Chase Sapphire Visa for On Board Purchases

[CA805JV]

Hello, first time posting here but five time cruiser on RC. My wife and I will be sailing on Brilliance for the first time this coming March.

 

Does anyone have experience with using a chase sapphire preferred/reserve visa for on-board purchases? Will I get the 2x (or 3x for the sapphire reserve) points for charges applied to my on-board account? If not then I’ll just use another card. Which brings me to my next question.... is the payment considered a domestic US purchase or does it come through as an international charge? Looking forward to a great cruise and scoring some bonus points along the way. :cool:

 

Joe V

[Clarea]

On board credit card charges conme through as a US domestic charge.

 

Don't know about the Chase card, but the RC VIsa card (Bank of America) gives 2X points for RC purchases.

[westcoastvecs]

Yes, we always use our Chase Sapphire....

 

 

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[atanac]

If you are a Costco member with the Citi Costco Visa you'll get 3% cash back for travel too.

[iluvit!]

Yes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve! Also automatically applies travel charges against the $300 annual travel credit.

 

 

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[nicecruiser]

You will get triple travel points using Chase Sapphire Reserve on board of the ship for all your on board expenses, including purchase in the store and gratuities, everything. Done this - work as a charm.

[Clarea]

You will get triple travel points using Chase Sapphire Reserve on board of the ship for all your on board expenses, including purchase in the store and gratuities, everything. Done this - work as a charm.

Is there an annual fee for this card, and does it have a foreign transaction fee?

[LizzyDragon]

Is there an annual fee for this card, and does it have a foreign transaction fee?

 

Yes- annual fee is $450. Does come with $200 travel rebate; $100 reimbursement for Global Entry; and access to Priority Lounges in some airports. I don’t think it has forex fees.

[Clarea]

Yes- annual fee is $450. Does come with $200 travel rebate; $100 reimbursement for Global Entry; and access to Priority Lounges in some airports. I don’t think it has forex fees.

Wow, hefty charge. Guess it makes sense if it's used enough.

[melissam1347]

Is there an annual fee for this card, and does it have a foreign transaction fee?

 

 

 

The Sapphire Preferred is only a $95 annual fee with no foreign transaction fee but only 2 points per dollar. I've used my CSP for all my cruises and have received 2 points for everything on my bill at the end of the cruise.

 

 

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[LeeW]

OP really asked if they would get double (or triple) points for their credit card. We use a Costco Citi Visa and the charges from Royal all come in coded as travel. This includes buying drink packages and excursions online. So if your card gives you x% or extra points for "travel" you will get the extra. HOWEVER there are cards out there where you have to buy the travel through their travel agent. In that case you won't get the extra points unless you go through their agent.

[CarrieAP]

Just got the Chase Sapphire Reserve this year and used on cruise last week. All expenses, including private shore excursions were credited 3x points. Is pricey at $450 annual fee, but does get $300 dollar travel credit and other benefit is decent trip cancellation, interruption and medical insurance. Did add bit of extra medical through another policy but still ended up saving at least $200-300 over what I would have paid for full policy without the card. Really seems like a solid travel credit card so I highly recommend it.

 

 

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[CA805JV]

Thank you so much for all the replies! I used my United MileagePlus Club Visa to book our cruise and got big miles for the purchase of the cruise. But I wanted to make sure using my Sapphire Reserve would net me the 3X points for on board purchases that I'm hoping for. So thank you all for helping me with that!

 

Yes, this card does come with a hefty $450 annual fee but it comes with lots of perks when you use this travel card as intended, that more than offsets the fee for me. No foreign transaction fees, $100 instant credit that payed for my Global Entry fee, 3X points on travel and dining, free Priority Pass lounge access, and of course the annual instant travel credits that is actually $300. So really, for me, it's a $150 annual fee card. :)

 

Thanks again everyone!

[Clarea]

The Sapphire Preferred is only a $95 annual fee with no foreign transaction fee but only 2 points per dollar. I've used my CSP for all my cruises and have received 2 points for everything on my bill at the end of the cruise.

The RC Visa gives 2% on RC purchases with no annual fee.

[rakes5]

Wow, hefty charge. Guess it makes sense if it's used enough.

 

The Chase Reserve Card is a great deal the first year, but you need to travel frequently. for it be worth it the second year.

 

They give you a $300 (not $200) travel credit each calendar year. It's important to note that it's calendar year, not anniversary date. I received my card in March of 2017, and paid the final payment on a cruise right after that. I received a $300 credit right away. My December 2017 billing date was through December 2, so last week I had a $11 Uber charge, and received an $11 credit the same day. Then, I made another cruise final payment, and received the remaining $289 credit. So, I received $600 credit on that one $450 annual fee. However, now that I received the 2018 credit, even if I pay the $450 fee for 2018, I will not receive another $300 credit. That's the main reason it's difficult to justify for the second year.

 

I also received $100 credit to get global access (or $85 for TSA), which I didn't already have. But, you can only get one credit, and can only use the benefit once every 5 years, so, you couldn't use it one year for you, and the second for your spouse. Therefore, it's not a benefit for the second year.

 

I was also fortunate enough to get the card last year, when they were offering 100,000 bonus points if you spent a certain amount in three months. Now, I think thing they are only offering 50,000 bonus points. Because I had used it to pay for a cruise, I easily spent the amount. The 50,000 points is worth $500 if you just redeem it for cash, but you can transfer it to many other points programs on a one for one basis. I have transferred it to Southwest for flights where I got more than 1.6 cents per point. Also you can use the points to purchase hotel, flights, and other travel at a 20% discount. So I have booked pre-cruise hotels that would have been $200 for 16,000 points. The bonus points are only for the first year, so not a benefit for the second year.

 

 

As mentioned, there is no foreign transaction fee, and the exchange rate has seemed very reasonable the few times I have used it internationally. I also signed up for text alerts when there was a foreign purchase, and it was nice receiving a text with the US$ amount while I was still at a register, when using it recently in Canada, where I had data for Canada included.

 

They give you 3 times the points for both restaurants and travel. As the OP asked, I have used it on cruises, and all the on-board charges have earned 3 points. I also have a Chase Freedom card, that has quarterly 5% rewards on certain categories, and you can transfer the points form the Freedom card to the Reserve card on a one for one basis.

 

The airport lounge access is OK, but only available at limited airports. In Chicago, it is only available at O'Hare, and only at the International terminal, which is separate from the other domestic terminals.

 

There are other benefits, such as trip insurance, and some other benefits.

 

But don't dismiss it. If you cruise, you will get at least one $300 credit, and if you don't get the card until later in the year, you should be able to get an additional $300 credit. Add that to the bonus points, and the $450 annual fee is easily covered.

[Clarea]

The Chase Reserve Card is a great deal the first year, but you need to travel frequently. for it be worth it the second year. ...

Thank-you for the very detailed explanation.

[nelblu]

Hello, first time posting here but five time cruiser on RC. My wife and I will be sailing on Brilliance for the first time this coming March.

 

Does anyone have experience with using a chase sapphire preferred/reserve visa for on-board purchases? Will I get the 2x (or 3x for the sapphire reserve) points for charges applied to my on-board account? If not then I’ll just use another card. Which brings me to my next question.... is the payment considered a domestic US purchase or does it come through as an international charge? Looking forward to a great cruise and scoring some bonus points along the way. :cool:

 

Joe V

 

 

I have the same card ($95 annual fee) & get 2x points when charge for anything on board as it's considered travel & dining category.

[Jeremiah1212]

Never has any issues getting bonus points. Chase’s customer service is great with those cards too. I have had a large travel purchase that was categorized incorrectly and they fixed it on the spot.

 

My partner had to start putting his work travel expenses on a personal card so we switched from Preferred to Reserve. Last month 2 flights alone netted our account 24k points. If you make sure you understand the benefits and take advantage of them, the annual fee really becomes less substantial.

 

The Preferred card is perfect to test the waters since the $95 fee is waived the first year. You will earn way more lucrative points than any cruise line branded card.

 

 

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[nelblu]

The RC Visa gives 2% on RC purchases with no annual fee.

 

Specialized card only, as you get only 1 x for everything else. Also, the Chase Sapphire, if you book thru them, gives you get a discount of 25% for air travel. I don't know if it applies to cruises. Will investigate next time I need to add to my current cruise inventory.

[Clarea]

Specialized card only, as you get only 1 x for everything else. Also, the Chase Sapphire, if you book thru them, gives you get a discount of 25% for air travel. I don't know if it applies to cruises. Will investigate next time I need to add to my current cruise inventory.

True, we have other cards for non-cruise expenses.

[Steelers0854]

and the exchange rate has seemed very reasonable the few times I have used it internationally.

 

 

 

Just a note, exchange rates are actually handled by Visa, MasterCard and Amex, not the bank issuing the credit card. I have found Visa has always had very favorable exchange rates.

[nolesrule]

There are 2% cash back (on any purchase) credit cards out there that don't have an annual fee, so I wouldn't pay an annual fee to get 2% back on any category.

[Steelers0854]

There are 2% cash back (on any purchase) credit cards out there that don't have an annual fee, so I wouldn't pay an annual fee to get 2% back on any category.

 

 

 

True. But Chase Ultimate Rewards are not cash back cards, they are points earning cards. Just to keep things easy I’ll refer to everything in cents even though cents and percent are interchangeable in this area. Ultimate rewards points are generally valued at 2.2 cents per point. On the Sapphire Preferred I earn 2 cents per travel and dining dollar (since you mentioned 2% earnings, the Reserve actually gets you 3%). So my $100 spent onboard earns me 200 cents valued at 440 cents. Your free cash back card gets you 200 cents flat out.

 

Never-mind the fact that on the Reserve I also get:

 

-Primary rental car insurance, free

-Lounge access with unlimited guests via priority pass, most airlines charge $450 per year for this

 

In addition to all the other benefits rakes5 mentioned in their post above.

 

As said before. These cards are for those that travel. If you don’t travel it may not be for you, but I will pay $150 a year all day long when you break down the benefits over just a straight cash back card.

[nolesrule]

True. But Chase Ultimate Rewards are not cash back cards, they are points earning cards. Just to keep things easy I’ll refer to everything in cents even though cents and percent are interchangeable in this area. Ultimate rewards points are generally valued at 2.2 cents per point. On the Sapphire Preferred I earn 2 cents per travel and dining dollar (since you mentioned 2% earnings, the Reserve actually gets you 3%). So my $100 spent onboard earns me 200 cents valued at 440 cents. Your free cash back card gets you 200 cents flat out.

 

Never-mind the fact that on the Reserve I also get:

 

-Primary rental car insurance, free

-Lounge access with unlimited guests via priority pass, most airlines charge $450 per year for this

 

In addition to all the other benefits rakes5 mentioned in their post above.

 

As said before. These cards are for those that travel. If you don’t travel it may not be for you, but I will pay $150 a year all day long when you break down the benefits over just a straight cash back card.

 

I was referring to the Preferred card, where points are generally acknowledged to be worth 1.25-cents a-piece. So you have to spend $19,000 on 2x point categories just to break even on the $95 fee. There are some other perks that help defray that cost, but I didn't see them when looking over the card specs.

 

The Reserve card, even with the high annual fee, makes more sense as a travel card if you do a lot of traveling and can take advantage of the other perks in addition to the cash back, because those perks are significant.

[Steelers0854]

I was referring to the Preferred card, where points are generally acknowledged to be worth 1.25-cents a-piece. So you have to spend $19,000 on 2x point categories just to break even on the $95 fee. There are some other perks that help defray that cost, but I didn't see them when looking over the card specs.

 

 

 

The Reserve card, even with the high annual fee, makes more sense as a travel card if you do a lot of traveling and can take advantage of the other perks in addition to the cash back, because those perks are significant.

 

 

 

Chase ultimate Rewards are valued the same no matter what crad from chase you have. All the travel sites I read value them as one of the most valuable rewards program around and they all generally value them at or above 2 cents per point.