With the rising cost of a Disney vacation, it is no wonder why everyone is looking to find a way to save some money on their trip to the happiest place on Earth. As someone who looks to go there on a college lecturer’s salary, I am guilty of this myself. One way that you will faithfully see advertised in the parks and even get junk mail for when you get home is the Disney Premier Visa card. The card looks appealing enough, it’s Disney branded, claims to offer discounts, and offers special benefits. But is it worth the $49 annual fee? In this article, I will explain why I personally don’t see it as a benefit and why you may want to shy away from it yourself.
A Quick Disclaimer…
Before I go any further in my discussion, I want to be very clear about a few things. First, I am NOT a financial expert in any way, shape, or form. You should consult with a financial professional before making any kind of financial decisions. Also, this article is my own personal opinion on this matter. You may have a differing opinion from me and that is okay. You should do what is best for you and your family based on your current financial situation and not based on what someone on the internet says. Additionally, you should remember that credit cards should be used responsibly.
What is the Disney Premier Visa?
The Disney Premier Visa is a Visa card that is offered through Chase Bank. At the time of this writing, the card offers 5% back on Disney streaming (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+), 2% back on gas, grocery stores, restaurants, and “most other Disney locations”, and 1% back on everything else. This cashback comes in the form of rewards dollars that you can use at Disney Parks (either in parks or on your trip itself), on Disney Cruise Line (either towards your cruise package or onboard), towards Disney movies at AMC, or for certain merchandise on shopDisney.com. You can also use rewards dollars towards statement credit on air travel. The card also offers special financing on Disney trips, special meet and greets in the parks, special discounts in the parks, and special discounts on certain dining locations. The card has a $49 annual fee.
The Problem with the Dining Discount
While a dining discount may sound great, don’t get too excited. This discount only works at a limited number of restaurants on Disney property, many of which are not in the parks but at the resorts. This list doesn’t even include many of the restaurants you may want to visit while in Disney Springs. What’s more is that since most of the restaurants are in the resorts, you are looking at added transit time which will eat into your park days.
To put some math to this, let’s assume that your group goes to a restaurant that is eligible for the discount (so most likely at a resort), has dinner, and ends up with a $120 bill at the end of the meal. The ten percent discount would save you $12. Of course, the subjective question is whether or not that $12 was worth going an hour out of your way and losing a couple of hours of park time. For me, I can’t really say it is. Especially since I only get to travel to Disney once a year. I would much rather spend as much time as I can in the parks.
The Merchandise “Discount”
While it may sound nice to get a discount on certain merchandise in the Disney gift shops, don’t get too excited. That discount will only apply if you spend over $50. While this might be easy to do at Disney, being in some ways forced to do this to get small savings just isn’t worth it. This could increase your chances of overspending on your trip which is never a good thing and could also lead to worse problems like credit card debt.
Restrictive Rewards Redemption
While it may seem great that you can use the rewards dollars you get towards Disney purchases, this is actually a bad thing. The reason is you are basically locked into spending those rewards dollars with Disney. This differs from say a regular Chase card like the Freedom Unlimited where the points you get can be spent anywhere. Meaning if one year you choose to take a non-Disney-related vacation, you can leverage the points you have accrued towards that trip instead.
No Credits to Offset the Annual Fee
While it might not seem like a huge deal given the card only costs $49, this is actually a downside. This means you either have to go out of your way to eat at restaurants that give the 10% back and spend more money on merchandise to get the $49 back or spend $2,450 on the 2% categories to break even. Remember also, the money you will get back on that spend will be restricted to future Disney purchases.
Let’s compare this with a card I use regularly for grocery and dining spending since I get four points per dollar in these categories, the American Express Gold Card. While this card has a $250 annual fee (about 5x the Premier), the card comes with a $10/month credit for Uber Eats and a $10/month credit for places like Cheesecake Factory, ShakeShack, and GrubHub. In total, I get $240 in credits each year and I make it a point to use them all. In the end, I am left with a $10 deficit. Assuming the points are worth one cent each, I can more than makeup for this in the first month of the fee cycle with the points I will earn. A more easily accomplished task than having to spend $2,450 in order to see a positive ROI (return on investment).
What Would I Recommend Instead?
Again, I am not a financial expert so I don’t want to recommend specific cards nor do I want to give any advice here that could be construed as financial advice. That being said, in my experience Disney has done a good job of ensuring the restaurants’ code as restaurants so check the cards you have to see if any of them offer elevated rewards on dining. While you won’t get the 10% discount, you will still get something back for your dining and you will be able to choose whatever restaurant on property you want. When it comes to gift shop purchases, I can’t really say much besides looking for whatever card in your wallet offers the best rate for non-category spending.
If You Really Need a Disney Visa
If you absolutely must have a Disney branded visa in your wallet, you can still get many of the same benefits from the no annual fee Disney Visa card. The only difference as far as I can see is that you cannot redeem rewards dollars towards wiping airline purchases off the card. Also, be aware you won’t get as good of an earning rate on spending you do on this card…only 1% back. You still get all of the discounts and in-park perks of having the annual fee version though without having to shell out $49 each year.
What’s also nice is you won’t feel so obligated to do things like go out of your way to use the discount on dining. If you find yourself at a restaurant that offers the discount…great! If not, no worries!
Conclusion
While it may be tempting, the Disney Premier Visa isn’t really that great of a deal in my mind. Between the restrictive rewards, limited discounts, and lack of credits it really doesn’t measure up to other cards you may already have. I don’t see myself looking to add this card to my wallet any time soon when I already have other cards that give me great value…even in the most magical place on earth.
Thomas Rossi is a columnist for the Boardwalk Times
