Like baseball game And Fireworks on July 4th, a family vacation to Disney is a classic American pastime. However, Disney vacations are notoriously expensive, and sticker shock can come with all the wonder and expectations. Disney can be done on a budget – but it will never be cheap.
Sometimes Discounts on dining, tickets, and lodging at Disney; However, you can save more by using credit card points to purchase Disney tickets without having to spend a fortune.
Even if you plan to go Disneyland or Disney worldHere are all the different ways you can use points to pay for Disney park tickets so your next family vacation will be more affordable.
Disney ticket prices
Several factors affect the price of Disney tickets and therefore the number of points you will need to use. These include the guest’s age (children under 3 are free, but once you’re 10, you’re considered an “adult”), tour dates and times, which parks you want to visit, and whether you have want to park or not.
However, one consistent aspect of Disney’s pricing is that the more days you spend at a Disney park during your trip, the lower your cost per day will be. Looking at the value on a per day basis, it’s clearly in your best interest to spend as much time at Disney as possible during one vacation.
Doing so will allow you to get significantly more points than taking many short Disney trips – unless you’re buying one Disney Annual Pass (which isn’t a bad strategy if you plan to visit multiple times a year). One-day, one-park tickets to Disney World range from $109 to $189. However, your cost per day for a longer Disney trip of up to 10 days can start as low as $62 per day during certain times of the year.
Related: This is the best time to visit Disney World
Park hopping, which involves visiting multiple theme parks in one day, brings the price of a Disney World one-day ticket for adults to $187 (plus tax), so you’re looking at a real change. the … or point.
How to redeem points for Disney tickets
If you’re looking for a magical way to get greater value when using your points to buy Disney tickets (like you can do when redeeming miles for first class tickets), we have some bad news. It’s generally impossible to make attractive profits when redeeming points for Disney tickets.
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Instead, the best way to redeem points for Disney tickets is to redeem points at a flat rate or through Refund card.
Related: How to rent Disney Vacation Club points and save hundreds of dollars on your vacation
That said, the best use of points is one that makes you happy. If Disney is your happy place, your points can unlock the gates to your visit.
Exchange Bilt points for Disney tickets
Bilt Rewards is one of the best options to secure tickets to Disney.
With Bilt rewards and Mastercard® card (see exchange rates and fees), you can earn points to redeem for Disney tickets directly in the activities section of Bilt travel portal at 1.25 cents per point. This is a better return per point than most of the other options we will go through. Cardholders must use the card five times per statement period to accumulate points (see rewards and benefits).
While there are more valuable ways to redeem Bilt points with transfer partners, using Bilt Rewards points for Disney tickets is pretty solid. Additionally, if you take advantage of Bilt’s monthly service Date of hire offer, you can double your earnings from things like dining out and increase your points balance.
In the example above, Bilt’s travel booking website charges 11,570 points, or $144.62, for a one-day ticket to the Magic Kingdom on August 20, while Disney charges 137 points directly, 39 USD. Bilt’s prices include a 5% convenience fee, so in that case you’ll have to pay more to use your points, but it’s still one of the better ways to use points for Disney tickets.
TPG founder Brian Kelly is an advisor and investor in Bilt.
Exchange Chase points for Disney tickets
Walt Disney World tickets for three days or longer can sometimes be found at Chase Travel Portal℠. We spotted them as recently as early 2024, although they have magically disappeared from the Chase site since this update.
When available, you can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Disney tickets, cruises, resorts, and vacation packages at 1.25 cents each if you have Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or 1.5 cents each if you have them Chase Sapphire Reserve®. As is the case with Bilt, the price will be slightly higher than if you buy directly from Disney.
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can use the card $300 annual travel credit for Disney tickets as long as it is considered a travel fee. Since Disney tickets are not typically considered travel expenses, consider purchasing your tickets from a certified third-party seller such as secret travel. As a bonus, some tickets available through Undercover Tourist cost a little less than buying directly with Disney (although some tickets for shorter trips will be more expensive).
Related: The best credit cards for your Disney vacation
Redeem your travel points and airline miles for Disney tickets — with a great deal
Like Bilt Rewards and Chasing the ultimate rewardyou can transfer Capital One Mile from Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card ARRIVE hotel and airline partners. However, you can too Redeem Capital One miles at a flat rate of 1 cent per mile for travel purchases made with the card.
The appeal of this redemption method is that Disney tickets purchased directly from Disney are usually not considered travel expenses if purchased themselves. As is the case with Chase, Disney tickets are generally not considered travel (unless you purchase a vacation package and larger tickets). You’ll want them coded that way if you want to offset the cost by redeeming Capital One miles, so your best bet is to buy admission from a third-party site like Undercover Tourist.
If you buy tickets using a method that labels your purchases as travel expenses, you can use the 75,000-mile welcome bonus you can earn after spending $4,000 on the Venture Rewards card in three First month with the card is $750 towards a Disney trip.
Related: The best Disney World hotels for your vacation
Flexible point redemption with fee
With some other credit card programs, the best you can do is earn cash back rewards that can be used to offset the cost of Disney tickets – or anything else for that matter.
For example, Bank of America® Preferred Rewards Points can be earned from Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card, each worth 1 cent. This card rewards up to 2,625 points per dollar spent on non-bonus transactions and 3.5 points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases if you’ve unlocked the Diamond level of the Elite Rewards program (based on the total assets you have deposited with your Bank of America and/or Merrill account).
If you’re at that preferred income level, it’s just about the best value cash back card on the market.
The welcome bonus is currently 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 90 days of account opening. That’s worth the equivalent of $600 in cash that you can use to give yourself a statement credit, essentially offsetting the cost of Disney tickets charged to that card.
What about the Disney Visa Card?
It’s reasonable to wonder why, out of 1,000 words in the story, there’s the same name Disney® Visa® Card It’s not out yet if you want to use points for a Disney vacation.
There are technically two versions of the Disney Visa. The free annual Disney Visa earns a simple 1% back on all card purchases in the form of Disney Rewards Dollars you can use at Disney.
Then there is Disney® Premier Visa® Card, has an annual fee of $49. It earns 5% back on card purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com and ESPNPlus.com, 2% back on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and most locations Disney domestically and 1% back everywhere else.
In both cases, the Disney Rewards Dollars you earn can be used to cover expenses at a Disney park, on a Disney cruise, etc. This means it’s not an option. Bad if you want to win a Disney trip reward – especially if you get a nice sign-up bonus, which we’ve seen go up to $400 on the Disney Visa Premier.
There are some fun perks and discounts that come with the card, but they aren’t the absolute best options for maximizing your ongoing spending to earn a future Disney vacation.
Related: Is the Disney Visa credit card worth it?
Bottom line
It takes time and concerted effort to accumulate enough points for a family’s worth of Disney tickets. However, the strategy uses one or more Great credit card sign up bonuses can help turn your Disney dream trip into a more wallet-friendly reality.
For example, get $750 in value for your trip from the current bonus above Capital One Venture Rewards Card and another 600 USD from the current welcome bonus above Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card can give you a head start if you don’t want to pay cash for Disney tickets.
If you have more time to accumulate points, then Mastercard Bilt is a great option to have in your wallet as Bilt Rewards points are worth 1.25 cents per Disney ticket. However, it currently does not have a welcome bonus for new cardholders.
Catch Chase Sapphire Sanctuary and earning 75,000 welcome bonus points (after you spend $4,000 in the first three months) can get you nearly two adult tickets in three days as long as they’re available on the Chase Travel portal.
While there are many rewards apps that are mathematically more economical than buying Disney tickets, making the best use of your points is always the way to make your travel dreams come true. So if Disney is what you want for a future points trip, you can make that dream come true.
Related reading:
See Bilt Mastercard rates and fees This.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits This.
