Talk Disney Visa with me!

[emilyindisney]

Hi all!

I'm looking for some first hand info from any Disney Visa holders. I'm contemplating opening a card but don't know if its worth taking on another credit card for the savings.

I usually travel to Disney one to two times a year and charge the whole trip on my credit card, airfare included. I'm contemplating getting the Disney Visa to start putting my trips on though I probably wouldn't charge anything else on it as I already have a cash back card that I use for cash, groceries, etc.

What sort of in-park benefits do Disney Visa holders get? I thought I heard they get to register early for runDisney events- is this true?

I know that spending and credit card useful varies between person but I'm just looking for some thoughts on how its worked for you!

 

[sydneysmom]

We LOVE Disney visa. We've got the premier card so we get more points.... the $49 / year fee is high, but for the amount of points we get, it's more than worth it. We have our cash in envelopes and run everything from food shopping to car insurance through Visa to get the points. (then move the cash to the Chase envelope and pay the bill)

We loved it because you had access to the room discounts before the general public. That saved us about $1200 on our first trip, so it was a great thing. The other perks, I haven't really 'seen'. I tried many times using the discount code on Disney.com if you spend $50, but it NEVER works for me.

The best new feature, I think, is that you can use your rewards to pay yourself back for flights. We don't have a Disney trip planned, but we are going to Washington, DC next year... so far, we've got $ 385 in Disney dollars added up. (since last July...they add up quick). I'll use that to pay for our flights. So we keep using the card and adding points for our trip. To give you an idea, we are average spenders... we do not charge thousands each month. We put all grocery / gas / entertainment / movies / car insurance/ cable / cell phone on this card. So each month it's basically everything we had budgeted the cash for, we run on the card and then move the cash to Chase.

I don't know if it will benefit you if you only put vacations on the card... one thing, your points aren't available until the billing cycle is over. They really only add up if you use the card alot. If you have a card that you use for groceries / gas /entertainment, then you may not want this one unless you've got a good offer to get the card. We had "get $200 in Disney Dollars for signing up".... so yeah, that was worth it. We both got the card and the credits.

 

[mousefan5]

We use the card for everything and then pay it off each month. Like the benefit of not paying for a Disney trip for 6 months. Add perk of free photo at Disney world and Disneyland with special character spot. The dollars add up and should pay for a nice chunk of our cruise in a few years.

 

[scard192]

I have had the regular DV for 4 years; got $200 rewards dollars for signing up. I used the card every where I would only get 1% cash back. I also used it to pay for our trip in October and got a lot of rewards for that. All of our tips and souvies for our trip were paid for by the rewards and I still have $80 left in my account.

Last month I saw a $200 GC offer for the Premiere Card in the Disney Insider e-mail and signed up. Even after the $49 fee, I am still $151 ahead and have the GC for our next trip. I will cancel the Premiere card before next years fee is due.

The biggest perk is that DV holders usually get a 3 day head start on booking promotions, especially Free Dining which is huge. This past summer the Fall FD did not give DV the advance booking window, it went straight to GP.

Love all the free $$ from my Disney Visa cards. I pay off all my credit cards every month.

 

[Disworldluv]

My wife and I use our Disney Visa as the previous writers have mentioned. When we visit WDW, we use our points earned for fancy meals at various sites on property. In addition, I have used points for airfare. All in all, I am very satisfied with this card and it's the only one I use.

 

[emilyindisney]

To clarify- do you all have the premier card?

 

[got2lovedisney]

Love love love my Disney Visas (I have 3 regular & 1 premier). I use it for everything!

Just saw a promo at the park/downtown Disney: apply and get approved for your Premier Visa and get a $200 statement credit after first use. I did this on a previous trip to MK (though it was an immediate $100 giftcard at that time) and picked up my card that same night at Downtown Disney.

 

[crisi]

Because its a 1% card and we don't go to Disney that often, we tend to use other cards that carry more of a benefit for us to them. Delta Amex gives us miles - which combined with my husband's travel miles (we are in Delta hub) we don't pay for airfare for family vacations any more. My Costco card gives me 1% back - 3% on gas, in the form of cash to spend at Costco - a better deal for me than waiting to spend rewards dollars at Disney. My Target card gives me 5% at Target, including on Disney gift cards.

At Disney, we are DVC members, so we don't pay for our room. Our tickets are bought through Undercover Tourist, so it isn't a Disney buy, and the money we spend at Disney is mostly on gift cards bought with the 5% or almost 10% when we have pharmacy rewards Target discount. So "free" money at Disney isn't a good deal for us.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We only use our Disney Visa while at Disney to get any discounts. The 1% rewards is not enough to encourage us to use it. I have the AMEX Blue Cash card that gives me 3% on gas and groceries. It's already gave us 2 roundtrip tickets worth from MD to CA.

 

[buzz2400]

I have a disney visa card but only use it to get the free photo at epcot and the discount at the big disney store at the marketplace. You also get a discount online at disneystore.com. I also like the idea that I get a few days ahead of other people to book a room when I do go. I don't normally charge on the card because my chase gives me more than disney. Also I can cash my chase points to cash and then I don't have to bother spending it at disney.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I like the 0% interest rate x 6 mos for DCL or WDW packages. It's just long enough to take my time paying without dragging it out too long.
I don't have the premier card because I don't charge enough on it to make the point earnings worth it to pay an annual fee.
Just recently I got an offer in the mail, by being a Chase Disney visa cardholder, to earn a $40 Disney gift card by calling an 800 # and listening to a 20 min sales pitch on DVC. In reality, it lasted less than 3 minutes which he basically said, "I'll be mailing you some information." I wouldn't have minded getting paid $40 to talk about Disney. I do it for free all the time.
This is the 2nd time I got this offer. The first was when Aulani was just built.

I did just get some "refer your friends" cards in the mail that offers a $200 Disney gift card to the new cardholder and earns us 50 reward dollars. If you're interested & can't find a $200 gift card offer anywhere else feel free to PM me.

When I first got the card, I was given a $40 account credit after my first purchase.

 

[scottmel]

I open and close credit cards as a part time hobby! This year I opened Amex Blue and got 500.00 statement credit when booking hotel rooms(no fee for this card). So therefore put that towards Disney.

Opened 2 new SW visa cards (I close them every year before annual fee is due) and have over 100k miles in my account.

Opened another Disney visa for the 200.00 statement credit.

Opened a Marriott rewards for 4 free nights to finance spring break at Disney.

I pay every balance off every month and carry no debt. But the free-bees are just too irresistible to pass up!!!!!

 

[MrDanielOwens]

I open and close credit cards as a part time hobby! This year I opened Amex Blue and got 500.00 statement credit when booking hotel rooms(no fee for this card). So therefore put that towards Disney.

Opened 2 new SW visa cards (I close them every year before annual fee is due) and have over 100k miles in my account.

Opened another Disney visa for the 200.00 statement credit.

Opened a Marriott rewards for 4 free nights to finance spring break at Disney.

I pay every balance off every month and carry no debt. But the free-bees are just too irresistible to pass up!!!!!

This hobby is definitely something I have thought about, but I'd be careful. Average life of credit lines factors into your credit score.

 

[scottmel]

This hobby is definitely something I have thought about, but I'd be careful. Average life of credit lines factors into your credit score.

I always pay in full and have no mortgage and pay cash for cars so am absolutely debt free. Two years ago when we bought our new car I had the sales guy figure out what my interest would be b/c I was curious of the credit score - he told me it was 1.97 interest rate and had never saw an interest rate so low for a customer - said my credit was outstanding. so I took this as a sign that my open/close must be ok since I pay in full etc.

 

[Brewersprts]

I have the Disney Premiere Visa. I signed up on Disney's website instead of the Chase website and got a $200 statement credit instead of $200 disney gift card. We buy a lot of Disney stuff and spent a lot at the Disney store for Christmas. I figure the $200 statement credit pays for the card for 4 years. With the 10% off on orders over $50 at the disney store the card has almost paid for itself in the couple months I have had it. And when we eat those expensive dinners at disney I will be glad to get the discount.

I will probably downgrade the card to the normal Disney Visa after 4 years and just use the card for the discounts at Disney. I don't want to do it soon because I do not want it to have a negative effect on my credit.

But for normal purchases, I use different cards because the percent back is higher and it can be used for anything. Not just Disney. I use Chase freedom because each quarter I get 5% back in certain categories. And I use a bank of American cash rewards for the 3% gas and 2% on groceries (actually I get 2% on everything I buy at walmart, not just the groceries, because they consider it a grocery store)

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I have had the Disney Visa card for several years now and I love it. I use it for almost all of my shopping (except for when Discover is offering 5% back in a category then I use it for that timeframe). I have my cell phone and cable bills charged to it and I use it to pay insurance, and just about anything else I can.

This year was my first trip staying on Disney property, and I booked room only so I can say I don't use it for the vacation perk. I do try to take advantage of the free photo in EPCOT, but the hours are so limited I certainly wouldn't use that as a reason to have the card.

The way that I use the card is basically as a Disney dining card. Since I don't book a dining plan, the points I accrue on the DV covers my cost for eating on Disney property.

My last trip I had over $900.00 in Disney reward dollars to spend. I have the regular card, not the premier card.

 

[RAD]

I've had the regular Disney Visa card for years and last year upgraded to the Premier for $49/year, but at the end of that year went back to the regular Visa card. Frankly I'd look for a cash back card that pays more then the Disney card. Just about anyone can get a card that give 1% back on all purchases, which is what the Disney Visa does, plus extra percentages at certain merchants. You can then use that cash back at Disney or for anything else you want to use it for vs. being locked into a Disney rewards card. I might have kept the Premier card if they offered better rewards but looking at my spending pattern the $49/year fee didn't justify the added expense.

 

[Marionnette]

My Disney Visas (both mine and my husband's) sit in a drawer and aren't being used right now. I've moved all of our recurring bills (cable/internet, heating oil, cell phones, etc) to my Chase Sapphire. The rewards are still only 1% on most purchases but they are more flexible than the Disney Visa's rewards.

I used to use my Disney Visa for just about everything but when they went to the Premier version and stopped making any 5X offers, I decided to shelf it. I'm not going to pay $49/year for a card that only gives me 1% more in rewards with limited use. There are too many rewards credit cards out there with better benefits.

 

[emilyindisney]

Thanks for the insight, guys!

I'm still on the fence but I'm contemplating opening one before our next trip and giving the in-park perks a try to start with.

 

[DLW8]

I have had the Disney visa since it was first offered and upgraded to the premiere card 2 years ago when they offered 5x for the first 90 days as that coincided with paying off our Disney cruise. The premiere card Is $49 per year but also gives 2% on restaurant, gas and groceries with 1% on everything else. This is our primary card and we use it for everything and pay it off each month. I had planned on going back to regular Disney visa after the first year once I had to pay the annual fee, but the extra percentage I get more than covers the fee.

I love the 6 month free financing on Disney vacations, that is my favorite perk and the points are our extra savings plan for our trips. They help pay for our excursions on DCL and the dining plan at WDW.