HAL Credit Card

[Hogladyrider]

Receiving lots of emails to entice me to sign up for HAL credit card.

 

Wondering if anyone here can chime in on pros and cons.

 

Currently we only have ONE cc and we pay that in full every month, Amazon CC for points.

 

We currently cruise all our cruises with HAL, we love the atmosphere and the smaller size of the ships.

Thanks in advance

Susan

[CNSJ]

The Holland America Credit Card does accrue HAL credit, but it's only 2% on HAL purchases and 1% on all else.  If you intend to only hold the Amazon card, the HAL card will give you more benefit when you pay for cruises.  If you cruise frequently, you should consider travel credit cards that provide as much as 3% or more return, plus a host of other travel benefits.  (Just google best travel credit cards to start).

 

With the hAL card....If you save up the points for higher redemptions you can get a pretty decent return.  Read the fine print!

 

Combine cc points with AARP gift cards and you can save us much as 12% or more.

 

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by CNSJ

[wdw1972]

I also had only one credit card (other than Target & Kohl's) and never carry a balance - always pay in full.  When the HAL offer came I applied, mainly because it makes sense to have a second card in case your primary card gets compromised and you become cardless while waiting for the replacement card to arrive, and also because I hope to cruise to Norway some year and my existing card charges a fee for foreign transactions (the HAL card does not).  Well, despite having near perfect credit, I was declined instantly.  It made no sense.  A couple months later I had an offer from Capital One, applied and was given $10k credit instantly.  This one has zero foreign transaction fees, and had a $200 cash back if you charged $500 in the first 90 days.  I bought 5 discounted $500 HAL gift cards from AARP and within a couple days had the $200 in my account.  Every transaction I make generates a notification saying "transaction from "vendor" is approved" so I'll know instantly if someone tries to use my card.  I even had an email asking if I really meant to tip 51% at a recent restaurant (yes I did - part of the payment was a gift card, so the tip was based on the original amount but was 51% of what was left).  I've been very impressed with Capital One so far.  Barclay's (HAL card) - not so much 😉

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Hogladyrider]

Thanks for your replies.....I do purchase AARP gift cards...used them to pay for our Hawaii cruise and saved a good chuck of change!

 

I will definitely look into travel credit cards, thanks again!

[mcrcruiser]

imo Vest travel credit card is the Chase Sapphire credit card between the $800 bonus & Free Trip cancellation & interruption  & baggage insurance ,it is a dandy for us older folks .We then got Allianz Travel insurance for med vac & medical  plus other coverages very reasonable ccost packages . The Allianz insurance one buys is for the entire year not just cruises but land & air trips as well 

 

 When going long distance cruises into foreign lands   ,it would be best to carry a yearly plan with med jet assist in the event a person gets ill or gas a accident & is in a foreign hospital & wants to get home

Edited July 23, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[mcrcruiser]

We will be getting that HAL credit card place only orders for AARP   discounted    Holland America gift cards & saver more like another 12%  .Initially the  $200  gift after spending $500 in 80 days  we use as on board  credit to offset the gratuities  .We also buy for only a very short time the 100 CC:L stock  shares to get the other $250  on board credit  on our 14 say & longer cruises  ,under  that to 7 days is only $100 OBC 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

28 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We will be getting that HAL credit card place only orders for AARP   discounted    Holland America gift cards & saver more like another 12%  .Initially the  $200  gift after spending $500 in 80 days  we use as on board  credit to offset the gratuities  .We also buy for only a very short time the 100 CC:L stock  shares to get the other $250  on board credit  on our 14 say & longer cruises  ,under  that to 7 days is only $100 OBC 

With buying AARP HAL Gift cards you will only get 1% credit with the HAL Credit card. Gift cards for Holland America purchased through AARP and or the web site Holland America refers you to to purchase gift cards you are not purchasing them from Holland America. 

As others have said there are far better Travel Credit cards available that give you so much more. Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire are two of the best. I got rid of my HAL credit card about 12 years ago. 

[Hogladyrider]

One thing to consider with any cc is the annual fee.

 

Right now we do not travel and/or cruise enough to warrant a $395 to $500 year annual fee.

[shippmates]

I recommend either a Capital One or Discover Card for travel.  Neither charge a foreign transaction fee and have no annual fee.  I take the cash back option and safe it until a nice amount and use it to pay for my cruises.  Discover rewards can be used on Amazon and Amazon gives you a bonus for using the cash reward option.

[Sea42]

19 minutes ago, shippmates said:

I recommend either a Capital One or Discover Card for travel.  Neither charge a foreign transaction fee and have no annual fee.  I take the cash back option and safe it until a nice amount and use it to pay for my cruises.  Discover rewards can be used on Amazon and Amazon gives you a bonus for using the cash reward option.

But it can be difficult, in some countries, to find somewhere that accepts Discover.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Sea42

[mcrcruiser]

Credit  card fees are nothing if you are saving hundreds to thousands  on the cost of  travel insurance policies . We once bought  separate policies for each cruise from web sites like Insuremytrip.com & squaremouth.com  ;but ,especially when you become 70 years old & over the insurance premiums are quire high .  The Chase Sapphire credit card will cover the vast majority of cruise prices & ;land  trips  for the trip cancellation & trip interruption portion as well as baggage insurance .Then we went to Allianz travel Insurance to get a yearly plan pf insurance for all travel trips that covers medical  m medical evacuation  ,car rentals & some other coverages .

 

 What is very very important id yo understand clearly that  the medical evacuation will only get you to a medical facility that is equipped to handle   your case .Lets  say that you are thousands of miles from home * in a foreign hospital near a major airport & you want to come home the med vac will  NOT get you home .You must own a policy like Med Jet Assist which will take you by ambulance to a special medical jet  with a doctor nurse ,pilot & co pilot. patient & one companion or spouse ,.With out that type of insurance ,the cost to get home from a bed in a foreign hospital is in the 6 figure range .. If you cannot board a   common carrier jet on your own you can not get home with out that insurance or paying over $100.000.00 

 Also be very aware that foreign hospitals will  NOT accept insurance ,so have a credit card with ah high line of credit with you at all times or more than one credit card with high limits. In 2008 I was hospitalised in Rome Italy   to get into the Rome American hospital   they said $15000  & there was no surgery , Just one day intensive care & 2 days follow up in a semi private room  .

fortunately ,it was very high blood pressure that they got back to a normal range & we could dly back on a common carrier get after the 3 days in that hospital  & I was  69 teas old at that time

  I was also in a public Rome hospital before the private hospital .Believe me you would not want want I went through at that place & litterally beds were in public areas with patients .Definitely not a good thing .Another thing to be aware of in foreign lands there are no guarantees they speak fluent english 

 

Good Lick yo us all 

[aledomom]

I had no idea about the $500 gift card for $450 through AARP.  So you just buy those and then turn around and apply it towards your cruise?  Right now we have a 14 day Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise booked for next June that I'm paying down.  That could be significant savings for us.

[Hogladyrider]

5 minutes ago, aledomom said:

I had no idea about the $500 gift card for $450 through AARP.  So you just buy those and then turn around and apply it towards your cruise?  Right now we have a 14 day Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise booked for next June that I'm paying down.  That could be significant savings for us.

Yes this is correct!  Limited to 5 cards per month per member purchase.  I have been very happy with paying for my cruise this way.  Simply contact your TA with the gift card # and pin number and they apply it or contact the cruise line directly if that is how you booked.

[aledomom]

Thanks!

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

12 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

One thing to consider with any cc is the annual fee.

 

Right now we do not travel and/or cruise enough to warrant a $395 to $500 year annual fee.

You are correct it all depends on how much you travel. It's not a bad card for someone who does one 7 day cruise a year.

[mcrcruiser]

3 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

You are correct it all depends on how much you travel. It's not a bad card for someone who does one 7 day cruise a year.

The Chase Sapphire credit card  has a $95  yearly fee .We took out the card for Hawaii cruise & placed a $4000 down on the cruise initially ,That $4000 satisfied Chase  requirement in 90s=days ,Because we did that we got 80,000  bonus points  ,That 80,000  bonus points converted to $600 in our pockets .What is wrong with that ?   Come on people it makes perfect sense to get the best cash deals & simultaneously get free trip insurance  for trip cancellation ,trip interruption &  baggage coverages . Then get a Allianz yearly travel ins policy  like I said above  .But ,if people want to spend  big insurance fees for short trips &then no more value ,well we all make our own decisions

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

7 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

The Chase Sapphire credit card  has a $95  yearly fee .We took out the card for Hawaii cruise & placed a $4000 down on the cruise initially ,That $4000 satisfied Chase  requirement in 90s=days ,Because we did that we got 80,000  bonus points  ,That 80,000  bonus points converted to $600 in our pockets .What is wrong with that ?   Come on people it makes perfect sense to get the best cash deals & simultaneously get free trip insurance  for trip cancellation ,trip interruption &  baggage coverages . Then get a Allianz yearly travel ins policy  like I said above  .But ,if people want to spend  big insurance fees for short trips &then no more value ,well we all make our own decisions

We have the Chase Reserve  which in our case makes sense because of the number of days we cruise.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, aledomom said:

I had no idea about the $500 gift card for $450 through AARP.  So you just buy those and then turn around and apply it towards your cruise?  Right now we have a 14 day Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise booked for next June that I'm paying down.  That could be significant savings for us.

 

Trip insurance does not reimburse to gift cards. If you need to change plans for a reason covered by trip insurance, the gift cards would become worthless. This includes the policies offered by chase/Am express as part of the credit card benefit.

 

I use the gift cards, but only for things that I would be reimbursed for in the event I needed to cancel. Example, gift cards are great for gratuities. If you don't show up on the cruise for whatever reason, that amount could be refunded to the gift card. I also use gift cards to purchase On board credit. I do not use gift cards to pay cruise fare.

 

Gift cards are great, but know their limits. 

Edited July 23, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[aledomom]

16 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Trip insurance does not reimburse to gift cards. If you need to change plans for a reason covered by trip insurance, the gift cards would become worthless. This includes the policies offered by chase/Am express as part of the credit card benefit.

 

I use the gift cards, but only for things that I would be reimbursed for in the event I needed to cancel. Example, gift cards are great for gratuities. If you don't show up on the cruise for whatever reason, that amount could be refunded to the gift card. I also use gift cards to purchase On board credit. I do not use gift cards to pay cruise fare.

 

Gift cards are great, but know their limits. 

Thanks for your input.  My husband and I were just having that conversation.  We did agree that on a 14-day cruise we know we will do Rudi's at least once, unlimited dry cleaning, maybe get 2 massages each, etc.  We will purchase them to cover on board purchases.

[aledomom]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

The Chase Sapphire credit card  has a $95  yearly fee .We took out the card for Hawaii cruise & placed a $4000 down on the cruise initially ,That $4000 satisfied Chase  requirement in 90s=days ,Because we did that we got 80,000  bonus points  ,That 80,000  bonus points converted to $600 in our pockets .What is wrong with that ?   Come on people it makes perfect sense to get the best cash deals & simultaneously get free trip insurance  for trip cancellation ,trip interruption &  baggage coverages . Then get a Allianz yearly travel ins policy  like I said above  .But ,if people want to spend  big insurance fees for short trips &then no more value ,well we all make our own decisions

Totally agree with you.  I play the cash back game with cards.  I currently have a Chase Visa simply because it is paying 5% on the first $12,000 in groceries in the first year.  $0 yearly fee.  I'll cancel when we hit $12,000 because my other card pays better Cash Back.

 

[BermudaBound2014]

27 minutes ago, aledomom said:

Thanks for your input.  My husband and I were just having that conversation.  We did agree that on a 14-day cruise we know we will do Rudi's at least once, unlimited dry cleaning, maybe get 2 massages each, etc.  We will purchase them to cover on board purchases.

 

You are most welcome.

 

For clarity: I should add that I'm referencing US policy. I don't want to forget about my neighbors in other countries. YMMV

[FlaMariner]

On 7/22/2023 at 6:46 PM, Hogladyrider said:

Receiving lots of emails to entice me to sign up for HAL credit card.

 

Wondering if anyone here can chime in on pros and cons.

 

 

We've had the Barclays Card for many years.  

 

We no longer use it. 

 

Why?

 

Cons:

Our Bank of America Premium Rewards cards pays us a much higher "rebate" and has much better travel insurance

 

The HAL card gives you 2% in points for HAL purchases and 1% for other purchases.  Not that great. 

For redemption, the top rate is 2.5% ($4,001 + in a HAL cruise).  Not great either.

 

Pros:

Easy to redeem w/the "statement credit" option.

No annual fee. 

 

We wish HAL would dust off the offering and make it more competitive.  If so, we would be all over it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by FlaMariner

[Hogladyrider]

Thanks to all for everyone's replies.

 

We won't be jumping on any new cc's offers anytime  soon.

 

It is definitely best to do your homework before jumping in with both feet!

[VermeulT]

HAL's card through Barclays isn't what it used to be. It was better in earning points and WAY better in redeeming points.

If you are considering a card - yes the generic travel cards like Chase Sapphire card offer great benefits.  Currently I am trying to decide what airline I will book to go to Alaska next June.  It will either be Delta or Alaska as they both go direct from ATL.  On top of the sign up bonus of enough points to get one person's ticket free, with the card you don't pay for luggage. I'll sign up for the card, earn the points and spend through the Spring, use the free luggage on our trip and then cancel the card before the annual fee is due.

[Susanmaz]

We have had the HAL card since 2008. Never had an annual fee. We use our reward points for air flights or hotels ( our May cruise we stayed at the Pan Pacific in Vancouver for no cost). It’s our main use credit card, so we are always accumulating reward points - double points for Holland America charges. We pay it off every month. Works for us.