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Did you know there are three spectacular Walt Disney World resort properties run by Marriott? The Walt Disney World Swan, Swan Reserve and Dolphin are all centrally located at Disney’s Boardwalk and vacationers can book them using Marriott, Capital One points or BILT rewards! These are unicorn properties: they’re on Walt Disney World Property, but unlike Official Disney Resorts, you can book them with hotel or credit card points.

Let’s explore these resorts: what park perks they enjoy, the differences between the three, and what card to open to earn the Marriott points needed to book a stay.

Park Perks

One major perk is proximity: these three properties are extra close to all the magic; walk 15-20 minutes and you’ll be at the gates of Epcot or Hollywood studios, or resort hop at the Yacht, Beach, and Boardwalk Resorts. Other perks included in your stay include early park admission, extended park hours on certain nights, and early lightning lane access when you link to My Disney Experience. Guests also enjoy a convenient, complimentary water taxi to Epcot and Hollywood studios (the Friendship Boat), or buses to the other parks (boats depart every 15-20 minutes, buses every 20-30).

Disney Swan & Dolpin

The Swan & Dolphin are established Disney Boardwalk resorts, complete with a spa, quick service and sit down restaurants, stunning outdoor grounds with hammocks to relax in and sand beach volleyball to play, and a pool/jacuzzi area (make sure to request an upgrade to a room with a fireworks view)!

Disney Swan Reserve

The brand new Swan Reserve is across the street from the Swan & Dolphin, and an easy walk for guests who want to utilize the Swan/Dolphin park shuttles and other amenities. Marriott designed the Reserve with more of a high-end boutique feel; guests can view the Epcot fireworks from the rooftop.

Credit Card to Open

Open the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card and earn 3 Free Nights (each valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening. You’ll also earn an annual free 35,000 point certificate on your card anniversary–and as of a recent update, if some nights cost over 50,000, you can combine a certificates with up to 15,000 additional points for a stay at the Swan, Dolphin or reserve (some nights cost under 50,000, some cost more).

If you’re 5/24 and unable to open any more Chase cards or personal cards for awhile, you could also open this business card I just opened:

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.

This was my first business card, and I opened it as a sole proprietor, using my name and social security number (I do not have an LLC). ANY kind of side income qualifies you for opening business cards.

I like that this card offers a bulk 75k points that don’t expire, instead of certificates–it gives you more flexibility, AND if you need points to top of Marriott certificates for nights over 50k, now you have them.

One bummer is that not everyone accepts Amex, so keep that in mind if you’re opening this card; also, Marriott will generally only let you open one Marriott card across banks every 24 months (so, by opening this card, I’m eliminating the option to open other Marriott cards like the Chase Marriott card listed above for 24 months.

How to Book these Resorts Using Capital One Points

You don’t have to have Marriott points to book these resorts–they are also in the Capital One portal! In fact, we recently booked a four-night stay at the Dolphin using Marriott points to cover two nights, and booking the other two nights in the Capital One portal (call the resort after booking and combine the stays).

What’s great about booking through the Capital One portal is that you earn either 5x or 10x miles doing so, depending on which Venture card you use. There are two cards we recommend opening to earn miles for booking these resorts in the Capital One travel portal:

Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel (open card here).

Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, & unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.

This premium travel card has a $395 annual fee, and comes with perks like unlimited Priority Pass (airport lounge & restaurant access).

If a premium travel card isn’t the right card for you, consider this card:

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

Earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening (open card here). Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options, and Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day.

Either Venture Card’s welcome bonus will earn you $750 off your Swan/Dolphin booking–and if you have multiple adults in your traveling party opening Venture cards, you can combine the bonuses for more savings!

To hear more about staying at these spectacular properties, listen to this episode of The Disney Points Podcast:

TAKEAWAYS

If you want an on-property Walt Disney World resort offering most of the official resort perks, open a card or use your points to book the Swan, Dolphin or Swan Reserve today!

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