First and foremost, I did not stay here using credit card points and miles. I was able to stay at this property due to a work conference. Below you will find my general impressions of the property, as well as how you could make this stay happen using credit card points and miles.
Booking a Stay Using Credit Card Points and Miles
The two best credit card points and miles to use would come from Chase and Capital One.
Option one would be to use Chase Ultimate Reward points because they transfer to cash at a 1 point to 1 cent ratio. Not all credit card points do that, so if you will be using points to try to stay at The Grand Californian, Chase is one way to go.
Chase cards that you could open that earn Chase Ultimate Reward points are:
Chase Sapphire Preferred-60,000 point welcome bonus ($600)
Chase Ink Business cards – 75,000 point welcome bonus ($750)
If you use the player 1 and player 2 strategy, you and your spouse could each open one of the above cards and then have $2,700 to put toward a few nights at the hotel and a day or 2 at Disneyland with your family.
Your second option would be to use Capital One miles. These would not be cashed in. You would be using the “Purchase Eraser” feature in which you can charge travel expenses to your Venture or Venture X card and then later use points to erase that cost. You can erase 1 cent with 1 point on any purchase that codes as TRAVEL. Anything not coded as travel cannot be erased.
Opening the Venture card or the Venture X would earn you a 75,000 miles welcome bonus for each card ($750).
This is another good card that you can use to “erase” one hotel night. If you and your player 2 each open a card, you can “erase” two of your family’s nights at this hotel.
When booking your hotel stays, do not book directly with Disney because it will not code as travel. It codes an entertainment for some reason. You would have to book the hotel through a third party site, like Expedia.com for example in order to be able to “erase” your hotel stays.
If you plan to open any of the above cards, please use my credit card links. It is a no cost to you way to support my content: https://linktr.ee/mamitravelswithpoints
My Stay at The Grand Californian
Walking into the lobby of the hotel for the first time is very memorable. You look around at this grand lobby with Disney piano music playing and a cozy fireplace. There’s a spot for the little ones to watch cartoons while you check in. The lobby has a very welcoming and cozy feel. What was not my favorite about this hotel is that it is missing the Disney feel to it. It has more of a fancy cabin feel than a Disney property.
My job paid for me to stay in a standard view room for two days in the month of July. I chose the room option that had 2 queen beds and a couch that turned into a twin bed. I needed all the space because I planned to turn this work trip into a family getaway for me and my 4 daughters. That room option would have cost $748 a night, for a grand total of $1,750 including taxes and fees. Aside from that, self parking was an additional $40 per night.
Not pictured, the room offered a spacious bathroom with two sinks and a separate space for the toilet and shower. A good option for large families who are all trying to get ready at the same time. The room also had a coffee maker and a mini fridge that was NOT stocked with mini bar options, so you could actually use it. These two were our money savers. I used the fridge to bring in snack options from a grocery story ad we used the coffee maker to heat up water for top ramen for when the kids needed a a quick snack. Our room also had a small balcony with a partial view of the pool that we enjoyed sitting at in the evenings when it wasn’t that hot.
The hotel has three pools to choose from. They are all in the same area but it creates a nice separation. They have free sunscreen by the pools in case you forget to bring some. They also offer free swim vests for your little ones. The pool area has 2 slides that I was not impressed by. One was meant for toddlers and the then there was the bigger one pictured below by the tree trunk. Both slides fed into the same pool, making that the most popular pool.
Concluding Thoughts
As a lover of all things Disney, this stay was another dream stay crossed off my travel list. If it is also on your dream travel list, then I definitely suggest experiencing it at least once. It does give guests early access to the theme parks. The closest proximity to both parks. It has a direct entry into Disney’s California Adventure park and direct access to Downtown Disney. You will get all of the above coupled with Disney elegance.
If the above is important to you, then I would suggest staying in this hotel. If you want more of a child like Disney feel, I would suggest staying at the Disneyland Hotel instead.
