Hey everyone. Long time lurker but just starting to get into this. I haven't read the whole thread so I apologize if this is repeat information, but I'm someone who participates in the "churning" game (i.e. opening up credit cards just for the sign-up bonuses).
For paying for DVC, my understanding is you can use Disney gift cards. Last year (before I knew about DVC) I was saving for a cash stay at Disney by buying discounted Disney gift cards. Consider it the same as prepaying for your vacation. Use websites like
gcgalore.com to track when Disney goes on sales at retailers.
I built a spreadsheet and managed to buy about $2k worth of gift cards with an average of a 12% discount. Even better if you are buying these gift cards from grocery retailers with cards like the Amex Gold, which gives 4x points on grocery spend. Many times, places like
Best Buy, Costco, Sam's Club, etc. will have 10-15% off on certain denominations (but have a limit as to how much you can buy). Other places like Meijer (for those in the midwest) routinely offer deals such as $5 of store credit for every $50 in gift cards you buy (with a max purchase of $500). I consider the store credit as good as cash, so it's similar to 10% off.
If you don't want to mess with gift cards, I understand. The best credit card to use to pay for DVC should be the new card you opened for the sign-up bonus (usually something like spend $5,000 to get $500 or 50k points). Even better if this card can go towards some meaningful status with an airline. For example, Southwest has the Companion Pass which lets you basically get BOGO flights for you and your companion for 1 full calendar year plus the remainder of the Calendar year you earned it in. To earn this companion pass, you need to earn 120k Southwest points. Sometimes the Southwest credit cards offer 80k points as a sign-up bonus. If you're putting a $30k charge on the card, that's an additional 30k points you'll get, putting you at 110k--you only need to spend $10k more on the card! Companion pass is HUGE for flight savings, and Southwest serves MCO airport quite favorably. So you can use your points to pay for yourself and add on your spouse for free. The points go pretty far too.
Otherwise, consider a new card you opened for 0% APR (if you need payment flexibility). Many have mentioned the Chase Sapphire Reserve as it gives 3x on travel, which can be redeemed for 4.5% back on travel through their portal (which you could use to book flights with whatever airline you want). This is definitely a good option. The Disney card itself is pretty underwhelming (I have no idea why it's so popular when there are cards out there that offer a flat 2% cashback on ALL spend) but getting 6-months at 0% APR is a nice perk. Can you get the 0% with an already open Disney card, or is that only a perk if you open the card at the same time you buy DVC?
My personal favorite is the US Bank Altitude Reserve--it has unlimited 3x on travel and mobile wallet spend. Points can be redeemed towards travel at 1.5cpp, meaning any place that codes as travel (which Disney does) or allows tap-to-pay will earn you 4.5% back on travel. And better yet, you don't have to use a portal like you do with Chase. You can charge the travel charge directly to your card, and then redeem your points against the charge. This means you can book a flight with an airline directly and then just erase the charge from your credit card statement (I personally like booking direct with airlines vs using an OTA, or online
travel agency like Expedia or Chase Travel Portal).
