Disneyland for Almost FREE!

Dreaming of a trip to Disneyland, but think it's out of your reach due to budget? We will teach you how to maximize your credit card travel points for an almost FREE Trip to Disneyland. Anyone can go see Mickey and Minnie with our proven method.

Dreaming of a vacation to visit Mickey and Minnie, but think it's out of reach? You can make it happen with points and miles thanks to credit card sign up offers!

Did you know the cost of a one week trip to Disneyland is $9,000 for a family of four?

No worries, we are going to make that significantly less and teach you exactly how to do it with credit card sign up bonuses!

How to get to Disneyland

Let's start with what are the best options to fly into California and then go to Disneyland. The best option is John Wayne Airport in Orange County. It's small, close to Disneyland with minimal traffic. The second best option is Long Beach Airport. This airport is just a bit further away and still small. The third option is Los Angeles International Airport. This airport is massive and the drive is long due to traffic, but obviously has the most flight options.

John Wayne Airport (SNA)

This is going to be the best option if you can make it work with the flights available to you in my opinion. It's a small airport that leads to reasonable security lines, it feels small and easy to navigate plus it's a short 20-30 minute drive to Disneyland. A ride share like UberX or Lyft is going to typically cost $25-30 before tip.

Tip: Use your ride share credits on your credit cards that have them if you use a ride share on this trip!

Unfortunately, this airport only serves a handful of nonstop flights from cities east of the Mississippi, so if you are from the east you might find it easier to fly into LAX.

Alaska and Southwest Airline offer the most flights into SNA. Other airlines providing service to this airport are Air Canada, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Breeze Airways, Delta, Frontier, United and WestJet.

If you are from Minnesota like me, Delta does provide a non-stop flight from MSP to SNA. I would recommend grabbing a Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to start earning points for free flights, plus you will get a free checked bag with this card! Remember American Express Membership Rewards points are the only flexible points that can be transferred to Delta so the American Express® Gold Card is another great option here!

Another great option with Southwest being the major player here is one of Southwest credit cards and possibly even earn that companion pass that offers you buy one get one free flights with a companion!

Long Beach Airport

This airport is also small like SNA, but it's just a bit further away from Disneyland. Still a great option if you desire a smaller airport that's easier to navigate.

Southwest is going to be the stronghold airline at this airport with a few flights from other airlines like Delta (not direct from MSP) and Hawaiian Airlines.

I think this is the winner if you are traveling from an airport with a major Southwest presence, with about 20 nonstop destinations, and probably only when that is true. With that being said typically flights into SNA are a bit less expensive with Southwest, but always compare.

Rideshares are very easy to get at this airport and typically run about $35-$40 a trip before tip and they take about 10-15 minutes longer than the ride from SNA.

With Southwest being the major player here we are recommending you open up a Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Credit Card and possibly even earn that companion pass that offers you buy one get one free flights with a companion!

Los Angeles Airport (LAX)

This is going to be a super easy one to fly into when it comes to redemptions for credit card points. The redemptions are usually good because the multitude of non-stop flights coming into this airport drives prices down. If you are coming from the east coast and desire a non-stop flight this might be your only choice.

Every single major airline will offer flights into this airport, but the major draw back is the scale of the airport and the drive to Disneyland. It's going to take about a hour or more during peak rush hour times. It's a bit of a headache to figure out the rentals here too. Standard UberX and Lyft fares between LAX and Disneyland are normally $60-$80 each way, but surge pricing can sometimes cause wilder price swings at peak periods.

Where to Stay at Disneyland

One thing I LOVE about Disneyland is there are so many places to stay right next to the park that aren't Disney properties. This opens up a ton of options for using credit card points and miles for free hotel stays.

Hyatt Options

We stayed at the Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center and it worked great. This is a category 4 property so you can use your Free Night Category 1-4 Awards here! Otherwise point stays ranging from 12,000 – 18,000 points per night. It was super clean, had a free breakfast and was within walking distance of the parks. The road noise is a bit noisy so my trick is to bring a portable noise machine otherwise ask to be placed in a room that does not face the main, busy and noisy road. Unfortunately, this property can be a bit hard to book on points. Another thing I love is that there is a Starbucks right under the property along with a Walgreens in case you forgot anything!

Other great choices is the Hyatt Place at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center which is also a category 4 property. This is a bit farther away, but still super close. An option for this is walking to the Toy Story parking lot and catching a bus from there so you don't need to walk as far. If you do this they often have you do security there in the mornings so you can directly enter the parks and skip the security line!

The Hyatt Regency Orange County is about 2 miles away from the hotel, so instead of walking (you’ll get plenty of steps in at Disneyland!), consider driving, using a ride-hailing service, or taking the hotel’s shuttle. The shuttle costs $6 per person per day, but kids 3 and under ride free.

Credit Cards I Recommend for Hyatt Stays:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card
• The World of Hyatt Credit Card
• The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card

Note: You will need to have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® card to transfer points to Hyatt. Therefore if you open an Ink Card you will need to pair it with one of these first mentioned cards to be able to open up the transfer option to Hyatt i.e. 50,000 points on your Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card would need to be transferred to either a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® card then transferred to your Hyatt account from there. The great thing is if you have a Player 2 they can also combine points into the same pool!

All information about Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, The World of Hyatt Credit Card, and The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card has been collected independently by Plan Pack Go. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Marriott Options

Often times Marriott credit card sign up offers with have offers for free night stays. Staying at Disneyland is a great use of these certificates! They are usually good for a free night up to 50,000 points and you can top these certificates off with up to 15,000 more points to make them worth 65,000 points.

Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance is an amazing option and finishing up a renovation in the Spring of 2025. It's right across from the entrance to Disneyland. Points range from 60,000 to 80,000, so if you plan it right you could top those 50K free night certificates and use them for free nights at this location, but they are hard to find!

The Fairfield Anaheim Resort is another amazing choice and just a bit further down the block, but it costs less points. Still only a 7 minute walk to the park! I found nights as low as 33,000 and up to 59,000 points per night make those free certificates the perfect option for this location. Big bonus if you are a family of 5 they have rooms with two queens and a pull out couch.

Residence Inn at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center is a bit further away from the parks then the two hotels previous mentioned, but just across the road from the Hyatt House where we stayed making their walks very comparable so I think this is still a great option! I found nights as low as 44,000 points per night and as high as 65,000 points per night when I was looking. They offer some great room layouts sleeping up to 6 people and even a kitchen area. Perfect if you have a larger family. Once again if you score those free night certificates on your sign up bonus this is the perfect use!

Other Marriott hotels include Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center, Springhill Suites Anaheim Resort/Convention Center, and then newly renovated SpringHill Suites Anaheim Maingate along with many more!

Credit Cards I Recommend for Marriott Stays:

• Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

I think a Marriott hotel stay really shines when you can get a sign up bonus with the 3 or 5 free night certificates for up to 50,000 points per night with the ability to top them off with an additional 15,000 points, so if that offer is out there it would make sense. Otherwise I'm not a big fan of the sign up bonuses for these cards for what you get.

Using a Travel Portal

Of course, you don't have to transfer flexible points or have hotel points to books hotels. If you want super simple and aren't worried about maximizing your points then using the Travel Portal for your credit card offers another options.

I do not recommend this option because it's going to cost you a lot of points! Although, I am always a fan of you doing you and free is free. If this is what works and you have your eye on a specific hotel that is ONLY bookable through the portal go for it.

For example the Hotel Indigo Anaheim by IGH is going to cost you 40,000 points a night for a two queen room with breakfast compared to the Hyatt options that range from 12-18,000 points. And it's right across the street from the Hyatt House we stayed at.

This is why we LOVE flexible points we can transfer to Hyatt and redeem free nights for significantly less.

How to Cover Disneyland Tickets

There's a few different ways to cover the purchase of your Disneyland tickets. You can also choose to pay cash for them if you want to go that route.

How to Use Capital One Venture Miles for Disney Tickets

A great way to use credit card points to cover your Disney tickets is with Capital One Venture Miles! If you have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you can redeem miles to be reimbursed for your travel purchases.

Important Tip: To use Venture Miles for Disney tickets, the purchase must be coded as “travel.” Disney’s official website does NOT code tickets as travel, so buying directly from them won’t work. Instead, purchase your tickets from trusted third-party sites like Undercover Tourist or Getaway Today, which do code as travel, making them eligible for redemption with your miles.

For reference, 100,000 Capital One Miles = $1,000 toward Disney tickets—an easy way to make your trip more affordable!

Credit Cards I Recommend That Earn Capital One Venture Miles:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Business Card

How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards® for Disney Tickets

You may be able to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® points for Disney park tickets through Chase Travel℠ when available. As of right now they are not available.

If you have the following cards these are the point values:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Points are worth 1.25 cents each, meaning 100,000 points = $1,250 in tickets.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® – Points are worth 1.5 cents each, meaning 100,000 points = $1,500 in tickets.

Plus, Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can use their $300 annual travel credit toward Disney tickets—as long as the purchase codes as travel. Since Disney’s website does NOT code tickets as travel, buy from Undercover Tourist or Getaway Today, which do code as travel, to maximize your rewards!

Important Tip: Ticket prices through Chase Travel can sometimes be higher than buying directly from Disney or a third-party site. Always compare prices to ensure you're getting the best deal before redeeming your points!

Do I need a rental car at Disneyland?

No, I don't think you do! Save yourself the rental fee and the parking fee (sometimes this is free on point stays but check the fine print). We rented a car because we continued our trip after our Disneyland visit to Palm Dessert, but we drove to our hotel, parked and never left during our four night stay.

The Wrap Up

I truly believe that everyone can do Disneyland with the use of credit card points and miles no matter what your budget is!

We spent four nights at the Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center and three days in the park. We bought 3 day tickets with the park hopper option and lightening lane. My biggest tip is to do rope drop. This makes a HUGE difference. We spent the first 1-2 hours being able to ride things quickly especially at Disneyland California Adventure, in fact we rode Goofy's Sky School three times in a row because my kids loved it so much. After lunch the lines got long and we used our lightening lanes and headed out in the mid afternoon!

As I always say, there's no tired like Disney tired! Comment below on any questions you have. I can't wait for you to make your Disney dreams come true for the fraction of the cost.