Photo Credit: Disneyrewards.com
As a rule, I don’t open unsolicited credit card offers. They go straight to the trash. But when I recently received one with mouse ears on the envelope, I made an exception. I’ve previously discussed my experience as a Disney Visa card holder . The offer I recently received was to upgrade to the new Disney Premier Visa.
Looking through the information I received, I saw that the difference between the Premier card and the one I currently I have is that I would get Disney Dream Reward Dollars for 2 percent of my purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and Disney locations instead of the 1 percent the standard card offers. This is pretty significant, as most of my charges are in those categories. This would almost double the Disney Dream Reward Dollars I would get.
Another new feature on the Premier card is that in addition to redeeming the Dream Reward Dollars for a Disney gift card, I could also use them to help pay for airline travel on any airline. This is particularly appealing this year as my kids don’t want to go to Disney World . If we don’t go to a Disney destination, there will be a significant part of my normal vacation savings that I won’t be able to use. With the Premier card, I can still use my Dream Reward Dollars even if we don’t go to a Disney park.
There are also a few new designs for the cards, but that wasn’t that big a deal to me. So what was the catch? Ah, there it was at the very end of the brochure—a $49 annual fee. The standard Disney Visa has no annual fee. Another rule I have is that I won’t have a card with an annual fee. Why pay for the “privilege” of giving your business to the credit card company?
But I have to make an exception here. After doing a little quick math in my head, I figured that the extra 1 percent in Dream Reward Dollars on groceries, gas, and restaurants would amount to $15 a month or so, maybe even $20. That’s around $200 a year more. Allowing for the $49 in annual fees, I’m still earning over $100 a year extra for my vacation.
But wait—there’s more! If I acted now, for the first three months I had my Premier card, I would earn a whopping 5 percent in Dream Reward Dollars for gas, groceries, and restaurants. That alone would cover the first couple years of annual fees.
So, needless to say, I signed up for the Disney Premier Visa. I look forward to the extra vacation savings with my new card.
Has anyone else taken Chase and Disney up on this offer?
Mark was born and raised in Fayetteville, WV. He first visited Disney World back in 1975 and was instantly hooked. He returned several times as a child and now brings his own family as often as possible. Being a new lawyer, however, that isn’t as often as he’d like. Mark is married to Sherri, NDM#237.
