Disney Credit Card - is it really worth it?

[colleenr]

I was just wondering if it is really worth getting the credit card or just get a regular card that offers cash back? We are debating whether to apply for one or not? Please give me the pros and cons of it. It seems like card holders are not finding out about discounts or free dining ahead of the general public anymore either so not sure what to do. TIA

 

[lanejudy]

There's a lot of factors that determine whether a certain credit card is "worth it" for you. Spending habits, saving habits, vacation habits, expectations... what's "worth it" to me may not be for you.

I can tell you why the Disney Visa works for us, because it's like a "free" savings account. We charge as much on the card as we can (monthly bills, groceries, car repairs, insurance, etc.) and I don't write nearly as many checks as I used to. We also pay the balance in full every month so there are no interest charges that would negate the Reward points earned. We let the points accumulate until we are ready for a Disney vacation; by then we usually have a big chunk of Rewards that considerably cuts down our costs. Then we use the 6-months-no-interest through the card to budget payments for the balance of our vacation. The discounts offered onsite at Disney are nice extras but not exactly the main reason we have the card.

Do other cards offer "better" rewards? Probably. But we might not use those rewards or perks from those cards. We don't fly often so miles aren't particularly helpful. We don't necessarily expect the Disney Visa to be our source for good deals or special offers.

So I suggest you look at your preferences... What do you want from a rewards program? Are you interested in something that offers frequent discounts and/or perks that can be used several times a year? Do you only vacation at Disney or would you prefer a card with broader offerings? How do you save for vacation? Where do you use your CC? Can/would you use it to pay for utilities and other regular recurring payments? Can you pay off the balance each month?

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[The Comeback Kid]

I just recently got a disney premier credit card and I've done a lot of research. There are better reward programs out there. In fact, the only reason i would get a Disney Visa Card is if you are getting the $200 cash back

You can read up more about it here:
https://disneyrewards.com/vacation-perks/

Like i said, the perks weren't really a selling point for me, only the $200 cash back, which i used to help pay for my Disney World vacation

 

[Jess_S]

For me the $200 back was also the key factor. However, the Disney card's percentage back is pretty similar to that offered by my other cash back cards. As long as you're okay with spending all your rewards with Disney, I think the extra perks like the DCL account credit, character meet and greets, etc. make it a good value. They are like little plus factors compared to my other cash back cards.

 

[DopeyDame]

We've been happy with ours. Like a PP said, if it's "worth it" really depends on what you want and what your spending habits are. We have the premier card so we get a pretty typical rewards value and then we can use it for any airline purchase without worrying about exchanging miles and weird timing and stuff - I really like that feature.

 

[AllysonL]

The $49 a year annual fee... ehhhh...

That being said, I applied for it last year when booking our vacation. It was nice to get that $200 cash back. In the almost year I've had it though, I've only accumulated like $50 in points. I would've thought I'd have more by now, seeing as I use it all the time to try to earn points.

I may have to switch it to my utilities only card to rack them up faster.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

We have the regular one and not the Premier. When I got it, we got the cash back offer. We want to have two cc's anyway. My brother recently had an issue where his card was turned off and another sent, and him not having a cc was a real problem for him because he needed a car repair. So we keep two different cards because we have had the same thing happen to us, where there is a breach of some sort, they shut the card off, at least we have another cc to use. Normally, we use our Capital One Rewards card because the rewards are more versatile. I let them accumulate between vacations and we used them to almost completely pay for our airfare for this next WDW trip (we were $46 short in points). Now that we've booked a WDW vacation, we move to putting all our purchases on the Disney card to accumulate points that we will use for tips and souvenirs. We will have 7 months of points to spend. Our kids attend a private school, so I will use Disney gift cards purchased through the TRIP program to pay for the majority of our vacation since we get 3% back towards our tuition. If I don't have it entirely paid off before we go, which I hope to, but you never know, I would put the balance on my Disney Visa and have 6 months 0% to finish paying it off. Other benefits: I just bought the boys some Disney themed shirts for the trip through the Disney store and got 10% off for using my Visa on top of the great sale and free shipping promo. We also did the special photo meet and greet for Visa members last time and we got a free 5x7 print too. We plan on doing it again this trip. It isn't that it's so much better than another card. I think I get the same % back as my Capital One card, but we do use the extra discounts and perks from time to time so we keep it around as a second card.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think it really depends. I have the premier card and charge absolutely everything to it. I then pay it off at the end of each month. We go to WDW often, so I use the rewards for meals, souvenirs, etc. What I really like about it, though, is I can use the points toward airfare and there are no blackout dates. You simply book your flights and then put any rewards you have toward the flight purchase and get a credit on your account. Twice I've accumulated enough to purchase 1 round trip flight (not just to WDW, but anywhere in the world). You do get some perks - they just came out with an offer for 30% off the Poly Villa studios, there is a lounge during F&W and Disney Visa holders have dibs on booking some F&W events this year. I'm a big Disney fan, so I just like carrying the card! It makes me happy when I see the castle on my card when I go to pay for something!

 

[NCTwinMom]

I have the regular card - when I got it I got a $200 Disney gift card. I used the card for everything, paying in full every month, but accumulating reward points has been slow for me as I'm not a big spender. I'm using a different card now that accumulates points for cash back at a better rate than the Disney card.

 

[nat8199]

We got it for the $200 GC, then stopped using it. My preferred daily use card is the Citi Bank Double Cash with is 2% on everything. I also use the Amex Blue for 6% back on groceries (that one has a fee, but there is one that gives 3% with no fee.) The Disney card only give 1%, so half the rewards I would otherwise get.

 

[DisneyMommy4Two]

We got the Premier and it's working well for us. There was a $200 sign up credit, so that pays the fee for a few years. We put everything on it- even daycare and our annual car insurance. My only regret is not getting it sooner (March, with an August trip). It's paying for our character meals

 

[ammag]

I only got mine 6 months before he trip, but if got the 200 cash back, and we will have just about $100 in rewards by the time our trip comes.
It was worth it for me because of this as well as access to the lounge at food and wine, the photo in Epcot and the discount in the parks..better than nothing! I am not planning to use it much after this trip though so maybe my situation is unusual in that way.
They do bend out random event invites too, we went it one before the store opened at the mall, it was a very cute little inside out promo. They played games wiht the kids, screened an interactive movie and gave them buttons and a bouncy ball. Just a little silly thing but it was different and the kids loved it. Especially being locked into the store with people outside! They thoug that was hillarious.

 

[rblucy]

I signed up when there was a $200 offer. I have since earned $50 on two occasions when I referred family to get the card. I pay in full each month and have the basic card with no fee so for me it's been great. I would not sign up without the $200 credit though.

 

[SamSam]

For us it works. Like others have said, we charge everything possible and pay it off in full every month (like using checks), we end up with $600 - $800 between our trips to use.

 

[buzznina]

It also works better for us. Yes there are some better cash back deals, but then we would probably use the cash back here and there and by our Disney trip we saved hardly anything. With the Disney CC it all goes for our trips. We pay the $49 per year fee for the premium card to get an additional 1% on certain purchases. It usually takes 3 months to break even and then we have 9 months of the extra percent. Currently we have almost $800 in reward points. But WDW is our big trip, so getting a card with air or hotel points really does not help us much.

 

[dhardawa]

For me, it wasn't worth it. I use my travel rewards card and get 2% back on everything.

 

[colleenr]

ok thanks everyone. We have another card that we get cash back on so I wasn't sure which one would be better. It we don't go to Disney that often maybe every couple of years so it probably not really worth it. THanks again.

 

[Meeko5]

I just got the $200 GC offer in the mail last month, so I applied and paid for our vacation on it since the money was in the savings acct anyway. 2 weeks after charging the vacation to that card I got the $200 GC in the mail, plus the $25 or so in rewards for that purchase. I got the regular card with no annual fee, so for opening and paying for my vacation that way I "made" $225. Worth it for me

I'd say if you can get the $200 offer it's worth it!

 

[colleenr]

How do u get the $200 offer for the regular card?

 

[skibum3d]

It's only worth it if the $200 signup bonus and the extra side-benefits are worthwhile to you. For regular spend, other annual fee free cards (like Citi DoubleCash or Fidelity American Express) give 2% cashback on all purchases.