Disney Visa

[lily2521]

Would you recommend getting a Disney Visa to someone who won't necessarily be a 'go every year' type of visitor?

We're going in May for a 1 week trip, and after that I'm sure we'll go back, but probably not for a couple/several years.

I didn't know if the benefits of the card were worth it? Trying to be as cost conscious as possible for our trip, I saw that you can get a $100 statement credit after your first purchase, which is appealing, but again not sure if it's worth it? Any other benefits to having it?

Thanks

 

[smj2610]

I think it is I have had it since the day it came out. The points you earn are good for a several years before they expire

 

[Texas Barbie]

Totally worth it. It's nice to get a jump on new package releases, before the general public.

 

[kj2mom]

I think it is worth it. We are going this year and have not been since 2006. Here is what I do. I charge everything and pay it off monthly so that I never have any finance charges. The rewards points expire (it is clearly noted on your statement) and if you transfer the points to a rewards card that card has an expiration date as well. Soo in order to avoid losing any points, whenever I get a good amount of points, I transfer them to a valid rewards card then purchase Disney gift cards online with the points. Since Disney gift cards never expire and don't reduce in value they are the perfect solution for me. I have been doing this for years and I now have enough gift cards to pay for all of our ADR's we have booked for our July trip.

 

[goofy4wdw2]

I agree with all of the above. We use it for anything we can pay via credit card including automatic payments for utility, phone, garbage collection service, etc. It really adds up. We usually go every year and it's nice to have "free" money toward our trip. We skipped going last year and it's going to be really nice to have a bigger amount to put toward our trip. The cards are cute, too...cashiers comment on them all the time!

 

[lily2521]

I think it is worth it. We are going this year and have not been since 2006. Here is what I do. I charge everything and pay it off monthly so that I never have any finance charges. The rewards points expire (it is clearly noted on your statement) and if you transfer the points to a rewards card that card has an expiration date as well. Soo in order to avoid losing any points, whenever I get a good amount of points, I transfer them to a valid rewards card then purchase Disney gift cards online with the points. Since Disney gift cards never expire and don't reduce in value they are the perfect solution for me. I have been doing this for years and I now have enough gift cards to pay for all of our ADR's we have booked for our July trip.

What a great idea - I never knew you could use points for Disney Gift Cards. This is good to know - can these gift cards be used online at Disney's shopping website, or in a Disney store as well?

 

[MsThumper]

I'll chime in with the opposite opinion. I thought about it, and we go to WDW 2-3 times a year. I decided that I didn't want to earn points dedicated to something I may never use again.

Like most people, I have a credit card that earns points. I pay it off every month. When I earn enough point for a decent amount I get that amount credited to my balance. If I get a credit of $100.00, then I've gained $100.00. That $100.00 might get spent at Disney or somewhere else. I like having the "somewhere else" option.

 

[lily2521]

I think it is worth it. We are going this year and have not been since 2006. Here is what I do. I charge everything and pay it off monthly so that I never have any finance charges. The rewards points expire (it is clearly noted on your statement) and if you transfer the points to a rewards card that card has an expiration date as well. Soo in order to avoid losing any points, whenever I get a good amount of points, I transfer them to a valid rewards card then purchase Disney gift cards online with the points. Since Disney gift cards never expire and don't reduce in value they are the perfect solution for me. I have been doing this for years and I now have enough gift cards to pay for all of our ADR's we have booked for our July trip.

Just to clarify - there's 2 cards you're using here, the Disney Visa, and a separate rewards card that transfer your points to? So you transfer the points from the Visa once they've accumulated, to a rewards card to hold the points?

And you can use that rewards card, with the points, for gift card purchases?

How long do the rewards points last until expiration?

What's the difference between the Premier and the Rewards card? I noticed I was wrong in my original post - the $100 credit on a statement offer is only for the premier card, which has an annual fee, so I probably wouldn't be interested in that one.

 

[pmaurer74]

we love it because we get $$$ towards each trip. We have the premier VISA so we can save more plus we have 6 months to pay off the trip. If you go every other year I would think it would be worth it. Depending upon how much you use your Visa it could pay for most of your trip.

 

[lily2521]

I'll chime in with the opposite opinion. I thought about it, and we go to WDW 2-3 times a year. I decided that I didn't want to earn points dedicated to something I may never use again.

Like most people, I have a credit card that earns points. I pay it off every month. When I earn enough point for a decent amount I get that amount credited to my balance. If I get a credit of $100.00, then I've gained $100.00. That $100.00 might get spent at Disney or somewhere else. I like having the "somewhere else" option.

This is what I currently do, with a non-Disney card. I guess I was wondering too if they Disney card might help us while on vacation to save some $$?

 

[lily2521]

we love it because we get $$$ towards each trip. We have the premier VISA so we can save more plus we have 6 months to pay off the trip. If you go every other year I would think it would be worth it. Depending upon how much you use your Visa it could pay for most of your trip.

I looked at the Premier, but I don't like the idea of paying annually for a card. That's just me

 

[hiroMYhero]

Are you applying for the regular Chase Disney Visa or the Premier? The Premier does have the $50/year Annual Fee. I have both and use the Premier as the rewards accrue faster and there was a great kick-back for applying. When I booked our AoA room, the Premier application popped up with a $200 gift card offer. And, Chase inadvertently deducted $200 from my bill rather than sending out the gift card.

There are a lot of in-park perks such as the free photo, special pins, and the shopping and restaurant discounts.

 

[pmaurer74]

Just to clarify - there's 2 cards you're using here, the Disney Visa, and a separate rewards card that transfer your points to? So you transfer the points from the Visa once they've accumulated, to a rewards card to hold the points?

And you can use that rewards card, with the points, for gift card purchases?

How long do the rewards points last until expiration?

What's the difference between the Premier and the Rewards card? I noticed I was wrong in my original post - the $100 credit on a statement offer is only for the premier card, which has an annual fee, so I probably wouldn't be interested in that one.

It depends upon how much you use your card. At the end of the year you can print out a statement that categorized everything. It became clear to us that the premier card more than paid for itself. The points are good for several years once transferred to the rewards redemption card I think they are good for only one year. We transfer the points only right up to our trip. I am not sure if you can get gift cards but it acts like a gift card and you can use it at Disney stores and restaurants. We usually have $700-800 towards out trip every year. The Disney Visa people are very professional and nice and they have caught our number being stolen many times over the years. We have never had a problem.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I looked at the Premier, but I don't like the idea of paying annually for a card. That's just me

When my DH called to cancel his Premier, Chase offered him a year without the Annual Fee! He declined before he told me about it because we just use mine... we should have just kept his with no annual fee!

 

[lily2521]

Are you applying for the regular Chase Disney Visa or the Premier? The Premier does have the $50/year Annual Fee. I have both and use the Premier as the rewards accrue faster and there was a great kick-back for applying. When I booked our AoA room, the Premier application popped up with a $200 gift card offer. And, Chase inadvertently deducted $200 from my bill rather than sending out the gift card.

There are a lot of in-park perks such as the free photo, special pins, and the shopping and restaurant discounts.

I was looking at the regular one over the premier. Online it looks like Premier offers $100 credit, and regular Visa offers a $50 credit

Our trip is already booked with a PIN offer we received, I'm guessing if I do the Visa it won't affect anything there? We do still need to complete payment for the trip, so I thought if I opened the Visa I could pay for the balance of our trip with it, and then in turn pay it off before it accrues any interest.

 

[Laz]

Use the card and pay it off every month. I use the points (in the form of a debit card) for all of the families meals while at WDW or DLR.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I was looking at the regular one over the premier. Online it looks like Premier offers $100 credit, and regular Visa offers a $50 credit

Our trip is already booked with a PIN offer we received, I'm guessing if I do the Visa it won't affect anything there? We do still need to complete payment for the trip, so I thought if I opened the Visa I could pay for the balance of our trip with it, and then in turn pay it off before it accrues any interest.

The Visa won't affect anything pin-offer wise.

I know the Premier application popped up while I was doing my online check-in... I think that was the only way to see the $200 offer although I did send the site to my DD and DH to use.

 

[trstno1]

The Disney Visa is not the best rewards card. A person is much better off with a free card that offers 2% cash back on all spending, possibly adding another card that offers a higher percentage back on specific categories (like 6% back on groceries).

The only reason I would consider a Disney Visa is if I wanted earlier access to the resort discounts. However, if I'm going to stay in a Disney property, I'd rather purchase points and stay at a DVC resort for much less than any of the Disney resort discounts.

I cancelled my Disney Visa last year after signing up the first year it was available.

FYI - I found this website very helpful to figure out the best combination of rewards credit cards for me: http://****************.com/

*EDIT: It looks like that website is blocked for some reason. If interested, search for credit card tune-up.*

 

[davedmaine]

The Disney Visa is not the best rewards card. A person is much better off with a free card that offers 2% cash back on all spending, possibly adding another card that offers a higher percentage back on specific categories (like 6% back on groceries). The only reason I would consider a Disney Visa is if I wanted earlier access to the resort discounts. However, if I'm going to stay in a Disney property, I'd rather purchase points and stay at a DVC resort for much less than any of the Disney resort discounts. I cancelled my Disney Visa last year after signing up the first year it was available. FYI - I found this website very helpful to figure out the best combination of rewards credit cards for me: http://****************.com/ *EDIT: It looks like that website is blocked for some reason. If interested, search for credit card tune-up.*

Agreed, the Disney card is terrible compared to other 'rewards' card. Most people just like to have a picture of Mickey Mouse on their card

 

[lily2521]

The Disney Visa is not the best rewards card. A person is much better off with a free card that offers 2% cash back on all spending, possibly adding another card that offers a higher percentage back on specific categories (like 6% back on groceries).

The only reason I would consider a Disney Visa is if I wanted earlier access to the resort discounts. However, if I'm going to stay in a Disney property, I'd rather purchase points and stay at a DVC resort for much less than any of the Disney resort discounts.

I cancelled my Disney Visa last year after signing up the first year it was available.

FYI - I found this website very helpful to figure out the best combination of rewards credit cards for me: http://****************.com/

*EDIT: It looks like that website is blocked for some reason. If interested, search for credit card tune-up.*

Thanks for the suggestion. After reading these, i think I'll pass on the Disney Visa. I think more than anything I was wondering if it would save us significantly on the trip, but from what I'm seeing that won't be the case?