Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Red Loop. Today we are sharing ways to save money for your Disney vacation.
If you go to Disney often, or find yourself shopping at the Disney Store quite a bit, there’s a good chance that a Disney Visa card could be to your benefit. I try not to have too many credit cards, but the Disney Visa is one that I do have because I go to Disney so often it comes in handy!
I have two main cards: the Capital One Venture card (the points from this card I mainly use to pay for flights to Disney!), and the Disney Visa. I put “family charges” on the Capital One card – things like groceries, gas, clothes, etc. Then I put personal charges on the Disney card – these are things like non-essential clothes, going to the winery with friends, Disney items that catch my eye, etc. I basically just do it this way to help me keep track of budget related stuff and how much I’m spending on “non-essential” purchases!
There are a couple of things you should know about the Disney Visa. There is both a premier card and a regular card. With the premier card you get more points, but you also have to pay an annual fee, so you have to decide if it’s worth it for you. The regular Disney Visa does not have an annual fee. I’ve also heard it’s sometimes difficult to apply for – I have some friends who couldn’t get approved for it, though I had no problem myself.
But basically, when choosing a credit card the biggest question is if it has the best perks for you! So as a Disney Visa cardholder, here’s what you can look forward to:
Sign-on Bonus
When you first get the card, you’ll get bonus points for using it within the first few months. What they offer changes, but they are currently offering a $50 bonus for the regular card and $200 bonus for the premier card. So you can get some big perks right away! Since I’m a Disney Visa cardholder, I also have a special offer available through me. If you sign-up as a referral you’ll be offered a “$200 Disney Gift Card after they spend $500 on purchases with their card in the first 3 months from account opening.” In order to qualify you need to provide me with your email address to pass on to Disney Visa. If you’re interested just send me an email at di[email protected] and I’ll be happy to help you out!
Reward Points
For every $1 you spend, you get $.01 in Disney Reward dollars. So for every $100 on your card you get $1 in rewards. If you use the card a lot these can add up! With the premier card you can get 2% on certain purchases including groceries, gas, and Disney related expenses. The rewards can be used on any Disney related purchase – souvenirs, to pay for a trip, etc. Basically any place you’d use a gift card!
Merchandise Discount
You’ll receive 10% off merchandise discounts of $50 or more when using your Disney Visa. This is good at most Disney locations (Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani) as well as in the Disney Store.
Character meet and greets
As a Disney Visa cardholder, you can go to special character meets only for cardholders. They currently have one with Mickey (and/or friends) in Epcot, and Star Wars characters in Hollywood Studios. The wait for these is usually shorter than the regular waits, and you get a free download of your photo (even if you don’t have Memory Maker).
Vacation Financing
I personally am not a fan of financing vacations (I’d rather not have it sitting on my card), but if you use that approach you’ll get an added bonus when using a Disney Visa. You can get 0% APR on Disney vacations for the first 6 months (just be careful because after that it goes back up to the 16.24%!).
Other Discounts
Some restaurants offer a 10% discount with the Disney Visa. It’s only select locations and there are certain restrictions, but if you happen to be dining there it’s a good deal! You can also get 15% off select guided tours and spa treatments.
Disney Cruise Line
Although not in effect yet, Disney Visa is stating that there will be special perks for cardholders on Disney Cruise Line starting January 1st, 2017. No word yet on exactly what those perks might be.
Fun Card Designs
If you want to share your love your Disney, you can choose from a number of fun credit card designs! Pick from Cinderella’s Castle, Mickey Mouse, Star Wars characters, and more!
Other Perks
Occasionally other perks will pop up – things like special events at your local Disney Store, discounted tickets and/or VIP purchasing for Broadway shows, and stuff like that.
If you go to Disney often, you can see that the Disney Visa can definitely come in handy! I usually save my reward points for each trip and then use them for any extra spending money – snacks, souvenirs, etc!
Do you have a Disney Visa? Is it something you’d be interested in?
check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Red | Saving Money for Disney Loop:
- 1st Stop – Saving Up for Disney | How Kids Can Save Money for Disney (+ Disney DIY Tutorial!)
- 2nd Stop – Love Our Crazy Life | Creative Ways to Make Extra Money for Disney Vacations
- 3rd Stop – Trips with Tykes | Travel Hacking Basics to Save For Your Family’s Disney Vacation
- 4th Stop – Disney in Your Day | Perks to Using a Disney Visa
- 5th Stop – Disney Nouns | Selling Your Way to Disney
We thought of this but don’t like the temptation of credit. Very thorough coverage though! Thanks!
I totally understand that – we are the kind of people who don’t look at it like credit and pay everything back right away, but you have to be really diligent to do it that way!
This sounds like such a good card to have for Disney lovers! I wish I could get to Disney often enough to make it worth it… we have the Alaska Airlines card though and it’s amazing for travel, so at least we can get a flight there! 😉
Yes, I love having a travel related card!
I didn’t realize the benefits would be for both the Disney store and the theme parks. We haven’t had a chance to visit Disney yet, but I do some shopping at the Disney store, so I’ll have to look into this. I love the first purchase bonus!
Yeah, those first purchase bonuses are usually really nice – and I use my card at the Disney Store all the time! Just gotta make sure to spend $50 to get the 10% off, which I have no problem doing 😉
I can see this being a great option for people who love Disney! We choose to go with the Southwest Visa (we get a point for every dollar and 3X the points for flights/Southwest partners) and it’s been an amazing rewards program. We haven’t had to pay for a flight in YEARS!
I also have the Capital One Venture card, which you can use the points to pay for flights on any airline. I love that one as well!
I’ve had a Disney Visa and use it and pay off the balance each month. I love that we have the points to use each time we visit and it pretty much pays for all our dining each time.
That’s pretty much what I do with mine, too!