redeeming credit card points ??

[39august]

I'll bet I can get more accurate information on this board than by calling RCI, so here goes. How long does it take to get the certificate from Bank of America and how long does it take for RCI to process that and notify you of your on board credit, please? And what is the time frame for use of that on board credit, if any? I just got my first credit card statement which shows the 15,000 bonus points and I have a cruise coming up Feb. 26, exactly 5 weeks from today. Hope to use this for OBC on that cruise.

[music]

May I add a question... I want to use mine for a cruise in 2012. I will book the cruise in April when they come out. When should I start the process of redeeming? Also If I use a TA, how does that work? I want to add to the price of the cruise and have some OBC. I have enough points for both.

 

Thanks.

[cruisinfanatic]

I'll bet I can get more accurate information on this board than by calling RCI, so here goes. How long does it take to get the certificate from Bank of America and how long does it take for RCI to process that and notify you of your on board credit, please? And what is the time frame for use of that on board credit, if any? I just got my first credit card statement which shows the 15,000 bonus points and I have a cruise coming up Feb. 26, exactly 5 weeks from today. Hope to use this for OBC on that cruise.

takes a couple weeks. Call right away and tell them you want to redeem. Ask for the number of the certificate because your cruise is so close.

Then mail the certificate to RCL right away. Should be no problem

[schmoopie17]

I'll bet I can get more accurate information on this board than by calling RCI, so here goes. How long does it take to get the certificate from Bank of America and how long does it take for RCI to process that and notify you of your on board credit, please? And what is the time frame for use of that on board credit, if any? I just got my first credit card statement which shows the 15,000 bonus points and I have a cruise coming up Feb. 26, exactly 5 weeks from today. Hope to use this for OBC on that cruise.

 

You better get moving because there is a lot of mailing back and forth involved. You first have to call to request certificates. They then mail the certificates (which, depending on the whims of the Post Office could be a couple of days to over a week). You then have to fill out the certificates and then return them in the mail. Again, who knows how long it will take them to get there? Then you have to hope they process the points to your upcoming cruise in a timely fashion. I'm sure you'll be fine if you don't dawdle too much. In all probability the whole process shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks.

[bouhunter]

Some people start calling and bugging RCCL after mailing the certs to them to make sure they've processed, but it's a waste of time to bother doing so. We've cashed them in 5 times and never had any problems. Make a copy and take with you on the cruise just in case of course. The credit shows up on your account on day two as I recall. You can check it on the TV in your room.

[schmoopie17]

Some people start calling and bugging RCCL after mailing the certs to them to make sure they've processed, but it's a waste of time to bother doing so. We've cashed them in 5 times and never had any problems. Make a copy and take with you on the cruise just in case of course. The credit shows up on your account on day two as I recall. You can check it on the TV in your room.

 

I was worried about whether the certificates were ever received...or if the points were ever applied. I contacted our TA who contacted RCCL. The TA verified the OBC for our February cruise.

[cruisenfever]

I'll bet I can get more accurate information on this board than by calling RCI, so here goes. How long does it take to get the certificate from Bank of America and how long does it take for RCI to process that and notify you of your on board credit, please? And what is the time frame for use of that on board credit, if any? I just got my first credit card statement which shows the 15,000 bonus points and I have a cruise coming up Feb. 26, exactly 5 weeks from today. Hope to use this for OBC on that cruise.

Order then now. It should only take 7-10 business days. We've received them even sooner on so occasions. Your coupons must be used within 6 months of being issued. You can ask for the Certificate numbers over the phone.........sometimes they will give them and sometimes not.

 

Once you received them in the mail, call the RCI Coupon Redemption Center at 1-888-305-4626 since your will be within the 30 day departure window and they will take your certificate number over the phone. Have your booking number handy as well.

 

Make a copy and send to the address shown.

May I add a question... I want to use mine for a cruise in 2012. I will book the cruise in April when they come out. When should I start the process of redeeming? Also If I use a TA, how does that work? I want to add to the price of the cruise and have some OBC. I have enough points for both.

 

Thanks.

When you send in your coupons to RCI they are applied from earliest to latest departure dates. So I would request certificates about 2-3 months prior to your departure date.

 

You can fill out and mail in Certificates for OBC however, I think with Certificates that affect your cruise fare you might have to send that certificate through your TA.

 

I would call the number that I have posted above and ask as these folks deal with all certificates.

[Murphy]

I just ordered a couple coupons on 1-7-11. One arrived on the 18th and the other on the 19th. Both were dated 1-8-11. I had previously heard that they send them all out on Tuesdays...

[WedNoMor]

I did the Bank of America certificate run around ONCE.. Now, I just get the CASH and apply it to my cruise fund. Simple, fast and no paper follow thru. Takes only days to receive the check.

 

...no worries...

[cruiseguy1016]

Here's my personal experience with this same situation. Call BOA and ask for the certificate. The certificates are issued by points, not dollars. Tell them you want a 15,000 point certificate, don't tell them you want a $150 OBC certificate. After they enter your info into the system they will be able to give you the certificate number. Ask them for it. I just called to order certificates 2 days ago and they offered to give me the numbers before I asked for them. After you have the certificate number, call RCI and tell them that you have a certificate on the way and that you would like to apply it for OBC. Give them the certificate number and they will apply your OBC. When you get your certificate in the mail from BOA, make a copy of it and then send it into RCI. Bring the copy with you on the cruise.

 

I have called in numbers in the past and had no problem. I once had a certificate arrive at my house so close to sailing date that by the time RCI received it from me, our ship had already sailed. But, because I had called RCI with the number, the OBC was applied to my account.

[foxgoodrich]

On the RC website, pull down the menu for Deals and Gifts and scroll down to Royal Caribbean Visa Card. You'll get this page, which is the info on redeeming your RC Visa points for OBC:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/dealsandmore/offer/visa.do;jsessionid=0000lkRXCj86PyhF360rUz-b5cP:13hldil87?cS=NAVBAR

When you're ready to redeem, click on "Follow these simple steps."

 

Call Bank of America at 1-800-421-2110 before your cruise. (Allow 4-6 weeks before your cruise.) You have to navigate an automated phone system - just press 0 for a customer service rep and you'll finally get one after listening to a bunch of B of A messages. Look at the list of rewards from the link above and tell the rep what you want. (You can put together the different denominations of points for OBC if you want an amount that differs from what is shown on the rewards list.) I just called last week for our Feb 27 cruise, and the rep gave me the certificate numbers on the phone. They will mail you the coupon(s), you fill them out and send them in to RC at the address found under "Follow these simple steps." It usually takes 10 days to 2 weeks to get the coupons after you call.

 

I do keep a copy before mailing to RC and then I allow a week or so and call RC (1-888-305-4626) to be sure they've been received. I've never had a problem, and each time I've called they have already received and applied my certificates. The OBC is credited to your ship account on the 2nd or 3rd day of the cruise - can't remember which.

 

It's worked great for us, and I have pushed the limits on timing a couple of times since you can only use the points documented on your most recent Visa statement. We've only used points for OBC, so I have no information on how to do the upgrade or companion fares. Call now for your Feb 26 cruise and enjoy your OBC!

Judy

 

P.S. Your TA has nothing to do with this - you'll have to do it yourself.

[hollon]

I did the Bank of America certificate run around ONCE.. Now, I just get the CASH and apply it to my cruise fund. Simple, fast and no paper follow thru. Takes only days to receive the check.

 

...no worries...

Oh, Pls tell me how this works because I don't want obc, I won't money off my 3rd person cruise.

[39august]

Thanks for all the great advice and details. I'll call BOA today.

[brennan5!]

I just ordered mine last week for a cruise on 3/11. The BoA rep could not (or would not) give me the cert #'s. I think it was more that she wasn't experienced in doing this as I had to walk her thru what I wanted (3 5K certs and one 25K cert). I ordered them on 1/11 and haven't seen them yet.

 

I did this on our last RC cruise and there weren't any issues, so I'm not worried about the OBC, however, this time I'd like to apply one of the 5K certs for an upgrade so I hope I'm not cutting it close.

 

Does anyone know what happens if you miss your ship (due to NE snowy weather) and you have OBC's and upgrades with your stateroom? Since I won't be sailing, will they reimburse the points back to me for future use? I can understand not reimbursing the upgrade, but I'll be extra bummed if I loose all those points due to the stupid snow!!! :-)

 

Lisa.

[cruisenfever]

 

I have called in numbers in the past and had no problem. I once had a certificate arrive at my house so close to sailing date that by the time RCI received it from me, our ship had already sailed. But, because I had called RCI with the number, the OBC was applied to my account.

Now, RCI will only take the numbers over the phone if you are within the 30 day departure window. If your cruise is departing more than 30 days from receipt of your certificates you must send them in.

[music]

Thanks for the info.

I asked about the TA part because RCL usually will not deal with you directly if you have booked with a TA. I guess they will take the info regardless of how the reservation is booked.

[packercruising]

You better get moving because there is a lot of mailing back and forth involved. You first have to call to request certificates. They then mail the certificates (which, depending on the whims of the Post Office could be a couple of days to over a week). You then have to fill out the certificates and then return them in the mail. Again, who knows how long it will take them to get there? Then you have to hope they process the points to your upcoming cruise in a timely fashion. I'm sure you'll be fine if you don't dawdle too much. In all probability the whole process shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks for the info! Did you ever want to cruise with Packer players?

[cruiseguy1016]

Now, RCI will only take the numbers over the phone if you are within the 30 day departure window. If your cruise is departing more than 30 days from receipt of your certificates you must send them in.

 

Patti - I always mail them but some times the window is close so I have to call in the numbers before mailing them. The OP is getting close to the 30 day window so I wanted him/her to know that it can still be done in this time frame.

[packercruising]

Well we are 35 days out. I just called BOA and redeemed two 5,000 point certificates. She gave me the Crown and Anchor number to call. I gave that person our booking number and said we wanted to use them for OBC. I gave her the certificate numbers and she applied them to our cruise. Now all I need to do is send them the certificates when we get them. She said that even if we get them just before we leave to mail them in anyway. We will take copies of the certificates with us just in case but this was very easy. :)

[39august]

I called the number that foxgoodrich posted, got my certificate number, and he confirmed it would be 8-10 days for certificate to arrrive.

[schmoopie17]

Thanks for the info! Did you ever want to cruise with Packer players?

 

In fact I had contacted you several months ago about the upcoming Packer cruise. But we ended up deciding to do the Southern Caribbean this time, leaving the same day as your cruise.

 

Now I have to wonder about the wisdom of that decision, since a possible Super Bowl would have made it really special. Oh well, we'll plan to go next year after (another??) Super Bowl win.

[packercruising]

We have to get to this one first and even as cold as it has been, Da Bears probably are not going to lat down and hybernate. :) Just keep your eye on title town tickets.

[Murphy]

We have to get to this one first and even as cold as it has been, Da Bears probably are not going to lat down and hybernate. :) Just keep your eye on title town tickets.

 

Um NO! Da Bears are NOT going to lay down and hiberate for at least the next 3 weeks! LOL

[JMG680]

Thanks for the Cert answers. I can't wait to get the points needed to cash them in

[grazrock4]

If I charge the balance of my cruise on the BOA Visa, will I earn points for that? Or do you only earn points for certain types of purchases?

 

Thanks!:)