Crystal Cruises is not a Cruise Line or a travel company??

[cruisr]

Mastercard, Visa, Discover and Amex are the ones who set the MCC which is the Merchant Category Code.  They each have their own system of coding.  For example, if I buy something at a 7-11 with a gas station Visa codes this as a Gas Station and Amex codes it as a convenience store.  i need to know this to maximize benefits and credit crd multipliers.

 

Visa (which the Altitude Card is) classifies cruise lines under code 4411.  Its pretty interesting reading, and I haven’t read it in a while but here is the April,2023 update on VISA MCCs.  Page 50 and 51 reference Steamships and Cruiseships which are coded as  4411 but they fall under the broader category 4722 which are tour operators so US Bank is simply looking at the rules for the MCC coding and giving you 1x points.  That being said I checked my last Crystal purchase with CSR card and I use that card because they code it as 4411 under steamships and cruiselines and I get a 3x multiplier.  The OP may have a case as to why US Bank uses the MCC as tour operators for cruiselines when Chase uses the MCC for steamships and cruiselines.  So there is some wiggle room in which MCC the issuing bank ( US Bank, Chase, Barclays, etc) wish to utilize these codes.  If it were me I would fight for the extra multipliers.   Most likely you will not win and if you read the T and C and all the fine print that you received when you got the card I believe there is wording about the issuing bank has the right to code transactions as they see fit.

 

The link is to the manual which is over 100 pages
 

https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/visa-merchant-data-standards-manual.pdf

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 minutes ago, cruisr said:

The link is to the manual which is over 100 pages

The Citi Costco Visa card specifically mentions cruise lines as an example for the 3x travel category, so I think this is USBank playing games.  If they won't reverse this ruling, I would replace the USBank card with another one that offers 3x on cruises and doesn't play games [or ask USBank to switch the card to their free Altitude GO card and use it only for 4% back at restaurants] 

[cruisr]

Yes, that was my point in my overly long post.  US Bank is choosing to classify cruiselines as a category that would not pay out at a 5x multiplier.