Disney's fabulous,credit card guaranteed to extend the magic

[janetd]

Received my Disney credit card this week and plan to just not activate it.

It is a little chilling to read the WDW resort forum, for example, and read notices of concerns about possible upgrades, codes, postcard rates,etc. and realize that this is the pool of customers Disney is targeting. Tons of emails agonize over whether the extra money for a deluxe hotel or concierge at same is worth the cost. People rhaposodize about Disney magic.

I gues it must have been impossible for Disney not to go for the ultimate goudge.

 

[SAKPEG99OKW]

Janet I totaly agree with you. I will not be getting the Disney card. Why should I. I use my AMEX for everything and get 2pts for every dollar I spend, sometimes 4pts. Why shoud I use the Disney card and get 1pt for every $100 I spend. I was a faithfull DC member for 8 yrs. Now they have lost me as a Disney store shopper. I will buy everything I can from the Diseny Deals web page, and pay rock bottom with my AMEX. If you ask me this card is a big slap in the face for all the old DC members. Way togo MIKE, another great decision. When will the Disney board learn that MIKE has lost his magic and is killing Disney........

Scott

 

[disneychrista]

While I agree that the Visa is a poor replacement for the Disney Club, but I for one will get much more use out of the Visa and rewards then I will out of the Disney Club card.

My Disneyland AP will get me more discounts at Disneyland then the DC ever could. And If I use my new Disney Visa, I will get that 1%. Which may not sound like much but it is 1% more then if I didn't use the Disney Visa.

I rarely purchase anything at the Disney Store because there isn't anything to purchase.

 

[YoHo]

The Disney CLub card was a terrible replacement for the old Magic Kingdom club to begin with.

The Disney Visa is really no different from any rewards program with any other visa card.
It would have been magical if they HAD given you more, but hey. Mike never HAD any magic.

 

[d-r]

I agree 100% with the first poster.

I saw on radp where someone had been turned down b/c of credit.

I've also seen posts on various forums where people didn't know to get the "DVC" logo on the card, so bank 1 told them to simply reapply, get a new card, and turn off the first one.

I don't think people are thinking about these things as credit cards that will impact their credit.

Also, Christa, I don't compare this card straight up to the disney club, I compare it to Disney Club + American Express. When AMEX was the official card, you could turn in those points for tickets, breakfasts, etc., you got discounts on things like water craft rental, dining, and 20% at world of disney. I haven't seen anything that begins to suggest that this card is better than that combination.

Again, to me, this wouldn't have been so bad if there hadn't been all that talk months ago about these wonderful new reward programs that would be so beneficial to regular and frequent customers. This seems to cut out some frequent customers, and to abuse others for more profit. I think it is shameful, to be honest.

DR

 

[KNWVIKING]

"Janet I totaly agree with you. I will not be getting the Disney card. Why should I. I use my AMEX for everything and get 2pts for every dollar I spend, sometimes 4pts. Why shoud I use the Disney card and get 1pt for every $100 I spend. "

Yes, AMEX gives pts for each $$ spent, as do several other cards, but 350 amex pts are not going to get you an AP- not even close. The Disney card is a simple 1% rebate on purchases to earn basically Disney Dollars. This card is no worse then tons of other cards that offer 1% back on something. It also charges no annual fee- at least for now- which the majority of reward cards do. I haven't received mine yet,but from things I've read it appears they are leaving the door open to other benifits that may be similar to DC discounts.

I have the DC card, but only because the discount on two APs pays the fee. We use our DVC card for what few DS purchases we make. I don't understand why Disney can't offer both cards but I'm not ready to knock their new card without at least knowing what it offers.

 

[KNWVIKING]

"The Disney CLub card was a terrible replacement for the old Magic Kingdom club to begin with. "

I know very little about the old MKC card, but I know back in '95 it was offered to employees of companies that chose to subscribe to it. For me,the MKC was worthless because it wasn't availible to me. how was the MKC so much better ? Don't read this as an "Accusational" type question, I just want to knowwhat made the MKC card so great.

 

[All Aboard]

Vike, if your company was not an MKC participant you could still buy one for about $30 a year. I was lucky enough to get the free version.

What made MKC nicer was the in-park discounts on dining and shopping, but those slowly eroded away to near nothing by the time DC took over.

 

[YoHo]

gcurling is right. Anyone could get a MKC card. In fact if you paid for it instead of getting the free one it offered more perks.

The discounts were bigger then DC, they were offered at more places, you got phenominal hotel and Travel company discounts. IT was an excellent deal.


(actually my Disneyland Annual offers just about all the Discounts that MKC did. Of course it cost me more then $30)

 

[Teri1]

I had the free MKC card and when I was shopping at the World of Disney Store in DD the clerk saw my AAA diamond card and said "Oh you have the AAA diamond card, use that instead because the discount is twice that of the MKC card." Until I hear the rewards are worth having the Disney Visa I will wait. My Mastercard has a 8.9 % rate, that would save me more money than having the Disney Visa at this point.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Originally posted by Teri1
I had the free MKC card and when I was shopping at the World of Disney Store in DD the clerk saw my AAA diamond card and said "Oh you have the AAA diamond card, use that instead because the discount is twice that of the MKC card."

You received a discount with your AAA diamond card? I've never heard of this...could you elaborate please?

 

[Teri1]

When you book a vacation with AAA besides the AAA discount on your package or room only reservations you get a AAA diamond card with a list of stores, restaurants and activities at WDW you can use it on. It comes with your final packet just before you leave on vacation. AT that time, I was refering to the discount, it was 20% off at the selected stores in DD. The MKC only offered a 10% discount at that time.

 

[lrodk]

I've been accumilating AMEX reward points since 1991. I have about 150,000 pts, which means I've speant about $150,000 over that time(a scarythought). There have been a few offers here and there where I earned double rewards points for certain time periods on specific purchases. But those were few and far between. In essence I earned 1 point for every dollar I spent. I've looked at various ways to redeem points recently. Most of the choices fall into the same price range. Basically I can redeem these points for items that range in prices up to $1200, but not more. If you do the math my redemption rate best-case-scenario is 0.8%. In comparison Disney's reward program at 1% is perfectly in line with AMEX's reward levels. The only differences iI can see are the redemption choices, with Disney's slanted toward their own offerings. Also AMEX charges for it's program while Disney's is included for free. Based on what I've seen, I still prefer AMEX's over Disney's because of the broader range of choices for redemption.

 

[d-r]

I realized that the Amex points weren't equal value of point per dollar, and like you Irodk, I like that there are more options. But I am not sure if the disney visa card points are one point = one dollar - are they?

 

[KNWVIKING]

No,$100.00 in purchase equals $1.00 in dizdollars, basically your typical 1% rebate card. While AMEX gives 1 pt per $1.00 spent, 100 pts buys virtually nothing. 50,000 pts may sound impressive, but $500 dizdollars will buy more diz product.

 

[disneychrista]

Originally posted by d-r
But I am not sure if the disney visa card points are one point = one dollar - are they?

The disney card is not giving points but like KNWVIKING pointed out a simply 1% rebate in the form of Disney Dream Dollars (basically disney dollars). So $100 spent = $1 in Dream Dollars.

 

[Gillian]

I was just looking at the Amex rewards catalog. There are several gift certificate rewards that are about the same as Disney.

We are looking at $100 Home Depot GC for 10,000 points. All of the other store GCs are the save value. They have Gap, Coach & others. The worst deal is $100 in travellers checks for 20,000 points.

Since I'm not working anymore & DH's company cut back on business travel AND changed to Diner's club, it isn't worth it for us to pay for the Amex program. We've spent most of our points but still have 30k left. I think we'll get it in home depot GCs, because we're doing some projects around the house. Not as much fun as Disney, but worthwhile.

We are not getting the Disney Visa because the rates aren't good. We are looking into other options after we cancel amex.

 

[roymccoy]

Wanna know something scary? I have had an AMEX card since 1990 and I have 880,000 points. (I use the card for everything from business to mortgage payments)
I get these catalogs for big screen TV's and one year Jaguar leases. The AMEX rewards program is the best of all of them. A lot of months, they offer double and even triple points. Also, you'd be surprised at how many different companies take AMEX for payments. Phone company, car insurance, mortgage payments, property taxes, DMV, even the IRS! I also have a Hilton rewards card and I have just a few points on that one. (Not that I haven't tried!)

AMEX also has the extra added benefit of MAKING you pay the entire balance off every month. (As long as you stick with the card that doesn't revolve)

Just my two cents, but I like the AMEX card.

Roy

 

[gtrist4life]

I received my Disney Visa yesterday and I also have an Amex that's for business travel expenses.

I'm planning on using the Visa for everything possible that we would normally pay for during the month. Bills, groceries, clothes, gas, etc.

The Amex rewards program for the one I have costs $75 a year, so if you charge $10,000 a year that equals to about $100, Lot of work/spending for $25.

I'm thrilled to be getting Disney Dollars for everyday items. But then again, I've not been "spoiled?" (probably not the best word) on some of the more advantageous programs of the past.

Peace
G4L

 

[Daphne]

what stinks about the visa is that you have to spend money on it to get the rewards. At least with the DC you get the discounts up front. I always use it for my stay at OKW because it had the best discount, AP usually wasn't available, and I use it at the disney store and to renew my pass. I don't want another credit card!!