Bank of America OBC

[KKB]

I got the NCL Bank of America credit card.

I will be able to redeem $350 OBC.

Am I able to use this OBC on gratuities or the casino?

(I have cruise w/ DD booked & one w/ DH booked--DD & I would be more likely to use it on spa or coffees...DH & I on casino charges!)

Thanks!

[ngrund]

You don't have to redeem points for OBC, you can redeem the points for cash.

 

Spend on the ship as you see fit, pay bill with the card, get more points.

 

Casino charges will get a 3% fee added to the bill (unless your casino status gets fees waived)

 

 

 

[Russiamomm]

2 minutes ago, ngrund said:

You don't have to redeem points for OBC, you can redeem the points for cash.

 

Spend on the ship as you see fit, pay bill with the card, get more points.

 

Casino charges will get a 3% fee added to the bill (unless your casino status gets fees waived)

 

 

 

I agree.  Do not redeem the points for OBC.  The best use of the points is usually to upgrade cabins, but if you cash them in it’s best to just take a a statement credit.  Charge your onboard spending to the card and get 3 points per dollar.

[REV_Cruiser]

Another vote for using the points for a statement credit.  Use the card for onboard charges, get the 3 points per dollar and use those too or save for the next time.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

OBC is the worst possible use of points,as the others have pointed out.

best use is cabin upgrade.  Check the difference in Inside rates vs ocean view.  30,000 points to go up one category or 60,000 for double upgrade.  Highest you can upgrade to is a BA.  You cannot upgrade from an X category, unless that’s changed recently.

use you CC onboard and receive 3 points/$ then get a statement credit for charges.  One way you get zero new points, the other you get triple points for your next redemption.

 

BTW, there is a sticky dedicated to the NCL M/C

Edited June 13, 2023 by MagnoliaBlossom

[KP@Sea]

1 hour ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

OBC is the worst possible use of points,as the others have pointed out.

best use is cabin upgrade.  Check the difference in Inside rates vs ocean view.  30,000 points to go up one category or 60,000 for double upgrade.  Highest you can upgrade to is a BA.  You cannot upgrade from an X category, unless that’s changed recently.

use you CC onboard and receive 3 points/$ then get a statement credit for charges.  One way you get zero new points, the other you get triple points for your next redemption.

 

BTW, there is a sticky dedicated to the NCL M/C

Just did this. We booked an OV for a 21 day Panama Canal voyage and used points to upgrade to a balcony. Only took about 10 minutes on the phone and saved over $2000

[KKB]

Yeah, original plan was to upgrade to balcony.

BUT ship is sold out...tho I made upgrade bids for less than $300 from INT to BALC.

The credit is a much better idea--thx!

[cb2367]

So, I had been thinking about an OBC but after reading this topic, it seems like I should use points for statement credit.

 

As for cabin upgrades, I'd love to do that but am concerned about the extra supplement charge. Currently booked for studio but I don't really think there's an upgrade that I could do without adding more cost (plus already inside of final payment timeframe).

[The Traveling Man]

20 hours ago, cb2367 said:

So, I had been thinking about an OBC but after reading this topic, it seems like I should use points for statement credit.

 

As for cabin upgrades, I'd love to do that but am concerned about the extra supplement charge. Currently booked for studio but I don't really think there's an upgrade that I could do without adding more cost (plus already inside of final payment timeframe).

MasterCard points upgrades work well for those who prefer a Balcony, but find an Inside or Ocean View acceptable.  They don't do much good for single passengers who usually travel in Studio cabins or for those whose idea of a "standard" stateroom in one of the smaller Haven suites.

[The Traveling Man]

On 6/13/2023 at 8:08 AM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

OBC is the worst possible use of points,as the others have pointed out.

best use is cabin upgrade.  Check the difference in Inside rates vs ocean view.  30,000 points to go up one category or 60,000 for double upgrade.  Highest you can upgrade to is a BA.  You cannot upgrade from an X category, unless that’s changed recently.

use you CC onboard and receive 3 points/$ then get a statement credit for charges.  One way you get zero new points, the other you get triple points for your next redemption.

 

BTW, there is a sticky dedicated to the NCL M/C

I agree.  You can cash in 10,000 points for $100 OBC or statement credit.  If you earned those points with purchases of NCL products or services, you had to spend $3333.33 to get $100 back.  That's a 3% reward.  If you used the card for non-NCL purchases, 10,000 points would require purchases of $10,000.  That's only a 1% reward.  If you use the card for cabin upgrades, though, the rate of return can be much, much more.  Suppose the price difference between Ocean View and Balcony staterooms on your cruise is $1200 per person.  It usually isn't that high, but if you're selective in picking your cruises, you can find a differential that high or even more.  It takes 30,000 points for an upgrade, so that means $10,000 spent with NCL.  Everyone in your stateroom gets the upgrade, though, not just the person with the MasterCard.  If you are traveling with your spouse, for instance, that's a savings of $2400 on expenditures of $10,000.  That's a 24% return.  Sure beats the heck out of the 3% you get for taking OBC or statement credit.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Well said, Traveling Man, but there are those who continue to crow about using their points for OBC.  I believe it is a testimony to the failure of schools to install a working knowledge of basic arithmetic.

[UKstages]

51 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Well said, Traveling Man, but there are those who continue to crow about using their points for OBC.  I believe it is a testimony to the failure of schools to install a working knowledge of basic arithmetic.

 

nope.

 

i use it for OBC (and statement credits) precisely because i've done the math.

 

i'm already comped into club balcony suites or the haven through CAS.

 

so, i can't use BOA points for upgrades.

 

and i only use the card for purchases on NCL, so i get 3% back and chiefly what i charge to my account are downloadable credits in the casino. my convenience charges of 3% are waived based on my casino status level. so, that's a 6% discount on CASH in a casino.

[ngrund]

12 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

nope.

 

i use it for OBC (and statement credits) precisely because i've done the math.

 

i'm already comped into club balcony suites or the haven through CAS.

 

so, i can't use BOA points for upgrades.

 

and i only use the card for purchases on NCL, so i get 3% back and chiefly what i charge to my account are downloadable credits in the casino. my convenience charges of 3% are waived based on my casino status level. so, that's a 6% discount on CASH in a casino.

Yes, for those that have comped cabins, the upgrade is not useful.

 

Myself, I'm always going to take the points as a deposit into my bank account. Only use the NCL card for NCL, anything else goes on other cards that have higher cash back amounts.

 

on another note, if you have enough $ in accounts with B of A and/or Merrill Lynch, the 3% becomes 5.25%

[The Traveling Man]

4 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Well said, Traveling Man, but there are those who continue to crow about using their points for OBC.  I believe it is a testimony to the failure of schools to install a working knowledge of basic arithmetic.

Thanks, but as I stated in post #9, the upgrade process only works well for passengers who prefer to travel in Inside, Ocean View, or Balcony staterooms.  If they sail in Studios or Suites, or if their room is comped by Casinos at Sea, Park West, or someone else, the upgrade benefit really doesn't help.  Unfortunately for them, the best rate of return they can get is 3%, or perhaps a bit more if they receive some form of matching funds.  For those who can take advantage of the upgrades, though, much higher rates of return are available.

[cb2367]

I kind of have to wonder about OBC and why potentially it's not a good option to consider.

 

Let's say you decide to book a last minute excursion or you know you might make some purchases onboard. Without the OBC those charges would be applied to the account with whatever card is used at check-in.. With the OBC though, those charges could be offset until you reach the end of the OBC.

 

What about an unplanned specialty dining or an unplanned specialty event on the ship that requires an extra cost?

[ngrund]

7 hours ago, cb2367 said:

I kind of have to wonder about OBC and why potentially it's not a good option to consider.

 

Let's say you decide to book a last minute excursion or you know you might make some purchases onboard. Without the OBC those charges would be applied to the account with whatever card is used at check-in.. With the OBC though, those charges could be offset until you reach the end of the OBC.

 

What about an unplanned specialty dining or an unplanned specialty event on the ship that requires an extra cost?

The only reason to choose OBC would be if you are not going to pay your cabin bill with the NCL card.

 

For example- you have $200 worth of points before the cruise:

 

1-Take $200 cash (statement credit or deposit into bank account),spend $200 on cruise-pay with NCL card, get bill for $200, get $6 worth of points.

 

or

 

2-take $200 on board credit, spend $200 on board.

 

The only "catch" would be that you would have to wait to accrue the minimum points again to redeem for cash, but you could, as I do, wait until after the cruise to cash out any points

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UKstages]

aye, the rub is if you only use your NCL BOA card for NCL purchases, and you pay your bill in full, your points are not available for redemption typically until after your billing cycle and payment is made. so you can’t really pay down the bill with points.

 

there is also a psychological factor at play… paying down your bill with a points redemption isn’t fun. having a few hundred dollars of mad money (“monopoly money”) to spend onboard is fun.

 

again, I already get comped cabins through CAS. If I didn’t, I’d be using points for upgrades, for sure. for me, though, it’s OBC over statement credits every time.

[ngrund]

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

there is also a psychological factor at play… paying down your bill with a points redemption isn’t fun. having a few hundred dollars of mad money (“monopoly money”) to spend onboard is fun.

 

 

Yes, that's why a lot of people do the OBC.

 

I don't bother taking a statement credit, I just pay the bill.

 

Whenever the points get applied, deposit into bank account-cash in the account is always fun

[hallux]

Having read the thread and reviewing my cruise history on NCL, I signed up for the card.  I'm planning a cruise for next year, so as soon as I get the card I could drop $1,000 of the fare onto the card and I instantly get the bonus points for signing up.  It's not going to be a cheap one, I may just bank the points to use towards my 2025 cruise though.

 

I'll still use other cards for some things (when they do bonus points categories, and both allow points usage directly on Amazon, I couldn't tell you the last time I fully paid for an Amazon order) but aside from that it will be the NCL card to build the points.  Funny aside - my parents sail on Princess and have a Princess CC, they had to have the roof on their house re-shingled and the roofer allowed them to use a CC, guess which one they used.  Talk about banking points...

[The Traveling Man]

16 hours ago, cb2367 said:

I kind of have to wonder about OBC and why potentially it's not a good option to consider.

 

Let's say you decide to book a last minute excursion or you know you might make some purchases onboard. Without the OBC those charges would be applied to the account with whatever card is used at check-in.. With the OBC though, those charges could be offset until you reach the end of the OBC.

 

What about an unplanned specialty dining or an unplanned specialty event on the ship that requires an extra cost?

Suppose you were a bit hungry and wanted a snack.  You come across a coin operated vending machine.  If you had some rare coins in your pocket which were worth hundreds of dollars each, would you drop then into the slot to satisfy your sweet tooth, or would you save them until you could exchange them somewhere for a better value?  As I noted in posts #9 and #14, so long as you would otherwise have to pay full fare for a Balcony but could pay significantly less for an Inside or Ocean View and use points to upgrade to a Balcony, why not use the points for their highest and best value?

[n4w]

7 hours ago, ngrund said:

Whenever the points get applied, deposit into bank account-cash in the account is always fun

 

What is the process by which this is accomplished?  Is it a phone call? or can it be done online?

[ngrund]

1 minute ago, n4w said:

 

What is the process by which this is accomplished?  Is it a phone call? or can it be done online?

I just do it online-

 

click the button "redeem points" you should see on the next screen tabs for your redemption options-gift cards-travel-cash

 

[ngrund]

Just now, ngrund said:

I just do it online-

 

click the button "redeem points" you should see on the next screen tabs for your redemption options-gift cards-travel-cash

 

I have it direct deposited to my checking account, but if you don't have a BAC bank account, you can request a check, I don't know if you can send direct deposit to another bank