged since that one month and since SR has started to pay the fees so the members wouldn't have to.

I haven't really cashed out since I was charged the fee. I've pulled away from SR because I earn much more much quicker through QR now. I'm actually trying to earn enough to cash out again so I can stop using SR.

 

[jnorth1007]

I haven't really cashed out since I was charged the fee. I've pulled away from SR because I earn much more much quicker through QR now. I'm actually trying to earn enough to cash out again so I can stop using SR.

Oh good I was worried that maybe you were getting charged when no one else was. Glad to hear that isn't the case. It is sad you have to move on but everyone really has to make the best decision for themselves then it comes to rewards sites. Good luck with QR!

 

[rflorek]

Speaking of Paypal, did anyone see where QR said their paypal account was out of money so cashouts would be delayed. Wonder what that means, for how long. That doesn't sound good. I love Paypal cashout option, but giftcards are fun too, especially Disney and Landrys.

Dmitry (from QR) posted this on Monday:

"by Dmitry, posted on 2009-10-05 17:17:03

Sorry, but it looks like we are having another Paypal delay. This time it's our fault. We had a lot more Elite survey bonuses then we initially planned so which means a lot more higher value redemptions. Our paypal funds are very low, but we getting a batch on Wed so you will see your payments come in Wed/ Thurs.

Sorry, but sometimes these things are not easy to predict.

If possible please spread the word around forums you are participating in so that people dont worry why they didnt get paid within 24-72 hours."

 

[MommyBryn]

I wonder if it's safe to assume we were approved? I was logged into my Chase account tonight to pay my Amazon card bill and noticed there's an additional section for a Disney Rewards card with all the info (balance- zero, obviously-, credit limit, etc...). I applied yesterday morning.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I wonder if it's safe to assume we were approved? I was logged into my Chase account tonight to pay my Amazon card bill and noticed there's an additional section for a Disney Rewards card with all the info (balance- zero, obviously-, credit limit, etc...). I applied yesterday morning.

Looks like a positive sign to me!

We had applied for an Amazon card last year and the first news that I had regarding approval was when I logged onto Chase to check the Disney VISA. The Amazon account was on there as well! We didn't get the actual card for another week after that.