Disneyland holds a special place in my heart, not because it’s Disneyland, but because it represents family. My elementary school in the 1990’s used to reward perfect attendance students with a trip to Disneyland. Growing up poor, my mom knew that the only way me and my siblings could go to Disneyland was through this opportunity. She would send us to school every day no matter what and then she would volunteer as a parent chaperone. This was my moms way of providing us with a yearly Disneyland trip on our family budget. I have the best memories of spending a magical Disney day with my mom and siblings. I spent 6 years at this elementary school and so my brain has associated Disney with family.
With school budgets being drastically cut, this opportunity is not available to families today. However, lucky for you and your family you can still create Disney memories with your kids through the magic of credit card points and miles.
Here’s How:
Travel credit cards usually advertise welcome bonuses in the form of points and miles. If you’re new to the points and miles world, you earn welcome bonuses by applying for a credit card and once approved meeting the minimum spend the card asks for in the required amount of time. These welcome bonus points and miles can then be used to purchase Disney tickets.
Do not use American Express points for this because American Express points transfer to cash at a rate of .6 cents per point. Meaning 100 points is worth 60 cents.
Do not use Citi ThankYou points for this either because Citi ThankYou points transfer to cash at a rate of .5 cents per point. Meaning 100 points is worth 50 cents.
There are better cards that make the most of your points and miles.
The TWO best cards for Disneyland Tickets are:
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Ink Business cards
These cards earn Chase Ultimate rewards points that transfer to cash at a rate of 1 cent per point. Meaning 100 points is equal to $1.00
The 60,000 welcome bonus the Sapphire Preferred offers can give your family $600 towards tickets.
The 75,000 welcome bonus the Ink Business Cards offer can give your family $750 towards tickets.
- The Capital One Venture or Venture X card
These cards both earn 75,000 miles as a welcome bonus. You would NOT convert them to cash because Capital One miles transfer at a rate of .5 cents per point. Meaning 100 points is equal to .50 cents.
The strategy for the Venture card is to buy your Disney tickets through undercovertourist.com because this way your purchase codes as travel. If you buy the tickets directly through the Disney site then it will code as entertainment and you can’t use this strategy.
Once you buy your tickets through undercovertourist.com and they show up on your credit card statement as travel, you can use Capital One’s Purchase Eraser feature. Capital One’s Purchase Eraser allows you to erase travel expenses within 90 days at a rate of 1 mile per cent. Meaning your 75,000 mile welcome bonus can “erase” $750 worth of Disney tickets on your credit card statement. It is “erased” by them giving you a statement credit. You can use this strategy for any theme park to which undercovertourist.com sells tickets to, it is not exclusive to Disney.
You CAN give your family Disney memories on a budget! Happy travels!
