HOW TO VISIT DISNEY WORLD FOR LESS WITH points and MILES
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How We Use Points and Miles for Disney World Flights, Hotels and Tickets
Let’s face it. Disney is expensive. Starting in 2018, we traveled to Disney World in Orlando every year for my daughter’s all-star cheerleading competitions and later for high school cheer. Every year, I was shocked by how expensive the tickets and hotels were, so I decided to do a little research to see if I could offset some of the costs of our trip.
Whether you’re heading to Orlando for The Cheerleading Worlds, The Summit, the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship or a family Disney vacation, those costs add up fast!
I found that with a few credit cards, I could cover most of our flight and hotel costs and use miles to offset the cost of Disney World tickets. Let’s break it down!
Last cheer competition in Orlando in 2026
How to Book Flights to Orlando With Points and Miles
The best deal for your flight to Orlando will depend on your home airport and travel dates. We live in DFW, so I usually compare American Airlines and Southwest for nonstop flights. Southwest isn’t always the cheapest anymore. We’ve been able to book American Airlines flights with our Alaska Atmos Rewards points for around 7,500 points each way.
Saver domestic flights average around 12,500 points each way. That means that a credit card with a 75k sign up bonus will earn enough points for 2-3 roundtrip flights.
A few credit card options to consider:
• Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve: These cards earn transferable Chase points, giving you several airline options. You can transfer points to United or Southwest, or book Delta flights through partners like Virgin Atlantic or Air France/KLM.
• Southwest credit cards: These cards earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points. If you fly Southwest often, earning the Southwest Companion Pass for “Two for One” flights could help you save even more. I recommend the Southwest Priority card because it allows you to choose a preferred seat at booking.
This is an example award price for a flight from DAL-MCO for February 2027. This is super high in my opinion and would only make sense if you had the Southwest Companion Pass. This is why diversifying your points makes sense.
• Citi AAdvantage credit cards: If you live in or near an AA hub airport, it’s hard to beat AA miles. Award flights can be as low as 7500 miles each way with taxes and fees around $5.
American award flights are much better starting at 20k miles roundtrip.
• Alaska Airlines credit cards: These cards earn Atmos Rewards points, which you can use to book eligible American Airlines flights when partner award seats are available.
With Alaska Atmos Rewards points, you can book the same American Airlines flights shown above for just 15,000 points round trip.
Compare the points required before deciding which airline to book. And always find available award seats before transferring your bank points!
When booking your flight to Disney World, don’t forget to compare flights into Tampa International Airport (TPA). You may find a better deal using cash or points! I love the Tampa airport and find it so much easier to navigate than Orlando International Airport (MCO). Disney World is about a 90-minute drive from Tampa’s airport, depending on traffic. Just factor in the rental car or transportation costs when comparing your savings.
disney world hotels you can book with points
While there are dozens of point hotels near Disney World in Orlando, the only hotels on Disney World property that are bookable with points are the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin and the Swan Reserve. They are all bookable with Marriott points.
Guests receive benefits like Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Theme Park Hours on select nights. You can also walk to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Keep in mind that even when you use points to cover your room, resort fees and parking charges can still apply.
Marriott uses dynamic pricing for award stays, so the points required can vary quite a bit. Expect higher award prices during busy travel periods, including summer and the holidays.
Marriott allows you to add up to 15,000 points to each free night award. For example, if a night costs 65,000 points, you can use a 50,000-point free night award plus 15,000 Marriott points to book it. Topping off a free night award is the only time I would transfer Chase points to Marriott.
Both Chase and American Express have co-branded Marriott cards. The application rules can be tricky, so make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully before applying.
Credit Cards that earn Marriott Bonvoy points:
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card - The standard offer for this card is 3 Free Night Awards, however, 1-2 times a year the sign-up bonus increases to Five Free Nights. These are super valuable because if you have Chase Points, you can top off the free night awards with up to 15k points.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card - Earn 45k bonus points. This is a lower tier hotel card. I would start with the Boundless first.
Disney World Hotels With Early Entry You Can Book With Points
The Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve aren’t your only options for using points and getting Early Theme Park Entry. These hotels also include that extra 30 minutes in the parks!
Hilton properties: DoubleTree in Disney Springs, Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. While award nights may seem higher for Hilton properties, you can typically get 1-3 free nights from a standard welcome offer. For a list of credit cards that earn Hilton points, click here.
Holiday Inn Orlando in Disney Springs - We’ve stayed here twice, primarily because we could use IHG points AND get Early Theme Park Entry. Let me tell you, those extra 30 minutes are huge! You can book with IHG points or use an eligible annual free night award. For a list of cards that earn IHG points, click here.
Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista and Wyndham Lake Buena Vista - bookable with miles transferred from the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Holiday Inn Disney Springs - we redeemed points and free night awards to stay here in February 2026
More Hotels Near Disney World You Can Book With Points
These hotels don’t include Disney’s Early Theme Park Entry, but they’re worth comparing if you want more options for using hotel points near Disney World. Many include free breakfast, free parking, great resort style pools and rooms that sleep 4-5.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress - This off-Disney property books for just 15k Hyatt points a night. You can stay four free nights there with points earned from the Chase Sapphire Reserve (remember, the transfer ratio is now 4:3 from the CSP)
Orlando World Center Marriott (a Marriott property)
Gaylord Resort & Convention Center (a Marriott property)
Springhill Suites Flamingo Crossing - I love staying in this area. We’ve stayed at this hotel twice. Rooms are large (we get a fireworks view room), free breakfast, huge pool, hot tub, gym, bar. There’s no crazy traffic and the West Disney entrance is a few minutes away. (can book with Marriott points or a Marriott Free Night)
Springhill Suites Flamingo Crossing can be booked with Marriott points
how to use points and miles for disney world tickets
Flights and hotels aren’t the only Disney expenses you can cover with points! You can also use Capital One miles to offset the cost of Disney World, Disneyland or Universal park tickets.
Miles earned with Capital One Venture or Venture X can cover eligible purchases that code as travel. Where you buy your tickets matters, so follow the instructions below before purchasing.
Cards that earn Capital One miles:
HOW TO BUY DISNEY TICKETS WITH CAPITAL ONE MILES:
You can use Capital One miles to offset the cost of Disney World tickets, but there’s a trick to it. Your purchase needs to code as travel to qualify for the “Cover Travel Purchases” option. Buying park tickets directly from Disney generally codes as entertainment, so where you buy your tickets matters.
When you redeem Venture miles to cover an eligible travel purchase, each mile is worth 1 cent. That means 80,000 Capital One miles can cover $800 worth of Disney World tickets. You don’t need enough miles to cover the entire purchase, either. You can use the miles you have to bring down the cost. If you and your spouse each earn 80,000 Venture miles, that’s $1,600 toward eligible Disney ticket purchases. That’s huge!
To be able to cover the cost of Disney tickets, you need to purchase your tickets through a third-party seller like Undercover Tourist or Get Away Today, using your Capital One Venture or Venture X card. Both of these sites sell discounted, refundable tickets and all purchases code as travel.
We’ve used Undercover Tourist before and had no issues linking our tickets to My Disney Experience as soon as the purchase went through.
Once the charge posts, sign in to your Capital One account, go to your rewards and select “Cover Travel Purchases.” If the charge appears as eligible, you can use miles to cover all or part of the cost. Make sure you redeem within 90 days of the purchase.
Using Citi ThankYou Points to Offset Disney World Ticket Costs
Another option is to redeem Citi ThankYou points for cash back or a statement credit to help offset the cost of Disney World tickets.
This works differently from Capital One’s “Cover Travel Purchases.” You’re redeeming your rewards for cash rather than covering a specific travel purchase, so your Disney tickets don’t need to code as travel.
Before redeeming, check the dollar amount shown in your ThankYou account. Redemption values vary by card and option, so don’t assume you’ll receive the same 1-cent-per-point value as Venture miles.
How to earn Citi ThankYou Points:
Citi Strata Premier® Card - The welcome bonus and points earned from meeting the minimum spend can help offset your Disney World ticket costs. 60,000 points will offset $600 off Disney tickets.
Save on Your Disney World Vacation With Points and Miles
We love using miles and points to cover flights and hotels when we travel. Being able to offset the cost of Disney World tickets too is a game changer. Whether you’re heading to Orlando for a cheer competition or a family vacation, using points for even part of the trip can make a big difference in what you spend.
You don’t have to earn all these rewards at once. Start with the flights, hotel or tickets, whichever makes the most sense for your family, and build from there.
Happy Travels!
Find out how your Family can Fly “Two for One” for Two Years with the Southwest Companion Pass here!
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