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There are traditional ways to save on a Disney cruise—sail at off-peak times, get an inside or guaranteed stateroom, cruise on some of the older ships that aren’t as pricey. But what do you do if none of the stars align and you’ve got quite a hefty cruise bill to pay? Need a Disney cruise credit card strategy?

Here are some tips for offsetting the price of your cruise through a combination of hotel points, airline miles, and cash back rewards! 

🏰 For no-cost assistance with planning your next Disney or Universal vacation, check out Travel Mom Squad’s booking partner Mouse Counselors! And yes, booking through Mouse Counselors codes as travel. 😉

Flights to the Port

The best option for flights for families or couples is the Southwest® Companion Pass. You can read about all the details, but the short version is that you’ll need to accumulate 135,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to earn the Companion Pass. Once you’ve done that, you’ll earn the Companion Pass for the rest of the year you earned it and all of the following year. That means one family member or friend will fly FREE (meaning you just have to pay for the taxes) as many times as you want as long as you have the Companion Pass.

The good news is that points earned from opening the Southwest® credit cards count toward the Companion Pass. I earned the Pass by opening the card_name and the card_name, but you can also open one personal and one business card. You can only hold one of the Southwest personal cards at a time, so unfortunately, opening two personal cards is not an option.

Think you don’t qualify for a business card? Think again! It’s easier than it seems.

The Southwest Companion Pass is great for couples and families!

Pre-Cruise Hotel Stay

I always recommend flying in at least one night before your cruise departure date; you don’t want to risk missing the boat (literally) because of travel delays.

If you’re sailing out of Port Canaveral, one of the best options for a pre-cruise hotel is the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport. This is a Hyatt category 5, so standard award nights cost 20,000 Hyatt points/night.

You can redeem Hyatt points and pay $0! Hyatt doesn’t charge taxes or resort fees on award stays, so your stay will truly be free. 

Not only that, but you can arrange transportation directly through Disney from Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport to Port Canaveral. Included with that is the ability to leave your luggage in your Hyatt hotel room. They will collect it and deliver it directly to your stateroom on the ship. Talk about convenience!

The Hyatt Place Cape Canaveral also just opened and is a great option for Disney sailings! Megan and her family are staying there this summer before their Disney cruise. It’s a Hyatt category 3 property, so she was able to redeem a Hyatt free night certificate for their stay. Standard rooms also sleep up to six!

If you’re sailing out of Port Everglades, the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port & Convention Center could be a great option! This Hyatt is also a category 3, so standard award nights cost 12,000 Hyatt points a night, and can sleep up to five in a room with two double beds and a sofa bed. 

 
One of the best options for earning free night awards is the World Of Hyatt Credit Card. While the welcome offer isn’t anything to write home about, you’ll earn a category 1-4 free night certificate each year on your cardmember anniversary and another one after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year. 

All information about the World of Hyatt Credit Card has been collected independently by Travel Mom Squad. The World of Hyatt Credit Card is no longer available through Travel Mom Squad.

The Cruise Itself

Unfortunately, things get tricky when using points or miles for Disney cruises themselves. If you want to use points or miles to offset the cost, I suggest the card_name or the card_name.

You can use miles earned from these cards to “erase” Disney cruise charges.

The Venture X has a $395 annual fee which may scare some away, but it’s actually my favorite of the two. It comes with a $300 annual travel credit for flights, hotels, or rental cars booked through the Capital One travel portal. It also comes with 10,000 bonus miles each year on your cardmember anniversary (this is equal to at least $100). Those two perks alone more than offset the annual fee, and that’s not even considering the lounge access, car rental status, and some other perks that come with it.

Here’s an example of how this could play out:

• Person 1 opens a Venture X and earns 75,000 Capital One miles after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
• Person 1 also gets 2x miles per dollar spent on every purchase, so that $4,000 minimum spend = an additional 8,000 miles
• Person 1 refers Person 2 (spouse, friend, family member) for the Venture X and earns 25,000 referral miles
• Person 2 earns 75,000 Capital One miles after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months + the 8,000 miles from the minimum spend

Grand total = 191,000 Capital One miles which could be redeemed for $1,910 towards your Disney cruise.

And because the Venture and Venture X both earn 2x miles per dollar spent on every purchase, they are great cards for everyday spending which in turn equals more savings towards your cruise!

Another option for earning Venture miles is the card_name. This is one of the Capital One business cards that will not count towards 5/24.

Learn How to Apply

While the minimum spend on this one won’t make it doable for everyone, you’ll also earn a TON of miles in process! 150,000 Capital One miles = $1,500 to put towards the cost of your Disney cruise.

Cash-Back Card Options

If you’re looking for a cash-back card that also doesn’t count towards 5/24, here are a couple of great options.

Learn How to Apply

Unlike the card_name, card_name, or the card_name, the card_name does not earn Ultimate Rewards® that can be transferred out to hotel or airline transfer partners. Instead, these points can be cashed out at a value of one cent per point.

You can read our full review of the card_name HERE.

Learn How to Apply

While the minimum spend on this one won’t make it doable for everyone, you’ll also earn a TON of cash back in process! If you have another card that earns Capital One miles (like the card_name or card_name), you could convert the cash back to miles ($2,000 cash back = 200,000 Capital One miles). You could also simply redeem the cash back in the form of a statement credit or a check mailed to your house. 

Note that you can only have either the card_name or the card_name, not both (at the same time).

While most business cards won’t count towards 5/24, there is one other cash-back option that will count towards 5/24 (unlike the card_name).

Learn How to Apply

This option has a lower minimum spend requirement than the card_name, and also allows you to either convert the cash back to miles or redeem the cash back in the form of a statement credit or a check mailed to your house. 

Note that you can have both the card_name and the card_name at the same time.

If you and a Player 2 each got one (or more!) of these cash-back cards, you’d have a nice chunk of cash to offset all or part of a Disney cruise. 

Bottom Line

Saving money on Disney cruises takes a little effort, but it’s worth it. With this Disney cruise credit card strategy, you could save thousands of dollars on your next Disney cruise!

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