Convince me the Disney Visa is worth it...

[jenf22]

I have a separate savings account to save for vacations, so I just take the statement credit and then transfer that amount from my checking account to my vacation account since my AmEx bill is now that much lower.

This is what I do too. I use the Barclay for pretty much everything, but there are still some AMEX purchases that are better deal. Whenever there is a statement credit on either card, I squirrel it away in my vacation fund. Then I can use it for whatever I want, it doesn't have to be Disney.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

My DH and I both have the Disney Visa cards, but we rarely use them. I figured out a long time ago (on a year we wanted to go somewhere else than Disney) that it's better to use our other credit cards (Chase Freedom and Bank of America) where we get 2-5% back. That way we get cash (or a statement credit which is basically cash in your pocket) in case we want to do something else with it, or we can use the cash to get good deals on Disney gift cards if we do want to go to Disney. Since we also go to Disney's HHI resort a lot, it's nice to have cash to pay for our meals and fishing excursions.

 

[TheGecko]

If you are a DVC member and visit frequently the card is a nice tool to help you save and not spend your points elsewhere. When one of my other cards has points I always end up spending them on an Amazon order or another gift card and they are quickly gone.

When I signed up last year I also received a $200 statement credit (cash, not gift cards) after spending $500 in three months, this is for the $49 a year version. Since we only plan to go to the world every other year, we should have enough accumulated to pay for food and a couple tickets for a weeks stay based on our normal spending.

That being said, if you are looking for perks like airline miles this card is not for you. When I used to travel quite a bit for work, these paid off the best especially when you used them on hotels which were tied into their program. I just recently changed jobs (due to the heavy travel, including international), and decided to close the airline cards since the airlines are getting worse and worse with their mileage programs due to all of the mergers.

 

[robinb]

I think if you get a bonus gift card for signing up and you'll use the 0% interest aspect of the card for Disney vacations, it would be worth it. I've had it since it came out and we used it for everything. We were rewarded by NEVER being offered any kind of bonus point earning offers (like 2% on gas, etc). I then got the Costco AMEX card and started using that since the cash back was just that ... cash instead of "mouse money". Plus I get 2% on travel and restaurants and 3% on gas. Now that Costco is dumping AMEX I am in the market for a new go-to card but the Disney Card is not it.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Did you know you can have "Disney Vacation Club" embossed on the front of the card? Just found this out a couple months ago.

No. It's jus the castle.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

I have one just for the few discounts you can get and for any in park perks (photo at Epcot) but I hardly use it. I have a Amex blue that rewards are way better. 6% on groceries ($360 rewards back max)

I just got the same Amex for the 6% back on groceries!

I was going to get the Disney visa that does not have the annual fee for the in park perks. I read they sometimes have a special line for card holders at character meet and greets.

 

[MrPTato]

I just got the same Amex for the 6% back on groceries!

I was going to get the Disney visa that does not have the annual fee for the in park perks. I read they sometimes have a special line for card holders at character meet and greets.

Yes...there are meet and greets in Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Line only had 2 or 3 people in it and we went 4 different times. Epcot met and greet was open from 1p-7p daily.

 

[jpuglvr]

Thanks for the $200 gift card link for the premier card! I signed up for that one and will cancel my regular one!

 

[PinkLemonade7503]

What discounts are offered with the card? Do both cards have the same discounts? Is there a list of discount locations?

 

[AnnaS]

There are definitely better reward credit cards out there but we do have the Chase Disney Visa card and use this exclusively. When they stop letting us use the rewards towards our DVC dues, I will shop for a better one. I know it's silly to think this way (can still use a better cash reward one and apply it that way or use it some other way), but these are those old habits that are hard to break

 

[MrPTato]

There are definitely better reward credit cards out there but we do have the Chase Disney Visa card and use this exclusively. When they stop letting us use the rewards towards our DVC dues, I will shop for a better one. I know it's silly to think this way (can still use a better cash reward one and apply it that way or use it some other way), but these are those old habits that are hard to break

Hard not to smile when you look at it. This is all my wife uses.

 

[Jaime4004]

Hard not to smile when you look at it. This is all my wife uses.

Totally! I have the pink card with mickey and minnie holding hands. I love looking at it and get lots of compliments from cashiers.

 

[MrPTato]

Totally! I have the pink card with mickey and minnie holding hands. I love looking at it and get lots of compliments from cashiers.

Wish there were options to customize to your favorite character or bring back some of the old designs. I am both an AU and have my own as well and have every design...makes it nice to switch it out from time to time.

 

[gofordrew]

If you have good credit, Disney Visa is one of the worst as far as rewards. Look into others to get good rewards for travel. Citi ThankYou Premier is one of them I recommend. Amex SPG card is also another good one and can been redeem at Disney Dolphin and Swan resorts.

 

[dwenviro]

Great feedback everyone. - I'm trying to decide whether to renew my premier card or go back to regular card. Even though it's not the best reward card out there I really like my Disney card - makes it easier when paying and reminds me of my happy place.
I think I can use my rewards to pay for airfare with premier card - has anyone done this and how easy is it? Thank you.

 

[JWigs]

We prefer the Capital One Venture since we don't live within driving distance of Disney and have to fly. But now that we are DVC owners, we want the miles (2 for every $1) to use for air, car or any travel related expense. If you're wanting cash, others listed some good ones but we prefer miles.

 

[mandis77]

Wow thanks everyone! Part of me wants to get the card because... well, it's Disney. But definitely want a card that sort of forces us to use the rewards towards vacations (Disney or otherwise). So many to choose from! At the advice of previous posters been looking at Citibank Thank you or Chase Sapphire Preferred.

I plan on opening card in April and booking whenever free dining is (hopefully) announced.

 

[MommyBryn]

We've had the original Disney Visa (before any annual fees). We got it for the $200 GC promotion. However, the benefits are so small, the only time I use it is if I KNOW we are going to DIsney in the near future, and if I would be getting the same percentage/points from any other of my cards for what I'm buying (basically anything outside of gas and groceries on my other cards, or Amazon, since we have that card too). I definitely wouldn't have it if it had an annual fee, it's not worth that at all IMO.

 

[leebee]

I have the Disney VISA that gives 1% back in rewards. I use it for everything unless we are churning SW cards for the rapid rewards points- and regardless of card, all balances are paid in full every month. We vacation at Disney every other year, so I usually have about $700 in "free money" built up in that time. We also usually have enough SW points for free airfare, and we often stay offsite, so we can vacation pretty cheaply this way. I know there are better offers, but if I got a "cash back" card, we wouldn't put the money aside for vacation; we'd spend it on bills. On the years we don't go to Disney, we visit family in OH/IN/LA so we don't usually have hotel bills associated with those trips, and minimal food/entertainment costs. The Disney VISA works for us, for now, although we will probably only have one more big Disney trip. I am considering getting the Premier card and saving up for a trip in three or so years... whenever Star Wars/Pixar Land/Avatar are finished. I should have a pretty good chunk saved up by then, but as I said, if it was "saved" via a traditional "cash back" card, there wouldn't be anything saved, so the Disney VISA works well for us.

 

[havaneselover]

This thread would be an interesting read for a behavioral economist. I don't get taking a smaller discount because a card has a certain design or because it's automatically saved toward something (buy a Disney gift card monthly with the savings and put it in a DVA) but apparently it makes sense to others.