RC credit card

[Outnumbered1234]

Does anyone have the Royal Caribbean credit card? If so, do you find it to be an advantage? If yes, how so? Thanks!

 

 

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[jmrothermel]

I wouldn't say an advantage, but double points to pay for my cruise and then get it as OBC is nice :)

 

 

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[Nhsaltshaker]

It has given me approx. $2000.00 in On Board Credit so far.

 

You're not going to have any advantage unless you pay off your card every month, otherwise the interest negates the savings.

[Clarea]

Does anyone have the Royal Caribbean credit card? If so, do you find it to be an advantage? If yes, how so? Thanks!

You can get up to 4% back on your Royal Caribbean purchases. We don't use it for anything else.

[Libra_Critic]

I wouldn't say an advantage, but double points to pay for my cruise and then get it as OBC is nice :)

 

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The initial 10,000 points ($100) is a good benefit. But the on-going rewards are not enticing. especially since you can only redeem for on-board credit or cabin upgrades.

 

There are other cards that will give you 2 points for cash back. Some give 5 points for certain categories.

 

I got the card last year, and used the 10,000 points for obc on my next RCI cruise, then cancelled the card.

 

This year RCI is sending me e-mails to apply for the card again. I'm tempted for the free $100, but I probably won't get it again.

[Libra_Critic]

You can get up to 4% back on your Royal Caribbean purchases. We don't use it for anything else.

 

How do you get 4%?

[Clarea]

How do you get 4%?

You get 2 points for every dollar you spend on Royal. There are several redemption options that give you double the amount of dollar value, which gets you to 4%. For example, if you use 50,000 points for a free 3/4 day cruise, this has a max value of $1000. If you spent $25,000 on Royal to get the 50,000 points, and get $1000 back, that's 4%.

[Outnumbered1234]

Interesting. We currently have a card that gives us 2% cash back. I'm trying to figure out what would be our best option when paying for a future cruise.

We pay our cards off each month.

Thanks for the tips.

 

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[Libra_Critic]

deleted

Edited June 10, 2014 by Libra_Critic

[Libra_Critic]

You get 2 points for every dollar you spend on Royal. There are several redemption options that give you double the amount of dollar value, which gets you to 4%. For example, if you use 50,000 points for a free 3/4 day cruise, this has a max value of $1000. If you spent $25,000 on Royal to get the 50,000 points, and get $1000 back, that's 4%.

 

We are in full agreement on "You get 2 points for every dollar you spend on Royal."

 

Regarding the redemption for 25,000 points, the companion fare on a 3 or 4 night sailing cannot exceed $500. In most 3/4 sailings an oceanview is less than $500. So it will be "up to 4%" on the sailing in an oceanview, or 4% in a balcony or higher.

 

The "upgrade" redemption options are all worth less than $500

 

So, unless you plan on going on a 3 or 4 day sailing in a balcony or higher, the rewards will most likely not reach 4%. However you will still get something over the minimum of 2%.

 

Hope I haven't confused anyone over the rewards redemption options.

[Clarea]

We are in full agreement on "You get 2 points for every dollar you spend on Royal."

 

Regarding the redemption for 25,000 points, the companion fare on a 3 or 4 night sailing cannot exceed $500. In most 3/4 sailings an oceanview is less than $500. So it will be "up to 4%" on the sailing in an oceanview, or 4% in a balcony or higher.

 

The "upgrade" redemption options are all worth less than $500

 

So, unless you plan on going on a 3 or 4 day sailing in a balcony or higher, the rewards will most likely not reach 4%. However you will still get something over the minimum of 2%.

 

Hope I haven't confused anyone over the rewards redemption options.

I agree. This is why I wrote this in my original post:

 

"You can get up to 4% back on your Royal Caribbean purchases. We don't use it for anything else."

 

By the way, twice we have received the max of $1000 for a 50K point redemption. It does depend on having a high price for the OV staterooms, but it happens.

Edited June 10, 2014 by clarea

[h20skibum]

We put everything on the card and it adds up fast. Mostly cash in for OBC's, but we did have enough for a free cruise on Allure. Just remember the points you earn expire in five years.

[Libra_Critic]

We put everything on the card and it adds up fast. Mostly cash in for OBC's, but we did have enough for a free cruise on Allure. Just remember the points you earn expire in five years.

 

For everything, not on RCI, you are only getting 1%.

 

There are many other cards that will give you more, the points don't expire, and you get cash back.

 

Fidelity Amex - 2% all purchases, all the time

Amex Blue Card - 3% Supermarkets

BankAmericard - 3% gas

Citi Forward - 5% all restaurants and movies, and 5% Amazon

Chase, Discover - 5% rotating categories, each quarter

 

Capital One has a new card - 3% on travel but has annual fee.

 

Many others, but with annual fees.

[phoenix1181]

We put everything on the card and it adds up fast. Mostly cash in for OBC's, but we did have enough for a free cruise on Allure. Just remember the points you earn expire in five years.

 

Any idea where to find an expiration date? I may be getting close & will redeem for OBC for our 2015 cruise now if there's a chance I'll lose them.

[Clarea]

Any idea where to find an expiration date? I may be getting close & will redeem for OBC for our 2015 cruise now if there's a chance I'll lose them.

I believe you have to call B of A to find out about your points expiration.

[h20skibum]

Any idea where to find an expiration date? I may be getting close & will redeem for OBC for our 2015 cruise now if there's a chance I'll lose them.

 

Not positive, but I think they will show up on your statement. They only expire by the month, so if you have not used any for five years, the points you earned in July five years ago would expire the end of this month.

 

We never go that long without cashing some in.

[phoenix1181]

I know it hasn't been 5 years since I cashed them in but it has been awhile & we're not cruising Royal until next April. I would prefer to wait until closer to the cruise to redeem for OBC but if I'm close, I'll redeem some now & hope we don't need to cancel.

[hollon]

You get 2 points for every dollar you spend on Royal. There are several redemption options that give you double the amount of dollar value, which gets you to 4%. For example, if you use 50,000 points for a free 3/4 day cruise, this has a max value of $1000. If you spent $25,000 on Royal to get the 50,000 points, and get $1000 back, that's 4%.

 

Bob, I have a question, we just got off the Oasis and my bill at the end was 1232.00, when I got my statement/or looked online, it says 1232.00, it didn't double, any ideas to why?

[hollon]

Interesting. We currently have a card that gives us 2% cash back. I'm trying to figure out what would be our best option when paying for a future cruise.

We pay our cards off each month.

Thanks for the tips.

 

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What card gives you 2 percent? Is there a yearly fee to use the card?

[Clarea]

Bob, I have a question, we just got off the Oasis and my bill at the end was 1232.00, when I got my statement/or looked online, it says 1232.00, it didn't double, any ideas to why?

The way my statement looks, it would have said 1232 points and then on another line it would say 1232 bonus points. If you don't have something like that, call B of A because they are the ones who give out the points.

[Outnumbered1234]

What card gives you 2 percent? Is there a yearly fee to use the card?

 

American Express. 2% for travel. There is an annual fee.

 

 

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[sailawaybellaluna]

Have had this card for years, and have taken 2 "free" cruises, and used points for $500 off (plus $100 OBC) on my latest cruise...

 

I use this card for everything, including my small business, and pay it in full each month. So I'm not sure of the interest rates, etc.

 

But I've found redeeming the points to be very easy to do. In 2012, my husband and I did a 4-day Bahamas cruise and only paid taxes (I had cashed out points for onboard credit to cover drinks and gratuities). In 2013 I used points to take my mom from Southampton, England on a 4-night cruise and only had to pay taxes and for a 3rd person fare for my son. On our recent cruise out of Panama I redeemed points for $500 off + OBC...

 

My husband has the American Airlines card, so he usually gets us the free airline tickets while I work towards the free (or discounted) cruises!

 

That being said, some of the RCCL are very confused about how to redeem points and book the reservation. Unlike a Carnival booking with my PVP, a new reservation that also requires redeeming points typically takes me well over an hour on the phone...:eek:

[Libra_Critic]

What card gives you 2 percent? Is there a yearly fee to use the card?

 

Fidelity American Express gives 2% on everything. No annual fee.

Open a brokerage account.

 

Also - other no annual fee cards:

Amex Blue Card - 3% Supermarkets

BankAmericard Cash Rewards - 3% gas

Citi Forward - 5% all restaurants and movies, and 5% Amazon

Chase, Discover - 5% rotating categories, each quarter

 

Capital One has a new card - 3% on travel but has annual fee.

Many others, but with annual fees.

 

These are all cash back cards without restrictions to use on travel only.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Libra_Critic

[cpa2be]

We've had the card for 10 years. We put everything we can on this card and pay it in full each month.

 

We used to cash in the points for shipboard credit until we realized we were not getting the most bang for our buck. We have taken 4 free 7 day cruises (paying only for room upgrade and port taxes, etc).

 

Now with the newest change, we are using the points for 2 free companion fares on an upcoming Allure cruise.

 

Yes, other cards may give you more cash back, but I might be inclined to spend/use the reward somewhere else. I like the idea of knowing I have a free cruise coming my way.

YMMV :)

[george35]

I have a RCL credit card, can someone give me the telephone # to call so I can get OBC on my cruise. Thank you.

 

george35