Credit Card Points for OBC

[emeraldcity]

I sent in my certificates from Bank of America for OBC for my up-coming cruise. How do I know if they were received and properly credited?

[forecruiser]

You can call the Crown & Anchor folks and they will tell you. I always call and check before we leave. They will get it credited to your account and sometimes it may take a couple of days into your cruise to see it take effect. We love the RCCL Visa and use it for everything and really enjoy the OBC it provides.

 

Have fun!

[cruisenfever]

I sent in my certificates from Bank of America for OBC for my up-coming cruise. How do I know if they were received and properly credited?

Call RCI and request that a Confirmation Invoice be emailed to you. On that invoice should be a code under Booking Charges. The code should read C30C-$$$-OBC P-P (substitute $$$ for the amount of your certificates). If you booked with a TA, then they will have to make the request.

 

You can also call the RCI Coupon Redemption Center at 1-888-305-4626 and ask.

 

I hope that you made copies of your certificates prior to sending them in.

[luckyladyvegas]

I recently got this card so we could accumulate OBC for our July trip. I am glad this questions was ask. I will be sure to make copies of the certificates. I booked through a TA so it looks like I will need to send everything to them?

 

Also, who do you call to redeem the points for certificates. I have looked through all the info. from BOA and do not see clear information on this. I am newbie to this card so any information is appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance,

luckyladyvegas

[cruisenfever]

I recently got this card so we could accumulate OBC for our July trip. I am glad this questions was ask. I will be sure to make copies of the certificates. I booked through a TA so it looks like I will need to send everything to them?

 

Also, who do you call to redeem the points for certificates. I have looked through all the info. from BOA and do not see clear information on this. I am newbie to this card so any information is appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance,

luckyladyvegas

You really don't have to get your TA involved when you are redeeming Certificates from BofA. Once you receive your certificates in the mail just following the instructions on the certificates and then mail them in. You can also call the number I gave above, once the certs are received, give the rep the cert number(s) and your booking number and how you want them applied, make a copy and then mail in for verification.

 

The only occasion that you would need to get your TA involved is if you were redeeming points that involved any type of adjustment to your cruise fare......like using points for a free cruise or free companion fare or $$$ off a cruise.

 

You can call the number on the back of your Visa card and when connected to a rep, just tell them how many points you want to redeem and how you want to use those points.

 

Some of folks have said that, if you ask, the BofA rep can give you the certificate numbers over the phone. I like to have a piece of paper mailed to me so that I can make a copy and take it with me in case my OBC does not show up on my SeaPass Account within 2 days.

[emeraldcity]

Call RCI and request that a Confirmation Invoice be emailed to you. On that invoice should be a code under Booking Charges. The code should read C30C-$$$-OBC P-P (substitute $$$ for the amount of your certificates). If you booked with a TA, then they will have to make the request.

 

You can also call the RCI Coupon Redemption Center at 1-888-305-4626 and ask.

 

I hope that you made copies of your certificates prior to sending them in.

 

Thank you. I'll call them later today ... on the way out the door at the moment to run Saturday errands.

 

Yes, I did make copies, but I'd rather not have to deal with a hassle on board where I'm waving the copies around at the purser's desk ... I'd rather spend that time on the pool deck spending my OBC on something fun, fruity and frothy.

[luckyladyvegas]

Hi cruisenfever,

Thank you SO much for all of the information. It is extremely helpful and exactly what I was looking for. I do plan to use a certificate for $$ off so I will plan to get my TA involved for that. Everything else sounds like it should be simple.

 

I have the BOA Alaska Airlines CC and they just create an account for you to deal with AA directly. This is different so I wanted to make sure I was doing everything correctly.

 

If you do not mind one more question since you are an expert on this. Is there any certain amount of time I should make sure I am requesting certificates before I cruise to make sure they are applied? As an example I cruise in early July, should late May be the last time I am requesting certificates for OBC?

 

Thanks again. These boards and the people here have been awesome!

[cruisenfever]

Hi cruisenfever,

Thank you SO much for all of the information. It is extremely helpful and exactly what I was looking for. I do plan to use a certificate for $$ off so I will plan to get my TA involved for that. Everything else sounds like it should be simple.

 

I have the BOA Alaska Airlines CC and they just create an account for you to deal with AA directly. This is different so I wanted to make sure I was doing everything correctly.

 

If you do not mind one more question since you are an expert on this. Is there any certain amount of time I should make sure I am requesting certificates before I cruise to make sure they are applied? As an example I cruise in early July, should late May be the last time I am requesting certificates for OBC?

 

Thanks again. These boards and the people here have been awesome!

Expert.......not me!:D But thank you for the kind words.

 

Once BofA issues you your certificates you have 6 months in which to use them or they will expire.

 

Certificates received by RCI are usually applied from earliest to latest bookings (i.e., a certificate for a May booking will be applied before a July booking).......but if they are not completely swamped, they could be applied earlier.

 

I would probably redeem them late April or first of May or you could request them now and then hold on to them until late April or first of May.

[newbiecruiser09]

luckyladyvegas: I Would try to decide what you want to use your points for and about how many you will have when it gets close to your cruise. We got the card in Sept (after we booked our cruise for 3/10) and started to use it for almost everything. We had enough saved up by Jan to get a free companion fare (4 night). We redeemed that one and now just redeemed one for $150 OBC. I would say try to figure out how many points you may have and what you want to use it for and save for that. We never thought we'd have enough for the free fare but with the 10K bonus and having to put 2 large bills on the card we did.

[cruisenfever]

Another thing to add is that you earn cruise credits on "paid" fares so be very careful when redeeming points for "free" cruises.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I just received certificates today for $200 worth of OBC that I am applying to my May cruise. I will mail them in tomorrow. I have always mailed them by certified mail which is a bit pricey, however I have usually sent in more than $200 worth. The last time it was for free companion fare, plus OBC. We had a balcony & the free fare is for a OV, so we paid the difference (giving us full cruise credits).

 

My question - is it safe to send them in by regular mail? When I called the certificate numbers in to the rep today she said that she now has the numbers on file and will be applied to our cruise even if they get lost in the mail. It does seem a waste to use certified mail.

 

One piece of advice - when calling BofA be sure your person on the other end of the phone isn't clueless like the ones I have been getting lately. Twice they have mixed up the RCI Visa with their own Royal Points program. Trying to get across to the agent what I needed was a process. I kept getting transferred to different people before I would get one who understood the RCI program.:rolleyes:

[cruiseguy1016]

If you do not mind one more question since you are an expert on this. Is there any certain amount of time I should make sure I am requesting certificates before I cruise to make sure they are applied? As an example I cruise in early July, should late May be the last time I am requesting certificates for OBC?!

 

About one month time should work. It takes about 10 days to receive your certificates from BOA. It then takes another 10 days to send them to Crown and Anchor and have them applied. However, if you need to wait until the last minute because of when your statement comes, it can be done the following way also. Call BOA to request your certificate. Ask them for the serial number on the certificate. Once you have that number you can call Crown and Anchor. Give them the certificate # and ask them to apply it to your account. You will still need to fax or mail the certificates to Crown and Anchor once you receive them from BOA.

 

I

My question - is it safe to send them in by regular mail? When I called the certificate numbers in to the rep today she said that she now has the numbers on file and will be applied to our cruise even if they get lost in the mail. It does seem a waste to use certified mail.

 

I have always sent mine in by regular mail and have never had a problem. As long as you've made a copy before you send them in, you'll be fine. The certificates have a serial number on them. If someone else tried to use "your" certificates, Crown and Anchor would know.

[Robinhill]

I have another question- on the back where you check off what you want- for example onboard credit- it says single occupancy and double occupancy- well- i am traveling with a friend so it is a double occupancy in the cabin but i want the entire onboard credit to only go for me- not to be split so in that case would i check single occupancy or not? I am a little confused. If it had the option for -amount to be split or used solely for one passenger I could understand that. Thanks for your help

[cruiseguy1016]

I have another question- on the back where you check off what you want- for example onboard credit- it says single occupancy and double occupancy- well- i am traveling with a friend so it is a double occupancy in the cabin but i want the entire onboard credit to only go for me- not to be split so in that case would i check single occupancy or not? I am a little confused. If it had the option for -amount to be split or used solely for one passenger I could understand that. Thanks for your help

 

If you check single occupancy, the credit will all go to you. If you check double occupancy, it will be split between you and your cabin mate.

[aces389]

Does anyone know if the RCL visa card certificate will work on Celebrity for OBC?

 

Thanks:)

[cruisenfever]

Does anyone know if the RCL visa card certificate will work on Celebrity for OBC?

 

Thanks:)

Unfortunately it will not. Celebrity has it's own credit card that works just like the RCI Visa.

[packercruising]

Do the points themselves expire? I hadn't used my RCL Card for a couple years until last when when I booked a cruise. Right now I am using my NCL card to get enough credit for free airfare then was planning to switch to RCL.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Do the points themselves expire? I hadn't used my RCL Card for a couple years until last when when I booked a cruise. Right now I am using my NCL card to get enough credit for free airfare then was planning to switch to RCL.

 

You have 5 years before they expire. I am doing the same thing as you after my RCI cruise in two weeks - putting it aside for air miles to Hawaii. I will go back to it after my 2011 cruise, especially if I go back to RCI in 2012. I will be enjoying a bunch of OBC thanks to the RCI card on my upcoming cruise.:)

[cruisenfever]

Do the points themselves expire? I hadn't used my RCL Card for a couple years until last when when I booked a cruise. Right now I am using my NCL card to get enough credit for free airfare then was planning to switch to RCL.

Yes, they start expiring on your 5th anniversary of your first purchase.............it's always first points in are first points out.

 

What I do is each month when I receive our bill is I write down the number of points earned for that month and then the cumulative total underneath.

 

You can also call BofA and they can tell you it you have any points expiring at the time of your call.

[BranandChev]

so if I open up an RCI card and make a purchase I can get 100 OBC automatically?

[MD VBMom]

Does anyone know what would happen if you didn't use all of your OBC that came from redeemed points from a BofA RCCL Visa card? Do you lose the OBC? Or do they cash it out/refund your cc at the end of the cruise? (I've read they do that when you receive obc from a price drop.) Thanks...

[packercruising]

I think that would be darn near impossible to do. We had $300 in OBC oon our AOS cruise in 2008 and had absolutely no problem depleting that!

[MD VBMom]

Well, normally we wouldn't have a problem 'spending' OBC either....except this cruise our TA is picking up the gratuities. Some cruises we seem to spend more than others. I would hate to lose any OBC. Anyone know the answer to what happens if you don't spend all of your OBC that you earned from points from the RCCL/Visa card?

[packercruising]

I am just going to hazard a guess that if you have a negative balance on your account you will get it back. If you find out on the ship that you won't spend it on drinks and the photoshop! :)

[foxgoodrich]

so if I open up an RCI card and make a purchase I can get 100 OBC automatically?

 

You don't get an OBC automatically when you get the card, but you do get 5000 (or maybe more now?) bonus points after your first purchase with the card. Anything you charge that is RCCL related (like your cruise deposits, your cruise fare, wine package, excursions, gifts & gear, etc) will give you double points. So if you charge $1000 of your cruise, you'll get 2000 points. If you charge a $150 wine package, you'll get 300 points. The trick is to do these things and consider the timing of your closing date and statements, because I think you can only use the point balance that's actually posted on your statement. We always use the card for our on board account too, so any overage there beyond the OBC gets us double points too. Purchases that aren't RCCL stuff just get one point per dollar of the amount.

 

Each month your statement will show the number of Royal points you have. I think 5,000 is the minimum to get OBC, and you get a $50 OBC for that. In order to use your points, you have to call them and request a certificate for a specific number of points. (Contact info and phone number are on your statement.) We've gotten our certificates pretty quickly - like a week later. Then you fill in a few blanks, put in your cruise confirmation #, choose how you want to use your points and send it back. I always call them about a week to 10 days after sending it back, and they've always had it. Usually the OBC is credited to your account on the 2nd or 3rd day of the cruise. (I check on the 3rd day, and it's always there.)

 

Here's a link that explains the points required for OBD, upgrades, etc:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/dealsandmore/offer/visa.do

 

The interest rate on this card is pretty high, so our strategy is to never carry a balance on it. We do, however, totally milk it for those points and have enjoyed $150 OBCs on each of our last three cruises.

 

Hope this helps....

Judy