Okay, after 2 years, what's your opinion of the Disney Visa ?

[KNWVIKING]

With the 2nd anniversary of the Disney Visa coming up I'm curious how the board feels about it so far. There were many heated debates a couple years ago regarding the end of the DC program. Anybody ready to say "I told you so" or "Guess I was wrong" ?

As a DVC member and AP holder I should probably disqualify myself from this thread because the Visa is a hands down winner. I don't look for room or package deals. I already get some dinning discounts. The Visa has no annual fees & I've built up 300 reward dollars.

For those of you who relied on the DC for purchases & trips, how do you stack up the Visa against the old program ?

 

[rocketriter]

We never used the old program. But we're redecorating the house and put a lot of stuff on the Visa, which gave us a tasty souvenir budget on our recent trip to WDW.

 

[mitros]

We were offered, but never took the card,as we have been using our GM Mastercard. Getting money towards a new car every four years makes more sense to us. We purchased our last 5 vehicles using the GM card. For us, it's just better.

 

[4407mark]

As one who had cards that got me frequent flyer miles (blackout dates apply ) and bonus points for gift cards at restaurants, etc, I am most happy with the Dsiney card. We make at least one trip to WDW a year and have used reward dollars on each trip. In fact, on all three trips so far, we have used reward dollars to pay for a character meal for the four of us. I know the "reward" is not as great as we would like but we are able to use it (something I could never do with the frequent flyer miles) and we love it!

 

[turtle51]

I am very pleased with it. I love the perk of getting money to use on disney stuff.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I like it. Had a nice chunk of change in Reward Dollars for our last cruise. Only disappointment is losing the $50 onboard credit for booking with the Disney Visa.

 

[patsal]

The basic card and perks are fine, but the bonus perks they hyped up have not really been anything special. I am using the card and have benefitted from the last years purchases paying for one PAP.

 

[TheWho]

I'm a DVC member who travels to WDW once a year. I received the Disney Visa on day one and went to WDW last summer with 709 points!! I never paid one cent of interest throughout the year. I just charge everything I can. It's amazing how you can use the system with little effort. I love the card.

 

[SnackyStacky]

No I told you so-s here, but I do have to say I don't think it's anything special.

I think that $1 for every $100 is a little cheap, but that's just me.

The extras they promised are NOTHING special at all.

 

[WDWHound]

I have no problem with the card, taken own its own merits. However, they billed it as a replacement for the Disney Club (ie the Magic Kingdom Club) and it definitely did not come close to replacing the benefits lost when the Disney Club was discontinued.

 

[raidermatt]

The issues with it being a replacement for the MKC are still valid. Even if the rewards benefits were beyond comparison, it would still not change the fact that its a far more restrictive program than MKC. No reason they can't have both.

As for the Visa itself, the level of rewards are not what I had hoped for. $1 per $100 is ok as a base, but the bonus opportunities have been less than impressive. I will say that they have started to get a little better, but are still spotty at best.

The big mystery to me is why they don't offer some kind of regular bonus for spending at Disney.


I've actually been tempted to switch to a cash back card. There are several out there that offer the same 1%, but they also offer bonuses for purchases at everyday places, like grocery stores and gas stations. As great as it is to have $500 Disney reward dollars, it would be even better to have $600 cash to use on that same trip...

So all in all, its not a "bad" product. Its just that I honestly don't believe they are taking full advantage of it, and it still doesn't justify the demise of the MKC.

 

[KNWVIKING]

There are very few reward cards that return better then 1%. The GM card is the only exception I can think of, but it has other restrictions that reduce the value of that 5%.

One thing I have seen that I like so far is that Disney is offering specials that allow you to earn 2% for all purchases over X dollars.

I would like to know from people who used the DC/MKC extensively and are now using the Visa if they feel they are saving more or less. To me, that is the true acid test.

 

[lynn71092]

I totally agree with WDWHound.

 

[Muushka]

What a thoughtful question!

Well, we waited till about 6 months ago when they gave us the $25 to sign up. I have found that it is nice to receive the 1% Disney bucks for times when we cannot use our Discover card. Also we will really appreciate it this Jan when we pay our DVC Maintenance dues with their Visa. Nice to get some $$ back on that one! I just got my reward card for $34 which we will use in 2 weeks. YIPPEE!! No big deal, but to me, every little bit counts.

PS I really like their emailing of all activity on the account.

 

[bethyg]

We have been investigating the Visa for about a year now, and finally took the plunge. Received our card 4 days ago. Question: I thought you did earn rewards for everyday purchases such as groceries, pharmacy, restaurants, etc........ I thought you earned 1% on every $100 spent, regardless of where you spent it. I have seen posted on other threads that people are not being credited with their proper points, and not receiving the double-points on occasions. Has anyone found this to be a problem?

 

[goofy370]

I too think that the 1 for 100 is very cheap. Six Flags card is 1 for 1 which is great!! Also, I spent more with the 10% off than I do for the rewards. I don't think it replaces the MKC, just a different offer.

Tracie

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

What I don't understand about the Disney Visa is why there's no real incentive to spend money with Disney (except for a few specific promotional offers).

For example, if I spend $100 on the Disney Visa at WDW, I get a dollar. If I spend $100 on the Disney Visa at Universal, I also get a dollar.

In comparison, a Marriott Visa provides 3 Marriott Rewards points for each dollar spent with Marriott, and 1 Marriott Reward point for each dollar sent elsewhere.

 

[JimB.]

Has anyone found this to be a problem?

Never has been for us. We have always gotten proper credit.

Agreed that it does not replace MKC, but if looked at by itself, it has been fine.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
What I don't understand about the Disney Visa is why there's no real incentive to spend money with Disney (except for a few specific promotional offers).

For example, if I spend $100 on the Disney Visa at WDW, I get a dollar. If I spend $100 on the Disney Visa at Universal, I also get a dollar.

In comparison, a Marriott Visa provides 3 Marriott Rewards points for each dollar spent with Marriott, and 1 Marriott Reward point for each dollar sent elsewhere.

You bring up a good point. You used to be able to book Disney vacations interest free for 6 months but I don't know if that's still offered. And as I said before the $50 onboard cruise credit went away. They ought to take a closer look at this, especially where it was touted to relpace the MKC/TDC cards.

 

[patsal]

Never a problem with crediting, but the inconsistency in offers is a real bugger. Some people have to spend $250 to get the extra points, others have $2500 and it is only for purchases in certain categories and double for over the $2500 in those categories so I spend about $3000 per month on everything I purchase and pay with the Visa and end up with 30 regularr points and about 3 bonus points. Overall the reward base compares well with most programs, but I still believe that they could do better with bonus for spending at Disney. Not really a big deal, and I find the card and online program work great for viewing and paying, etc., but reallly no replacement for the MKC/DC.