In 2007, while standing in Downtown Disney I opened a credit card account knowing very little about the account I was opening. Why? Three reasons, they were partners with Disney, I would earn Disney rewards, and they had a card with Ariel on it. Almost ten years later, I don’t regret this decision. I do though resent the fact the design is no longer available.
The Disney Visa Card from Chase is one of many ways Disney Parks guests save money on vacations. The concept of the card is simple. Use your credit card, earn Disney dollars, but from there people tend to get confused.
The first bit of confusion comes from the fact that there is a Disney Debit Visa through Chase. While this card allows people with select Chase Banking accounts to receive discounts on select Disney purchases, it no longer offers the card holders the option to bank rewards. Disney Debit Visa card holders receive the following discounts:
- Save 10% on select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at Disney Store and DisneyStore.com.
- At the Disneyland® and Walt Disney World® Resorts, stop by our private location—reserved just for Cardmembers—to meet and pose with some of your favorite Disney Characters.
- 10% off select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at Walt Disney World® Resort and the Disneyland® Resort.
- 10% off select dining locations most days at Walt Disney World® Resort and the Disneyland® Resort.
- 15% off the non-discounted price of select guided tours at Walt Disney World® Resort and the Disneyland® Resort.
The next bit of confusion comes from the fact that there are two versions of the Disney Rewards Visa Card. These are the Disney Rewards Visa Card and the Disney Premier Visa Card. Both cards earn you Disney Rewards, but they work a bit differently.
The Disney Rewards Visa has no annual fee. Card holders earn 1% in reward dollars on card purchases and can earn as many rewards as they want, and it has the same rewards as the Disney Premier Visa Card.
The Disney Premier Visa Card lets card holders earn addition rewards. Card holders can “earn an additional 1% in reward dollars on card purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and most Disney locations for a total of 2% in these categories.” This card also lets card holders “redeem reward dollars for a statement credit toward airline travel.” The Premier card has a $49 annual fee.
Card holders can pick their own card design. As I mentioned earlier I started with an Ariel card. I then moved on to the “Cinderella Castle” design when the Ariel design was retired. My husband has had the Classic Mickey design, Lightning McQueen, Nemo, and now has the new Darth Vader design. The fun thing about the Disney Visa Cards is that they understand you when you call and say “my card is fine, I haven’t lost it, I really just want the new design you just released.” There is no fee to do this either.
At the 2015 D23 Expo they not only announced the new Star Wars, Elsa, and 60th Anniversary Disneyland designs, they announced that they would no longer have designs only for Premier card holders. Instead all cards will be double-sided card designs. They have also recently added the new EMV embedded chip to the Disney designs. New card holders are receiving this style card when they open their account, existing card holders are receiving them in the mail.
As I mentioned before card holders earn 1% of their purchases back. This 1% becomes a Disney Reward Dollar. Once you have started earning Disney Reward Dollars you can redeem them for theme park tickets and resort stays, dining at Disney restaurants, toys, costumes and accessories and more. It is rather simple to do this. First you need to order a Disney Reward card. This card has a 16-digit number on it, like a credit card, and you transfer your Reward Dollars to it. Transferring is easy. You can either call the special customer care number on the back of your card, or log onto the Disney Rewards website. Transfer of Reward Dollars to the Disney Rewards Redemption Card is instant. You just need to remember that you have to transfer at least ten reward dollars.
Disney Rewards Redemption Cards are available at Chase booths in the parks, and they can be ordered online or on the phone.Disney Rewards Redemption Cards used to have an expiration date printed on them, but this was removed in 2015. Rewards do expire. Per the Chase site “Your Disney Dream Reward Dollars in your Disney Rewards account will expire 5 years from the date they are posted to your account. Check your monthly credit card statement for notifications of expiring Disney Dream Reward Dollars.”
The perks and rewards of the Disney Chase Visa is really what led us to it. Seeing as how we go to Walt Disney World regularly as DVC members, this reward card was the one that worked best for us. Here is just a few of the year round reward options:
- Disney Character Meet ‘N’ Greet at our private Cardmember location in Epcot and California Adventure Park. The Epcot location allows you to meet some of the Fab Five in a special meet and greet area in innovations. The California Adventure location is behind the concession area for Mad Tea and the characters vary. You must present your valid Disney Visa to enter these locations. Please note that the printed photo that was originally noted in the perks info is no longer mentioned, only a special chance to pose with characters.
- Receive 10% off select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at Walt Disney World Resort, the Disneyland Resort, Disney’s Beach Resort Destinations and Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawai‘i.
- Receive 10% off select dining locations most days at Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort
- 15% off the non-discounted price of select guided tours at Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort
- 10% off the non-discounted price of select recreation experiences at Walt Disney World Resort
- Special vacation financing on select Disney vacation packages
- Cardmembers save 10% on select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at Disney Store and DisneyStore.com
- Discounts on select in Park tours
NEW Star Wars Perks were announced at the D23 Expo:
- Feel the power of the Force at the Star Wars Imperial Meet ‘N’ Greet at our private Cardmember location at Walt Disney World Resort starting early 2016 and the Disneyland Resort starting Fall 2015
- Receive 10% off select Star Wars merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort
Then you have your perks. Perks tend to be limited edition specials and offers, or booking specials. Disney Chase also offers card members limited time perks like early access booking to select special park events, the option to buy special Disney Chase Visa pins, and special Disney on Broadway events and discounts. These limited time perks can vary so it is best to visit their website often to make sure you don’t miss out on anything. Select perks, like the $50 Disney Cruise Line credit if you pay for your whole cruise with your Disney Chase, can not be combined with other offers. Also in park perks and rewards and discounts require the card holder to be present, and to have their card with them so always remember to carry it and your ID with you to the parks. This also means even if you have it attached to your My Disney Experience account so that you can use room charge on your Magic Band, you need to carry your card.
Personally we find this card to be great. We use it like our bank card and pay it off monthly. We have used rewards to renew our annual passes, pay for resort rooms, purchase items through the Disney Store and more. But it, like any other credit card is just that, a credit card so you want to make sure it will work for you and your budget and credit. Please know that because Chase is a bank and the terms and conditions of the card, as well as perks and rewards can change, you will want to visit Chase Disney Rewards for the most current information regarding offers and for account application information.
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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