Carnival Mastercard thoughts

[squierjosh]

I got this email. I've heard overall the card isn't great. But, if I do this introductory offer and buy $600 worth of AARP Carnival cards, I get $250 on board credit. Seems like a sneaky way to save some $$ one time. 

[hard_eight]

Can also save 10% on excursions and use points from cruises to pay on the bill.

 

Not great but, it's something! lol

[squierjosh]

5 minutes ago, hard_eight said:

Can also save 10% on excursions and use points from cruises to pay on the bill.

 

Not great but, it's something! lol

Every dollar counts these days. And every one of those dollars can be applied to something extra on vacation.

[teknoge3k]

I had this card for a minute but cancelled it. It's not a very good card at all imho.

[KarmaCruisers]

44 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

I had this card for a minute but cancelled it. It's not a very good card at all imho.

I agree; it’s not a great card..but if you go on a lot of cruises on CCL, it’s not horrible. (The 10% back on excursions)

I really only use it paying for cruises and on-board charges.

[squierjosh]

43 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

I agree; it’s not a great card..but if you go on a lot of cruises on CCL, it’s not horrible. (The 10% back on excursions)

I really only use it paying for cruises and on-board charges.

Do you get a discount for cruise fare?

[hapytobehr]

I have the card and the best thing about it is you get 6 months interest free for booking the cruise.  (bookings only)

 

 

 

 

[teknoge3k]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

I agree; it’s not a great card..but if you go on a lot of cruises on CCL, it’s not horrible. (The 10% back on excursions)

I really only use it paying for cruises and on-board charges.

 

If you do Carnival excursions and cruise exclusively with Carnival then it may be beneficial. I guess that's why it's not a great card for me. We would never do a cruise line excursion, and we cruise different cruise lines and not just Carnival. Plus we do a lot of travel outside of cruises also.

 

I use my Southwest card with Chase, and Hilton card with Amex exclusively. Those are my 2 main cards that I use for everything. If I buy a soda at the store, it goes on one of those cards. If I buy a new TV it goes on one of those cards. Plus Southwest has a browser plugin that helps earn points also, so when I order groceries each week and pay with my Southwest card, I earn double points. 

 

That way I earn points for free flights & free hotels when I travel and it's not exclusive to Carnival. The key to not only these cards but ANY credit card is to pay the balance in full at the end of each week/month. 

[simplelife]

46 minutes ago, squierjosh said:

Do you get a discount for cruise fare?

You get points which you can use for OBC or payment on a cruise.

[simplelife]

We use ours to pay for discretionary things that we would normally pay for using debit card (travelling, eating out, concerts) and pay it off in full each month. The points we earn are free money to apply to our OBC. We don't carry a balance, so the money IS free. 

Edited July 30 by simplelife

[MsTabbyKats]

I've has this card for a couple of years.  I forget the exact promo....but I got a nice credit after a couple of purchases.

Mine includes travel insurance (up to 3k) which is perfect for me.

I booked a ccl excursion a couple of days ago...not knowing about the 10% discount, so that was a pleasant surprise. 

When I booked a Princess cruise...I didn't know I'd get double points...another surprise.  And then I used my points towards gift cards.

So for me, it works....

[Badfinger]

They just want to get you in their maze chasing the cheese.  MC already has you spending $350 (600-250) that you probably were not even thinking about spending on things you did not even know you needed until you got this offer.  Sure, many here will trumpet all their rewards and how they pay off their cards each month...no interest, no annual fee, blah blah blah.  But the cold truth is pretty much what I stated above...rewards programs are enticements to get you to spend/overpay when you otherwise would not have.  Studies (even one from MIT) have shown how people buy more with a CC vs Cash as using a card doesn't hurt like using cash.  They are willing to overpay, or even compromise on what they purchase all for the sake of the mighty reward.   So Carnival is getting sales that they would not have otherwise, MC is collecting fees on every transaction (and if you pay interest...that is just a bonus), and your are going home with some lame tee shirts, photos with stupid backgrounds, or gold by the inch necklaces that you will never wear.  A win-win-lose proposition.  But yes, by all means, as a MC shareholder I absolutely encourage you to apply for the card.

[simplelife]

13 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I've has this card for a couple of years.  I forget the exact promo....but I got a nice credit after a couple of purchases.

Mine includes travel insurance (up to 3k) which is perfect for me.

I booked a ccl excursion a couple of days ago...not knowing about the 10% discount, so that was a pleasant surprise. 

When I booked a Princess cruise...I didn't know I'd get double points...another surprise.  And then I used my points towards gift cards.

So for me, it works....

Yes, double points for whatever you buy from carnival,

[teknoge3k]

58 minutes ago, Badfinger said:

rewards programs are enticements to get you to spend/overpay when you otherwise would not have.  Studies (even one from MIT) have shown how people buy more with a CC vs Cash as using a card doesn't hurt like using cash.  

 

While I agree with everything you said in your initial post, I will add that if you use whatever card(s) that reward you for your "regular" purchases and pay them off, you're just earning points for those same purchases vs a regular debit card. The key is to pay them off and not carry a balance. I am referring to gas, groceries, utility bills, etc. Not frivolous spending. You're earning points toward free stuff vs earning nothing, for the same things purchased. 

 

I don't use cash and haven't in probably 15-20 years but I can agree it's easier to tap and go with a card vs spending cash because you don't see it go "out of your pocket" at the point of sale. That said, many places are cashless with even more changing almost daily to completely cashless. I personally love that idea, but I know many are against it and I understand their reasoning. That's a whole other subject though...

[n6uqqq]

7 hours ago, squierjosh said:

I got this email. I've heard overall the card isn't great. But, if I do this introductory offer and buy $600 worth of AARP Carnival cards, I get $250 on board credit. Seems like a sneaky way to save some $$ one time. 

If you use Bank of America their customized cash rewards visa works well. You can get a 200  dollar bonus after spending $1000 in the first 90 days. You get 3 percent off of the category you choose. I have mine set for online purchases so I get 3 percent off 2500 dollars for each quarter. I buy the AARP gift cards for 10 percent off plus the additional 3 percent off for being an online purchase for a total off of 13 percent for my cruises and onboard spending. 

[marsh-angler]

8 hours ago, squierjosh said:

I got this email. I've heard overall the card isn't great. But, if I do this introductory offer and buy $600 worth of AARP Carnival cards, I get $250 on board credit. Seems like a sneaky way to save some $$ one time. 

I been having this card for over 15 years; the key is to pay the balance each month. I cash in my points for Carnival gift cards and then apply to my Sail and Sign account once on board. I works for me. 

[hard_eight]

I strictly use it for Carnival purchases, double points for fare and 1x for onboard spend along with the 10% excursion discount. Use the points to pay the bill. Works for us. 

[KarmaCruisers]

1 hour ago, n6uqqq said:

If you use Bank of America their customized cash rewards visa works well. You can get a 200  dollar bonus after spending $1000 in the first 90 days. You get 3 percent off of the category you choose. I have mine set for online purchases so I get 3 percent off 2500 dollars for each quarter. I buy the AARP gift cards for 10 percent off plus the additional 3 percent off for being an online purchase for a total off of 13 percent for my cruises and onboard spending. 

What BofA card is this?

I was recently in the market for a cash-back card I could use to buy AARP gift cards..best I could find was 2% with WF activecash…

[n6uqqq]

Just now, KarmaCruisers said:

What BofA card is this?

I was recently in the market for a cash-back card I could use to buy AARP gift cards..best I could find was 2% with WF activecash…

https://secure.bankofamerica.com/apply-credit-cards/public/icai-single/#/info/  

[n6uqqq]

My link may not work for you. Search for BofA customized cash rewards Visa.

[KarmaCruisers]

7 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

My link may not work for you. Search for BofA customized cash rewards Visa.

Thanks!

getting 13% back on my money; should allow me to at least minimize house-edge on slots.

[n6uqqq]

20 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Thanks!

getting 13% back on my money; should allow me to at least minimize house-edge on slots.

From your recent trip report it appears the Carnival slots are tighter than a drum. Good luck! 

[cmichael1221]

If you're truly interested in maximizing credit card rewards, check out 10x Travel or some of the other "Travel Hacking" groups out there.  If you fly or stay in hotels frequently, it's much better to focus your efforts there as opposed to a card like this, since the rewards are only applicable to Carnival.  

[vwrestler171]

I use it for the 10% off excursions, but other than that I use my Costco credit card that gives me 3% on ALL travel.  Not just 2% on Carnival like their card offers.

[squierjosh]

20 hours ago, Badfinger said:

They just want to get you in their maze chasing the cheese.  MC already has you spending $350 (600-250) that you probably were not even thinking about spending on things you did not even know you needed until you got this offer.  Sure, many here will trumpet all their rewards and how they pay off their cards each month...no interest, no annual fee, blah blah blah.  But the cold truth is pretty much what I stated above...rewards programs are enticements to get you to spend/overpay when you otherwise would not have.  Studies (even one from MIT) have shown how people buy more with a CC vs Cash as using a card doesn't hurt like using cash.  They are willing to overpay, or even compromise on what they purchase all for the sake of the mighty reward.   So Carnival is getting sales that they would not have otherwise, MC is collecting fees on every transaction (and if you pay interest...that is just a bonus), and your are going home with some lame tee shirts, photos with stupid backgrounds, or gold by the inch necklaces that you will never wear.  A win-win-lose proposition.  But yes, by all means, as a MC shareholder I absolutely encourage you to apply for the card.

Haha...Well I'm not going to use it for anything but buying the last few AARP gift cards I need for my upcoming cruise. Just enough to quality for the $250 on board credit. Then pay off and cancel the card.