Creating an on board credit - benefits

[BarbieGee]

1 hour ago, Colorado Cruzer said:

I either buy carnival gift cards at 10% off through Allstate Rewards or by them at a Kroger grocery store when they have 4X fuel points for gift card purchases. I use my SW card to get the points for these purchases too.  I've been on several cruises so I know how much we typically spend onboard and just buy cruise cash with them to not have to load it while on the ship. I also utilize these savings methods for all payments to carnival for the cruise, drink package, excursions, etc.  

I was thinking of doing this too as I live in the Kroger area. And since the AARP site is currently having issues.

[Joebucks]

It's crazy at all of work people do around this. I get wanting cards at a discount. All of the other steps to "trick" yourself into controlling spend or feeling like you aren't paying for it are a bit much.

[sgttami]

On 9/21/2022 at 12:09 PM, klfrodo said:

Since this is on the Carnival board, we can talk about what they call Cruise Cash.

 

I buy Cruise Cash, but in a limited amount.

Why? Just my little way of minimizing the end of cruise hit to my credit card bill.

If I anticipate my end of cruise bill to be about $1000, then I'll purchase maybe $750 Cruise Cash.

 

The problem with Cruise Cash is that it is non-refundable. In other words, if my on board spending is only $650, I can lose the $100 left over on my Cruise Cash account. (There are ways to get around that but I don't count on that method because Carnival will someday figure a way to stop that method. Of course they will figure it out just before MY cruise and now I'm screwed)

The maximum you can purchase in Cruise Cash is $500 PER CABIN, therefore you can't purchase $750.  

I only did it once and also bought Bar Cash because I had DOU in casino only.

 

I used all the Cruise cash but still had $50 left in bar cash on the last night. I just left it as a tip for my casino bartender otherwise I would have lost it.

 

I still had a hefty tab on my credit card in addition to other OBC that I used.

 

Don't think I'd do it again.  I'd just settle up by CC at the end of the cruise.

 

 

[ldubs]

What is DOU?   

[ngrund]

29 minutes ago, ldubs said:

What is DOU?   

"drinks on us"- a casino offer- free drinks while playing in the casino but if your past play warrants it you can sometimes be offered drinks anywhere on the ship

[bjkTX]

On 9/21/2022 at 11:50 AM, ray98 said:

None of that is no more beneficial than just bringing the money with you.  No middlemen or turing real cash into company credits beforehand.

Getting Carnival gift cards (say from AARP at a 10% discount) has it's benefits...

[Bevv]

On 9/22/2022 at 2:00 PM, BarbieGee said:

Using Cruise Cash to fund an S&S account before the cruise allows one to purchase drinks at one of the bars as the ship leaves port and sounds like a practical plan. But just to be clear, if I use a gift card to transfer a portion of the funds on that card to the S&S account,  THAT IS refundable? What happens? Guest Services transfers unused funds back to the gift card?

If you do not use all of the $ from the gift card and it is more than $10, you will receive a new e-gift card. My last cruise I got it about 2 days after the cruise ended.

[rs45thompson]

On 9/21/2022 at 10:30 AM, Schoifmom said:

To replay your question, just to make sure we are on the same page.  You want to know if there is any advantage to putting cash on your S&S account at the beginning of the cruise instead of using a credit card.

 

• Carnival will place an initial hold on your credit card of $100 or $100 (depending on the length of your cruise).  There will be additional holds placed throughout the cruise, as you spend.  
• At the end of the cruise, Carnival will put through the charge for the total amount of your spend to your credit card.  This will effectively tie up twice the amount of your spend for a while, until the holds fall off.
• If you use cash, there is nothing for Carnival to tie up with a hold.  Your spending will deduct from your cash balance until you have nothing left.  At that point, you will need to add more cash or provide a credit card (subject to the holds listed above).  This is a great tool for someone on a budget and doesn't want to spend more than a specific amount or does not have a credit card.
• With both methods you can view your spending in the HUB app or using the kiosks.
• There are no discounts or money saving advantages to either method, other than using cash does not tie up your credit.

This is what I used to do to stay on budget.  However, if you don't spend it all I would stand in a long line at the end of the cruise to get my money back.  This was a pain and if I wanted a coffee in the morning or decided I wanted a drink later I couldn't.  That was enough to push me towards using a credit card.  They say that if you don't spend it all and you don't go to customer service they will send you a check.  I didn't trust it, didn't do it so don't know how or if that works. 

[Schoifmom]

23 hours ago, rs45thompson said:

This is what I used to do to stay on budget.  However, if you don't spend it all I would stand in a long line at the end of the cruise to get my money back.  This was a pain and if I wanted a coffee in the morning or decided I wanted a drink later I couldn't.  That was enough to push me towards using a credit card.  They say that if you don't spend it all and you don't go to customer service they will send you a check.  I didn't trust it, didn't do it so don't know how or if that works. 

 

They really do send a check and if you use a gift card they send a new gift card.

 

The trick is to only place what you think you will spend.  If you need to add more, stop by the kiosk.

 

I normally will hit the casino on the last evening (even if what I have is refundable) and use the casino trick to cash out, as well as getting in my last few spins on the slots 🙂 

[BarbieGee]

On 9/25/2022 at 8:44 AM, rs45thompson said:

This is what I used to do to stay on budget.  However, if you don't spend it all I would stand in a long line at the end of the cruise to get my money back.  This was a pain and if I wanted a coffee in the morning or decided I wanted a drink later I couldn't.  That was enough to push me towards using a credit card.  They say that if you don't spend it all and you don't go to customer service they will send you a check.  I didn't trust it, didn't do it so don't know how or if that works. 

I agree, doing something that will help one's budget when on a cruise is very important. Using a credit card with a 'cash back' benefit is one way. Exploring other ways is why I would also use a gift card with a 10% discount, example: $500 Carnival gift card purchased for $450 = $50 savings + the 'cash back' cc benefit. Yeah, I'll go for that. 😁😁

I'm just hoping some super cruisers will post some good ideas for additional suggestions. And I've learned a LOT here!