Princess Credit Card!

[Plant]

I've seen that Princess (& Barclays) will be offering a credit card with "points" toward onboard credit, cruises, excursions, etc.

 

Does anyone see any downside to this card, of which I'm not aware?

 

I don't want to apply and find that I've been, umm, deceived :eek: .

[dforeigner]

I've seen that Princess (& Barclays) will be offering a credit card with "points" toward onboard credit, cruises, excursions, etc.

 

Does anyone see any downside to this card, of which I'm not aware?

 

I don't want to apply and find that I've been, umm, deceived :eek: .

 

Possibly with the fact that you have to buy a small house in order to get a free cruise (150,000 points I believe before you get 1 free cruise).:D

[dclark]

Chintzy point reward (!%) . It is a get it for the bonus points,use once and cancel card.

[chasetf]

Possibly with the fact that you have to buy a small house in order to get a free cruise (150,000 points I believe before you get 1 free cruise).:D

Is that one cruise or a cruise for a couple. Even for two, that does not sound like a very good benefit. I can take my cash back reward from another card and buy a couple of cruises.

[Romy40]

Probably the best thing about this card is when you whip it out to buy something, and the sale person goes, "Ooooooh!"

[dforeigner]

Is that one cruise or a cruise for a couple. Even for two, that does not sound like a very good benefit. I can take my cash back reward from another card and buy a couple of cruises.

 

Not sure:

 

Free Cruises - beginning at 150,000 points, with no blackout dates or capacity limits.

Cruise Discounts - card holders can redeem points for discounts ranging from $100 to $2,000 off Princess cruise fares

Air Travel Discounts - valid on any air travel, card holders can receive a credit when they book any flight

Special Occasion Packages - passengers can celebrate an anniversary, honeymoon, vow renewal or any special occasion with a choice of free packages, ranging from a Champagne Balcony Breakfast to a Grand Occasion Package

Cruise Merchandise - card holders can choose to receive onboard gifts such as Lotus Spa credits, a bottle of champagne, a bouquet from the onboard florist and many other options

Onboard Credits - passengers can reward themselves with onboard credits to be used for any onboard purchases, whether a romantic dinner at Sabatini's, an adventurous shore excursion or the ultimate souvenir from the onboard boutiques

 

http://www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na914

[Colo Cruiser]

Non of these cards ever give you something for free.

It takes a lot of money to gain a slight reward.

Just like they say nothing is for free. :)

 

 

The GMAC card was a perfect example, with a discount on the full retail price of a car. :rolleyes:

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Exactly, you are better off with a cash rewards card that you can put towards a cruise. You'll gain more this way.

[WannaCruise365]

I believe Dec 1st one can apply for the card..By the way,,any suggestions for a reward card..that doesn't have the double billing...You really have to read the fine print...Yes,,you do need to buy small home for a free cruise,,,but I actually did just earn one on RCI,and $600 OBC..key,,,use for eveytihng,,and pay off the bill MONTHLY..or you defeat the purpose...:) If your going to spend the $$,,and you have the means to pay off monthy..it can be "free"..otherwise forget about it!

[javalina]

I thought about getting the Princess card, but I had the Royal Car. card, and paid monthly for a couple years, late one payment (partner in the hospital for 2 months, for craps sake), and then got billed for 2 months of late payment fees instead of just one even though I had paid in full. That was their standard policy, and I couldn't talk them out of it on the phone. So I don't use it at all anymore. My bank card does not pull such scams, so I give that card all my business. As you all say, read all the fine print! Sorry, Princess.

[ccrain]

I've seen that Princess (& Barclays) will be offering a credit card with "points" toward onboard credit, cruises, excursions, etc.

 

Does anyone see any downside to this card, of which I'm not aware?

 

I don't want to apply and find that I've been, umm, deceived :eek: .

 

What's the match like? - 150,000 points for a cruise at a 1% match is charging $15,000,000 on your card. A cash back card at 1% would net you $150,000 or enough for MANY cruises. Even a 5% match on a Princess card would still cost $3,000,000 charged to your card or $30,000 cash back with a 1% match card - a much better deal.

 

Limit on points per period - watch out for cards that limit your point rewards in a given period. I use my reward card for reimbursable business expenses and every thing I can charge to it since it doesn't have a limit.

 

Yearly Fee - Can eat up your "freebies".

[ORV]

Non of these cards ever give you something for free.

It takes a lot of money to gain a slight reward.

Just like they say nothing is for free. :)

 

 

The GMAC card was a perfect example, with a discount on the full retail price of a car. :rolleyes:

 

Not true, I made the best deal I could with the car lot, (right at invoice) then let them know I had a GM card. Got the additional money off from there. Plus 0% interest for 6 years. It was no money out of the dealers pocket. Don't know where you got the idea it was only a discount off full retail.

[ORV]

What's the match like? - 150,000 points for a cruise at a 1% match is charging $15,000,000 on your card. A cash back card at 1% would net you $150,000 or enough for MANY cruises. Even a 5% match on a Princess card would still cost $3,000,000 charged to your card or $30,000 cash back with a 1% match card - a much better deal.

 

Limit on points per period - watch out for cards that limit your point rewards in a given period. I use my reward card for reimbursable business expenses and every thing I can charge to it since it doesn't have a limit.

 

Yearly Fee - Can eat up your "freebies".

 

I'm not very good at math but you might want to check your figures. I don't think they quite add up.

[johnmik1]

What's the match like? - 150,000 points for a cruise at a 1% match is charging $15,000,000 on your card. A cash back card at 1% would net you $150,000 or enough for MANY cruises. Even a 5% match on a Princess card would still cost $3,000,000 charged to your card or $30,000 cash back with a 1% match card - a much better deal.

 

Limit on points per period - watch out for cards that limit your point rewards in a given period. I use my reward card for reimbursable business expenses and every thing I can charge to it since it doesn't have a limit.

 

Yearly Fee - Can eat up your "freebies".

 

I read the Princess press release and can't find any mention of 1%.Am I missing something?Also,the 150,000 points could be for an extended cruise as it is not specified.Lastly,It does say that there is no annual fee.I plan on getting one myself.

[Oregon81]

What's the match like? - 150,000 points for a cruise at a 1% match is charging $15,000,000 on your card. A cash back card at 1% would net you $150,000 or enough for MANY cruises. Even a 5% match on a Princess card would still cost $3,000,000 charged to your card or $30,000 cash back with a 1% match card - a much better deal.

 

Sorry but your math is wrong! You don't have to spend $15 million, only $150 thousand.

 

$1 spent on the card equals 1 "Princess Point." So spending $150,000 will earn you a free cruise, but Princess says you can earn a cruise "beginning" at 150,000 points. I'll bet the beginning cruise is equivalent to a 7 day $500 interior cabin fare to Caribbean or Mexico.

 

I swear by the Southwest Airlines awards card. You get 1 round trip anywhere Southwest flies for spending $19,200. The legacy carriers require you to spend $25,000 for a domestic ticket, so I think Southwest is by far the airline credit card deal.

 

In the time needed to earn a free $1000 cruise for my wife and I, we could earn 7.5 Southwest award tickets which are easily worth $400+ if flying last minute or during peak periods. 7.5 awards is easily $3,000 in free air travel. Between flying Southwest and putting all of our spending on the card, my wife and I have earned 7 free tickets this year alone!

 

Unless 150,000 Princess Points earns you a really nice cruise worth at least $2,500, the Princess card is a big rip off. Regular airline cards are a much better deal!

 

What Princess should really do is make the Captains Circle actually worthwhile and give free cruises or decent discounts to frequent passengers. Maybe after every 10th cruise or so? Now that would keep me cruising with Princess!!!

[ccrain]

Sorry but your math is wrong! You don't have to spend $15 million, only $150 thousand.

 

$1 spent on the card equals 1 "Princess Point." So spending $150,000 will earn you a free cruise, but Princess says you can earn a cruise "beginning" at 150,000 points. I'll bet the beginning cruise is equivalent to a 7 day $500 interior cabin fare to Caribbean or Mexico.

 

I swear by the Southwest Airlines awards card. You get 1 round trip anywhere Southwest flies for spending $19,200. The legacy carriers require you to spend $25,000 for a domestic ticket, so I think Southwest is by far the airline credit card deal.

 

In the time needed to earn a free $1000 cruise for my wife and I, we could earn 7.5 Southwest award tickets which are easily worth $400+ if flying last minute or during peak periods. 7.5 awards is easily $3,000 in free air travel. Between flying Southwest and putting all of our spending on the card, my wife and I have earned 7 free tickets this year alone!

 

Unless 150,000 Princess Points earns you a really nice cruise worth at least $2,500, the Princess card is a big rip off. Regular airline cards are a much better deal!

 

What Princess should really do is make the Captains Circle actually worthwhile and give free cruises or decent discounts to frequent passengers. Maybe after every 10th cruise or so? Now that would keep me cruising with Princess!!!

 

I was using my Cabela's Card 1% credit at Cabela's for an example.

 

I agree with you on the air cards. Frontier's card is 15,000 points minimum R/T and some of United's can be had for 15k as well, but United has a point limit on earnings per year unless you are Premier Executive or 1k.

 

However, I do enough traveling in a year to get 6 or 7 free airline tickets and my HHonors points gets me 4 or 5 nights free, so I stay with a card that gives me the equivalent of cash back. Since I spend a lot at Cabela's each year, its like money in the bank.

 

If the Princess card offers some special extra perks for booking or using the card on Princess I might consider it depending on the cost of those little extras they seem to be teasing with. I'd go for some OBC for sure!

 

I just have to do the math when the actual offer comes out. I just hope I do it right this time.

[Colo Cruiser]

 

 

I got that idea from my GMAC CC, it was a waste. ;)