If you want to experience the magic of Disney in person, you're going to pay for it.
While you can use travel rewards for flights and hotels, covering other costs like park tickets and cruise fares with rewards is difficult outside of earning gobs of cash back. There are co-branded Disney credit cards, but the value they offer isn't better than what you can get with many top rewards credit cards.
In the past, the best credit card for booking a trip to a Disney theme park often wasn't a Disney card. That math will change for many with the introduction of the Disney® Inspire Visa® Card, which has a limited-time welcome offer worth up to $600. You'll receive a $300 Disney Gift Card eGift upon approval and earn a $300 statement credit after spending $1,000 in the first three months of account opening.
This generous welcome bonus is complemented by ongoing perks that can save you hundreds of dollars a year on Disney purchases.
The Disney® Inspire Visa® Card has an easy-to-earn welcome bonus and ongoing perks that make it worth it, but you need to spend a lot with Disney each year to unlock this card's value.
- Generous welcome offer
- Promo APR on Disney vacation packages
- Valuable ongoing benefits for eligible Disney purchases
- Earns Disney Rewards Dollars, which are more restrictive than cash back
- Has an annual fee
Rewards
- Earn 10% in Disney Rewards Dollars on card purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or ESPNPlus.com.
- Earn 3% in Disney Rewards Dollars on card purchases at gas stations and most U.S. Disney locations
- Earn 2% in Disney Rewards Dollars at grocery stores and restaurants
- Earn 1% on all your other card purchases. There are no limits to the number of Rewards Dollars you can earn.
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
None
Disney Inspire Visa Card benefits
Rewards rates
In addition to its welcome bonus, the Disney Inspire Visa earns Disney Rewards Dollars at the following rates:
- 10% on purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.ESPN.com
- 3% at most other U.S. Disney locations and gas stations
- 2% at grocery stores and restaurants
- 1% on all other card purchases
Statement credits
You can also earn over $300 a year in credits for various Disney purchases, including:
- Up to $120 in annual credits on qualifying subscriptions or add-on purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.ESPN.com (up to $10 back per month after spending $10 or more on eligible purchases; yearly activation required)
- $100 statement credit after spending $200 per card anniversary year on U.S. Disney theme park tickets
- $200 Disney Rewards Dollars after spending $2,000 per card anniversary year on U.S. Disney Resort stays and Disney Cruise Line bookings
If you only take advantage of the streaming credit for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN, you could almost entirely offset this card's $149 annual fee. You can also take advantage of a 0% intro APR for six months on select Disney vacation packages (then a variable APR of 18.24% to 27.74% applies).
Disney discounts
This card also comes with discounts on a range of Disney purchases, including:
- 10% off select purchases at DisneyStore.com
- 10% off select merchandise 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
- 10% off the non-discounted price of select recreation experiences at Walt Disney World® Resort
Cardholders also have access to exclusive character photos at Disneyland® Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort®.
Who does the Disney Inspire Visa Card make sense for?
If you're a Disney regular who visits a Disney theme park or books Disney cruises every year or two, this card can easily pay for itself. You can redeem the Disney Rewards Dollars you earn for all sorts of Disney expenses, and cardholders have the added benefit of being able to use Disney Rewards Dollars to offset qualifying airline purchases.
However, if a Disney-themed vacation is a one-off event for you, the Disney Inspire Visa loses its luster; most of its value is locked within the Disney ecosystem. If you're not consistently making Disney the centerpiece of your holiday plans, you may find it more useful to earn cash back or travel rewards that have more redemption options.
If you're planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney, consider the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It has a limited time welcome offer worth more than $1,000 travel value: Enjoy $300 to use on hotel and vacation rental bookings through Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. You can easily apply this welcome bonus to the flights or hotels you need to make your Disney dream come true. It also earns at least 2X miles on every purchase, and the annual fee is only $95.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and earns flexible travel rewards, which makes it a great travel card for both beginners and frequent travelers.
- Valuable welcome offer
- You can transfer miles to Capital One's travel partners
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
- No foreign transaction fees
- Lacks ongoing travel benefits such as statement credits or lounge access
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $300 to use on hotel and vacation rental bookings through Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening – that's more than $1,000 in travel value
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app
Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Foreign transaction fee
None
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