is the NCL MasterCard a good deal?

NCL offers a MasterCard on their homepage. It states u accumulate points for purchases which can be redeemed for upgrades or credit towards future cruises....has anyone taken advantage of this offer? Is it a good deal?

I had looked at the Mastercard deal and felt it had too many small print conditions. Try Skyauction for great cruise prices. You can do "Buy it Now" or bid on them. I just got an oceanview room for a 10-day Alaska cruise on the Norwegian Dream for $972.50 total per person. This is cheaper than any quotes I have been able to get from online cruise discounters.

I love my NCL Mastercard... I'm saving $1000 off my next cruise in April and used another $500 certificate on my cruise last August. I use my credit card for everything, to get points...but I do pay off the balance every month, so I don't pay any interest.

There are several threads on the forum that discuss the credit card/reward card, try a search. Here is one thread I just pulled up that might give you more information on the card:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=65465&highlight=NCL+Mastercard

There are have been several long threads about this topic.

I look at it this way; I am going to pay my bills anyway. If I can get points towards a cruise for free, that is a great bonus.

The beauty of the travel awards is that you find the best price for a cruise and then use the awards to help pay for it.

Unless you can find a charge card that gives points for something else (i.e. airline miles with blackouts, etc.), the NCL mastercard is a terrific way to go.

We are sailing in April using $2,000 in travel awards. And, we will have another $1,000 to use for the next cruise by the end of summer.

Our experience has been the same. We rack up about $1000 a year in credits. You get 3% on all purchases and 4% when you charge anything with NCL (tickets and shipboard account).

Pay it off at the end of the month and it is like finding a $20 on the ground every week :D

IMHO the upgrade portion is not a value for the use of points. For us it is better to use them in increments of 500 points for $500 off of a cruise.

I believe that there are some of the on line agencies that do not handle any certificates. Ask before booking.

Yes, friends and family think I'm strange when I charge a <$1 purchase. They also scratch their heads and ask how we can afford to cruise so often ;)

Charlie

MBNA which holds most all credit cards for cruise dollars, sky miles...etc but has various redemption regulations, as stated above NCL cruise dollars are collected at a rate of $3/100. The owner will receives his certificate, he would be able to redeem them with any travel agent that offers them the best price on a NCL cruise. MBNA has another cruise credit card where you can also collect cruise dollars at a rate of $5/100. These certificates can only be redeemed with MBNA travel agent but with no restrictions on which cruise line, the onty draw back is you can not shop around for the best price. I have each type of credit card, so when I collect the max cruise dollars with NCL ($1,000 /yr) I switch to the other and bank the the free cruise dollar. The above works very well if you are able to pay the amount charged each month without the interest payments

MBNA has another cruise credit card where you can also collect cruise dollars at a rate of $5/100.

Can you give us the website address to get more information about this other card? Thanks.

The other card (if the one I'm thinking) is actually the name of a travel agency and as such it can't be posted on a thread. But, I cruise, enough that it could be worthwhile.

BTW-there's a hint above

BUT-while they may offer a higher %, I've been watching their prices for a couple cruises we're considering. A catE on the Dream for Dec from this agency (with the card) is $1410 for 2 people. From the agency I've used in the past (and will continue with) the exact same cabin, and sailing is $1243 for 2 people.

-Monte

What great information..I'm new to CC and just love being able to get input/info from everyone...

I think I'll get the NCL MasterCard for now...

btw, can I use it on the cruise as the credit card my shipboard account is linked to, and then leave the tips on it and other expenses we incur onboard?

I'm guessing for my family of 4 our one cruise alone this should take us to the 1000 point per year limit considering tips and minor shopping. At 4 points per $100 spent is this an accurate guess?

You can definitely use it as the credit card to back up your ship board account.

Another tip is to get seperate NCL Master card accounts for husband and wife. Then you can earn up to $2000 a year and both $1000 certificates can be combined/used for the same cruise/cabin. There is also a monthly reward/point limit that you can earn, I think you are limited to 250 points a month if my memory is accurate.

What great information..I'm new to CC and just love being able to get input/info from everyone...

 

I think I'll get the NCL MasterCard for now...

 

btw, can I use it on the cruise as the credit card my shipboard account is linked to, and then leave the tips on it and other expenses we incur onboard?

 

I'm guessing for my family of 4 our one cruise alone this should take us to the 1000 point per year limit considering tips and minor shopping. At 4 points per $100 spent is this an accurate guess?

Yes, you can use this card for paying your ship board acct and get the 4% instead of 3. We use ours for everything. However, in the fine print it also says you can earn only 250 points max per month and 1000 per year, so I don't think you'll be able to earn 1000 points off of one cruise. :(

But you can get 2 cards (Husband & Wife)

-Monte

Like DH (98Charlie) said, we use our MBNA NCL card for vitually all purchases than can be put on a credit card, including our NCL cruise accounts when sailing on the cruises we've used NCL card points to purchase.

As we sail other lines as well as NCL, we look at each other and smile as we flash out our NCL card to purchase cruises on other lines, on-board purchases on other lines, etc. etc., knowing that we are racking up dollar points for another cruise.

We are very active members of our American Legion Post and do a lot of charity work through the organization that entails us to do shopping and receive reimbursement from the organization for our expenses. Whenever the treasurer of the org. asks us if we need a check to ahead of time for those purchases, we just smile and say, ``No, we'll just put it on our charge card, give you the receipt and you can give us a check to cover.'' All the time we are smiling knowing we are racking up more points towards another cruise.

As DH said earlier on this thread, our friends ask how we can afford to take so many cruises. Where there is a will, there is a way. :)

Dianne (other half of 98Charlie)

Ok then. I should apply for a card and my wife should also apply for one separately, right? That way we have 2 individual account numbers and can rack up 250 points per month separately up to 1000 per year. I hope I got this right because now we can look forward to more cruise discounts combined...then maybe I should change my name to CreditCard ED.heehee

sorry, the excitement is getting to me..

I just explained this to my wife: If we get separate cards and accumulate 250 points per month (which at 3 points per $100) we would very easily reach the 1000 per yr max. EACH!

Then when we book a cruise (say it costs $2500), we can each use our 1000 point credits for a total of $2000 cruise credit and pay the $500 difference, right?

sounds too good to be true...but well worth it!

Correctamundo.

-Monte

We just finished applying for separate cards...can't wait to get started earning points.

Thanks again everyone for all your help!

Sounds like you've got it all together. Congratulations

and

happy, happy sailing into your future.

Dianne

BudgetEd:

Forgot to mention. Once you get that credit card in hand you'll be like DH, 98Charlie. You'll no longer pull a dollar bill out of your pocket to pay for a candy bar - you'll whap your NCL credit card on the table and smile while the clerk looks at you like you're either stupid or indigent.

Smile all the way home. That's what we do.

Dianne

The credit card company is MBNA.com under their "quick links" either MBNA Travel or MBNA World Points

What else besides retail purchases can be made? Can you pay your bills with it? If so, do they count towards your rewards?

What else besides retail purchases can be made? Can you pay your bills with it? If so, do they count towards your rewards?

Anything that can be charged counts towards your reward.

We pay our house taxes, groceries, gas, utilities, telephone, newpaper, etc.

Wow! I can see how that would add up. I currently use a certain grecian charge card and get free flights every year. But how would it be to get cruises?

I use the card to pay my cable tv bill, easy pass (road tolls), cell phone bills, hair salon, airlines, hotels, all groceries and retail purchases. Anyone who takes MasterCard... It really does add up quickly, just don't go overboard and have to pay the interest...it is not a low interest credit card.

Does this card cost anything?

no annual fee