Visa Points Part 2

[Motleu]

I recently posted a question on how to redeem via points for OBC. But I jumped the gun! I thought I made the necessary purchases to get the 10,000 bonus points after first "qualifying" transaction. Paid off the balance. Wasnt sure how long credit would take to hit acct but it has only been 3 weeks since payoff. Called RC - they said call Bank of America. Bank of America at first said it was a RC prob, called back talked to a diff Cust svc rep. They did some research and said my transactions didnt qualify! Huh? They said the transactions didnt come in with the right codes. Huh, a second time? Asked to speak to supv. After a 10 min wait dummies transferred me to RC Royal rewards. They said it may take 2 billing cycles for bonus pts to hit. But I am concerned about the mumbo jumbo from BOFA? Would be grateful for any help, guidance or suggestions.

[BILLSFAN83]

I have had the BOA Royal Rewards card for 3 or 4 years. Its a good card and the main one I use. I have also made anyone that cruised with me open one up for the bonus points. Two cycles sounds about right on the bonus points. BOA is a mess of life when it comes to banking, but I haven't had any issues with this card or points, also their online banking for it is very nice and easy to use.

 

I usually convert it to OBC, this year I just converted points to a free companion fare on a 7night Caribbean cruise and OBC.

 

My last cruise, I didn't use all my onboard credit and was afraid the wife was going to have to buy trinkets and things at the shops, they credited my account the unused dollars. I was very worried that someone on the ship, who I would never see again, was misinformed or they were going to mess it up and I would not have anything documented. However, in a short time without having to do anything the balance was credited to my account (in dollars not in points)

 

Pay your cruise off early, and pay for anything ahead that you can (wine package, soda package, excursions, tips) that was you will get double points and may be able to flip them in OBC for that cruise.

[Motleu]

Billsfan83 - Thanks for the comments. Any idea what they were talking about when they mentioned the transactions weren't coded or sourced properly. I will wait the for the second cycle before raising the issue with BoFA again. Thanks!

[Tyler80]

I have had a Bank of America Royal Caribbean Visa since 2007 and have always had wonderful help with converting points to on board credit. I've had on board credit for every cruise I've taken since I've had the card.

[JenAndDan]

We are looking to cruise in November and want to book soon. The last time we booked, we had enough points for a companion fare and not enough time to accrue points for two fares. This time around, we are only $20,000 away from the 125,000 mark. We will have to pay the cruise off by September but around this time we think we may be able to cash in our rewards to cover the fare for two of us (there will be 4 so we will be paying anyways, plus we are upgrading to balcony - paying the difference). Has anyone paid their cruise in full and THEN gotten the rewards cashed in and applied it - do you get a refund? If not, should we just go for the companion fare then and some OBC?

[Shanafan]

We are looking to cruise in November and want to book soon. The last time we booked, we had enough points for a companion fare and not enough time to accrue points for two fares. This time around, we are only $20,000 away from the 125,000 mark. We will have to pay the cruise off by September but around this time we think we may be able to cash in our rewards to cover the fare for two of us (there will be 4 so we will be paying anyways, plus we are upgrading to balcony - paying the difference). Has anyone paid their cruise in full and THEN gotten the rewards cashed in and applied it - do you get a refund? If not, should we just go for the companion fare then and some OBC?

Yes. In October I cashed in 125,000 points for our cruise for 2 on Allure in November. We were credited $2498 to our Visa card (the cost of the lowest priced ocean view room available. You have to make sure you allow at least 3 weeks BEFORE the sailing date to allow time for them to post. I watch my Visa on a daily basis so I was able to see when the credit hit.

 

I am doing the same for our cruise in May. Final payment will be due in March, but it will be questionable if I will have enough points before final payment is due. I will end up paying it off and then having a credit applied.

[Shanafan]

We are looking to cruise in November and want to book soon. The last time we booked, we had enough points for a companion fare and not enough time to accrue points for two fares. This time around, we are only $20,000 away from the 125,000 mark. We will have to pay the cruise off by September but around this time we think we may be able to cash in our rewards to cover the fare for two of us (there will be 4 so we will be paying anyways, plus we are upgrading to balcony - paying the difference). Has anyone paid their cruise in full and THEN gotten the rewards cashed in and applied it - do you get a refund? If not, should we just go for the companion fare then and some OBC?

 

You get more bang for your buck going with the cruise fare than you do OBC. I will NEVER make the mistake of using it for OBC again. We use our Visa for everything and pay it off every month so we typically build our points rather quickly. If you just put a few hundred dollars on it every month than maybe the OBC is the way to go, but for us we earn a free cruise rather quickly.

[JenAndDan]

Yes. In October I cashed in 125,000 points for our cruise for 2 on Allure in November. We were credited $2498 to our Visa card (the cost of the lowest priced ocean view room available. You have to make sure you allow at least 3 weeks BEFORE the sailing date to allow time for them to post. I watch my Visa on a daily basis so I was able to see when the credit hit.

 

I am doing the same for our cruise in May. Final payment will be due in March, but it will be questionable if I will have enough points before final payment is due. I will end up paying it off and then having a credit applied.

 

Thanks so much!!!