For the ultimate Disney fan, the only credit card they care about is the Disney Visa card from Chase. While I keep the no-annual-fee version of the card for the benefits, I hardly ever use it.
Chase and Disney keep sending me an offer to upgrade to the Disney Premier Visa card so I decided to look at the differences between the $49 and the free version of the cards.
Disney Premier Visa
Annual Fee
The Disney Premier Visa has a $49 annual fee.
Sign-Up Bonus
The Disney Premier Visa offers a $300 statement credit after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opened with this link (We receive a referral bonus if you sign up with our link, which is always appreciated).
Per Chase’s rules, this product is only available if you do not currently have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months. Applicants must also be under Chase’s 5/24 requirement.
Foreign Transaction Fee
If you use this card internationally, you will pay a 3% foreign transaction fee. It’s best to leave this card home when traveling outside the U.S. and use a card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee.
Disney Reward Dollars
The Disney Visa Card earns Disney Reward Dollars. You can spend Disney Rewards for most anything from Disney including theme park tickets, Disney Cruises, tickets to see Disney movies in the theater, Disney shopping, and Disney resort stays.
Disney Premier cardholders can also redeem Disney Reward Dollars for airline tickets. You can pay charges for airline tickets using Disney Reward Dollars, starting at $50 and increasing by $1.
Earning Disney Reward Dollars
Cardmembers earn 5% Disney Rewards Dollars on card purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or ESPNPlus.com
You’ll earn 2% in Disney Rewards Dollars on grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and most Disney locations. All other purchases earn 1%.
This is a huge difference from the no-annual-fee version, which only earns 1% on all expenses, including when you use it at Disney.
Additional Card Benefits
- Subscribers can earn back up to $13.99 per month for up to 3 consecutive months in statement credits on qualifying Disney Bundle Trio subscription purchases, or other qualifying subscriptions or add-ons purchased directly at Disneyplus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.espn.com that total $12.99 or more.
- 10% savings on purchases at Disney Store or ShopDisney.com
- 10% off select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at Walt Disney World and Disneyland
- Disney Character Experiences and Star Wars Character Experiences at our private Cardmember locations at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. You’ll receive downloads of your photos to mark your visit
- 10% off select dining locations most days at Disneyland and Walt Disney World
- 0% promo APR for the first six months following the purchase date on select Disney vacation packages or purchase of a real estate interest, including a Member Add On, in a Disney Vacation Club Resort, provided your account is not past due on the purchase date
- Special perks when paying with the card on Disney Cruise Line and when buying tickets for Disney Broadway shows.
Is the card worth paying the $49 annual fee?
That’s the real question. If you’re signing up for the card and will be able to reach the $1,000 spending requirement in 3 months, then it does make sense to apply for the Disney Premium Card instead of the plain Disney Visa. That’s because you earn an additional $150 statement credit for only $49, putting you ahead by $100.
If you’re paying for Disney+, Hulu or ESPN Plus, you can get an extra $42 in statement credits and 5% back on Disney streaming services.
Should you keep the card for the long term?
The only categories that earn 2X points are gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and Disney locations. You’d need to spend $4,900 in those categories on this card just to break even. If you put a Disney family vacation on the card every year, that would probably do it.
If that’s your only vacation plan and you’re looking to save money on your next trip and airfare to Orlando or Anaheim, keeping this card could make sense.
However, consider that you could downgrade to the free version to keep the Disney perks, I would suggest you sign up for a 2% cashback no-annual-fee card, and use the money you earn to pay for your Disney vacation (or any vacation).
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1 comment
There may be occasional bonuses. Currently the bonuses are 5% on gas and grocery and 6% (wow!) on Disney purchases. These offerings are irregular and, of course, are not guaranteed to repeat but they have provided much value in the past.