On January 1st we had a family meeting and decided to start saving for our very first trip to WDW. We don't use credit cards, but we are thinking about getting the Disney Visa card. We budget $400 for groceries each month and $200 for gas each month. That would probably be the only thing that would be put on the card and it would be paid off every month. At 1% back in rewards money, is it worth getting the card just for $7200/year?? We'd end up just getting $7 in rewards each year. Are there any other perks that come with having the card that we should know about?
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Disney Visa---worth it??
- Thread starter Hisgal2
- Start date
Ha! Apparently my math skills are awful today. Well, $72 makes me feel MUCH better than $7!!! I've read the rewards page, but I wanted to ask people who have and use the card to see if it is really worth it.
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wsmith1978
Well-Known Member
I don't do this, but I have a friend who purchases EVERYTHING down to gas and groceries with her Disney card, pays it off every month (does not carry a balance so there's no interest), and typically has at least $600 in rewards to use towards or during her next trip. I'm working on it! 
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nolatron
Well-Known Member
If looking to get a rewards card, make sure to check out what else out there.
We had a Disney Visa and eventually switched to a Capital One Venture to earn 2% on everything and rewards that can be used for anything travel related. But we also charge literally everything we can and then pay it off every month. Even with the annual fee it's more than paid for itself to us.
Between our previous trip in Feb 2013 and our trip we leave for tomorrow, we earned enough in rewards to cover both our airfare and hotel.
We had a Disney Visa and eventually switched to a Capital One Venture to earn 2% on everything and rewards that can be used for anything travel related. But we also charge literally everything we can and then pay it off every month. Even with the annual fee it's more than paid for itself to us.
Between our previous trip in Feb 2013 and our trip we leave for tomorrow, we earned enough in rewards to cover both our airfare and hotel.
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flynnibus
Premium Member
Not at the same levels. They've been clawing upwards from the primordial ooze... But are generally not in the same tiers. For instance, you may not be liable for charges, but that doesn't mean they necessarily will refund you immediately. Or having to deal with holds on the card... Etc
At the end of the day, credit card companies are collecting more fees from merchants and higher interest from users... Meaning there will always be more money in the pot to tease buyers with than debit transactions
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nolatron
Well-Known Member
I had my Debit Card number compromised a few years back and it resulted in every dollar in my checking account to be frozen cause they managed to drop my balance to nearly $-5,000. I wasn't responsible for any of the fraudulent charges but because of how every transaction rolled into the account from merchants and the daily processing it took to reject, it was nearly a week before I could touch any of my money.
After that I never used a debit card again.
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DManRightHere
Well-Known Member
Not worth it. Better cashbacks are out there for 3-5%. I would get the cards if the $200 gift card is being offered and then cancel the card.
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Disnee4Me
Well-Known Member
I have the Disney Visa. Cashed out $200 in October to book December 2015 family trip. I still have about $1600 but that is over the last five years. I find that using the Discover card is even better. In August 2013, I bought $300 worth of Disney gift cards at BJ's Wholesale and paid $288 for them. I then cashed out $300 in Discover $$$ to pay off the bill when it came, so the gift cards were free. Since August 2013, I have earned over $700 in Discover $$$ because of two reasons --- they run promotions where you can earn 5% cashback bonus and because we had to (all during 2014) pay out $300/month in medical bills for my husband's brain surgery. By next November, just before we leave I will probably have $1200 or better on the Discover card and will buy gift cards again at BJ's ($96 for every $100 card) and will have plenty of $$$$ for my vacation. Goal here is a free trip. And yes I pay my balances off every month not to accrue interest.
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
The two big advantages that I can think of is the 6 month no interest on any Disney vacation purchases and on some promotions, Disney Visa cardholders do get first notice on that promotion. In order to book you MUST use the Disney Visa card for at least the deposit amount during the Visa promotion period. It always does open up to the general public a few days later. Marie
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flynnibus
Premium Member
we've rehashed this prior on if the Visa is a good card vs other options - clearly the Disney Visa is not the BEST card... but many disney fans feel more comfortable in that the 'locked in' rewards help them save for a disney trip they plan on making anyways... so they stick to it.
@DManRightHere makes a great point about getting in on the promotion where they give you free money after spending a fixed amount. But it's not fair to say 3-5% is the norm otherwise. In capped categories, or with annual fees, yes you can get more than 1.5%... but obviously in this poster's case, they aren't that kind of credit card user.
@DManRightHere makes a great point about getting in on the promotion where they give you free money after spending a fixed amount. But it's not fair to say 3-5% is the norm otherwise. In capped categories, or with annual fees, yes you can get more than 1.5%... but obviously in this poster's case, they aren't that kind of credit card user.
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JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I NEVER use my Disney Visa card because I have another card with better rewards, but I got it anyway to take advantage of the discounts at various places in WDW and DLR as well as the special character meet & greet. Plus I can use it to book Disney promotions before they are offered to the general public. It looks pretty in my wallet too 
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DManRightHere
Well-Known Member
I should have said 2-5%, I never really payed attention the the caps..I don't usually spend that much in bonus categories. All of my cards are no annual fee.
Here are my current favorites.
BOA Cash Rewards- 3% gas, 2% grocery, 1% everything.
BOA Better Balance - not really cash back...but much better. $25 statement credit every 3 months of paying over you minimum balance. I use one bill on this card for $34.99 each month. That makes about 24-25% back for me.
Chase Freedom - I think 1% on everything and 5% on quarterly bonuses (grocery, gas, Amazon).
Don't forget many of these credit cards web sites allow you to link to many retailers for bonus cashback at usually 5%.
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TurboCaroline
Is it 5:00 yet?
I've had mine for about 10 years and that's the only card I use. I usually spend about $1200/month on it so that's $12 in rewards. Since I don't know when my next trip to WDW is, I've been just transferring a little of the money to the reward card and using it at the Disney Store.
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DizneyPryncess
Well-Known Member
We have had ours for a long time, and we like it. It's the card we use for most everything, so we do get a lot of Disney points for the next trip. We've used it for tour discounts, the Epcot meet & greet, Disney store discounts and to book room discounts in the past.
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I don't do this, but I have a friend who purchases EVERYTHING down to gas and groceries with her Disney card, pays it off every month (does not carry a balance so there's no interest), and typically has at least $600 in rewards to use towards or during her next trip. I'm working on it!
We are similar to this friend. We purchase everything on it and pay it off every month. The upgrade to the Premier card is certainly worthwhile for us as we are getting double back for the vast majority of our purchases (gas, groceries, restaurants, Disney) for $49 a year. If you shop at Wal Mart, most Wal Marts are considered 'grocery stores' by the folks at Chase, so you get 2% there as well (with Premier). We also use the perks at Disney (photo spot, 10% discounts on dining and merch at Disney) quite a lot.
Also, once our card number did get hacked and Chase was very good helping us through the situation quickly and painlessly.
While other cards may give us more cash back, we find that between the cash back and the other perks, the Disney card is our best value.
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Disneydreamer23
Well-Known Member
You get free 5x7 picture at Epcot with characters for free 10%off 50 at disney world or disney store free financing on trips ! I love mine
10%off 50 at disney world or disney store free financing on trips ! I love mine
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