Disney Visa

[PETE FROM NYC]

Is it worth getting?
Here is our stuation.
We are DVC members, planning to visit every two years. We both have direct deposit for our incomes, so all we have is a debit card, no credit cards.
Should we get the Disney Visa ?
What would the advantages and disadvantages be?

[brivers222]

Is it worth getting?
Here is our stuation.
We are DVC members, planning to visit every two years. We both have direct deposit for our incomes, so all we have is a debit card, no credit cards.
Should we get the Disney Visa ?
What would the advantages and disadvantages be?

you get 1% rewards down to the penny's now... that you can get transfered to a rewards card to be used as "disney dollars" in WDW.

you get 6month free financing on all disney packages book with it... whats nice is that its not those deals that calculates interest and then adds it on if you don't pay it off in full at the end of 6months.... all that happens is what ever is left at 6months is put into the lump some of money getting charged interest.

We actually LOVE the disney visa... and with the no longer rounding of rewards it can save you even more.

also sometimes throughout the year you can get special discounts on rooms and such. I never seem to get emails from them but if you are active on intercot you WILL NOT miss the savings threads lol

[jillluvsdisney]

My sister uses hers for everything to get as many points as possible. She pays the balance off every month too. If you are disciplined enough to do that, the reward dollars might work for you.

I finally bit the bullet and got one because I got an offer in the mail for a 200 dollar Disney gift card after I used my Visa once. There was no minimum expenditure either. That was a no brainer for me because I had a trip planned already and knew the gift card would be put to good use.

The one perk I know about it is that card holders get to but special pins available only to them at Pin Traders in DTD.

[retiredfigment]

I love it. As previous poster mentioned, I also use it for everything and pay off at end of the month. One trick I use: I use it to buy Disney gift cards at Giant Eagle and get money off on gas. Then I use the gift cards and points I have used to pay for the incidentals and souvenirs I spend on our trip. Works for me.

[moobear67]

We use our credit card for EVERYTHING...food, gas, clothes, repair bills, etc. We pay it all off every month, so we never pay any fees or interest. 0ur last trip to Disney was in November of 2007, at which time we used all of our Disney Dollars at the park (I can't remember how much we had at the time), but we started saving them up again since then. We now have over $1300 Disney Dollars. (No, that's not a typo). We will probably have a lot more by the time we go on our August trip to Disney World and on our 5 night Dream cruise (we will be paying off our cruise using the card, which not only gets us extra Disney Dollars, but gets us extra on-board credit...one perk of using the card to pay for your Disney cruise). So, we will use our Disney Dollars to pay for our shore excursions and other extras on board, as well as our food in the parks and possibly part of our hotel stay if we stay on site. Is it worth it? $1300 in free money? YES!!!!!

[Donald's Girl]

I agree with everyone! It is the best deal around if you love Disney. We've actually stopped using our Rewards for purchases, dining, etc and save the points to use toward our Annual Passes. Just saved almost $400 when we renewed this year!

[dnickels]

Like any rewards card it's only going to be worth it if you pay off the balance in full each month so you don't have to pay any interest charges. Since you already pay everything with a debit card that doesn't look like it'll be an issue for you. Also keep in mind how much you'll use it. It takes $40,000 worth of 1% back purchases to save up $400.

Pros:
-1% back on everyday purchases
-higher % back on certain Disney purchases (some Disney Store items, theme park items, theme park experiences, etc)
-character meet & greet for card holders
-no interest for 6 months on Disney vacation packages
-other occasional promotions

Cons:
-It's not the best dollar for dollar rewards card out there. Lots of other cards earn you 1-2% on everything and up to 5% on some purchases like gas or groceries, etc. Saving up $200 in Disney gift cards for the next vacation is great, but if that person could have saved $500 from their budget making the same purchases by using a different card, well, that's a no-brainer to me.
-When you redeem those rewards you're also limited to 'Disney' items (gift cards is what most people get). Other cards will give you true cash back, either in the form of a credit to the account or a check. Other cards also allow you to increase the rewards. I know my Discover card lets me get $50 dollar gift cards to a number of stores and I only have to redeem $40 in rewards. Same idea, if I can save $50 in my budget in one place that's better for the bottom line than saving $40 at Disney.

It works for some, it's not the best for others, it will really depend on what you'll buy with it.

[moobear67]

The Disney card does have higher % back deals/bonuses like Discover card does for non-Disney purchases. Sometimes you have to spend a certain dollar amount for it to kick in, however. Like Discover card, the deals change, so you need to keep on top of that to get the best deal. I, too, like Discover card for the same reasons, but I tend to use my credit cards based on which company is giving the highest bonus for each type of purchase in any given month. For example, if Disney is giving extra dollars for spending at hotels and restaurants in May, but discover is giving cashback bonuses for spending at gas stations in the same month, then I would be sure to carry both cards, and use whichever card will give me the most benefit at that particular business at that particular time.

[brownie]

If you pay it off each month, it's extra money for Disney. It's not worth it if you're paying interest.

From a consumer protection and fraud perspective, you're better off using a credit card rather than a debit card.

[Skippy]

My DW and I charge everything to our Amex, but keep a Visa for places that don't accept Amex. If we're going to have a visa, may as well get the perks of free photos or special pins.

[murphy1]

I agree about liking the perks and paying off the card fast. I like the discounts and just got 10% off at Disney Store the other day. I also like to have it and AAA b/c usually one or the other will help on a Disney trip (we used this feature more in the past, harder now that the kids are in higher grades in school).

[BrerGnat]

I can't speak to the Disney Visa, but I would be BEYOND paranoid about only having debit cards. In this day and age of lax security, no one recommends using Debit cards all the time. It is WAY too easy for criminals to hack debit cards and take money right out of your account.

Credit Cards (most of them) come with fraud protection. You are not liable for any unauthorized charges.

If you don't have any credit cards, I'd recommend getting one and start earning perks you can use!

[brownie]

Credit Cards (most of them) come with fraud protection. You are not liable for any unauthorized charges.

Not quite. If you report the card lost or stolen before it's used fraudulently, by law you're not liable for anything. If it's used before you report it lost or stolen, your maximum liability under the law is $50. Most card issuers waive this, though that could always change.

[BrerGnat]

Not quite. If you report the card lost or stolen before it's used fraudulently, by law you're not liable for anything. If it's used before you report it lost or stolen, your maximum liability under the law is $50. Most card issuers waive this, though that could always change.

Your card doesn't have to be lost or stolen for there to be fraudulent activity on it. I've had three separate incidences of credit card fraud, on three different cards, simply because the card numbers were taken by unsavory employees (one of them the Disneyland CM who sold me my first AP back in 2001). As long as you submit a claim that ANY charge is fraudulent, and you give your word, a good credit card company will investigate it and not hold you liable. If a card doesn't offer this protection, it's not a card worth having. My experiences have been with Citibank and American Express. All told, over $3000 of unauthorized activity was removed with no liability on my part and minimal involvement from me.