Credit Cards

Is the Disney Inspire Visa worth it? What I saved at Disney World

September 3, 2026 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate/referral link to the Disney Inspire Visa. If you apply through my link and are approved, I may receive a reward from Chase at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!

In February, I pounced on a “buy four, get two free” deal at Walt Disney World. This unusual promotion gave our family two free hotel nights and two free theme park days when we purchased a four-night, four-day vacation package.

Not long afterward, Chase announced three new Disney-affiliated credit cards: the Disney Inspire Visa with a $149 annual fee, the Disney Premier Visa with a $49 annual fee and the no-annual-fee Disney Visa. I opted for the Disney Inspire Visa, which came with a collection of benefits that seemed tailor-made for our trip, such as:

A $300 Disney gift card upon approval
A $300 statement credit after spending $1,000 (since reduced to $200 for new applicants)
200 Disney Rewards Dollars after spending $2,000 on eligible U.S. Disney resort stays and Disney Cruise Line bookings
10% off at many Disney resort restaurants and merchandise locations
3% in rewards on Disney purchases and gas
2% on groceries and 1% on other purchases

The card also offers a $100 statement credit after spending $200 on U.S. Disney theme park tickets and annual passes, plus a $10 monthly streaming credit for eligible purchases at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or Stream.ESPN.com.

I got the card primarily for the sign-up bonuses and the 200 rewards dollars we could earn on our resort stay. But the 10% discount on dining and merchandise turned out to be an unexpectedly nice perk. It knocked about $30 off our souvenir purchases and $76.52 off our sit-down meals. (Bonus tip for meat eaters: Do not miss the phenomenal filet mignon at the Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios.)

The 3% rewards rate on Disney purchases also added up faster than I expected. So far, those rewards have generated statement credits worth over $200. If you add it all up, that’s more than $1,000 in savings.

I suspect the card will continue to earn its place in my wallet even if we don’t spring for another Disney resort or cruise vacation anytime soon. We’re annual passholders at Disneyland, so the $100 statement credit for eligible ticket and annual-pass purchases, the 10% discounts on many restaurant and merchandise purchases and the 3% rewards rate on Disney spending should more than offset the $149 annual fee.

If you’re planning a Disney vacation, have good credit and pay off your cards in full every month, the Disney Inspire could be worth considering. Of course, no credit card can make a Walt Disney World vacation cheap.

Six-night packages for a family of four typically start around $3,600 at Disney’s budget hotels and $6,300 at premium resorts such as Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we stayed. The “buy four, get two free” promotion, which is no longer offered, reduced our package cost to $4,859 for our family of three. The trade-off was traveling in late August, when we had to contend with considerable heat, humidity and afternoon thunderstorms that occasionally disrupted our plans.

I used frequent-flier miles for our plane tickets and a free-night award from a Hyatt credit card for an overnight stay at the Orlando airport. Disney’s extensive bus system helped keep our transportation costs down, but we still spent about $250 on rideshares, which was cheaper for us than renting a car and paying for parking. We spent about $2,000 on meals and snacks, more than $300 on souvenirs and about $620 on Lightning Lane passes that dramatically reduced our waits for rides and attractions.

So even with the deals, miles and other savings, this was a pricey trip. That made every discount, reward and sign-up bonus from the Disney Inspire card that much more welcome.

Q&A: Are credit card surcharges a tax windfall for businesses?

August 17, 2026 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

Dear Liz: Regarding the fees charged to use credit cards. Aren’t the fees charged by the credit card companies considered deductible expenses on the businesses’ taxes? It seems that if the customer pays the surcharge then the business claims a deduction on its taxes, the business is getting a big benefit. It’s nothing but a scam. If I’m paying the fee, then the business shouldn’t be able to deduct it.

Answer: You don’t have the accounting quite right. The surcharge you pay to use a credit card is generally considered income to the business. The deduction isn’t a windfall but prevents the business from being taxed on money it collected and then paid to the credit-card processor.

The surcharge allows the business to pass some or all of its processing costs onto the customers that cause it to incur the costs, rather than simply absorbing the expense. Of course, some customers will take their business elsewhere because of the surcharge, so the ultimate effect on profits is in question.

Q&A: Closing credit accounts doesn’t need to be a big deal

December 15, 2025 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: Your recent response to the person giving bad advice about closing credit accounts was truly a public service. Over the years, I have opened and closed many credit accounts. Only once was a credit card closed for non-usage by the issuer and there was no major degradation of my credit score. Never has one of my actions altered my score by more than a few points or for more than a few months at a time. Misinformed statements such as those made by that individual can confuse people who are new to the world of credit or unfamiliar with how it works.

Answer: Before the advent of credit scoring, your ability to get a new loan or credit card may have been affected by a notation on your credit reports that a previous account was closed by the issuer. Today, though, it doesn’t matter who closes an account and there’s no need to add a notation that you were the one requesting the closure. If you mishandled the account, that will be evident from the missed payments that would show up on your credit reports (and be incorporated into your scores). If you handled the account responsibly, that will also be evident on your reports.

As mentioned in previous columns, closing credit accounts can have a significant impact on your scores if you have a few accounts or major blemishes on your credit. Closing a card with a high limit can ding your scores more than closing one with a lower limit.

But people with multiple credit accounts and a history of managing credit responsibly aren’t likely to suffer significant or lasting damage to their scores when they close an account.

Q&A: Closing a long-held credit card didn’t have much impact

November 17, 2025 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I just read your column about cardholders being fearful of canceling a card. Here’s my story.

I made an online purchase with a credit card I’ve had since 1981. The purchase turned out to be a scam. I spent hours trying to resolve this. When I finally got a human, she was extremely hard to understand and was very condescending. She told me I should upgrade to another version of their card at a higher cost. I finally told her to cancel my card. Then she went to Page 2 of her script and offered me a $50 credit toward the purchase being disputed. After 20 minutes and my insistence that I no longer wanted their card, she finally canceled it. My credit score dropped 4 points. At first, I was concerned, but honestly, after 44 years with them and thousands of dollars in annual fees, the way I was treated made my decision easier.

Answer: Thanks for sharing your experience! The impact of closing the account might have been greater if it had been your highest-limit card, if you didn’t have several other open cards or if your credit scores weren’t high. But even a larger ding would be temporary as long as you continued to use your other accounts responsibly.

Q&A: Why each spouse should have a credit card in their own name

August 18, 2025 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My husband was the primary account holder on our credit cards and I was the authorized user. When he recently passed away, I was told I had to close the cards. I have tried to open my own credit cards and have been declined by two banks because my debt is too high. I am the co-signer for my two daughters’ mortgages, making it look like I owe more than $1 million. My daughters have always made the monthly payments and have done so for six years. I also have almost $1 million in investments. I told the bankers I could bring in these documents as proof I’m credit card worthy and they said they don’t look at outside evidence, only the credit reports. So here I am, in my 60s without a credit card. Should I just settle and be an authorized user on my daughters’ cards? What can I do?

Answer: Thank you for providing another vivid example of why it’s important for each spouse to have one or two credit cards in their own names. Many people don’t realize that credit cards typically aren’t jointly held, and the death of the primary account holder can leave them cut off from credit.

Being added as an authorized user to your daughters’ cards is a good first step. You also might consider approaching a credit union, since these member-owned financial institutions are often more flexible about granting credit than the typical big bank.

Unfortunately, these mortgages will continue to affect your debt-to-income ratio until they’re paid off or your daughters refinance — and given the low rate they presumably got, refinancing is not likely to be an attractive solution.

Q&A: The pros and cons of rewards cards with high interest rates

July 1, 2025 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I expect to travel to Europe in the next few months. I applied for a new credit card to take advantage of its “no foreign transaction fees” policy. With a credit score of 740, I figured I would get a decent rate. Today I learned that I’m approved with a rate of 29%, which seems very steep. I want to turn this down rather than pay that rate. How do I do that, and what will the effect be on my credit score?

Answer: Don’t close the card. Rethink your strategy. You most likely got a rewards card, since those are typically the ones that don’t charge for foreign transactions. Rewards cards usually have high interest rates, so the only smart way to use one is as a convenience: Charge only what you can afford to pay off when the bill comes. Ideally, you’ll have saved for this trip so that won’t be a problem.

If you do wind up with a balance, consider transferring the debt to a low-rate card. But that, too, needs to be paid off relatively promptly, since low rates are typically teaser rates that expire after a few months.

Generally it’s better to borrow only for something that can grow in value over time. A reasonable mortgage makes sense, because a home typically appreciates. A moderate amount of student loan debt can pay off in higher incomes.

If you must borrow for something that doesn’t appreciate, such as a car, opt for the shortest possible loan to minimize the interest you pay. Avoid borrowing for vacations and travel, since those should be paid for out of your current income.