NCL Mastercard FAQ

[mag19]

How many points did they say a single meta upgrade is now? What number did you call?

 

Sorry I have not had a chance to call them yet my cruise isn't until February of 2020 so I figured I'd probably wait a little bit longer I was just trying to gather some information

 

 

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[karinad]

I'm new to this game of upgrading with points. I have the cruises down to 2 of them. Both of the cruises look like there's only a difference of $200-$250. from OV to balcony. Even from Inside to OV, not a big difference. Of course, times 2 people it is, at least, a total of $400. So, I guess that it's still better then taking a credit.

 

I will go through a TA to get a better deal. Do I ask them to do this or must I book it with NCL directly and then transfer? What category do I look at to go from Inside to OV or OV to Balcony or is every ship or cruise different?:confused::confused::confused:

[fstuff1]

What category do I look at to go from Inside to OV or OV to Balcony or is every ship or cruise different?:confused::confused::confused:

i think it's has to be the same category.

ie: ic to oc, or oc to bc

 

note: if you're going for a balcony, get an angled balcony if Breakaway class ships.

 

also, i think going from inside to ov only gets you 1 perk.

your promo level stays at your original booking?

[fstuff1]

what cabin to get if you want to do the 10k points '2 category upgrade' to spa balcony (b9)?

bb balcony?

Edited May 30, 2018 by fstuff1

[my3sonsnj]

what cabin to get if you want to do the 10k points '2 category upgrade' to spa balcony (b9)?

bb balcony?

 

 

 

It depends on the ship so it is best to call before booking to get the information directly. Otherwise chances are you will not book the specific category needed.

[peg013]

what cabin to get if you want to do the 10k points '2 category upgrade' to spa balcony (b9)?

bb balcony?

I wanted to make sure I could get the Deck 10, B1 on the Jewel so I called Worldpoints/NCL to ask and they ended up booking me into a B3 (which is what I thought I would need to book) and did the 10,000 point upgrade to a B1 right away. I got the cabin I wanted on Deck 10 and saved $1100.00. Alaska is expensive but I had to have an aft balcony and I got it! If I get a chance to bid on an upgrade it will only be for the a forward or aft suite as I want the 180+ view for Alaska. Now I just have to decide if I want to leave the booking with NCL or transfer it to a TA for more perks. I'm half afraid they might screw it up transferring it so may leave it alone for once.

 

I would call them to make sure you book the right category. That is the safest thing to do.

[mscdivina2016]

I wanted to make sure I could get the Deck 10, B1 on the Jewel so I called Worldpoints/NCL to ask and they ended up booking me into a B3 (which is what I thought I would need to book) and did the 10,000 point upgrade to a B1 right away. I got the cabin I wanted on Deck 10 and saved $1100.00. Alaska is expensive but I had to have an aft balcony and I got it! If I get a chance to bid on an upgrade it will only be for the a forward or aft suite as I want the 180+ view for Alaska. Now I just have to decide if I want to leave the booking with NCL or transfer it to a TA for more perks. I'm half afraid they might screw it up transferring it so may leave it alone for once.

 

I would call them to make sure you book the right category. That is the safest thing to do.

 

Wow you got an aft? Thats unheard of now. You should NOT be able to bid because you used points, but you were not supposed to gat an aft either. Good for you!

 

Transfer is easy, just print out form, fill in and email to NCL. Nothing to screw up!! Just do it within 30 days of booking.

I recently saved $5900 on an inside to Balcony cabin and got 5 perks as well. For those wondering, it was a 30 night distinctive Voyage cruise doing South America.

 

Steve

[peg013]

Wow you got an aft? Thats unheard of now. You should NOT be able to bid because you used points, but you were not supposed to gat an aft either. Good for you!

 

Transfer is easy, just print out form, fill in and email to NCL. Nothing to screw up!! Just do it within 30 days of booking.

I recently saved $5900 on an inside to Balcony cabin and got 5 perks as well. For those wondering, it was a 30 night distinctive Voyage cruise doing South America.

 

Steve

I would not have known I could upgrade into an aft if it wasn't posted right here on this thread. It will be interesting to see if we can bid or not (I'm fine if we can't) ...because I have a friend who just did the WorldPoint upgrade from OV to Balcony in March 2018 and was able to bid and she booked with a TA.

 

AFAIK transfers now have to be initiated by the travel agent you wish to transfer to unlike how we used to do it in the past with the cruiser initiating it with info supplied by the TA (agent name & number, address etc).

[mscdivina2016]

I would not have known I could upgrade into an aft if it wasn't posted right here on this thread. It will be interesting to see if we can bid or not (I'm fine if we can't) ...because I have a friend who just did the WorldPoint upgrade from OV to Balcony in March 2018 and was able to bid and she booked with a TA.

 

AFAIK transfers now have to be initiated by the travel agent you wish to transfer to unlike how we used to do it in the past with the cruiser initiating it with info supplied by the TA (agent name & number, address etc).

 

I just did the paper transfer 3 weeks ago. Its called "Direct guest reservation transfer form"

 

Steve

[fstuff1]

AFAIK transfers now have to be initiated by the travel agent you wish to transfer to unlike how we used to do it in the past with the cruiser initiating it with info supplied by the TA (agent name & number, address etc).

so to get the 3% on the ncl credit card for ncl cruises, you have to book through ncl 1st, then transfer to TA?

booking through a TA wont get you the 3%?

[TifffanyD]

so to get the 3% on the ncl credit card for ncl cruises, you have to book through ncl 1st, then transfer to TA?

booking through a TA wont get you the 3%?

 

Booking with a TA will get you the 3% provided the charges come directly from NCL. Though, really, you shouldn't use a TA where this isn't the case.

[peg013]

so to get the 3% on the ncl credit card for ncl cruises, you have to book through ncl 1st, then transfer to TA?

booking through a TA wont get you the 3%?

As long as your statement shows NCL as the Payee you get the 3 points per $1. I have always gotten credit when booking through my TA as my TA pays NCL with my CC and does not charge me and then use the agency CC to pay NCL. A reputable travel agent uses your card to pay NCL directly. You don't want one that doesn't anyway.

Edited June 1, 2018 by peg013
Sorry, I didn't see the response above when I posted or I wouldn't have repeated the same info. It was on my next page.

[fstuff1]

if you only plan on using 10k points (ie: the sign up bonus), then going from b3 (family balcony) to b1 (aft balcony) is the best bang for the buck.

 

hm.. Bliss doesnt have a b3 category. :o so this wont work on that ship.

incidentally, Escape does have a b3 category.

 

not sure if there's any best uses at 20k point level. (4 category upgrade within the same meta.)

10k more points for 2 additional category upgrade within the same meta seems meh.

i dont think it's worth using the 20k point benefit.

 

the free 10k points at sign up is effortless.

you gota put in some effort to get to 20k.

 

if you're going to do 20k points, might as well do 30k points and get the meta upgrade.

ov to angled balcony seem to be best bang for the buck at 30k point level?

 

oh.. and for all, do a back to back, or even b2b2b+.

 

what are you thoughts about best uses of points at various levels?

[TifffanyD]

I do the cross meta upgrade from oceanview to balcony. This way I still get the 2 perks and being in a balcony gives me the option to upgrade bid on suites.

[peg013]

if you only plan on using 10k points (ie: the sign up bonus), then going from b3 (family balcony) to b1 (aft balcony) is the best bang for the buck.

 

hm.. Bliss doesnt have a b3 category. :o so this wont work on that ship.

incidentally, Escape does have a b3 category.

 

Which is why you must call to find out which category you must book to upgrade to a B1 - it is different on different ships. On the Jewel it is a B3, YMMV

[my3sonsnj]

 

hm.. Bliss doesnt have a b3 category. :o so this wont work on that ship.

I used 10,000 points on an upcoming cruise on the Bliss to get to a B1. I had to book a B8 to get to the B1.

 

I strongly recommend calling the NCL world points number prior to booking in order to figure out which category needs to be booked to end where you want to be after using your points. Every ship has the option to do a 2 category within meta upgrade but the categories are not the same on every ship.

[moonjelly]

Hello everyone,

I confess to not having read the entire thread:D, but did search for my question and did not see it in the results.

 

 

 

Regarding my upcoming European NCL Breakaway cruise, I know the NCL Mastercard charges foreign transaction fees. I would like to charge my onboard expenses (service charge, drinks, excursions, etc) to my NCL credit card, for the bonus points on NCL. HOWEVER, I do not want to do so if they will be billed as foreign transactions and therefore incur the foreign transaction fees.

 

 

So, my question is, are onboard purchases on NCL in Europe billed through a European country, or through Miami or some other US location? Did you pay foreign transaction fees when putting the onboard expenses for your Europe cruise on your NCl Mastercard?

 

 

I accidentally used this card to purchase my icelandair tickets and that was a big oversight.~$150 in transaction fees for the 4 of us.

 

Thank you!

Edited June 6, 2018 by moonjelly

[mscdivina2016]

Miami. I just got back from a long Asia trip on NCL. No extra fees

Steve

 

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[moonjelly]

Thanks Steve, I appreciate it!

Julie

[juls1964]

Hi Fellow Cruisers

Does anyone know if this card will ever be available in the UK please Thanks juls

[JoanieBlon]

Without spending hours gleaning through this thread, can anyone here with experience in redeeming NCL Mastercard points tell me:

 

What sort of upgrade can I get using 30,000 points? I am thinking a 2 category upgrade, but I am not sure about that. BTW ~ what, exactly, is a Mega double-cross upgrade? Sounds like a voodoo spell! :cool:

 

Are there any specific upgrades available at 40,000 points? I know I could get a 30k upgrade and $100 in onboard credit, but that doesn't seem like the best way to use points.

 

I am currently at almost 30k points total for my card and have to make the decision to keep using it to get more points, or to switch back to using my Delta AmEx card and/or my United Visa card for point accumulation.

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and assistance! :)

[fstuff1]

Without spending hours gleaning through this thread, can anyone here with experience in redeeming NCL Mastercard points tell me:

 

What sort of upgrade can I get using 30,000 points? I am thinking a 2 category upgrade, but I am not sure about that. BTW ~ what, exactly, is a Mega double-cross upgrade? Sounds like a voodoo spell! :cool:

 

Are there any specific upgrades available at 40,000 points? I know I could get a 30k upgrade and $100 in onboard credit, but that doesn't seem like the best way to use points.

 

I am currently at almost 30k points total for my card and have to make the decision to keep using it to get more points, or to switch back to using my Delta AmEx card and/or my United Visa card for point accumulation.

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and assistance! :)

30k points = 1 upgrade in class of cabin

 

ie: from inside to ov, or ov to balcony

 

ov to balcony is best value.

not only do you get 2 promo choices but balconies also cost more.

get an angled balcony if you're doing a Breakaway class ship.

 

if you get inside, you only get 1 promo choice even if you upgrade to ov.

your promo is locked to the original cabin class.

 

if you're close to 30k points, stick with it to get to that magical level!

[Clay Clayton]

And the meta double cross takes 60k points and lets you move from an inside to a balcony.

 

 

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[my3sonsnj]

Without spending hours gleaning through this thread, can anyone here with experience in redeeming NCL Mastercard points tell me:

 

What sort of upgrade can I get using 30,000 points? I am thinking a 2 category upgrade, but I am not sure about that. BTW ~ what, exactly, is a Mega double-cross upgrade? Sounds like a voodoo spell! :cool:

 

Are there any specific upgrades available at 40,000 points? I know I could get a 30k upgrade and $100 in onboard credit, but that doesn't seem like the best way to use points.

 

I am currently at almost 30k points total for my card and have to make the decision to keep using it to get more points, or to switch back to using my Delta AmEx card and/or my United Visa card for point accumulation.

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and assistance! :)

 

link to the ncl worldpoints program: https://www.ncl.com/world-points

[JoanieBlon]

link to the ncl worldpoints program: https://www.ncl.com/world-points

Thanks. I have been looking for that chart. I am already almost to 40,000 after paying off our upcoming cruise. I thought I got TWO points for NCL purchases, but discovered I got THREE! Just got my new point statement yesterday. :D