Use Your Capital One Miles To Book Walt Disney World Hotels

We’re always on the lookout for new ways to save money on vacation, and this is especially true when it comes to pricey destinations such as Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World resorts and hotels are now available to book via the Capital One travel portal, which makes it easy for you to redeem your miles.

Let’s take a look.

Using the Capital One Travel Portal

Capital One has made waves recently with the launch of its newest credit card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card*×Information collected independently. Not reviewed by Capital One., which goes toe-to-toe with the other best premium credit cards. Along with the card launch, Capital One launched its revamped travel portal. Fortunately for Capital One cardholders, the travel portal also includes access to all of Disney’s hotels, including popular favorites such as the Grand Floridian, Contemporary Resort, and Art of Animation Resort. Cardholders can redeem their miles at a rate of 1 cent each through the travel portal.

To get to the travel portal, you’ll first want to log in to your Capital One account. Once on your homepage, you’ll want to scroll down to Explore Rewards and hit Redeem:

You’ll then select Start Booking Now:

From here, you can input your travel dates. The Capital One travel portal also allows you to book rental cars and flights, if you’re interested.

Like we mentioned above, you’ll find a full spread of Disney hotels available for booking, like Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, pictured below:

In this case, a 1-night stay from January 19 to January 20, 2022, will cost you 22,496 miles. That’s not bad, especially considering the massive 100,000-mile welcome bonus currently offered by the Capital One Venture X card. But how does this pricing compare to Disney’s actual website?

Using Walt Disney World’s Website

You won’t usually be able to use your Capital One miles for hotels booked directly through Disney’s website since these purchases tend to code as entertainment. That being said, some other cards that are great for everyday purchases, like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card*×Information collected independently. Not reviewed by Capital One., offer up to 2x miles for every dollar spent for all purchases, regardless of type. In this case, booking directly with Disney could be a good option.

Here’s the same stay from the above example on Disney’s website:

In case it wasn’t obvious, booking via the Capital One travel portal is actually cheaper than booking directly with Disney, even if you’re paying cash.

Hot Tip: Not sure where to start when it comes to planning your accommodations? Check out the best places to stay in Orlando, Florida for your Disney vacation. We also have a guide on how to make your next trip to Disney as stress-free as possible.

Using Other Online Travel Agencies

So far we’ve looked at booking directly as well as using the Capital One travel portal, but what does it look like when we search online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Priceline, Hotels.com, or Expedia?

This opens up some intriguing opportunities. As we all know, Disney hotels are not part of a chain; you won’t earn any elite status or points when staying in its hotels. You will, however, earn elite status with certain OTAs for doing so. Hotels.com, for example, will award you with a free night for every 10 nights that you stay. Here’s the same stay from our above examples on Hotels.com:

Other OTAs, like Priceline, will earn elevated cash-back from shopping portals like Rakuten, which is currently offering 6% back on hotels booked via Priceline:

OTAs face stiff competition, which means their pricing can vary, like Priceline’s rate for the room at Port Orleans:

As you can see, Priceline’s rate is more expensive than the rate featured on CapOne’s travel portal. However, you’ll also have the ability to earn 6% cashback and can still earn Capital One miles.

At this rate, you’ll receive $14.73 in cash — but Rakuten also features the ability to earn American Express Membership Rewards. If you have an eligible card that earns these points, opting to do so on Rakuten will essentially double your return. You’d receive 1,473 Amex Membership Rewards points for this transaction, and since we value these points at a rate of 2.2 cents each, you’ll be getting $29.50 worth of Amex points for this booking.

Hot Tip: Learn more about shopping portals and how to maximize your earnings with our complete guide! 

Final Thoughts

Bringing down the cost for Disney vacations is always a struggle, but Capital One’s revamped travel portal has just begun to offer another avenue to travelers. Simple searches and transparent redemptions make this a shoo-in for those looking for easy bookings. However, more savvy consumers may want to consider stacking their miles with other booking methods to score even more value from their vacations.