Chase Disney Reward Card...is it worth getting?

[Respect the Walt.]

I keep getting offers in the mail for this card. Whenever I book a Disney vacation they ask if I am paying with this card. Is the Disney Rewards card worth it? Anyone have it and can explain the advantages that come along with having one. Also they vaguely state certain purchases at certain Disney places you get 10% off if you spend at least $50. But they wouldn't specify which places and what items. It is difficult to get precise information on this card. Can anyone help and advise?

 

[mousefreak]

We have the card. Make sure you pay it off every month or otherwise its not worth it. They are always offering a $50, $100 or even sometimes a $200 gift card when you sign up. We were able to get a $100 gift card, then we got to our resort for one trip and noticed a $200 offer. $100 is still better than nothing.
You get 10% off every purchase at Disney Store.com, at the resort and park gift shops, along with other locations and misc perks. Another nice bonus is a special character meet and greet at Epcot. You'll receive a free photo of the m&g. We also take advantage of the 6 month terms for your Disney vacation.
Hop this helps.

 

[Ariel484]

Apologies in advance for the long post...

I think it depends on what you spend your money on, how you pay the card off, and what kind of rewards you want.

To clarify, there are 2 cards, and both had the perks @mousefreak described above (6mos no interest on trips, 10% off, etc.). As I understand it, the "regular" Disney Visa has no annual fee, you get 1% rewards on everything you spend, and you can only get rewards in the form of a Disney gift card.
The "premier" Disney Visa has a $49 annual fee...the different is that you get 2% rewards on groceries, gas, restaurants and Disney purchases. You get your rewards in the form of a Disney gift card or airline miles (not totally sure how the airline miles rewards work).

We've had one of the two Disney Visa cards for awhile. Having the "regular" sort of seemed like a no-brainer as there was no annual fee. I'm sure the interest is ridiculous but we always pay our bills in full every month, so that wasn't an issue for us. Recently we were able to pull up all of our old statements through Chase to see if the premier card was better for us. The Chase statements were already divided into spending categories (gas, groceries, etc.) so we did the math on what our 2012 rewards were with the regular Disney Visa vs. what they would have been if we'd had the premier Visa, subtracting out the $49 fee. The premier card won out (we would have gotten $50 or so more in rewards IIRC) so we switched to that one. The 2% back on restaurants and groceries is key for us (gas less so). We also have a Chase Freedom card that has 1% back on everything, no annual fee and 5% back on certain items depending on the quarter. Right now we like accumulating lots of Disney rewards because when our trips come up we're able to use those rewards to pay for our meals, so that's our primary card. We only use the Chase Freedom on items that fall in the 5% reward category (right now it's gas). I'm certain that there are better cards out there and that we could be getting better rewards, but this is what we prefer to do right now. Everyone once in awhile we re-evaluate like I described above (looking at historical statements)...if our spending habits or vacation preferences change we'll switch up our system.

There are other benefits to cardmembers...occasionally we'll get emails about Disney package discounts before they are released to the public. There's also discounts and early registration for the runDisney race weekends and discounts on tours at Disney. I also get emails for pre-sale events for Disney shows (was able to get tickets for The Lion King stage show before they went on sale).

As for store discounts, I have just started asking at each Disney store if they take Disney Visa or AP discounts...I don't feel like memorizing the list of places that do take them so I always ask.

TL;DR - it's not the best card out there, but evaluate your spending habits, read up on the rewards and figure out if it'll work for you.

 

[dreamfinder]

Agree mostly with the above. If you pay all your bills on time, then it might work out for you. If you don't have another rewards CC that offers better rewards, then it might work out for you. But paying late more than negates any points, and there are other cards you can use for your flights that add up much faster, so you get free flights instead of some of your hotel free. (Or however many points you would earn.) If you do choose to sign up, definitely wait for one of the better freebies. They still occasionally do the $100 or $200 cards. Don't sign up just because unless you are getting something extra for it.

More indepth run down on the perks here -> http://disneyrewards.com/perks/wdw-perks The merchandise discount is basically 10% off Disney merchandise at Disney owned/operated shops. So you can't buy a new set of Cobra golf clubs at the pro shop and get a discount, nor can you buy a kimino at Mitsukoshi and get a discount. But you can buy most of the stuff at WoD, Emporium, resort stores, etc. Other things like stamps, DVDs, tickets, etc are also excluded.

 

[Master Yoda]

This advice holds true for pretty much any reward card....If you can pay off your balance without paying interest AND you can use the reward points easily then you should get it.

The biggest pitfall is interest. The second you start paying interest, your rewards begin to vaporize. If you are disciplined you can really rack up the rewards by using your card for every last thing you can. 1% of your grocery bill, fuel for your car, cell phone bills...anything you can use a charge card for, adds up really quick.

 

[Respect the Walt.]

We do pay off our credit card bills in full every month. That is not an issue. The deal I am offered is the $200 gift card deal. Now we also just booked our next Disney vacation. We only put down the required deposit of course. So there is around $3500 we could charge there. Does that equate to $350 reward dollars that we can get back in the form of a gift card also; in addition to the $200 for charging it over $500 in the first 3 months. Are these Disney gift cards to only be spent at Disney owned businesses/ properties?

 

[Ariel484]

We do pay off our credit card bills in full every month. That is not an issue. The deal I am offered is the $200 gift card deal. Now we also just booked our next Disney vacation. We only put down the required deposit of course. So there is around $3500 we could charge there. Does that equate to $350 reward dollars that we can get back in the form of a gift card also; in addition to the $200 for charging it over $500 in the first 3 months. Are these Disney gift cards to only be spent at Disney owned businesses/ properties?

No, not $350 in rewards. If you get the regular Disney Visa, you get 1% back...so $35. If you get the premier card you'll get $70 back (2%).

Rewards are just like regular Disney gift cards...so you can use them at the Disney store, for merch around property, toward your room payment, for your meals, etc.

 

[Respect the Walt.]

No, not $350 in rewards. If you get the regular Disney Visa, you get 1% back...so $35. If you get the premier card you'll get $70 back (2%).

Rewards are just like regular Disney gift cards...so you can use them at the Disney store, for merch around property, toward your room payment, for your meals, etc.

Crap on poo I did my math wrong. Thanks for the correction. Damn a $4000 vacation will only generate a $40 gift card. That is pretty harsh.

 

[luv]

If you have decent credit and do a little homework, you'll find much better deals. I did.

 

[cgulls]

Here's a blog about the value of the Chase Disney Visa card http://blog.touringplans.com/2011/0...key-mouse-card-or-valuable-touring-accessory/

 

[cgulls]

We have the Premier Card. It's not a great card compared to other rewards cards. But we use it for two reasons:

1. It's the only card I've found that gives 2% on UNLIMITED grocery purchases. We spend enough on groceries that it covers the card's annual fee
2. It's fun. The card is a conversation starter.

 

[sxeensweet]

Yes me and DH think the cards are worth it esp the Premier Card! We make usually almost $1000 bucks inbetween trips (every other year). We use it for all our grocery(except Target b/c their card gives 5% back) , gas , restaurants, and Disney purchases. It adds up fast and we are just the 2 of us. A family of more can easily earn alot more! Yes there is other cards that sometimes give 5% back on certain items or always 2% etc but this card has worked the best for us and has the least restrictions/Maximums etc. We have some of those other cards but still end up mainly using the Disney Card. Also like others said the Premier Card designs can't be beat!! Lol I get compliments and DH does too all the time when people see them. DH has Sorcerer Mickey and I have Mickey and Minnie. Also we still have our 1% Disney cards too.

 

[KCheatle]

We like it for Disney Vacations. It's nice to have the 6 months no interest. It basically gives us a year to pay for a vacation with no interest. The way we do it is we book at least 6 months out (usually closer to 7-8 months out) with the $200 down (which we occasionally put on the Disney Visa to take advantage of any special offers, but then pay it off right away or just put it on our debit card if no special offers).

Then, what I do is I take the total trip and divide it into 12 payments. My math is derived from the understanding that I will make a payment to the Disney website every month until I have to pay the balance in full 45 days out. Once I get to the 45 days out, just about half of the trip cost is left to pay (since we book 7-8 months out). But, since I get 6 months no interest, I just keep making the same payments until it is completely paid off on the Disney visa never having accrued any interest. So, basically it takes my ~$4,500 trip and breaks it into monthly payments of about $350/month - which isn't bad for us.

 

[JIMINYCR]

We're going back in September with extra cash to spend in Disney Rewards. It sure is worth it to us. Every trip we look forward to that extra that we didnt have to make any effort to save. It has paid for souvenirs, dinners, tours, and lots of things we otherwise might not have done.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

I am a new Disney Visa Premier Card Holder and I love it so far. I haven't had it long enough to rack up the rewards, even though I do have some already! I am waiting for my $100 Disney Giftcard to come in the mail.. perfect to bring on my upcoming trip in November as spending money!

Everyone is different in what they think is better for them. I wish I would have signed up for this card long ago. I would have way more rewards by now. I like to use the card for everyday purchases and pay off the balance each month.

 

[nolatron]

We used to have the Disney Visa but dropped it in favor of the Capital One Venture card. The Venture does have $59/year fee but I now get double miles on every purchase that we can use for any type of travel expense (hotels, airfare, rental cars, park tickets from 3rd party discounters, etc...). I like having the rewards not locked to just Disney now.

We charge everything we can and pay it off everything month. It's been 7 months since we emptied our rewards for our last vacation and I already have 74,503 miles, or $745 to use (just drop the last two digits off the miles for your dollar amount).

Really though, compare it to other cards. Don't just jump on it cause it's Disney. You may find other cards have a better reward return.

 

[Poofiesdream]

I got the card because I got a $100. gift card. I only use it for Disney stuff. The points still add up. I love the free photo at Epcot too. We never carry a balance and use the discount when we can. By using it at Disney when I get home I know exactly how much I spent on that trip. We use it to pay for the room, tickets and if we do dinning. That gives me points to use when I get there. Not a lot but it all helps.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

It is a nice card to have but it doesn't rack up a lot of value. I like it because of the discount in the parks for souvenirs and the free picture at the parks.

 

[sxeensweet]

It is a nice card to have but it doesn't rack up a lot of value. I like it because of the discount in the parks for souvenirs and the free picture at the parks.

The value adds up faster than one thinks esp if you have kiddos. We do not and still earn a significant amount. We use it for all everyday expenses, and pay off each month and we always have a lot of reward dollars available come time for our next trip esp with the Premier Card. Also you can use the rewards to spend at the Disney Store and DisneyStore.com. Others have stated about the Venture Card through Capital One to earn miles/rewards and we never fly for any vacations we usually take as we like road trips. We even drove all the way to DC instead of flying so for us our Disney Card is perfect for what it best used for. We do have other cards to earn Hilton Hhonors points that helps when we go on trips other than Disney. It truly though is a personal decision but for us the card gives us almost all of our extra spending money (souvenirs,etc) for our Disney trips up to around $1000 or more with not having to do much effort on our end.

 

[tare]

It's good for discounts at parks but not the rewards part. Get a cap one card way better for the rewards $$$$