Review & Info: Disney Visa Credit Card by Chase

This Disney Visa credit card review covers sign-up bonus info, rewards, and perks, including discounts at Walt Disney World & Disneyland. It also compares the regular Chase Disney Visa v. Premier, the pros and cons of each card, and whether the Disney Visa credit cards are worth having. (Updated October 21, 2022.)

Disney Visa credit cards offer nice perks, special offers, and discounts (that we’ll discuss in detail below), which is the primary reason to get them. Even though we’re huge Disney fans, we don’t think either of the Disney Visas are good primary use credit cards. This is especially true if you’re looking to earn travel rewards to redeem on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or other vacations. In that regard, these credit cards are pretty weak.

For maximizing your rewards, see our List of the Best Credit Cards for Disney Travel. These credit cards instead are solid secondary credit cards to have in your wallet or purse, mainly for the benefits. Just be mindful that both credit cards are issued by Chase and thus subject to the 5/24 rule. That means you won’t be approved if you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards from any issuer within the past 24 months. With that out of the way, let’s compare and contrast the two Disney Visa credit cards.

October 21, 2022 Update: The Walt Disney Company, Chase, and Visa announced a multi-year extension of the Disney Visa Card, Disney Premier Visa Card, and Disney Visa Debit Card programs. This continues the two-decade relationship of the three companies that offers Disney Cardmembers exclusive benefits, rewards, experiences, and perks at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond.

In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company in 2023, the three companies also announced that a new, limited-edition card design for the Disney Premier Visa Card will be released in January 2023. The new offering will be the first Disney co-brand card made of metal! This new Disney100 metal credit card will be available to new and existing Disney Premier Visa Cardmembers exclusively during the Disney 100 Years of Wonder celebration.

Disney hasn’t released a design of the new credit card yet, but we’re expecting it to be platinum or silver in color, and feature the above 100 Years of Wonder logo. If you want to apply now so you can switch to the new metal Disney100 credit card once it’s released, you can currently take advantage of a sign-up bonus of up to $300 in rewards dollars after spending $1,000 within the first 3 months with our referral link.

There’s no guarantee the bonus will be this good in January 2023 once the new card is released. To the contrary, Disney and Chase might try to use that new metal card rather than a big bonus to entice new signups. As such, it might make more sense to apply now, get the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary credit card (see below) and then switch to the metal card once it’s offered.

With that news out of the way, let’s turn to our normal review and comparison of the various Disney Chase Visa Card options…

Disney Visa Premier v. No-Fee Cards

There are a few differences between the regular Disney Visa credit card and the Disney Premier Visa credit card, but the primary one is that the Rewards card has no annual fee and offers 1% rewards. The Disney Premier Visa has a $49 annual fee, but offers 2% rewards at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and most Disney locations, and 1% everywhere else. (These are the only two credit cards that Disney currently offers, although there is also a Disney Chase Debit Card.)

Typically, the regular Disney Visa offers a $150 sign-up bonus whereas the Disney Premier Visa offers a $300 sign-up bonus. The basic card requires a minimum spend of $500 in your first 3 months, whereas the Disney Premier Visa requires spending $1,000. In terms of redemption, the Premier’s rewards can be used for a statement credit toward airline travel and all things Disney. The regular card’s rewards can only be applied towards Disney purchases.

Otherwise, perks and access to special offers are totally identical. So the calculus as to which version you should get comes down to how long you expect to keep the credit card and how much you’ll use the Disney Premier credit card in the 2% categories. (Setting aside the sign-up bonus, the breakeven point on rewards is over $4,900 worth of purchases per year in the 2% categories.)

If you’re keeping the card for fewer than two years or longer but will hit the $4,900 threshold in years 3 and beyond, you should probably get the Disney Premier Visa credit card because the extra 1% in rewards will exceed the $49 annual fee. I have only the regular version of the card because I’ve had it for approximately 15 years and only charge one recurring $14.99 per month charge to the credit card. As noted above, there are significantly better everyday use and travel credit cards; I have almost a dozen credit cards at any given moment, and use those instead of the Disney Visa.

Disney Visa Discounts & Perks

In addition to special offer eligibility, there are a range of discounts Disney Visa cardmembers are eligible to receive. Note that the vast majority of these are also available to debit cardholders, so if you don’t want the credit card (or can’t get it due to the 5/24 rule), that’s something to consider.

Here are the discounts:

  • 10% off merchandise purchases of $50 or more at certain Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, and Aulani gift shops, as well as 10% off $50 purchases online at shopDisney.com.
  • 15% off tours at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
  • 10% off certain recreation at Walt Disney World.
  • 10% off certain restaurants at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
  • 10% off Castaway Cay recreation packages for Disney Cruise Line.
  • 20% off select spa services aboard Disney Cruise Line.

Here are other non-discount perks:

  • Exclusive character meet & greet locations at Epcot and Disney California Adventure, both only available to Chase Disney Visa holders. The characters at these locations are “random,” and you don’t know who you’ll get before entering the locations, but at both locations only a few characters appear. (It’s currently a rotation of characters in their Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary outfits at Epcot, as pictured above.)
  • Exclusive Star Wars meet & greet locations in Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
  • A free PhotoPass photo download when you visit the characters at the exclusive meet & greets.
  • Discounts to Disney Broadway musicals.
  • Complimentary DoorDash Membership: No delivery fees on eligible orders from DoorDash and Caviar after activating by December 31, 2024.
  • No interest for 6 months on theme park or cruise packages when charging the package to their Chase Disney Visa prior to arrival if booked through Disney or by a Disney-authorized travel agent.

Additionally, it’s not a perk per se, but you can choose the design of your Disney Visa Credit Card from roughly a dozen different designs. It’s free and you can do so anytime. Plus, all Disney Visa Cards are now contactless and enabled for tap-to-pay.

Right now, there are several different Star Wars Disney Visa credit card options, including Baby Yoda from the Mandalorian on Disney+.

For a while, three or four times a year we would receive notices via US mail or email that we could receive 3X or 5X rewards for certain purchase categories, such as gasoline, dining, or groceries if we spent over a certain amount of money per month. Sometimes, the thresholds were set sufficiently high that we would have had to spend more money than normal to reach them. Other times, the thresholds were quite low.

We most recently received one of these two summers ago. If we used the Disney Visa Card to pay eligible utility bills, we’d earn 4% on those bills through August 31, for a maximum of $500 rewards back. Not too shabby.

Disney Visa Special Offers

The main reason we have and recommend the Disney Visa credit cards is access to the discounts and limited-time cardmember perks. From time to time, there are special room discounts available exclusively to Disney Visa cardholders. These are typically better than the rates offered to both Annual Passholders and Florida residents.

Currently, there are no Disney Chase Visa exclusive discounts available. However, Winter & Spring 2023 Walt Disney World AP Resort Discounts were just released. It’s likely more are on the horizon for Florida residents, Disney Visa cardholders, or Disney+ subscribers. There’s no way of knowing which affiliations will be targeted for discounts in 2023 and beyond–the company has been offering more and more deals for Disney+ subscribers and fewer for credit cardholders, though.

Normally, the biggest special offer that Disney Visa credit cardmembers are eligible for revolves around the popular Free Disney Dining Plan promotion. For the past three years, Disney Visa cardholders have received an extended selection of dates to book the Free Dining Plan deal at Walt Disney World, with extra dates.

The last time Free Dining was offered, there was a “second chance” window for booking select dates of the promotion that was exclusive to Disney Visa Cardmembers. We’re not positive of what to expect for 2023, as it’s possible Free Dining won’t even return until 2024. Regardless, the early booking and extended date range is potentially a huge perk if you’re able to take advantage.

One way or another, we’re expecting a lot more targeted discounts for Walt Disney World in 2023. Along with Annual Passholders, Disney+ subscribers, and Florida residents, Disney Visa cardmembers will be the main beneficiaries of these special offers.

Beyond Walt Disney Word, there are occasionally deals for Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and other Disney destinations. During the winter off-season, it has been common for Disney Visa cardmembers to save up to 30% on select rooms at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii plus a $75 Resort Credit per night.

The longer you stay, the more you save with this deal–3 night stays are eligible for 20%, 4 nights are eligible for 25% off, and 5 night or longer stays receive 30% off. We haven’t seen this deal released yet for Winter 2023, but it has been for the last several years, so look out for it.

Review

The decision to open a new line of credit should not be taken lightly, and certainly shouldn’t be made on the basis of whether you will receive a “cute piece of plastic with a castle on it.” Opening a new credit card will have a negative short-term impact on your credit score, and poor credit card management can have disastrous results.

Using credit cards to earn rewards is only a pragmatic strategy if you can and will pay the balance of the card off in full each month. Otherwise, interest rates fully negate any benefit you may accrue from the card. However, I’m not here to lecture anyone, so I’ll cut to the chase regarding whether I think the Disney Chase Visa credit cards are worth having.

Unlike cashback credit cards or those with more flexible rewards, with the Disney Visa credit cards, you can redeem these Reward Dollars only for purchases you make at the theme parks, on Disney Cruise Line, or various other locations like the Disney Store or shopDisney.com. With the Premier card only, you can redeem Reward Dollars for airline tickets in the form of a statement credit.

When it comes to reward dollars, the Disney Visas are not good credit cards for primary use. Almost anyone with a reasonable credit score is eligible for cards that offer better returns, and are less restrictive on where you can spend the rewards. There’s allure in pulling out a cool Disney card to pay for purchases and in having part of your Disney vacation “free” thanks to these rewards.

However, what’s the difference between reward dollars specifically reserved for Disney and reward dollars that are usable elsewhere? If I get another card that offers rewards at Lowe’s at a rate of 2%, every $50 I could have earned in rewards by using the Disney Visa will be $100 at Lowe’s. Since I shop at Lowe’s anyway, I can set aside the $100 I would have paid in cash at Lowe’s in a “Disney fund.”

$100 for your Disney trip certainly should sound more appealing than $50 for your Disney trip, even if the $50 is on a “special” Disney card. My point here is that you shouldn’t let the psychology of the Disney Reward Dollars being “reserved” for Disney make the card overly-appealing. It can be a good credit card for Disney or for travel, but it’s not the end-all, be-all of credit cards.

disney-visa-credit-card

This does not mean that you shouldn’t get a Disney Visa card. The Disney Visa credit cards are great secondary or specialized use credit cards, namely for those who are serious Disney fans. The real benefit of the Disney Visa is the the multitude of other perks. The discounts at the parks, the non-interest for 6 months on Disney trips, and character meet & greets all have their allure, as well.

Since we only hold the Disney Visa credit card for its other benefits and not rewards, we don’t have the Disney’s Premier Visa. However, we also usually have 8 credit cards between us, and we charge very little to our Disney Visa since we do most of our spending with better performing cards. If you don’t expect to have many credit cards and think you’ll be able to hit the $4,900 threshold on the Disney Visa, we’d recommend getting that card.

Overall, the Chase Disney Visa presents sufficient benefits for most hardcore Disney fans to justify having one. It shouldn’t be your primary credit card, though, but rather one you store away in your wallet to serve as an additional line of credit. For frequent visitors of Walt Disney World or Disneyland, the perks alone can justify holding onto one of these Disney credit cards, and fans of the popular Free Dining deal at WDW can find the Disney Visa invaluable when it comes to booking that promo.

Need Disney trip planning tips and comprehensive advice? Make sure to read Disney Parks Vacation Planning Guides, where you can find comprehensive guides to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond! For Disney updates, discount information, a free download of our Money-Saving Tips for Walt Disney World eBook, and much more, sign up for our free monthly newsletter!

Your Thoughts

Do you have a Disney Visa credit card? Which one, the Disney Rewards Visa or the Disney’s Premier Visa? Do you take advantage of the perks these credit cards offer at Walt Disney World or Disneyland? Agree or disagree with our advice and credit card recommendations? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

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