Ken at the beach Posted July 17, 2015 #826 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Never thought about that Ken but it might be an idea. Can't see any reason it wouldn't work. ;) When ever we have put a deposit on our next planned cruise or a FCC on board they use a credit card, not your ship account. Great idea though. EDIT: If you cashed out your account on the last day you would have the funds. I highly suspect that the next sales staff take cash for their sales. I may have to keep this in mind for a future booking.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rinse82 Posted July 17, 2015 #827 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Can I use OBC to withdraw cash at the casino? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QE2_Fan Posted July 17, 2015 #828 Share Posted July 17, 2015 It was a while back but people did post that the Australians were able to get a similar deal. Not sure of the exchange rate but it was significantly better than that at the bank. Yes back in Jan/Feb this year RCI offered Aussies an amazing 1:1 exchange rate for OBC!! [emoji43] Many took up the awesome offer until RCI put a stop on OBC purchases as the rate was in ERROR!! [emoji33][emoji37] I haven't heard since if they have resumed OBC sales and If so what the current exchange rate is. Would be with a quick call to the local reservations office as it cannot be done online anyway Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted July 17, 2015 #829 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Can I use OBC to withdraw cash at the casino? Yes. If you set up your on board account as a cash account they do not charge you the 5% withdrawal fee in the casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted July 17, 2015 #830 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Yes back in Jan/Feb this year RCI offered Aussies an amazing 1:1 exchange rate for OBC!! [emoji43] Many took up the awesome offer until RCI put a stop on OBC purchases as the rate was in ERROR!! [emoji33][emoji37] I haven't heard since if they have resumed OBC sales and If so what the current exchange rate is. Would be with a quick call to the local reservations office as it cannot be done online anyway Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 : 1 Wow that was a good deal. Definitely worth a call to see what the new exchange rate is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QE2_Fan Posted July 17, 2015 #831 Share Posted July 17, 2015 1 : 1 Wow that was a good deal. Definitely worth a call to see what the new exchange rate is. Definitely, particularly as the Aussie Dollar is so close to yours, I wonder if RCI are going to be as generous with the exchange rate after their 1:1 mishap!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brfan Posted July 17, 2015 #832 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Hi all. Just wanted to let you know that I was able to purchase obc's today at $1.10 Canadian. (confirmed by agent on phone) $499 U.S. cost me $548 Canadian. $499 is the max you can purchase over the phone without having to fax your credit card information and ID. The agent did say that my husband could purchase the same amount that I did using his credit card. We just might do that and then just cash in any extra at the end of the cruise. It's a win-win! I called yesterday to buy a $1000 and was told $500 was the limit, but what they did was do it in 2 purchases of $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibertyCruiser Posted July 17, 2015 #833 Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) do they send an email confirmation after the purchase? my cruise is over a year away and I can't imagine trying to figure it out then if something goes wrong. Yes, I received an email with the title "Bkg: Amenity Confirmation for Reservation ID:" followed by my personal information. The strange thing is that the invoice shows how much you were charged in $CA but not how much was purchased in $US. I'm a little nervous that if they change the conversion rate between now and my cruise the new rate will be used to determine the amount of OBC I receive. Edited July 17, 2015 by LibertyCruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarvowinner Posted July 17, 2015 #834 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Too bad RCI doesn't use 10% when calculating the Canadian $ price of their cruises! Hi Shirley RCI Australia isn't offering the same deal so I transferred money over to Mum who added it as her OBC. She will then buy our drink packages and we will withdraw the cash in USD when we disembark off our Transatlantic. We are now well in front as the AUD is dropping quicker than the CAD. How are you guys doing? Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkertwo Posted July 17, 2015 #835 Share Posted July 17, 2015 i'm a little nervous. i just purchased what the agent said was max ($499.00) and she told me it would cost me $499.40 canadian. she said the .40 was a service fee. she assured me she was correct. i'll wait and see. that would be a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Copeman Posted July 17, 2015 #836 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I wonder if anyone has purchased enough OBC that they could purchase their next cruise on board in US$. I am doing just that. My cruise in August was booked in Canadian dollars. However my next two cruises in December and January were booked in US. I am piling up the money in OBC for my August cruise so I will have enough to cash out and pay for my cruises in December and January and their flights and hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamer115 Posted July 17, 2015 #837 Share Posted July 17, 2015 If people abuse the system it will end I am sure. Please don't go crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkertwo Posted July 17, 2015 #838 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I am doing just that. My cruise in August was booked in Canadian dollars. However my next two cruises in December and January were booked in US. I am piling up the money in OBC for my August cruise so I will have enough to cash out and pay for my cruises in December and January and their flights and hotel. would it not have been better to book your cruises in canadian and when you pull the cash our convert it at the bank then pay your cruise off? seems to me, if the exchange rate stays the same, you would be farther ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 17, 2015 #839 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I am doing just that. My cruise in August was booked in Canadian dollars. However my next two cruises in December and January were booked in US. I am piling up the money in OBC for my August cruise so I will have enough to cash out and pay for my cruises in December and January and their flights and hotel. If I was in that position I'd keep the cash to pay my TA at home is US cash. Just like you are thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 17, 2015 #840 Share Posted July 17, 2015 If people abuse the system it will end I am sure. Please don't go crazy. It's going to end at some point. We may as well use the system as long as possible. They upped the cruise fair at the drop of a hat to their advantage, we are just getting a small advantage this way.:) Not to mention the few of us on CC buying OBC is a small fraction of those doing it across all the ships. The Official RC CC member, that is confirmed, is more apt to see this thread and report what is going on VS a number cruncher or bean counter at the corperate office deciding that too much OBC is being sold to Canadians. Until then lets enjoy the rate of exchange at 10% as long as it lasts. Lets live like the Senators in Ottawa at the trough, until it ends.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibertyCruiser Posted July 17, 2015 #841 Share Posted July 17, 2015 But I imagine it will end sooner with this kind of abuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 17, 2015 #842 Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) But I imagine it will end sooner with this kind of abuse. Abuse is a strong word to use, as this is a program that they are offering and controlling. OBC won't end, it will just be at a different rate of exchange. My understanding is they address a rate change twice a year. I would guess due to the paper work to physically get the rate changed or to guage the amount that they will change the rate to. Money goes back and forth, favouring the corperation and occasionally guests. We don't see a drop in the price of the cruise when bunker feul is lowered. When there was a lime shortage last year RC didn't spend more to get limes for the drinks, they substituted lemons. Right now Canadians are benefiting on their favourable exchange rate, and that number is a small amount of people. Only a small percentage of cruisers use CC, and even less are Canadian. As a business owner I take differences like this as part of caluclated loss. When it gets to a certain level we address the issue. RC will do the same, but not upon how many people are buying OBC. They will when the Canadian dollar is at what they percieve it to be at it's lowest. For all we know RC uses our Canadian Dollars to cover costs when their ships are incuring Canadian expenses such as ships based in Vancouver for Alaska or for ports of call for fall colour cruises on the east coast. The small amount that they recieve from Canadians buying OBC won't cover much. However, if they aren't paying exchange fees to the bank, they too are saving money. At this rate RC should thank us, as we are doing them the favour.:cool: Edited July 17, 2015 by A&L_Ont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted July 17, 2015 #843 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Is it possible to purchase OBC before your cruise is paid in full? I would love to get some OBC to cover drink packages etc at a 10% rate instead of over 30% right now my credit card is charging me. But my cruise balance is not yet paid in full as not final payment date yet. Any thoughts or experiences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brfan Posted July 17, 2015 #844 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Is it possible to purchase OBC before your cruise is paid in full? I would love to get some OBC to cover drink packages etc at a 10% rate instead of over 30% right now my credit card is charging me. But my cruise balance is not yet paid in full as not final payment date yet. Any thoughts or experiences? Yes you can. I purchased some OBC for my cruise on the Allure in October and Anthem next April yesterday. Both are before final payment date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Mazer Posted July 17, 2015 #845 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I can't imagine this is going to go on for long. The Canadian $ is taking a plunge. I'm sure with the bulk exchange rates they got they could have been ok. Now with the dollar going below 77 cents, can't see us sustainable. We got some today, would be foolish at this point not to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkertwo Posted July 17, 2015 #846 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I can't imagine this is going to go on for long. The Canadian $ is taking a plunge. I'm sure with the bulk exchange rates they got they could have been ok. Now with the dollar going below 77 cents, can't see us sustainable. We got some today, would be foolish at this point not to. what was your cost today? as i said earlier, the cm told me it was $499 for $499 which i find odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Mazer Posted July 17, 2015 #847 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Was still 1.10. So $500us will be $550CND. For those looking at the big picture if you charge $500 on you CC today. The CC will post $660 to your account. Lowest rate since 2009 and dropping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare nbsjcruiser Posted July 17, 2015 #848 Share Posted July 17, 2015 It's going to end at some point. We may as well use the system as long as possible. They upped the cruise fair at the drop of a hat to their advantage, we are just getting a small advantage this way.:) Not to mention the few of us on CC buying OBC is a small fraction of those doing it across all the ships. The Official RC CC member, that is confirmed, is more apt to see this thread and report what is going on VS a number cruncher or bean counter at the corperate office deciding that too much OBC is being sold to Canadians. Until then lets enjoy the rate of exchange at 10% as long as it lasts. Lets live like the Senators in Ottawa at the trough, until it ends.;) Dreamer 115 is right though. Hopefully people wont abuse it or it will become bad for everyone. I'd much rather put down my OBC that I plan on spending on that cruise and hope that its still there next time I go to use it rather than pile a bunch of money on there that I have no intention on using immediately and seeing it go away. Be like a real Canadian folks - don't abuse it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtopia Posted July 17, 2015 #849 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I'll be purchasing $400 worth tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneykins Posted July 17, 2015 #850 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Just bought $1000 at 1.10. Email came through as 2 X $500. Didn't want to wait until Monday, you never know when this is going to end. thanks to everyone for keeping this thread alive. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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