Skymiles AmEx, Disney Visa or both?

[scrapshappen]

I need a little help from budget conscious people who try to be smart with their money and credit score.

Currently our only debts are mortgage and car payment. We use a visa from our CU to do the vast majority of our monthly expenditures and earn 1% cash back annually on it and pay it off monthly. We have one other Visa and one other MC that both have a zero balance and we have several store cards (Kohls, Target, etc). Our credit scores are excellent.

We are trying to plan a few Disney vacations next year that would include flying from SLC to MCO for a cruise/WDW vacation. DH has enough SkyMiles currently for 2.5 tickets. If we open a Skymile AmEx account we can get 30,000 bonus miles and quite possibly rack up the rest of the points to get the other 1.5 tickets we need to get the flight we want. (Need to do this soon before the millage goes up on these flights!)

But since we are planning to do DL, WDW and DCL all in the next 12 months, I am having a hard time passing up the Disney Visa Rewards Card application that just came in the mail offering a free $200 GC.

How foolish is it to apply for both of these cards at nearly the same time? How badly will it affect our credit scores? Should we just pick one or the other and if so, which one?

ETA: I know that there are minimum purchases to make to get these perks. The idea would be to switch our monthly spending to the AmEx card to get the airline miles since they seem to be worth more than the Disney points unless I am missing something.

 

[luvdisney87]

We have both the Disney Visa and the Skymiles AE. I found more of a savings benefit with our AE even with the annual fee. Plus (thanks to a tip I learned about on disboards) you can earn extra miles through the skymiles shopping program. We saved $700 on airfare this trip and you get free baggage and early boarding too. I pay as many bills as I can each month on it too to add miles. Of course, the Disney Visa is helpful for it's 0 percent interest on vacation packages.

 

[misskari]

I need a little help from budget conscious people who try to be smart with their money and credit score. Currently our only debts are mortgage and car payment. We use a visa from our CU to do the vast majority of our monthly expenditures and earn 1% cash back annually on it and pay it off monthly. We have one other Visa and one other MC that both have a zero balance and we have several store cards (Kohls, Target, etc). Our credit scores are excellent. We are trying to plan a few Disney vacations next year that would include flying from SLC to MCO for a cruise/WDW vacation. DH has enough SkyMiles currently for 2.5 tickets. If we open a Skymile AmEx account we can get 30,000 bonus miles and quite possibly rack up the rest of the points to get the other 1.5 tickets we need to get the flight we want. (Need to do this soon before the millage goes up on these flights!) But since we are planning to do DL, WDW and DCL all in the next 12 months, I am having a hard time passing up the Disney Visa Rewards Card application that just came in the mail offering a free $200 GC. How foolish is it to apply for both of these cards at nearly the same time? How badly will it affect our credit scores? Should we just pick one or the other and if so, which one? ETA: I know that there are minimum purchases to make to get these perks. The idea would be to switch our monthly spending to the AmEx card to get the airline miles since they seem to be worth more than the Disney points unless I am missing something.

If you're going to make a large purchase (ie house, refi or car) I'd limit yourself to one new cc. Two hard credit inquiries will ding your score. However, if you don't have any big purchases go ahead and open both.

I have a disney Chase Disney premium card, and I'm honestly not sure if I'm getting a "great" deal on rewards. I'm looking into a SW airlines card and such to see if I can get better point rewards.

 

[Epcotfan64]

I need a little help from budget conscious people who try to be smart with their money and credit score.

Currently our only debts are mortgage and car payment. We use a visa from our CU to do the vast majority of our monthly expenditures and earn 1% cash back annually on it and pay it off monthly. We have one other Visa and one other MC that both have a zero balance and we have several store cards (Kohls, Target, etc). Our credit scores are excellent.

We are trying to plan a few Disney vacations next year that would include flying from SLC to MCO for a cruise/WDW vacation. DH has enough SkyMiles currently for 2.5 tickets. If we open a Skymile AmEx account we can get 30,000 bonus miles and quite possibly rack up the rest of the points to get the other 1.5 tickets we need to get the flight we want. (Need to do this soon before the millage goes up on these flights!)

But since we are planning to do DL, WDW and DCL all in the next 12 months, I am having a hard time passing up the Disney Visa Rewards Card application that just came in the mail offering a free $200 GC.

How foolish is it to apply for both of these cards at nearly the same time? How badly will it affect our credit scores? Should we just pick one or the other and if so, which one?

ETA: I know that there are minimum purchases to make to get these perks. The idea would be to switch our monthly spending to the AmEx card to get the airline miles since they seem to be worth more than the Disney points unless I am missing something.

First, I want to congratulate you on your financial responsibility! Having an excellent credit score and perfect payment history will open up doors.

I have both the Amex Delta Skymiles CC and the Disney Visa (standard version). As I live an hour from WDW and fly maybe only once or twice a year, the Visa is of more value to me. I made the minimum amount in purchases to get the $100 GC, and just this morning I just made my first transfer of Disney Rewards dollars to my Disney Rewards card.

Considering your good credit, I don't think you will sustain much of a hit if you apply for both CCs at the same time. Besides, even a small dip will eventually recover.

 

[tnd]

I have both. I assume you live in SLC, so you probably fly on Delta a lot (my ILs live there and I live in the Detroit area, also a Delta hub). I very seldom use the SkyMiles card (use my Costco Amex for most every day expenses), but the free bag allowance covers the annual fee for one trip. I also like boarding a bit earlier with kids.

I use the Disney card for a lot of recurring utilities because they don't take Amex and other places where Amex is not accepted, like the cafeteria in my building at work. I rack up a good amount of rewards doing that. I also always charge the Disney vacation itself to the card because you do get 6 months at zero interest (though I normally pay it as it becomes due).

I think both cards are useful for different things, so I would get both.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I need a little help from budget conscious people who try to be smart with their money and credit score.

Currently our only debts are mortgage and car payment. We use a visa from our CU to do the vast majority of our monthly expenditures and earn 1% cash back annually on it and pay it off monthly. We have one other Visa and one other MC that both have a zero balance and we have several store cards (Kohls, Target, etc). Our credit scores are excellent.

We are trying to plan a few Disney vacations next year that would include flying from SLC to MCO for a cruise/WDW vacation. DH has enough SkyMiles currently for 2.5 tickets. If we open a Skymile AmEx account we can get 30,000 bonus miles and quite possibly rack up the rest of the points to get the other 1.5 tickets we need to get the flight we want. (Need to do this soon before the millage goes up on these flights!)

But since we are planning to do DL, WDW and DCL all in the next 12 months, I am having a hard time passing up the Disney Visa Rewards Card application that just came in the mail offering a free $200 GC.

How foolish is it to apply for both of these cards at nearly the same time? How badly will it affect our credit scores? Should we just pick one or the other and if so, which one?

ETA: I know that there are minimum purchases to make to get these perks. The idea would be to switch our monthly spending to the AmEx card to get the airline miles since they seem to be worth more than the Disney points unless I am missing something.

If you already have a house and a car, why worry about your credit score?
Make sure that's the Amex you want before you apply - their new rule is that cardmembers (primary account holder of ANY Amex card) cannot get another bonus, even on a different card, so make sure you're getting the best available bonus for your card and compare the other available Amex cards.

For instance, I just got the Blue Cash Preferred:
$150 sign up bonus
6% at grocery stores on up to $6,000 a year (not at Costco, Walmart, etc. though) = $360
3% at gas stations (not Costco or supermarket gas stations) = $180 if you spend $500 a month [no maximum on gas cashback].
3% at department stores (I think they mean stores like Macy's - good if you're buying a couch, I guess!)
1% everything else.
So for this card, I would only use it for groceries and gas (or that couch) and I would get $615 the first year and $465 a year thereafter. At year 2+ it works out to 3.8% cashback on spending $6,000 each in grocery and gas after annual fee.

I'd compare that with your miles bonus offer less annual fee (if any), then the reward you expect on the same level of spending ($12,000 in my example) for year 2 and beyond.

I would absolutely apply for both. I believe the general idea is that though your credit score may dip a few points for a month or so, the new available credit will decrease your utilization, so your score will go up.
The $200 Disney Visa is a slam dunk deal: $200 free Disney gc with a very small spending minimum to get the bonus (is yours $500?). Then you get discounts on food and merchandise, and a free character photo every day you are at the Park with the Chase Disney Meet & Greet! (I'm not sure where that is in WDW - Epcot?) ETA: You and your DH should *each* get a Disney Visa. You will both get the $200 bonus!
It's a lot to keep track of while you're qualifying for your bonuses, and I almost resorted to putting stickers on DH's cards so he could remember which he was to use for gas and which for groceries, but the benefits of maximizing free rewards make it worth getting used to!

 

[DHSbutcher]

I have the Delta AmEx and got the 35k mile bonus which was great, and it got me a free 500$roundtrip ticket to myrtle beach at the end of the month. I will also be using it for free bags for my August vacation with my mom. We have 3 legs of our trip, and at 2 bags each thats a great savings. I don't use this card that often though as I am currently working towards my 2k spend for my new Southwest card I got in the mail a couple weeks ago. The southwest deal was 50k points if you reach 2k spend in 3 months. I'm halfway there, with plenty of time left. Im hoping to get this soon so I can book a fall trip to disneyland! But for my "daily" spending I typically use my discover it! card. This is by far my favorite and I redeem the cash back for gift cards with a much higher value. Discover also checks your FICO credit score monthly and shows it online, a great bonus. Plus no annual fee. Right now I'm happy with my cards that I have, as i'm a single adult without kids and not too many extravagant expenses. Maybe eventually I would consider the Disney Visa, but there are many other cards out there that have better rewards in my eyes.

 

[itutorfortravel]

We have both the Disney Visa and an Amex Blue Sky. Before we got the Amex, we used the Disney Visa for everything because it gave us money for Disney. Now we use the Amex for everything unless a merchant doesn't take Amex.

We like the Amex because it gives us a higher reward and it's easy. We get $100 to use as a travel credit (on any travel related expense on our statement), for 7500 points.

For our recent trip to WDW, we have $1200 in travel credit to use, and boy did that help a great deal! I also had about $50 in Disney rewards to use, which I used to help pay for our PAP's.

I have thought about looking into another card for airline perks because we may be making shorter, but more frequent trips, with now having a DVC. And I think there may be other cards with opportunities to earn more points than our Amex. But the Amex is easy for us, and there is no fee, so we are happy

 

[scrapshappen]

Thanks for all the input. We have a week before we know for certain we are going to be able to pull off the Florida trip. So I think we'll wait for then before we decide on the AmEx. But we are going to DL for sure next month and a DCL cruise for sure sometime in the next year so I might go ahead and do the D Visa now.

 

[hsmamato2]

I recommend (if you have good credit,etc etc can pay off cc every month etcetc) NOT getting the Disney Visa at all... I'm less familiar with the Amex card, but I can understand wanting to build on previously earned points to use- I think the rewards program for the Disney card is dismal. (IMHO)
I find the Chase Sapphire Plus card+ Southwest Airlines bonuses combined to be the best deal to get to Disney multiple times, I wouldn't 'ding' my credit score for the Disney Visa since it' a one time 200.00 bonus, and the other 2 options I mention have much better bonuses that can be used in an ongoing scenario like you outlined,OP. (Chase Sapphire Plus can be transferred to other participating programs too,making it versatile) and the SWA card+bonus= lots of domestic air travel,plus better usage rewards than Disney.
as far as 'dings' I suggest you do a little research (million miles secrets is pretty good) on the how's...but when I apply for more than one card, I do it all at once, one after the other. (again, research this topic for yourself) which is supposed to be less of a hit than one, then another,then a another over weeks or months.(inquiries) From what I know, if you won't be applying for a major loan in the next 12-18 mos,no worries,the 'ding' is usually tiny.
There is a lot of good info out there to help you along..... it's a great way to boost your travel!

 

[alymae1010]

Make sure that's the Amex you want before you apply - their new rule is that cardmembers (primary account holder of ANY Amex card) cannot get another bonus, even on a different card, so make sure you're getting the best available bonus for your card and compare the other available Amex cards.

Everything I've read about the 5/1 change is that you can't get a bonus more than once for the same card. No more churning, but you can still get the bonus for other Amex products.

 

[platamama]

I agree with a PP that the Disney Visa is not a great reward card. Other than the 6 mo. 0% on Disney vacation packages, it has nothing great to offer with its measly 1%. Why not at least double that with 2% Barclay Arrival MC? It has a $400 (it works out to $440 actually) signup bonus, and the AF is waived for the first year.

Also, are you certain there will be reward flight availability with Delta for your planned dates? If not, why accumulate more SkyMiles?

If you are POSITIVE that you will be doing a Disney trip, then get the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred with 6% cash back at grocery stores, go load up on the Disney gift cards and get 6% cash back. At my Kroger store, there are Disney cards that can be loaded up with $500-$1500, and it shows up as a grocery store purchase. The only drawback is that if you have to cancel your plans, any refunds will go back to the gift card, not the credit card, so you should hold on to that gift card until you know for sure you are done with it.

 

[JillianMarie]

I'm somewhat into into the points and rewards thing and I have the Disney Visa but I never use it. I got it for the $200 gift card, met my spend, got my gift card and I don't think it's moved from my desk drawer in over a year. It's just not a very good rewards card. I also have the Delta Amex which is ok if you're extremely loyal to Delta. The bag fees thing is nice. You might also look into the Chase Sapphire (or Sapphire Preferred, which is what I have) if you travel and don't want to be completely beholden to Delta. But, since you're halfway to a free ticket you might as well get the AmEx, meet your spend, get your miles and use them for your next trip.

As far as your credit score - I wouldn't apply for a car loan or a home refinance the day after you apply for two credit cards but in the grand scheme of things it won't hurt you. At least my points chasing hasn't hurt me at all.

 

[JakeAndHooksMom]

I would do it. Actually, my husband and I both did this and got $400 in rewards. We have great credit and opening up these cards did not affect our score.

If you're interested in reading about the Disney card as well as a couple of others, we have a blog about it here: http://www.realmomsdisney.com/2014/06/getting-started-saving-for-disney.html

EDITED TO ADD:
I do want to point out that we aren't using this card outside of saving the 10% on purchases at the Disney Store and using it for park perks. The rewards system is really nothing compared to several other cards out there.

The two cards I would highly recommend are the MasterCard Citi Thank You Rewards and the BarclayArrival by Mastercard (as mentioned in the blog post I link to as well).

 

[DPickering]

I recommend (if you have good credit,etc etc can pay off cc every month etcetc) NOT getting the Disney Visa at all... I'm less familiar with the Amex card, but I can understand wanting to build on previously earned points to use- I think the rewards program for the Disney card is dismal. (IMHO) I find the Chase Sapphire Plus card+ Southwest Airlines bonuses combined to be the best deal to get to Disney multiple times, I wouldn't 'ding' my credit score for the Disney Visa since it' a one time 200.00 bonus, and the other 2 options I mention have much better bonuses that can be used in an ongoing scenario like you outlined,OP. (Chase Sapphire Plus can be transferred to other participating programs too,making it versatile) and the SWA card+bonus= lots of domestic air travel,plus better usage rewards than Disney. as far as 'dings' I suggest you do a little research (million miles secrets is pretty good) on the how's...but when I apply for more than one card, I do it all at once, one after the other. (again, research this topic for yourself) which is supposed to be less of a hit than one, then another,then a another over weeks or months.(inquiries) From what I know, if you won't be applying for a major loan in the next 12-18 mos,no worries,the 'ding' is usually tiny. There is a lot of good info out there to help you along..... it's a great way to boost your travel!

Very good post. IMHO best advice in this thread.

 

[akaler2010]

We have both cards and love them both.

We live in an area where Delta is the main airline, so we use that all the time. We have the platinum version where for $200 or so, we get all our checked bags, and a companion ticket for free each year. Considering we fly at least 2x a year, we always get at least our $200 worth, plus all the miles we accumulate.

We also have the Disney Visa, and we think it's pretty convenient. For us, we needed a Visa because not everywhere takes AmEx, and since we get an ok rate and we travel to disney every few years, it's worth it for us.

That being said, they fit our lifestyle, but may not be right for you. But we love them both!

 

[rockawaybeachgirl]

I recommend (if you have good credit,etc etc can pay off cc every month etcetc) NOT getting the Disney Visa at all... I'm less familiar with the Amex card, but I can understand wanting to build on previously earned points to use- I think the rewards program for the Disney card is dismal. (IMHO)
I find the Chase Sapphire Plus card+ Southwest Airlines bonuses combined to be the best deal to get to Disney multiple times, I wouldn't 'ding' my credit score for the Disney Visa since it' a one time 200.00 bonus, and the other 2 options I mention have much better bonuses that can be used in an ongoing scenario like you outlined,OP. (Chase Sapphire Plus can be transferred to other participating programs too,making it versatile) and the SWA card+bonus= lots of domestic air travel,plus better usage rewards than Disney.
as far as 'dings' I suggest you do a little research (million miles secrets is pretty good) on the how's...but when I apply for more than one card, I do it all at once, one after the other. (again, research this topic for yourself) which is supposed to be less of a hit than one, then another,then a another over weeks or months.(inquiries) From what I know, if you won't be applying for a major loan in the next 12-18 mos,no worries,the 'ding' is usually tiny.
There is a lot of good info out there to help you along..... it's a great way to boost your travel!

I play the points and miles game as a very lucrative hobby and agree with his 100%. Getting a 1% cash back card whoserewards can only be used for one type of expense is a losing proposition in my opinion. There are many cards that can yield a MUCH better return. In addition to tose mentioned above I'd add Chase Ink Bold if one has a business - 5x points for cable, phone, and office supply stores (including gift cards purchased at those stores). You can cash out for cash, or trasfer to a variety of airline or hotel partners. I've only had the card a few months and have racked up thousands of miles so far!

 

[aliceindisneyland]

Everything I've read about the 5/1 change is that you can't get a bonus more than once for the same card. No more churning, but you can still get the bonus for other Amex products.

If anyone has been able to get 2 Amex bonuses since May, I would love confirmation of this! When I applied for the Blue Cash Preferred, a window popped up warning me that if I was an Amex account holder I would not get the bonus. I take that to mean Amex account holder of any Amex card.
I did read something on one of the points blogs about the "any" Amex issue but I'm sorry, I can't remember which one; I just have my recent experience/interpretation to go on.
If I could get the bonuses for each Amex type I'd sign myself - and DH - up for several more!