Carnival Master Card- Can someone clear a couple things up for me?

[tdnosnhoj11]

I'm thinking about applying for the Master Card with Carnival and just want to make sure I'm reading the fine print correctly.

 

For every dollar I spend outside of CCL, I get 1 "FunPoint." For every dollar I spend associated with CCL purchases, I get 2 "FunPoints."

 

Question 1- Does that include alcohol? My husband and I really don't shop or hang out in the spa, so the only money we really spend on board is in drinks, and maybe one souvenir.

 

Questions 2 and 2.5 (hehe)- I would need to link the Master Card to my S&S account, and use only it, correct? I wouldn't rack up "FunPoints" by linking it, but then putting cash down when I get onboard and using the cash, or would I?

 

Of course, even if the money spent on board came strictly from my credit card, we wouldn't spend more than we have in cash. Whatever we spend will be paid off right after debarkation, because I don't like debt :o I've only had a few credit cards, and now only have one after paying off the rest. They're not my "thing," but if they benefit me by helping fund a future cruise, and I use it responsibly, then why not?

[wiskt]

Link your Carnival Mastercard to your SAIL N SIGN account,

Let the ENTIRE charge go through and charge to your credit card on the last night.

Pay it when you get home after the charge goes through your Mastercard account.

 

ANY while onboard will be considered a CARNIVAL CHARGE for double points. However, you will only receive them for what is actually charged to the account. The bill only gets charged on the final night. If you pay down your bill with cash while onboard then you will not receive FUNPOINTS for that portion because it will not be actually charged to the mastercard.

 

So I say charge it up, keep the cash aside, then pay it off when you get home. Then enjoy your points and credit rating for using and paying off your balances.

[LVDFW]

What does the fun points get you?

[wiskt]

What does the fun points get you?

 

You can use them towards OBC, credit to your credit card, or for items via the "gift shop", etc.... You can accumulate them on all charges, Carnival charges and Hotel, flight bookings at different ratios. There are different ratios of how many points are needed for different redemptions as well.

 

I think you get the highest ratio for Credit card credits, but you need to rack them up.

Its a straight forward...

10,000 points = $100.00

20,000 points = $200.00

30,000 points = $300.00

 

If you charge a lot you can accumulate them fast, but there are other credit cards that have better % back offers out there for your cash.

[HeatherC430]

Yes, you would get 2 points per dollar for every purchase (including alcohol) you spend onboard. And yes, you would need to link your sail n sign to your Carnival Mastercard in order to do so. You also get 2 points per dollar for using your Carnival Mastercard purchasing anything prior to cruising using your card (like excursions, bon voyage gifts, shuttles). Also, get double points when using your Carnival Mastercard to make payments or book new Carnival cruises.

 

They have a Barclays Rewards boost website where you can get multiple points per dollar when ordering from certain places online while using your Carnival mastercard as well. Alot of the major retailers participate with the Rewards Boost program. Some examples include: hotels.com 3 points/dollar, old navy 2.5 points/dollar, Crocs 6 points/dollar, Macys 3 points/dollar...the list goes on. I buy alot of things online and have been able to accumulate alot of points that way too.

 

Cruising is my preferred type of vacation so I've been enjoying accumulating points. I plan on saving them up until I have enough for a "free cruise". After a year, I'm at about 38,000 points, so I'm about 1/3 of the way there! Alot of posters will state that you can get better rewards using other "cash back" type cards, and I'm sure you can. But I've been enjoying using my Carnival mastercard and getting points. I used to use my debit card for everything, but now I just use my mastercard for everything and logon to the site every week or so and payoff the balance.

[ump107]

You can use them towards OBC, credit to your credit card, or for items via the "gift shop", etc.... You can accumulate them on all charges, Carnival charges and Hotel, flight bookings at different ratios. There are different ratios of how many points are needed for different redemptions as well.

 

I think you get the highest ratio for Credit card credits, but you need to rack them up.

Its a straight forward...

10,000 points = $100.00

20,000 points = $200.00

30,000 points = $300.00

 

If you charge a lot you can accumulate them fast, but there are other credit cards that have better % back offers out there for your cash.

 

Your pretty much on the money, when I got my card last year the customer service rep I spoke to on the phone you get more value for your points by using them as cash towards your card. You can use them for OBC if you want but the $ to point conversion is lower than credit towards your CC balance.

[roscoesmom]

Im curious....I have a M&G planned and will charge it to my Carnival card will that earn me double points?

 

 

Hi wiskt wondered if you decided about the sunshine next sept? Marla and I are hoping you go LOL........btw its kat lol

[wiskt]

Im curious....I have a M&G planned and will charge it to my Carnival card will that earn me double points?

 

 

Hi wiskt wondered if you decided about the sunshine next sept? Marla and I are hoping you go LOL........btw its kat lol

 

 

Hey KAT!

 

Yes, if you are the one handling the M&G then that will be a CARNIVAL charge on YOUR account = double points. Let it go through and then pay it off after the cruise. It's your bonus for going through the trouble with coordinating the party.

 

I'm still deciding and talked it over with others as an option. I like the itinerary and I'm working on convincing everyone else. :)

[IMKTDQT810]

I have not looked into the details of this card yet..I was just talking to DH this morning about needing to get at least ONE CC to try and bring my credit score up. Our future vacations would be either Disney, RCCL or Carnival next year (will not book that until Jan). So I need to read up on all 3 who have those cards to see which one has the best points I want to try and apply for to slowly crawl towards rewards on a future vacation. Does this one offer any perks for opening a new card? Like any OBC or anything?

Just wondering..thanks!!

[missouri_chick]

You can use them towards OBC, credit to your credit card, or for items via the "gift shop", etc.... You can accumulate them on all charges, Carnival charges and Hotel, flight bookings at different ratios. There are different ratios of how many points are needed for different redemptions as well.

 

I think you get the highest ratio for Credit card credits, but you need to rack them up.

Its a straight forward...

10,000 points = $100.00

20,000 points = $200.00

30,000 points = $300.00

 

If you charge a lot you can accumulate them fast, but there are other credit cards that have better % back offers out there for your cash.

 

 

I just "cashed" in 12500 points for 100.00 OBC...When will I see the OBC, will it show up before I cruise or after I get on board? TIA!!!:)

[tdnosnhoj11]

Thanks everyone! You've gone beyond helpful, as I knew you would!

[missouri_chick]

You can use them towards OBC, credit to your credit card, or for items via the "gift shop", etc.... You can accumulate them on all charges, Carnival charges and Hotel, flight bookings at different ratios. There are different ratios of how many points are needed for different redemptions as well.

 

I think you get the highest ratio for Credit card credits, but you need to rack them up.

Its a straight forward...

10,000 points = $100.00

20,000 points = $200.00

30,000 points = $300.00

 

If you charge a lot you can accumulate them fast, but there are other credit cards that have better % back offers out there for your cash.

 

I just "cashed" in 12,500 points for 100.00 OBC...Will the OBC show up before I cruise, on my cruise documents, or after I board? TIA!!!!:)

[lifeisgoodPat]

I keep charging on my Master charge for everything. I use it to pay my taxes, insurance, airfare, etc. You get the idea. I just got a free, yes free cruise, because I saved my points up. I pay it off every month, so there is never an interest charge. It sure felt good to deduct the cost of the cruise from my charge bill.....

[MrPaulAR]

There are much better cards out there to get free travel, OBC, cash, etc. One of the best examples is the Barclay's Arrival which will give you $400 towards travel after $1000 spend. I used my points for a discount of the rate but you can buy Carnival gift cards av NFS get reimbursed for this just as well. The only requirement is that the seller merchant type must be travel. All purchases get you 2 points per $

 

Other good travel cards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Plus and Ink Bold.

 

There are annual fees but you can cancel before renewal if you want.

 

Only requirement is good credit.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[aggieastrosfan]

I have spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to maximize the points on this card.

 

The absolute best rate of return is to use the points as a credit on your statement towards Carnival purchases. As an example, up thread someone mentioned they cashed in 12,500 points for $100 OBC. Two negatives to that option - 1), if you have to cancel or reschedule your cruise, that money - and those points - are both gone. Can't move the OBC, and can't get the points back. Two, if you applied them as a statement credit towards any Carnival purchase (deposit, final payment, excursions, S&S bill, Bon Voyage, etc.) - those points would've been worth $125.

 

The statement credit has an extra bonus - if the charge amount is at least $1,500, your redemption rate increases by 50%. So if you redeemed those 12,500 points towards a $1,500 final payment, or an S&S bill, they would've been worth $187.50. Needless to say, we save our points until we have a transaction over $1,500 to redeem them against.

 

 

Meredith

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[karinad]

Ok...so I just got my CCL M.C. when I booked my CCL cruise 6 months ago. Upon my first charge of $$ I received 500 points = to $50. for opening the card. I have been charging on it including final payment of the cruise that will take place on Sept. 1, 2013. I'm not sure how many points I have racked up, but it's surely not enough to pay for the cruise. I do want the points to help pay for the cruise or charges to the S & S.

 

What's the procedure or my best bet to benefit from them?

[aggieastrosfan]

Ok...so I just got my CCL M.C. when I booked my CCL cruise 6 months ago. Upon my first charge of $$ I received 500 points = to $50. for opening the card. I have been charging on it including final payment of the cruise that will take place on Sept. 1, 2013. I'm not sure how many points I have racked up, but it's surely not enough to pay for the cruise. I do want the points to help pay for the cruise or charges to the S & S.

 

What's the procedure or my best bet to benefit from them?

 

You can check online to see how many points you have. One good thing about this card is that they post reward points as soon as the transaction posts, instead of waiting until the statement closes.

 

After your final payment posts to the card, your double points will be added to your total online. Whatever your point total is, divide it by 100. That's the statement credit value. If your final payment amount is at least $1,500, divide by 100 and then multiply by 1.5. That's your statement credit value on a transaction of over $1,500. You can redeem them online, and the credit posts in a few days.

 

You can also redeem points on a transaction up to 6 months old. So you could pay the total off now, and 5 1/2 months down the line redeem points towards the charge as you use the card over that time frame. You can do partial credit - you don't need to cover the full amount of the purchase with points.

 

The key is to wait until you have a purchase of at least $1,500 to redeem them. And if you don't spend that much money onboard normally, if you're a gambler there's ways around that. ;)

 

Meredith

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[karinad]

You can check online to see how many points you have. One good thing about this card is that they post reward points as soon as the transaction posts, instead of waiting until the statement closes.

 

After your final payment posts to the card, your double points will be added to your total online. Whatever your point total is, divide it by 100. That's the statement credit value. If your final payment amount is at least $1,500, divide by 100 and then multiply by 1.5. That's your statement credit value on a transaction of over $1,500. You can redeem them online, and the credit posts in a few days.

 

You can also redeem points on a transaction up to 6 months old. So you could pay the total off now, and 5 1/2 months down the line redeem points towards the charge as you use the card over that time frame. You can do partial credit - you don't need to cover the full amount of the purchase with points.

 

The key is to wait until you have a purchase of at least $1,500 to redeem them. And if you don't spend that much money onboard normally, if you're a gambler there's ways around that. ;)

 

Meredith

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Thanks! I didn't know that they post the points right away instead of waiting.

 

I could do this all myself online after the charges while on the ship are posted. This way, after the cruise, maybe I won't cringe that much when the credit card bill comes.:eek:

[aggieastrosfan]

Thanks! I didn't know that they post the points right away instead of waiting.

 

I could do this all myself online after the charges while on the ship are posted. This way, after the cruise, maybe I won't cringe that much when the credit card bill comes.:eek:

 

The card is not the best in terms of rewards, but it's far from the worst. If you're a frequent cruiser, saving points towards higher dollar transactions makes it a 1.5% cash back card for all purchases, and 3% cash back on Carnival purchases.

 

When it comes to free money, I don't mess around. We don't pay interest on our cards, and by maximizing the strengths of our cards, we cleared almost $3500 in rewards last year and are almost $2000 for this year. Everything that can go on a credit card, does. Puts a pretty good chunk towards our cruising habit! :D

 

 

Meredith

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[karinad]

The card is not the best in terms of rewards, but it's far from the worst. If you're a frequent cruiser, saving points towards higher dollar transactions makes it a 1.5% cash back card for all purchases, and 3% cash back on Carnival purchases.

 

When it comes to free money, I don't mess around. We don't pay interest on our cards, and by maximizing the strengths of our cards, we cleared almost $3500 in rewards last year and are almost $2000 for this year. Everything that can go on a credit card, does. Puts a pretty good chunk towards our cruising habit! :D

 

 

Meredith

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Me, too! Our cruise leaves from London. Our flight is free with points, although not so free. The taxes, etc. were about $300. Our hotel room post-cruise for 3 nights is free thanks to Hilton Honors. People must think we have money, but we don't, we just know how to use what we have.;)

[GeoHack]

I don't have this card but was wondering if they still had the fun point calculator? Seems like there was a loop hole a while back and you were better off spending $1251 on a cruise as opposed to $1250. Once again I do not use this card. As a poster above stated, I also feel there are quite a few better travel cards that fit my spending habits that pay out way more in rewards. However if this loop hole is still in effect (which I doubt), someone with a lot of points may or may not know about it.

 

 

http://www.andrewewhite.net/wordpress/2011/03/16/carnival-funpoints/

 

Once again I doubt it still works this way, but just in case.

[hockeyguy2]

I play the "credit card game" with the rewards credit cards. It requires a lot of management and attention to maximize your rewards, and you have to be sure to always pay your monthly balance in full, but the rewards definitely add up. I would estimate that in the last 10 years, between my wife and I, we've gotten about 20 airline round trips, about 50 free nights at a Hilton or Marriott brand hotel, about $2000 in gift certificates (Target, Home Depot, Amazon...), and about $1500 in cash or statement credits (best deal was signing up for the American Express Gold card, with the $300 annual fee waived for the first year, spending the required $5000 in 6 months, and then getting $650 in Home Depot gift cards!)

 

Anyway, I've looked at the Carnival card, and its a pretty poor deal compared to other cards out there. There's three aspects to look at for a reward card :

(1) The "sign up" bonus. Often times, you will get a very large reward for signing up for the card and spending a set amount (usually something like $2000 in the first 3 months, but some require no initial spending criteria). Airline cards usually give you enough for 1.5 round trips (although one offer with American Airlines gave both myself and my wife enough points for 4 round trip tickets each). Hotel cards usually give you enough for about 3-5 nights (but with a recent Marriott offer we were able to get about 8 nights each out of it). 1.5 airline round trips and 4 hotel nights are both equivalent to about $500. The Carnival card only offers you a measly $50. I won't bother with any offer under $150.

(2) The "per use" bonus. This is usually much smaller. For airlines, its typically 1 point per dollar. So you have to spend $25000 to get one round trip, which if you figure is worth about $350, means that you get a return of about 1.4% (for every $100 you spend, you receive about $1.40 towards airline tickets). Many cash back cards give you back 1%. I use two credit cards for this - my Hilton AMEX card gives me about 2% back towards hotel stays, and gives me gold status (free room upgrades) for spending $20K per year. And my Fidelity Mastercard gives me 2% back of everything I spend directly into a 529 college savings plan. The Carnival card only gives you 1% back (doubled on Carnival charges), which is pretty low, although from what aggieastrosfan says about getting an extra 50% back if the amount is over $1500 puts it in the "average" category.

(3) Annual fee. Most cards waive the annual fee for the first year. So I usually sign up for the card to get the "sign up" bonus, then cancel it after a year. Almost always, within 6 months, I get another invitation to sign up for the card again, and get the "sign up" bonus again. The Carnival card does not charge an annual fee.

 

So, there are better cards out there than the Carnival card, but with no annual fee, and no required spending for the $50 bonus, its better than nothing!

 

And, by the way, I have no qualms whatsoever about taking advantage of these credit card companies, especially given the way they take advantage of the average card user!

[GeoHack]

Me, too! Our cruise leaves from London. Our flight is free with points, although not so free. The taxes, etc. were about $300. Our hotel room post-cruise for 3 nights is free thanks to Hilton Honors. People must think we have money, but we don't, we just know how to use what we have.;)

 

That's what I'm talking about. I started planning earlier this year for a 7 day European vacation next year. Started my hotel and airline churn and just finished off the last of my bonus miles to fly non-stop RT first class next year with my family of 5 and hotel rooms are covered for the entire trip. Of course Hilton could pull another point hike, but I have way more than enough. However I've been thinking lately that I might just do it one way for a week in Europe than try and grab a cruise back. Still pondering...

[GeoHack]

I have not looked into the details of this card yet..I was just talking to DH this morning about needing to get at least ONE CC to try and bring my credit score up. Our future vacations would be either Disney, RCCL or Carnival next year (will not book that until Jan). So I need to read up on all 3 who have those cards to see which one has the best points I want to try and apply for to slowly crawl towards rewards on a future vacation. Does this one offer any perks for opening a new card? Like any OBC or anything?

Just wondering..thanks!!

 

I didn't see if anyone answered your question? So the minimum I've seen is 5,000 bonus points. That's pretty much always going on. I did check my email and saw they had sent me a 10k offer a while back. They did have a gift card promo a while back. And they have the 5k bonus on balance transfers which I do not recommend. I'm not recommending or not recommending this card. Just answering your question. Hockey above is correct. No matter what card don't pay an annual fee unless the bonus is just crazy good. Also if you're just starting to build credit back up, be sure the card has no annual fee. You'll want to keep a no annual fee card around and open for some time as length of credit plays a part in your score. There are a number of sites that can help walk you through the best card for you based on score and spending habits. Good luck and pay it off every month...

[belkin]

I have the Carnival MasterCard and have had 2 rewards boosters this year. The deal is that if I spent $500 over a 3 month period on certain items (groceries) they would give me an extra 2,500 bonus points. Really easy to do and I have gotten 5,000 extra points so far this year.