Disney Visa worth it?

[mom2aprincenprincess]

We are planning our first trip to WDW in November 2011 for Thanksgiving. I was considering applying for the Disney Visa, but I was wondering if I will have earned enough rewards by November for it to be worth it. I know they offer things like free dining and discounts on rooms at certain times of the year. Do you have to have earned so many rewards to be eligible for those types of discounts? Also, does the card typically have overs for the time around Thanksgiving?

 

[disneychrista]

It is 1% back so how much do you spend each month that can be charged? Grocery, Gas, Household goods, some bills (check with your company). You will not be able to charge mortgage or car payments. Insurance may or may not, mine won't.

 

[chabs]

Don't get it for the Visa card holder offers. There haven't been any in a long time. We used to get the offers about a week before the general public but they haven't done this in a long time. I was just saying the other day that I'm thinking about cancelling it because I'd rather rack up points on another card.

 

[pat fan]

For me, for now, I like it. W charge everything under the sun and get a good amount of points. We paid for ALL of our food and a bunch of souvineers in '07 and last year we paid for ALL of our souvineers and all of our character meals and sit down meals not covered by the QSDP. To me, it's free money, as long as you pay it off every month.

 

[Sinderelly]

We love our Disney Visa. We charge everything possible and pay off the balance every week or so online. We currently have $880 in reward dollars. DH signed up for a new card in his name in case the other card numbers get "compromised" or something while on vacation. He received $200 reward dollars for signing up and using the card once. So we have $1180 in reward dollars.

 

[waffles77]

I love mine because it gives me 6 months of interest free credit on Disney packages. It allows me to pay off our trips over 6 months without any penalties!

 

[marie1203]

If this is your first trip and you you don't think you will go back then I will say no. Unless you get the $200 gc offer. It is worth it to most of the people in this board because we are disney addicts . We love ours DH has one I have another one (we got the $200 offer so I open one). We paid for our tickets last trip with our point and it saved us a lot of money when we bought things you get 10% off in purchases of $50 or more.

 

[daisyduck123]

I just booked an Epcot Segway Tour for my family at 20% using my Disney Visa....worth it for me.

 

[budafam]

It depends on how much you'll use it. I use mine for gas & groceries/online purchases. I put our Disney trip on it and paid it off the next month just to get the points but really, you hardly get anything to be honest. $1 for every $100 is a not much at all. Depending on how this trip goes, I may just stick to my Hobby Lobby card since I actually get to go there every week..

 

[Marionnette]

My husband has one in his name and I have one in mine. The 0% on packages and the ability to book some of the deals before the general public is a nice bonus. You also get a few perks in the parks like a free photo with the characters in Epcot and a discount at World of Disney in Downtown Disney. But the 1% back on all purchases is pretty puny. I'm thinking of switching my card over to a Chase Freedom card since you get 5% cash back in select categories and 1% on all else. The select categories change every quarter but at least you're guaranteed to get that offer, unlike the Disney card where some people get an offer and others don't.

 

[sydneysmom]

For me, for now, I like it. W charge everything under the sun and get a good amount of points. We paid for ALL of our food and a bunch of souvineers in '07 and last year we paid for ALL of our souvineers and all of our character meals and sit down meals not covered by the QSDP. To me, it's free money, as long as you pay it off every month.

I totally agree.... we do this as well and pay it off each month. We pay our Comcast cable, cell bill, car insurance all on the card. (then pay it right off). Last year we did major remodeling w/ carpeting and our bathrooms...everything we bought at HD and Lowe's went through that card. it adds up.
Also, if you're going on trips between now and your trip....book your trip / airfare on the card for points. We got our card a year before we went to Disney and had $250 in Disney dollars when we went. We used that for souveniers / etc. it was free souvenier money !!!

 

[Mom3girls]

Same here...use it to pay for monthly household bills and car insurance. Grocery and gas also. I add it up and pay it off weekly. Entire Disney/Universal trip and airfare will go on the card too. Oops, almost forgot the payments for two kids braces will too! I also applied for a second card for the $200 gc and was accepted. Between the two cards we should have at least $425!!!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

If you can take advantage of the special offers and you have good credit, I think it makes sense. There is no annual fee, so even if you only benefit once or twice a year, I think it is worth it.

As noted by others, the special offers (in addition to the $200 credit after first use, which is actually not huge in today's market) include 0% financing on cruises and packages, free photo op at the parks and the best discount on tours. We have really appreciated the 0% financing when we started bookign DVC. It is lot easier to put a deposit down on cruise that is more than 18 months away when you don't have to pay it off yet! -- Suzanne

 

[DReynolds86]

Would you get Rewards points if you do a balance transfer from another Chase card?

 

[Marionnette]

Would you get Rewards points if you do a balance transfer from another Chase card?

You can't do a balance transfer from one Chase Card to another Chase card. But even if the balance transfer is from another bank's CC to your Disney Visa, you don't get rewards points.

 

[mrspopeye]

My husband and I both signed up individually and got $200 each, then I put most things on the card and paid them off monthly- I think we ended up with about $600 to spend. Made the big dinners like Le Cellier and O'Hana not so painful when it is free!

 

[CandleontheWater]

We really like our Disney Visa, but we go to Disney at least once a year, so it is really worth it for us. I only have two CC, the Disney Visa and Discover, but I would say that the Disney card is my primary card, and I only use Discover when they are offering 5% cash back bonuses. I see it as free money for Disney, and if I'm going to use my card anyway, I might as well get something back that I am going to use.

If I was only going to go once, or a couple of time in a lifetime, it would not be worth it, but for us it is an easy way to save some extra cash for the parks.

 

[mom2aprincenprincess]

Are they still offering the $200 when you sign up?

 

[DReynolds86]

I don't think so. I just got my card and received a $50 account credit.

 

[Marionnette]

Are they still offering the $200 when you sign up?

They are but it is by invitation, not thru any link you'll find on the internet. We have gotten two invitations via snail mail within the past three months. They were addressed to the X Family (the last name of a girl who went on vacation with our daughter three years ago).