Celebrity Visa credit card using points for OBC

[Jiminy1955]

I have a Celebrity Visa card that has enough points on it for some OBC on our cruise.  Is that considered refundable or non refundable OBC?

[WestLakeGirl]

Should be refundable

[Jiminy1955]

4 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Should be refundable

 

Thank you!

[cruisestitch]

 You might also consider applying that money to your credit card before you sale.  Then when you are on the ship and you start building up new expenses, you’ll be getting double points for those. This is all assuming you will sail on Celebrity Again sometime and intend to keep that credit card 

[Jiminy1955]

3 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

 You might also consider applying that money to your credit card before you sale.  Then when you are on the ship and you start building up new expenses, you’ll be getting double points for those. This is all assuming you will sail on Celebrity Again sometime and intend to keep that credit card 

 

👍   We have two other cruises booked with Celebrity.  We will keep the card, use it for big purchases, cruise payments, deposits, etc and then just pay those amounts off right away. 

Edited April 18, 2019 by Jiminy1955
Added comment.

[Aralim]

The points are also redeemable for sailings on Royal Caribbean and Azamara, so if you sail those lines you can still get OBC. You also get double points for all charges to any of those lines; as long as the charge is to the Royal Caribbean parent company, it qualifies. Been taking advantage of this as I pay off my Bermuda cruise on Anthem of the Seas this October, so I have even more points to redeem when I sail Summit next August! 😊

[Fixit2010]

Celebrity have a credit card?

Is it available in the UK?

[cheeseheads4ever]

Dumb question but can you use your newly acquired Celebrity credit to make final payment? Im sure you can but just curious.

Thanks for the help!

[Jiminy1955]

4 hours ago, Aralim said:

The points are also redeemable for sailings on Royal Caribbean and Azamara, so if you sail those lines you can still get OBC. You also get double points for all charges to any of those lines; as long as the charge is to the Royal Caribbean parent company, it qualifies. Been taking advantage of this as I pay off my Bermuda cruise on Anthem of the Seas this October, so I have even more points to redeem when I sail Summit next August! 😊

 

I had forgotten about the double points!  I’ve made all our payments on our X cruise on the Eclipse 15 night RT to Hawaii from Los Angeles this October!  I knew about the points usage on Royal &  Azamara. 

[Jiminy1955]

2 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Dumb question but can you use your newly acquired Celebrity credit to make final payment? Im sure you can but just curious.

Thanks for the help!

 

Yes you can. I just made final payment last week using the card.

[cruisestitch]

If the question is, can you cash in points and use that to make final payment, yes you can. When you have enough points to convert to OBC you also have enough points to convert to a payment on your cruise. To me that makes the most sense.i use the points ahead of the cruise, instead of waiting for the cruise and seeing the OBC.  Then when I build up new expenses on the cruise, I use the credit card to pay them and get double points.

[Jiminy1955]

8 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

If the question is, can you cash in points and use that to make final payment, yes you can. When you have enough points to convert to OBC you also have enough points to convert to a payment on your cruise. To me that makes the most sense.i use the points ahead of the cruise, instead of waiting for the cruise and seeing the OBC.  Then when I build up new expenses on the cruise, I use the credit card to pay them and get double points.

 

I didn’t understand that’s what you meant in your first post above. That’s brilliant! Thank you for sharing!  

Edited April 19, 2019 by Jiminy1955
Added a comment

[kathynorth]

9 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

If the question is, can you cash in points and use that to make final payment, yes you can. When you have enough points to convert to OBC you also have enough points to convert to a payment on your cruise. To me that makes the most sense.i use the points ahead of the cruise, instead of waiting for the cruise and seeing the OBC.  Then when I build up new expenses on the cruise, I use the credit card to pay them and get double points.

 

I'm wondering how this works when you use a TA. When you request to cash in the points does this somehow get credited with Celebrity without going through your TA?

[kathynorth]

23 hours ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Should be refundable

 

Have you done this; cashed in points for OBC and then had the unused portion refunded at the end of your cruise?

[cruisestitch]

I use a TA, but when I book a cruise with the travel agent, I am paying with my Celebrity credit card directly to Celebrity, not to the travel agency.   

 

When I cash in the points, I apply that money to my credit card balance. I always do this immediately after final payment date but before the billing cycle closes, although I’m not sure that step is necessary.

 

So when I go to the Bank of America site, I choose the cruise Discount option. I cash in however many points I have, and I give my booking number and sail date, and the amount is  then credited on my next credit card statement.  

 

I have heard that some people have travel agents where you pay the travel agency rather than paying Celebrity, but mine doesn’t work like that.  If you are paying your money to the travel agency, then this probably would not work. But even though I am using a travel agent, I am always paying Celebrity what is owed.

Edited April 19, 2019 by cruisestitch

[kathynorth]

46 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

I use a TA, but when I book a cruise with the travel agent, I am paying with my Celebrity credit card directly to Celebrity, not to the travel agency.   

 

When I cash in the points, I apply that money to my credit card balance. I always do this immediately after final payment date but before the billing cycle closes, although I’m not sure that step is necessary.

 

So when I go to the Bank of America site, I choose the cruise Discount option. I cash in however many points I have, and I give my booking number and sail date, and the amount is  then credited on my next credit card statement.  

 

I have heard that some people have travel agents where you pay the travel agency rather than paying Celebrity, but mine doesn’t work like that.  If you are paying your money to the travel agency, then this probably would not work. But even though I am using a travel agent, I am always paying Celebrity what is owed.

 

I appreciate your detailed description. I’m pretty sure our TA works this way, book through TA but pay directly to Celebrity. We have a few months before final payment but I plan to follow your directions at that time. Thank you!

[cheeseheads4ever]

Hmmm? If you book through your TA you have an invoice to pay to your TA. You aren't paying Celebrity with your Celebrity card you are paying your TA. Correct?

I think last time I read the details you get equivalent to $100 OBC to open the card. Then if you pay your cruise with it, its additional OBC and any additional purchases that add up.

Am I missing something?

 

[cruisestitch]

 Based on the fact that the entity listed on my credit card statement is Celebrity Cruises, not my travel agent, it does appear that I am paying Celebrity Cruises and when I use the points to get a discount on the price of my cruise, it is applied into my credit card statement. I’ve been doing this since I got the card, well over five years now. 

[cheeseheads4ever]

Thank you!

Great to know!

[kathynorth]

5 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Hmmm? If you book through your TA you have an invoice to pay to your TA. You aren't paying Celebrity with your Celebrity card you are paying your TA. Correct?

I think last time I read the details you get equivalent to $100 OBC to open the card. Then if you pay your cruise with it, its additional OBC and any additional purchases that add up.

Am I missing something?

 

 

Hi cheeseheads4ever, our TA books the cruise, but our credit card statement shows that we paid directly to Celebrity via our TA. 

[cruisestitch]

In the long run, paying directly to Celebrity is of course safer. There have been unfortunate cases were travel agencies have gone bankrupt and had never paid the money over to Celebrity,( or whichever cruise line was in play at the time.) So the money got stuck somewhere, the passengers got stuck and the cruise lines never got their payment.  

[vetteguy91]

I went to the Celebrity Web site to research the credit card and it says that on a new card you get 10,000 bonus with the first qualifying purchase. No where does it explain what constitutes a qualifying purchase. Can anyone help me.  We are cruising in 3 weeks on the Summit and I will apply for a credit card if I can get the points.

[cruisestitch]

You haven’t left yourself enough time. You have to apply for the card, receive the card, use it and then the points have to vest at the end of the first billing cycle, and then you have to cash in the points. Three weeks is enough time for all of that.

[kathynorth]

7 minutes ago, vetteguy91 said:

I went to the Celebrity Web site to research the credit card and it says that on a new card you get 10,000 bonus with the first qualifying purchase. No where does it explain what constitutes a qualifying purchase. Can anyone help me.  We are cruising in 3 weeks on the Summit and I will apply for a credit card if I can get the points.

 

A qualifying purchase is any purchase paid for using the credit card. 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

On ‎4‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 11:57 AM, cruisestitch said:

 

When I cash in the points, I apply that money to my credit card balance. I always do this immediately after final payment date but before the billing cycle closes, although I’m not sure that step is necessary.

 

So when I go to the Bank of America site, I choose the cruise Discount option. I cash in however many points I have, and I give my booking number and sail date, and the amount is  then credited on my next credit card statement.  

 

@cruisestitch This sounds logical but I'm looking for the flaw in the logic.

 

Cashing in 50000 points pre final payment would reduce the cruise cost by $500 so when you make the balance payment it is $500 less so you would not earn 500 points X 2.

 

By making the final payment you are paying $500 more and earning 500 points X 2. You can then cash in 50000 points post payment against a fully paid cruise resulting in a credit balance on your credit card. Am I getting this right? If so, you are ahead of the game unless the  credit balance effect the points that you earn by reducing them by 500  or 500 X2.