Cash, Credit or Debit?

[H20Babie]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but ...

Which is best to use on a WDW vacation? While I like the idea of charging to my Key to the World, I do not like it going onto a credit card! Likewise, I don't like carrying a lot of cash and traveller's cheques are just a pain in the !

As a solo, am I better off with just cash and my debit card (bank machine)? Since I'm on the DDP, the only money I'll be needing is for souvies and snacks; everything else is paid for. I am budgeting approx. $50-100 per day (more than enough, I think). And, Disney cards won't work for me as we can only get them in CDN dollars and are only useable at the Canadian Disney Stores.

(Any replies from fellow Canucks or Brits would also be appreciated!)

:wave:

 

[H20Babie]

Well, better safe than sorry then!

I ended up purchasing half cash and half TCs. I'll put the TC's down on the KTTW card and have the cash for incidentals. I'll also bring my debit card, but as an emergency backup for ATMs (plus, I believe there is an actual branch of my bank just off site if there was a real cash emergency).

Thanks everyone! :wave:

 

[Wolfclan Dan]

We just got back, cry and had some $400 in cash that we wanted to deplete before using CC's. Like you, we were on the DDP so we didn't have many expenses. The CM at the Poly put the $400 on our room charge (as a credit), then when that was used up, the remainer went to our credit card. That way, you can still "charge" to your KTTW card, but in reality, it's functioning as a debit card until you use up the cash you put down. It worked great! Have a great trip!

P.S. The Poly is WONDERFUL!!!! :sohappy:

Wow, what a great idea! This is what I am going to do!

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

We had used travellers checks, then swithed to a re-loadable Visa, just to stay on budget. We Now use our Disney Visa so we can build points for our next trip. Just a word of caution, some debit cards, and credit cards charge a fee to exchange the US dollar to Canadian dollar, or the other way around. check with your credit card company to see if you get charged a fee to go from US to canadian on your billing.

 

[bluefaery]

I normally bring a pre-paid visa and my Disney visa w/ me. I don't use my Disney visa except at World of Disney or places like that to get a discount.

 

[Cole'sMom]

We use our Disney Visa as our charging card for KTTW then we pay it off the day after we get back. We might as well get the points for our next trip! We use our Disney Visa for all of our vacations. We have used it throughout the year and then pay it off weekly. The points really add up when you do daily things on it! It's the only CC my husband and I possess.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

All our accounts are held by Chase bank...checking, savings, 2 major credit cards including Disney Visa, and the larger of our two auto loans. Chase loves us. And we love them because they are the ones with the ATMs on property. :kiss: Because we have the convenience of not paying ATM fees we just pop over and snag some cash whenever we need to. Large purchases (like when we get the kids their gift cards for their trip money) goes onto the Disney Visa. We also link our KTTK cards to the Disney Visa. It just works out good for us. We love Chase!

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

Is the only ATM at AK still up at the Entrance? And theres not too many ar DHS either. Just the one up front, and mybe still one back in Pizza Planet near the arcade machines.

 

[MichWolv]

We use our Disney Visa as our charging card for KTTW then we pay it off the day after we get back. We might as well get the points for our next trip! We use our Disney Visa for all of our vacations. We have used it throughout the year and then pay it off weekly. The points really add up when you do daily things on it! It's the only CC my husband and I possess.

I have this card, but rarely use it, except as necessary to take advantage of discounts at WDW or from special offers. Why? Because it only gives 1% credit, and I have three other cards that offer 2% back in cash. The Disney Visa is pretty, but I'd rather have 2% of my charges in cash than 1% for use on Disney stuff.

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

If you have 1 or 200 cards that have 2% cash bach, isn't the total reward the same when you add them all together?

We use our Disny Visa as part of our Disney savings plan.

Do all your cards offer 2% back on all purchases, all year, with a limit of $75,000 in purchases. (750 reward dollars) Some cards drop the reward % at $3,000 in purchases, down to .5%, our Discover card had that loop hole.

 

[MichWolv]

If you have 1 or 200 cards that have 2% cash bach, isn't the total reward the same when you add them all together?

We use our Disny Visa as part of our Disney savings plan.

Do all your cards offer 2% back on all purchases, all year, with a limit of $75,000 in purchases. (750 reward dollars) Some cards drop the reward % at $3,000 in purchases, down to .5%, our Discover card had that loop hole.

Well, not to go into too much detail, but you did ask...

I have a Costco branded AMEX that gives 3% at restaurants and on travel, 1% everywhere else (and you don't have to spend the rebate at Costco); a Citibank card that gives 2% on gas, groceries, and drugstores, and 1% everywhere else; and a Countrywide branded Visa that gives 2% back on everything if you deposit the 2% in a Countrywide bank account or use it to pay down a Countrywide mortgage (which we have) -- 1% if you want it in cash.

They've all got some limits attached, so I choose which of the three cards based on what I'm charging and whether I've hit a limit or not.

Since we pay 'em all off each month, the 2% rebates pretty much kill the profit margin the issuer might otherise make on the processing, but if they offer it, I'll take advantage.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I did a Half and Half deal..Half my cash was with me and half my cash was in my debit card...It was easier for me to maintain what I can do and what I couldn't and going solo myself I've haven't had a problem in the past 6 years I've gone.

 

[fireworkz]

Something for Canadians to keep in mind about Credit Cards while traveling, most of them charge a service fee for placing charges on your card in US$. Some banks also do this on debit cards too depending on which features you have on your bank account.

To help avoid this I think mousefan1972's idea would be a great one, that way you only have one charge go to your credit card or bank account and have only one fee charged instead of several for many transactions.

 

[shanny]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but ...

Which is best to use on a WDW vacation? While I like the idea of charging to my Key to the World, I do not like it going onto a credit card! Likewise, I don't like carrying a lot of cash and traveller's cheques are just a pain in the !

As a solo, am I better off with just cash and my debit card (bank machine)? Since I'm on the DDP, the only money I'll be needing is for souvies and snacks; everything else is paid for. I am budgeting approx. $50-100 per day (more than enough, I think). And, Disney cards won't work for me as we can only get them in CDN dollars and are only useable at the Canadian Disney Stores.

(Any replies from fellow Canucks or Brits would also be appreciated!)

:wave:

dont forget you need to leave a tip out of pocket now, so make sur eyou budget for that as well! :wave:

 

[kimmychad]

we just link our debit to our key to the world card, just easy for us

 

[Sihtyrk]

As a fellow Canadian who banks with Royal Bank, I know that RBC has another bank it owns in the Florida area, called RBC Centura.

I recently went over to Washington state, and I was able to use my RBC debit card there, it lets you enter your pin and everything. RBC has apparently just started allowing people to use the card there.

I would call RBC and ask them about it, but I didn't have any problems using my card.