topic Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World? in Credit Cards

How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:19:24 GMT

Hi everybody. I am not knowledgable on miles and reward points so I am hoping for some advice from the gurus here.

Over Valentines Day my DH and I had a convo about planning a vacation to Disney World. I said I bet we could get there and stay for free if we apped and got the right reward and miles cards. He looked at me like I was insane. He says this is "just not possible. NO WAY" Sooo, I am looking to prove him wrong.

I know the Dolphin and Swan hotels @ Disney are Starwood, so the SPG will work there. Im just not sure if I would qualify just yet. What other hotels if any will work?

I am not sure what is needed here to get advice to figure this out. We live in Houston. Family of 4. (2 adults 2 children 16 and 1) Looking for 4 days 3 nights.

Currently have a low 700 score. AAOA 1yr, never late no baddies, Cap1 securd $300 limit 3yrs 0 bal (looking to close and replace), Discover more $7200 limit got in October $2600 bal.

The rest are store cards all 0 bal except Rm Store $3100 limit 2yrs $1092 bal. Comenity Ln Bryant $750 2yrs, Walmart $1200 4months, Best Buy $500 1.5yrs, Fingerhut $1200 2yrs.

Thanks in advance. PLEASE help me prove him wrong. He really thinks I am CRAZY. He just doesnt get it.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

starry1 — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:24:29 GMT

I think an air miles card and a hotel rewards card should do it. I think someone has a Disney Visa, maybe it was Chase.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

Creditaddict — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:27:14 GMT

@firstladyd wrote:
Hi everybody. I am not knowledgable on miles and reward points so I am hoping for some advice from the gurus here.

Over Valentines Day my DH and I had a convo about planning a vacation to Disney World. I said I bet we could get there and stay for free if we apped and got the right reward and miles cards. He looked at me like I was insane. He says this is "just not possible. NO WAY" Sooo, I am looking to prove him wrong.

@I know the Dolphin and Swan hotels @ Disney are Starwood, so the SPG will work there. Im just not sure if I would qualify just yet. What other hotels if any will work?
I am not sure what is needed here to get advice to figure this out. We live in Houston. Family of 4. (2 adults 2 children 16 and 1) Looking for 4 days 3 nights.

Currently have a low 700 score. AAOA 1yr, never late no baddies, Cap1 securd $300 limit 3yrs 0 bal (looking to close and replace), Discover more $7200 limit got in October $2600 bal.

The rest are store cards all 0 bal except Rm Store $3100 limit 2yrs $1092 bal. Comenity Ln Bryant $750 2yrs, Walmart $1200 4months, Best Buy $500 1.5yrs, Fingerhut $1200 2yrs.

Thanks in advance. PLEASE help me prove him wrong. He really thinks I am CRAZY. He just doesnt get it.

Not sure but I would head over to chase and do pre-qual.

Ask Walmart for a CLI, ask for manual review if you have to and try for $5k or more....

Amex - id say go for it...

chase has a disney card don't they? you could see if you pre-qualify for something else first and take it if you are then go right back in and apply for the Disney... you can move lines if you end up with both but need more credit on one.

flying, not sure what you have from texas but virgin? that is a barclay card, you could probably get that in the 700's and they are FANTASTIC at recon... instantly! recon denials, recond credit lines, 2, 3 times until you get what you want or close!

umm... southwest, united are chase so if you are doing chase above, 3rd might be hard!

jet blue is amex and delta also... so you could figure out if that's better then spg.

I have to say, I really like the idea of doing this.... not sure how it will work out or if it's best but I kind of throw caution to the wind when it comes to applying and worrying about denials or INQ unless you are within 12 months of mortgage!

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:28:51 GMT

I saw the Disney Chase But it just seemed that other reward and miles cards offered better deals. Im just not sure. Im really just lost with trying to research this whole thing but I am determined to get us there for free with rewards or with a substantial discount.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:31:59 GMT

No mortgage for at least 3 years. DH just changed jobs temporarily and will be changing again in ayear.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

Creditaddict — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:32:55 GMT

I would do it but I think my partner would shoot me if I sat here and "mock" booked a vacation... tempted to call Infiniti Personal Assistant though to go to work for you!

I would lay it out like you are booking but stop at that point.

So first look at flights and who looks like best options and costs.

then look at hotels in and around and see cost and options.

Car if needed, etc. etc.

then when you have a dollar figure say $1k in flights for 4 on united and $1k hotel costs - now you can break down the opening rewards vs. opening spend specials and see who has the best to get you the closest to pay for it all.

Just your credit or him too... 1-2 people is probably doable for hotel and flying but 4 plane tickets on 1 credit card might be hard!

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:42:13 GMT

Just my credit. Still cleaning his up. Im not looking to do this trip until spring or fall of 2015. So need points miles that dont expire. Looks like United or Spirit has best fares from Houston to orlando.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:55:17 GMT

@firstladyd wrote:
Just my credit. Still cleaning his up. Im not looking to do this trip until spring or fall of 2015. So need points miles that dont expire. Looks like United or Spirit has best fares from Houston to orlando.

United should be fairly straightforward if you're willing to app several times with Chase. You'll definitely need the Sapphire Preferred, which will allow you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points directly to a United MileagePlus account. You can get another card that earns UR points, such as the Freedom, and pool those in as well. If you still need more miles, United also has its credit cards with Chase, so you can apply for the United Explorer or Club card, which will earn you even more miles.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 05:00:07 GMT

As for hotels, it looks like there are a few Hilton properties in the area, and there are several opportunities out there to earn big Hilton sign-up bonuses. Hilton has 2 credit cards with American Express and 2 with Citibank, which will net you over 100k points plus 2 free weekend nights.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:59:28 GMT

I see you have the BOA Travel Rewards. How do you like that card ? I keep getiing offers from them but havent pulled the trigger yet. I dont see very many happy people on here with BOA.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 05:21:59 GMT

I just did a product change to it a couple months ago, but I am liking it so far. I originally had an Alaska Airlines credit card, but since I no longer fly Alaska as often, this works better for me.

The card has no annual fee and gives 1.5% back on all purchases as well as 3% back on travel booked through the BofA website. You also get a annual 10% bonus if you have a BofA checking account, so after a year those percentages actually come out to 1.65% and 3.3%, respectively. In addition, it comes with an EMV chip and no foreign transaction fees.

It's not the absolute best option in terms of earning rewards, but I use it as my catch-all card for those categories that aren't covered by my other cards. I'm planning some international travel in the fall, so it will definitely come in handy then. On the whole, I think it's a good travel/general use card for people whose credit scores/income don't necessarily put them in the "high roller" category.

The sign-up bonus isn't super high, but I've seen it get up to $150 cash back. If you get a good offer and think you would put the card to good use, I would go for it. The one downside of me PCing is that I didn't receive the sign-up bonus.

Finally, I haven't run into too much trouble with BofA, but my limited interactions with BofA customer service have been just okay. I've had to work a little to get what I wanted, but I have always gotten my requests through. The trick is to use the backdoor numbers listed in the stickied thread on here.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 05:23:58 GMT

AH-HAH Backdoor numbers are always the key. I have time to wait for good offers to come up. Plus I'm waiting for all cards to report a 0 balance and I should get a really nice score bump. I think Im going to app 2 cards at a time every six months. I saw the HH offers but I didnt know about the free weekends. THANKS. I dont think my profile is ready for a citi card. Ex is my cleanest report inquiry wise. Come March it will only have 2. I think as soon as my new bal gets reported im going to go for Freedom card. I want that SPG for the hotel stay for the trip, just not sure if I'll get it.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

HappySoda — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 06:13:05 GMT

Not trying to bring u down but you're going to have to run thousands and thousands of dollars through these cards to get the free trip. I've ran 3 grand through a card and I earned like a 50 dollar gift card. So u figure 30 grand to get 500 dollars and 120 grand to get 2000 dollars of rewards. That's gonna be insane. Just saying.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 06:42:28 GMT

I pay for everything with a CC. Then I just PIF when its due. The only thing I don't pay with a CC is rent, car note, and other CC. I probably run $2000-2500 a month. That with an awesome sign on bonus is not so insane. Just takes careful planning. No reason to pay full price for this trip is how I see it. Especially when I can get rewarded for things I am going to buy and bills I am going to pay anyways.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

CreditScholar — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:04:35 GMT

The main problem you're going to have is that you have 4 people. This means 4 airfares. You'll realistically need at least 2 different airline cards, plus 1-2 hotel cards. Given how borderline your score is for most travel rewards cards, I'd say there's a good chance this isn't possible. Applying for that many cards in such a short window would hurt your scores a fair bit, even if you were approved.

If you'd still like to try, your best bet would be the United Explorer Card plus Citibank's AA card. By the time you spend enough to meet the minimum requirements, you should have around 50k miles in each. Both United and American allow one-way awards at 12.5 miles each. You'd redeem for 4x one way tickets on United (12,500x5=50,000), and then 4x one way tickets for the return trip on American.

For hotels it's a bit easier. The Hilton cards are an option, and so is the US Bank Club Carlson card. The signup bonus on the latter is 80k points, plus you get the final night free. That 80k points from the signup bonus should be enough for 3 nights. Another option would be the Chase Marriott which gives 50k points plus a Category 1-4 certificate. That can be used at the Courtyard Lake Buena Vista, plus 40k points for the other 2 nights.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:11:51 GMT

Even if I cant get all four flights paid for with rewards as long as i can get 2 thats great. Its really the hotel rooms that are the most expensive cost of this trip as far as i can see.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

firstladyd — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:14:58 GMT

Also as soon as my new balances report I should see a good bump at least 15 points i think. My eq score is really outdated it is 705 right now.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

thankfulheart — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:56:34 GMT

sent you a PM

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

dobirdsmommy — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:47:44 GMT

Chase does provide a Disney VISA and Disney Debit Visa.

You get perks in the parks and hotels such as 10% off purchases over $50.00. Certain restaurants are included in that too. They also provide you a discount on the tours they offer for the parks.

Also in Disney with the Chase card you get perks for certain events. We were there for the food and wine; so we received lower row tickets for the Epcot concerts for 38 Special and Billy Ocean. Also for fireworks viewings they give you wristbands for Chase customers. They also had a Chase VIP lounge with free refreshments and air conditioning area with TVs.

I used my card in October when DH and DS and I were there for 12 days.

We used our room key for charging and then paid it off at the hotel with the 10% off. They are do interest free financing on your vacation when you make payments.

Re: How Can You Get A Trip To Disney World?

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:50:31 GMT

You may want to look into the Chase Southwest card. I think the sign-on bonus is 40,000 points which is almost enough by itself for two round-trip tickets to Orlando from pretty much anywhere in the contiguous 48.