Cash vs. Credit Card Onboard Spending Account?

[orville99]

2 hours ago, johnjen said:

Can anyone confirm/deny if there's a surcharge on a credit card account? A couple of years back (pre-covid) they were charging one on each charge made (maybe my memory is fading). But the BOA card with the double points - that's enticing so I might just open a credit account.

Never had one on more than 75 cruises.

[twinmommy08]

Different perspective here. We hardly ever use cash. We put everything, except our mortgage payment, on our AMEX each month. I get one bill and pay the bill in full each month. If my bank accepted credit payment for our mortgage we would charge that too. 
 

I like AMEX because we get a detailed spending report and it organizes our spending via category. It helps at tax time for deductions. It’s proof payment was made in case there are questions. While never having to do this, I like the protection to challenge questionable charges. 
 

Points are a huge driver too. I haven’t paid a cent for flights for our family of 4 since 2016. I’ve saved thousands. 

We have the Costco Visa for all a Costco stuff and random charges when AMEX is not accepted. 😀

Edited May 18, 2022 by twinmommy08

[brillohead]

I understand Dave Ramsey's perspective on credit cards for people who are already in debt.  However, for people who are debt-free, it doesn't make sense to NOT use credit cards and pay them off every month.  

I don't spend a dime on my credit cards -- no annual fees, no interest paid.  I do, however, get points/cash back on all of my cards, and in the case of my Discover card, I also get savings on using my cash back (for example, I can purchase a $50 gift certificate for a place I was going to shop at anyway and only use $40-$45 of my cash-back balance for the $50 gift certificate).  

I never spend "extra" money trying to "chase points" -- it's everyday purchases that I was going to make anyway.

[brillohead]

4 hours ago, johnjen said:

Can anyone confirm/deny if there's a surcharge on a credit card account? A couple of years back (pre-covid) they were charging one on each charge made (maybe my memory is fading).

I've been cruising with Royal since 2013, and I've cruised enough that I'm now Diamond Plus and then some, and I've never heard of a surcharge for each purchase when using a credit card to pay for your onboard account.

[brillohead]

9 hours ago, rudeney said:

For people who don't qualify for a credit card with a high high enough to rent cars, cover onboard cruise costs, etc., then maybe they should reconsider whether spending money on a cruise is in their best financial interest. 

This, 100%!

If you're paying interest on credit card debt, cruising isn't a wise financial decision.  

Credit cards aren't evil if you know how to use them properly.

[johnjen]

11 hours ago, brillohead said:

I've been cruising with Royal since 2013, and I've cruised enough that I'm now Diamond Plus and then some, and I've never heard of a surcharge for each purchase when using a credit card to pay for your onboard account.

Thanks....I think it was around 2017 right before our cruise, I read it on here somewhere....I think I will call them and will post what they tell me.

 

We're the same way about credit card debt. NONE! House nearly paid out in 3 years too....I don't know what we will do with that mortgage money & retirement looming in 6 yrs....this cash vs. credit account though has me thinking about those double points as well on the BOA RCL card....and I really DO NOT like carrying cash anyway....

Update: I called outside of regular biz hours....they're closed....that's a first!
 

Edited May 19, 2022 by johnjen

[brillohead]

11 hours ago, johnjen said:

Thanks....I think it was around 2017 right before our cruise, I read it on here somewhere....I think I will call them and will post what they tell me

I think I may know what you're thinking of.  

For people with a cash account, they can take cash out in the casino and charge it to their room without a "convenience fee".  If you have a credit card account, they charge something like 5% for cash withdrawals in the casino.

The way around that is to use a slot machine to transfer money to the machine from your room, then cash out the ticket and take that to the cashier for cash.  I do this because I cruise multiple consecutive cruises in a row, and this way I don't have to bring an inordinate amount of cash with me -- I just use the slot machine as an ATM, then pay off my credit card balance when it's due.  Bonus is that I end up getting rewards (points/cash back) for my credit card charge!

 

Regardless of if the casino cash withdrawal is what you're thinking of or not, there's still no reason to call them.  There is no charge to use a credit card for your onboard account.  

[johnjen]

13 hours ago, brillohead said:

I think I may know what you're thinking of.  

For people with a cash account, they can take cash out in the casino and charge it to their room without a "convenience fee".  If you have a credit card account, they charge something like 5% for cash withdrawals in the casino.

The way around that is to use a slot machine to transfer money to the machine from your room, then cash out the ticket and take that to the cashier for cash.  I do this because I cruise multiple consecutive cruises in a row, and this way I don't have to bring an inordinate amount of cash with me -- I just use the slot machine as an ATM, then pay off my credit card balance when it's due.  Bonus is that I end up getting rewards (points/cash back) for my credit card charge!

 

Regardless of if the casino cash withdrawal is what you're thinking of or not, there's still no reason to call them.  There is no charge to use a credit card for your onboard account.  

Thanks, this seals the answer to the question I was looking for! Yes. Given the situation with double points using the BOA card, I'm in for a credit account on the cruise for July. We probably won't dig in on the card since we have $500 in points already, and I am going to redeem more shortly. We don't do drink packages. Will see how long these points last us, haha. 

Last question. Say, at the end of the cruise, we have $40 left in credit. Do they apply that back on the card, or pay me the remainder in cash?

[billslowsky]

On 5/18/2022 at 7:55 PM, brillohead said:

This, 100%!

If you're paying interest on credit card debt, cruising isn't a wise financial decision.  

Credit cards aren't evil if you know how to use them properly.

I love my Txrget credit card.  5% off of all Txrget purchases at time of sale, plus I can buy some gift cards (including Disney) at 5% off.  And occasional 10% discounts through the year.

[orville99]

34 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Thanks, this seals the answer to the question I was looking for! Yes. Given the situation with double points using the BOA card, I'm in for a credit account on the cruise for July. We probably won't dig in on the card since we have $500 in points already, and I am going to redeem more shortly. We don't do drink packages. Will see how long these points last us, haha. 

Last question. Say, at the end of the cruise, we have $40 left in credit. Do they apply that back on the card, or pay me the remainder in cash?

Unless you go to guest services on the last evening and cash out, it will be refunded to your credit card.

[brillohead]

10 hours ago, orville99 said:

Unless you go to guest services on the last evening and cash out, it will be refunded to your credit card.

Or you can cash it out in the Casino using the slot machine "trick".

[orville99]

50 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Or you can cash it out in the Casino using the slot machine "trick".

True.

[Hogbay]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:45 AM, johnjen said:

What are the pros/cons between the two? And, if I do a cash account, can I just apply cash at the desk to that account? We have plenty of credits with our BOA RCL card....I just want to know if I can place additional cash in there if needed. Thanks!

I have retired and don't have credit card have no problems with a cash account . 🙃 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/how-much-money-should-i-put-as-a-deposit?country=AUS

[ngrund]

13 hours ago, johnjen said:

Thanks, this seals the answer to the question I was looking for! Yes. Given the situation with double points using the BOA card, I'm in for a credit account on the cruise for July. We probably won't dig in on the card since we have $500 in points already, and I am going to redeem more shortly. We don't do drink packages. Will see how long these points last us, haha. 

Last question. Say, at the end of the cruise, we have $40 left in credit. Do they apply that back on the card, or pay me the remainder in cash?

You may want to consider changing (or getting in addition) to the BOA "Customized Cash Rewards" card.

 

You can choose to make all travel earn 3% cash back, the only drawback is that they limit the 3% earning to $2,500 in spending per calendar quarter.