Royal Caribbean Visa vs. Capital One credit card?

[TrinaP1204]

We currently have a Royal Caribbean credit card for accumulating points toward cruises. I use it for just about everything and keep record of it as I would a debit card.

My husband talked with a Capital One representative today and she convinced him that they have a better system for accumulating points.

 

If anyone has any experience with them, good or bad, I would like to hear some feedback. Even better if you have the Royal Caribbean card so I could compare them both.

[Shoequeen]

We have the Royal Caribbean Visa and have just booked a cruise on the Allure for two of us and are only paying for 1:) because of it. I've accumulated enough points to get a free companion fare on a 7 day caribbean cruise. Yes, it did take remodeling a kitchen to get enough points to do this, but I feel that it was a good card to have. You also get double points for everything on Royal Caribbean. Since we try to sail with them whenever we can, all payments, excursions and on board charges are double. That helps alot.

Good luck with your decision.

[bus man]

I have the Capital One cash-back card, and I'm satisfied with it. I get a dollar back for every $100 spent, which I apply as a credit to the card balance. Anytime I've asked for the cash back to be applied, they've always done it right away, without any hassle.

 

My own personal preference is to get cash back in general, rather than having the reward tied to a specific company or product; it gives me the flexibility to decide what I want to use the extra cash for. Though I don't have an RCI card, I used to have one tied to United Airlines. Yes, it was nice to get points towards a free flight. But I found that I preferred to just get the money back, to use as I saw fit. Of course, YMMV.

[Lucinarei]

My own personal preference is to get cash back in general, rather than having the reward tied to a specific company or product; it gives me the flexibility to decide what I want to use the extra cash for.

 

I agree completely! I also have a Capital One card and I really love it because of the cash back... and then I usually apply it to my balance. I also have a Discover Card which does the same thing. I actually got the CO card to use when I travel out of the country, as there are no foreign transaction fees.

[Gordo]

I agree completely! I also have a Capital One card and I really love it because of the cash back... and then I usually apply it to my balance. I also have a Discover Card which does the same thing. I actually got the CO card to use when I travel out of the country, as there are no foreign transaction fees.

 

We totally agree as well. We love the cash back and chose our credit cards based on that option.

 

Our decision to get the Capital One card was based solely on the "no charge on foreign transactions" which is not an option on our other cards. It is a big savings for us on top of their cash back option.

[Florida Fan]

We have the RCI VISA and a DiscoverCard. The Discover allows you to get cash back, but it also lets you apply double your cash back amount toward cruises, including Royal Caribbean cruises. We haven't booked a cruise that way, but it's a nice to have the choice. We always use the DiscoverCard when we can get a 5% credit.

[spyder209]

We have the RCI VISA and a DiscoverCard. The Discover allows you to get cash back, but it also lets you apply double your cash back amount toward cruises, including Royal Caribbean cruises. We haven't booked a cruise that way, but it's a nice to have the choice. We always use the DiscoverCard when we can get a 5% credit.

 

I also have the discover card and love the cash back. I am planning on doubling all my cashback for the rest of the year for Rccl giftcards to get a big chunk of my upcoming cruise paid for. I like getting 1% back on all purchases and 5% to 10% on certain ones. I booked the cruise through them which gives me about $100 cashback which will double to $200 Rccl giftcard. We also have a Rccl Visa that we rarely use but will have enough credit to get $150 OBC by our next cruise!

[firefly333]

I had a terrible experience with Captital One, so I would never use them on a bet.

 

Liars and mismanagement and the right hand and left hand dont do what they promise. Someone hired her and Capital One offered him a business credit card who I worked for part time .. when it came he used it to make purchases, and I never knew he applied for it since it had my address no where on it.

 

When I found out I told them to cancel it .. and they promised it would never appear on my credit.. they not only reported it but sold the list to bill collectors. Im still dealing with the aftermath of capital ones screw ups.

[Shoequeen]

We also havae the Capital One card because of they do not charge a foreign transaction fee when traveling out of the country, It seems like the Discover Card might offer just as good a program as the RCI Visa, so I guess it's all just personal preference.

 

Nowadays, it seems like we can't do anything without checking to see which card to use, do we have a coupon, or how much is the extra % off. It's just a way of life!

[Crystalkrt]

I have Capital one miles. It's a good card, you can redeem easily. I mainly use it to travel (cruises, vacations, hotels) no probs so far.

I like it.

[asctony]

Do you have to book the RCI cruise through RCI or can you use any TA to use the double cash reward? Thanks in advance/ Happy Cruising!

[Euphemus]

We, too, have Capital One and have for almost 5 or 6 years. We have never had a problem with the company and, in fact, they have been very helpful and accommodating on occasion. I was recently the victim of identity theft and they caught on quickly found a way to contact me (whoever took my identity changed all the contact info so I wasn't getting any messages).

 

Although it's a credit card, we use it more like a debit card and pay for virtually everything (groceries, gas, bills, etc...) so that we can rack up points as fast as possible. We pay the balance off completely every month.

 

Although I don't believe it is strictly necessary, we use all of our accumulated points for travel. We use it like a "travel savings account." The advantage is that we can use it for anything: travel insurance, hotel for a night, the cruise, on board account, rental cars, airline tickets, etc...

 

Sometimes we don't have enough points to pay for a whole cruise but we do have enough to pay for some component of the trip. We went on Enchantment in Dec/Jan and paid for one person with points. We're going to Alaska on Celebrity in late July and haven't had time to rack up enough points for a whole cruise. However, we do have enough to pay for the hotel the night before in Seattle. Not much, but a little savings nonetheless.

 

A note about booking cruises: The way the points work, you have to have enough points to cover the whole charge on your credit card: you cannot use your points to make a partial payment on something. When we booked a cruise 2 years ago with Princess, we had them charge us separately for each person instead of once for both of us. We had enough points for one person, not two. By charging us separately, we were able to use our points. Had it been charged in one lump sum, we would not have been able to do this. On the other hand, plane tickets seem to always come through on our statement as two separate charges even when we buy and pay for them all at once so it is not an issue for air travel.

 

In the end, I appreciate the flexibility to use the points even if I don't have enough for a whole cruise. And there are no "black out dates," if you can buy it, you can cover it with points.

 

Hope this helps.

[The Viking]

Basically all CC will pay you at least what RCCL's pay per $ spend unless it is on RCCL. The money, often up to 5% that you get back on some of the Capital One cards will be a better deal.

 

There are various websites through which you can compare credit cards with rewards and bach back.

 

Someone mentioned Discover which is also a great card. I just checked my card and found that they offer 5% back when you book a RCCL cruise through their TA.

 

The last cruises we have booked through airlines and have received several thousand bonus miles yet we still get the same price as when booking through RCCL directly. If you have a Next Cruise certificate from a previous cruise, it is somewhat a hazzle to apply this to the reservations you make through the airlines TA. The value of these miles is far above those I see regular TA have been offering. If you have an airlline CC check their website and see what they are offering at this time and sign up for their promotions.

 

Always, when looking at rewards CC, keep it to as few as possible.

[spyder209]

Do you have to book the RCI cruise through RCI or can you use any TA to use the double cash reward? Thanks in advance/ Happy Cruising!

 

You should be able to use any card to book it because if you double your cash back by applying to a rccl gift card they will just give you a gift card that you should be able to use anywhere. You could book the cruise with a visa card through rccl website and then if you have cashback bonus from your discover card just apply it to a rccl gift card. Then use the gift card on the rccl site.

[Tony O]

I have both. I alternate between the two. I used my RCCL card to pay for my cruise and got double points which I redeemed for OBC. I use my Capital One card to gain points and have redeemed them for various gift cards .. etc. I use my Capital One card outside the U.S .as they do not have foreign transaction fees attacted which can be a significant savings since the fees can be hefty at times. But use my RCCL card for cruise related purposes

[kc320]

I have both. I alternate between the two. I used my RCCL card to pay for my cruise and got double points which I redeemed for OBC. I use my Capital One card to gain points and have redeemed them for various gift cards .. etc. I use my Capital One card outside the U.S .as they do not have foreign transaction fees attacted which can be a significant savings since the fees can be hefty at times. But use my RCCL card for cruise related purposes

 

 

Same here...only I am saving my Capital One cash back $ to use for Christmas shopping...right now I have almost $150 in the account...and all from things I was going to buy/pay for any way...

 

The main thing with ANY credit card is to make sure you are able to pay off the balance each month...otherwise the 1 or 2% reward you are earning gets lost in 18% or higher interest...

[asctony]

You should be able to use any card to book it because if you double your cash back by applying to a rccl gift card they will just give you a gift card that you should be able to use anywhere. You could book the cruise with a visa card through rccl website and then if you have cashback bonus from your discover card just apply it to a rccl gift card. Then use the gift card on the rccl site.

 

Thjanks for your reply. However, Sorry, I am getting old and still have a question.

We are booked on an RCI cruise for August. We have Discover and Cash Back Rewards. So, can I just get an RCI Cash Back Award (Double) gift card and use it on the ship since I have already paid for our cruise in full?

[dzcruisers]

If you open a Cap One money market ( you can open it online) and put your vacation cash in it, their ATM card works really well with great exchange rates and very low fees, if any, all over Europe. It can be opened with a small deposit. We got the recommendation on cruise critic a couple of years ago and have been very pleased. They take a few days to clear your funds sometimes so plan ahead. On a TA we spent more than we planned in some ports so we moved money from our checking to the acct. while onboard.

[Merion_Mom]

I agree completely! I also have a Capital One card and I really love it because of the cash back... and then I usually apply it to my balance. I also have a Discover Card which does the same thing. I actually got the CO card to use when I travel out of the country, as there are no foreign transaction fees.

 

Describes me perfectly. :)

[FLACRUISER99]

You should be able to use any card to book it because if you double your cash back by applying to a rccl gift card they will just give you a gift card that you should be able to use anywhere. You could book the cruise with a visa card through rccl website and then if you have cashback bonus from your discover card just apply it to a rccl gift card. Then use the gift card on the rccl site.

I disagree from the Discover web page

 

• Reservations MUST be made through the Cruise and Vacation Desk at 1-877-835-8738.
  
• Receive the lowest available fare offered by Royal Caribbean at time of booking!
  
• Certificates are subject to room category and length of cruise - see offer details below.
  
• There are NO BLACK OUT DATES!
  
• GET A FREE QUOTE at http://www.cruiseandvacationdesk.com/dcbb
  

If you have any questions about the Royal Caribbean Cruise certificate please call the Cruise and Vacation Desk at 1-877-835-8738 BEFORE you make your selection.

Restrictions apply, please see Royal Caribbean International Terms and Conditions for details. Terms & Conditions

[asctony]

I disagree from the Discover web page

 

• Reservations MUST be made through the Cruise and Vacation Desk at 1-877-835-8738.
  
• Receive the lowest available fare offered by Royal Caribbean at time of booking!
  
• Certificates are subject to room category and length of cruise - see offer details below.
  
• There are NO BLACK OUT DATES!
  
• GET A FREE QUOTE at http://www.cruiseandvacationdesk.com/dcbb
  

If you have any questions about the Royal Caribbean Cruise certificate please call the Cruise and Vacation Desk at 1-877-835-8738 BEFORE you make your selection.

Restrictions apply, please see Royal Caribbean International Terms and Conditions for details. Terms & Conditions

 

Thanks, that is what I read and have experienced in the past. Normally, the Credit Card Cruise rates are higher than what my TA can do for me. This was my experience with Discover and Master Card, too. Happy Cruising!

[Tony O]

If you open a Cap One money market ( you can open it online) and put your vacation cash in it, their ATM card works really well with great exchange rates and very low fees, if any, all over Europe. It can be opened with a small deposit. We got the recommendation on cruise critic a couple of years ago and have been very pleased. They take a few days to clear your funds sometimes so plan ahead. On a TA we spent more than we planned in some ports so we moved money from our checking to the acct. while onboard.

 

When DW and I traveled to Europe last year . I used my bank ATM card to get out what ever funds I needed. They did not charge me a transaction fee and the exchange rate was whatever it was when the transaction took place. Also,there seemed to be ATM machines just about anywhere you looked. When I did charge I used my Capital One card

[spyder209]

Thanks, that is what I read and have experienced in the past. Normally, the Credit Card Cruise rates are higher than what my TA can do for me. This was my experience with Discover and Master Card, too. Happy Cruising!

 

I did book through the Rccl website through the discovercard and will be using my rccl certificates that way. This is the first time I have done it, however I got the same rate as was offered on the Rccl website.

[Shoequeen]

Do you have to book the RCI cruise through RCI or can you use any TA to use the double cash reward? Thanks in advance/ Happy Cruising!

You can book through anybody.... They automatically give the double points anytime they see a charge to Royal Caribbean.

[2010_cruisers]

Just curious if anyone wh0o has sailed on PCL, ala the Sapphire Princess -could fill us in about this ship, also. Thanks .