Need Help with the NCL Mastercard!!

[trishaedge]

I just got an NCL Mastercard to save for our next cruise. We were going to pay our mortgage with it each month and pay it off at the end of the month. Here’s the problem. I called my bank that my mortgage is through and they said that they are not set up to take payments from a credit card!!! So, I need another way to earn these points. Hopefully someone out there has found a way around this.

 

I know that I can not earn points for cash advances, but what if I took a cash advance from another credit card….put the cash in my checking account…paid the mortgage….then pay the other credit card bill with the NCL Mastercard. Would that work?

 

I will take all the ideas that I can get. Thanks.

[cruise freak]

Most charge cards charge a fee for cash advances. You need to check into that. I use our card for everything including utility payments, gas, groceries, and all other entertainment. I wanted to use it for my daughters college but guess what her college won't take charge cards. Now she is getting married and graduating (this September) and I can use for all of her wedding costs. I just have to keep track as the maximum points per month is 250 and max per year is 1000. Good luck

[trishaedge]

Thanks for your comments. I am finding it a little difficult to get the utility companies to let me pay by credit card.

[cliffd64]

Other alternatives are any and all groceries, gasoline (certainly the cost of gas isn't heading down anytime soon) and retail purchases at department stores and such.... it all adds up rather quickly.

Restaurants, hairdresser, doctor's office, dentist, dry cleaner... the list can go on and on and on... Just think about any place you use cash or checks, and most likely they take credit cards...

[ute_fan]

Some additional suggestions, if you use these services: cell phone bills, cable or satellite TV, any other travel expenses. My kids school does accept credit cards, to their tuition & books are earning points. Some of our utilities do, some don't. Groceries & gas add up quickly. We opened ours in late August, and will have 500 points by February -- enough to pay for almost 1 of our 2 cruises on the Sea in May!

[last_mango]

I don't have an NCL card, but I do have a Discover. I use it everywhere to get the cash back bonuses. I make about $200 per year off of them charging everything I can and then paying it off each month :) But I am fortunate in that I can make my rent, tuition, and car payments by credit card.

 

Tip: In addition to making your everyday purchases, offer to buy things for family members and close friends whenever you can, especially if it's a high ticket item. Get the cash from them up front, then buy it for them. My best friend and her husband recently purchased a plasma tv, but I got all the "points" for it because I charged it and they wrote me a check. If you have people around you can trust, it works out beautifully (don't try this unless you're absolutely sure!).

[zimmerjulie]

Dr. bills, dentist charges, utilities, car repairs...I got the MC last March and maxed out my 1000 points for the year in December.

 

One of the things that I haven't seen mentioned yet is car insurance. Our insurance company allows us to pay with credit card.

 

You do not get points for paying off another credit card with this one. Balance transfers, cash advance, etc., no points.

 

Wouldn't it be great if the mortgage co. would take credit card?:) Is there anyone who found that they could make such an arrangement?

[lawofraven]

If you can't pay your mortgage with credit card, can you pay your property taxes with it? DH uses his for as much as he can including trip insurance,hotel rooms, and airplane tickets. Those purchases alone gave us 500 points last year. We'll be using points for our next cruise. Hopefully we'll be getting 2 $500 vouchers. One for each stateroom, ours and my mom's. If not hubby will be happy to get $1000 off ours :D

[Host CMLA]

Wouldn't it be great if the mortgage co. would take credit card?:) Is there anyone who found that they could make such an arrangement?

Great idea but I think it would fall under borrowed money. Just like you can't make your house down payment with borrowed money, they probably wouldn't let you make the mortgage payment with borrowed money either. What if you aren't the type of person to pay it off every month? Then it would be like paying two mortgages! :eek:

[trishaedge]

Thanks again for all the help....I am slowing finding bills and expenses to pay with the card.

[tuffy88]

When you get your 1000 points for the year what do you get from NCL for that 1000 points? We have a Citi Master Card that we get 2% cash back on. We charge almost all of our living expenses including RE taxes, utilities, groceries, medical and dental bills, gas, eaten out meals, and even our NCL cruise. About $30000 total. Pay all bills at end of month so there is no interest charge on our card. Thats about $600 per year in cash back. If we got the 1000 points on a NCL Master Card per year what would we get from NCL for that? And how much do you have to charge to get the 1000 points? If we got more than 2% of the total amount charged it would be worth it to us to get a NCL card: If not it would not be.

 

Would appreciate an answer from anyone who knows.

 

Charles

[mbisson]

1000 points for the year equals 2 $500 discount certificates. You get 3% on most purchases and 4% on NCL purchases. There are monthly limits.

 

-Monte

[Tomct]

I'm a new card holder; how can you find out your point balance on line??

[ute_fan]

My understanding, being a new card holder myself, it that the points are updated when the cycle closes and the statement prints. If you log on to MBNA.com, you can sign up to access your account information, pay your bill, etc. on line. One of the choices is to see your last statements, and the points accumulated through that point in time will be listed on the bottom of the statements.

 

You can also look at what your current charges are, and get a rough idea from that what your points will be for the month.

[zimmerjulie]

Originally posted by HostCecilia

Just like you can't make your house down payment with borrowed money, they probably wouldn't let you make the mortgage payment with borrowed money either

That was my understanding, as well. It had never occurred to me that it would be a possibility, so I wondered if this had ever been done. Also, in the old days, the credit card companies would take a cut of the sale from the merchants, in order to give their customers the convenience of using the card. Not sure if things have morphed in this area, but I can't imagine a mortgage company giving a cut to the cc companies, even if they are the same bank, in some cases.

 

Anyway, I am looking for a way to spend the $1000 worth of credits I have earned over the last 10 months. Tough decision, as I want to sail the Spirit southern carib, but can't get vacation till summer. I hate to pay the same price (or more) for a 7 day Alaska cruise than for a 9 day S. Carib:confused: . Then I see a 14 day panama canal cruise (Sea)for cheaper than the 7 day Alaska, but have previously sailed the Sea and wanted to try a new ship. Then again, the Sea and other budget-priced older NCL ships won't be around much longer, so it might behoove me to get one last big hurrah on a small ship. Decisions, decisions, decisions:confused: (I think we need an emoticon that is a happy confused person:) )

 

 

Monthly max is 250 points

[mbisson]

Originally posted by HostCecilia

 

Also, in the old days, the credit card companies would take a cut of the sale from the merchants, in order to give their customers the convenience of using the card. Not sure if things have morphed in this area,

 

They still do, and not only that the rates are different for Discover (as well as debit cards).

 

-Monte

[alonzo14]

I don't have an NCL card, but I've thought about getting one. How many certificates can you use at one time. Can you take your cruise price off the amount of the certificate? How do upgrades work? And does this apply toward any cruise? Thanks.

[Tomct]

Thanks for the info; I tried quickly when my first payment was due, and couldn't find my way. I haven't had a chance to try, since, but I'll give it another try!

 

Thanks again!

[Big Al B.]

Tom, when you are at the site and choose a statement, there will be a listing at the bottom of the page telling you your current and total points. That has been the only way I have been able to check. I don't think you can get an interim total, just when the new statements are issued.

[Tomct]

Thanks for the help, I did get my account established, and found my points. I'm off to a good start, as I made my final payment for the December cruise, my deposit for June cruise, as well as my onboard payment.

[jeannep]

You can use $500 certificates towards your cruise fare. Anything less is a cabin upgrade. From what I have read on the boards, it is better to wait until you have acmulated $500 instead of using an upgrade. I think you can use as many certificates at one time that you have.

 

Jeanne

[cruise freak]

Also in case you weren't aware your points start to expire at 3 years.

[mbisson]

3 yrs? Not a problem for us. Got off the Sun about a month ago, used $1000 in coupons on what was already an inexpensive cruise. And we're looking into booking the next cruise for Dec on the Dream. Again, inexpensive-outside gty should be about $1000 so we plan on using a $500 certificate (yes, I'm frugal).

 

Then we might cool our heals for about a yr or two before we cruise either Alaska or Hawaii.

 

-Monte

[cruise freak]

Monte,

 

You can always book while on board and you get an onboard credit for that.

 

Also remember the most you can earn is 250 points per month and 1000 per year.

[Tomct]

You can use $500 certificates towards your cruise fare. Anything less is a cabin upgrade. From what I have read on the boards, it is better to wait until you have acmulated $500 instead of using an upgrade. I think you can use as many certificates at one time that you have.

 

Jeanne

 

Hi Jeanne:

 

Great winter so far!!! They are predicting 17 - 24 inches around here today, and we are headed out for two UConn basketball games. One is at 2 in Hartford, and the tricky one is the night game on campus at UConn. It will be a long night for us if we make the trip to Storrs, and we have all the intentions of making it. It normally takes us 50 minutes to get home, so we're just hoping the road crews are up to the task.

 

Spring can't get here fast enough, as those cruises are certainly something to look forward to.