Help me decide about a Disney CC!

[socaintexas]

I am thinking of getting a Disney CC, mainly for the perks (early access to shows, 10% off at Disneystore). We are heading out on a Disney cruise next week and have a Panama Canal cruise booked in October (still owe about 10K). We usually cruise Disney twice a year. I pay the cruises off on a CC for the cashback and immediately pay the card off (so the 6 month at 0% financing is not something I would use). We don't fly very often. I have a Discover (1% cash back with rotating 5% cash back categories) and a Capital One (1.5% cash back on everything). I pay my CC's off every month and have a credit score in the excellent range. We usually spend about $1500 - 1800/month on groceries, about $800 on dining out, and $500 on gas (all categories that could earn 2% on the premier card). With that in mind would it be better to do the Premier card or the regular card, or do I really need a Disney CC? Thanks for your insight!

 

[wendow]

The perks are nice. I appreciate the 10% off souvenirs in the shops or at Disney stores. Some people use the Disney card for the free financing of their trips. The no fee card has an offer right now for $200 statement credit with $500 purchase using a referral link. You are eligible for a promo offer once ever 24 mos from when you received the offer last. That might be something to consider.

As far as your other spending, there are some nice options out there that earn more than your Cap 1 card. For example, I have the Amex Blue Cash Preferred which earns 6% back on groceries (up to $6k a year) with $95 annual fee. That card also earns 3% back on gas. Might be a good card for you too

ETA: I have the regular Disney visa. I have other cards I use for restaurants, groceries and gas that all earn more than the Disney premier so the annual fee version was not worth it to me. All depends on your other cards. I use a lot of different cards to maximize earnings.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I have the premier and I love it for the discounts and early access to shows. If that's something you'd take advantage of, I'd do one just for that. For the premier, it really just comes down to math. It seems like the categories you spend the most in would make it worth it for you. That being said, there are other cards that offer you more cashback in those categories, and since it's straight cash, you could just use it for Disney anyways.

For us, with our dining out and Disney related expenses in a year, it was just worth it for us to do the premier. To be honest, there was definitely a part of me that just wanted to have the premier (I know, I know, it's silly...) but my logic was this: if, in time, Disney strips benefits away from their cards for any reason, I'm less likely to lose them if I'm a premier member than if I'm not, and that I'd possibly get better offers being a premier (though I don't know if this has ever been true). The annual fee isn't bad compared to my other cards either, and I signed up during an offer where it was waived during the first year.

That being said, most people by a long shot will tell you the premier isn't worth it, and some will tell you the Disney visa at all isn't worth it. I personally like the financing benefits for packages and with a young son, the Disney store discounts are well worth it.

So I voted for the premier, but keep in mind I'm generally in the minority on this. I think your spending categories would justify it though.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

have the Amex Blue Cash Preferred which earns 6% back on groceries (up to $6k a year) with $95 annual fee. That card also earns 4% back on gas. Might be a good card for you too

I also have this card and really, really enjoy it! It also struck me as one that might be good for OP.

 

[socaintexas]

The perks are nice. I appreciate the 10% off souvenirs in the shops or at Disney stores. Some people use the Disney card for the free financing of their trips. The no fee card has an offer right now for $200 statement credit with $500 purchase using a referral link. You are eligible for a promo offer once ever 24 mos from when you received the offer last. That might be something to consider.

As far as your other spending, there are some nice options out there that earn more than your Cap 1 card. For example, I have the Amex Blue Cash Preferred which earns 6% back on groceries (up to $6k a year) with $95 annual fee. That card also earns 4% back on gas. Might be a good card for you too

ETA: I have the regular Disney visa. I have other cards I use for restaurants, groceries and gas that all earn more than the Disney premier so the annual fee version was not worth it to me. All depends on your other cards. I use a lot of different cards to maximize earnings.

Do you know where i can get a referral link for the no fee card?

I will check out the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card. I’ve not really looked at American Express because it seems there are places that don’t take it. Has this been an issue for anyone?

 

[wendow]

I will check out the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card. I’ve not really looked at American Express because it seems there are places that don’t take it. Has this been an issue for anyone?

I have had the card for almost two years and I’ve not had a problem using it at any grocery store or gas station. Costco does not take Amex but it wouldn’t code as grocery there anyway. If you are interested, there are referral links for $250 back after spending $1000 in 90 days. That would more than pay your annual fee while you try the card out.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

its a trap!!!!

 

[ateam79828592]

We use Barclays mastercard (2%) for everything but Disney when there is a discount (Disney regular visa), and gas (3%) groceries (6%) (Amex blue).

 

[miztressuz]

Since you are interested in other perks, like the shows, I would try to swing 2 cards - the Disney regular for

• show tickets
• 10% off Disney store

and on DCL

• 10% off select onboard purchases over $50
• 10% off a digital photo package (if your into that)
• 20% off Spa services (again, if you visit the spa)
• etc etc

and save the $49 fee for a higher earning cashback card like the AmEx Blue Cash because I see in your signature that you are not exclusive to Disney cruises, having a non Disney cashback card to put those categories on gives you flexibility to use the cashback on your non-Disney vacations. There's an no annual fee version of the AmEx cards too but you get less % cashback. With your spending I'm sure you'd easily earn enough to pay the higher AF but you have options. I'd do a search for cards with high cashback for the categories you spend the most in regularly that aren't dependent on a rotating calendar.

And, as @wendow pointed out, if you search for a referral link you can get the $200 stmt credit on the regular card as well. win-win in my book.

 

[wendow]

We use Barclays mastercard (2%) for everything but Disney when there is a discount (Disney regular visa), and gas (3%) groceries (6%) (Amex blue).

OP, this is correct, the Amex BCP gives 3% on gas. Not sure why 4% was in my brain yesterday. I will edit my earlier post about that!

And yes, as @miztressuz referenced, there is a no fee version of that card. It earns 3% back on grocery and 2% for gas.

 

[leebee]

I have both Disney Visa cards. I signed up for the regular card when they first started the program and still have it, though I rarely use it. I just like the sparkly Mickey card and that it says "Day One" on it. I signed up for a premier card about a year ago. There was a promo where if you met the spending limit, they sent a $200 Disney gift card, so I signed up for one card and DH also signed up. The annual fee was $49. We closed one card as soon as I met the spending limit, but we kept the second card open. I use it for everything and like the double points in the restaurants, gas, and grocery categories. I know that there are better premiums and cash back offers on other cards, but if I got cash back, it'd just go into the savings account and be spent for everyday things. I like that the Disney rewards is "money" that is EAR-marked for Disney. I'm not going to spend it on anything else. Right now I have over $1600 in rewards points, from the incentives and the premier card. Between this and my SW rapid rewards points, I'm pretty close to a free trip to Disney! (NO, we don't buy a lot of souvenirs, do many TS restaurants, or experiences.... but I have park passes and hotel covered!)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If OP cruises typically 2x/year with DCL, chances are good she has reached gold status (or is it platinum?) where you get 10% off the shops onboard anyway. You don't need a Disney cc to get that. Just saying.

I do have a regular Disney visa which we only opened for some perk they were offering at the time. I put all of our charges on our Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Even if you rarely fly, you can use the Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book/pay for Disney hotels through Chase's website. It's really easy. Also, there's no minimum goal to reach with that, like it was in the old days of let's say needing 25000 miles to reach a round trip flight award and you get nothing if you don't have the 25000.

With Chase UR, if your hotel will cost $2000 but you only have $1900 worth in points, you can just apply the 1900 and the other $100 gets charged to your card. Also when you book through UR website, your points are worth 1.25x to book travel.

You can also transfer them to Marriott, Hyatt, Southwest, American Airlines, British Airways loyalty programs 1:1 plus others but that was off the top of my head.
When you charge any travel or dining purchases, they earn double points. That includes a simple pizza night or airport parking.

I never thought I'd ever give up my SWA cc but after the 1 year free trial with the CSP, I was happy to drop it.

 

[KBOhio]

I have the premier card and the problem I have is that my account has been hacked three times in the span of 3 months.
I was sent a new card and noticed fraudulent charge again - and then again the same month.
The biggest issue was the company kept letting Hulu charges go through even after I flagged them as fraud.
While all charges were refunded - it was a hassle and took multiple calls to get the charges off and Hulu blocked.