fllady61 Posted February 14, 2009 #1 Share Posted February 14, 2009 My heading says it all. We are considering getting a Carnival Credit card, and we were wondering how many points you need to book a cruise? and how many points per dollar you get with the card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendaB1 Posted February 14, 2009 #2 Share Posted February 14, 2009 You would probably get a better answer asking the credit card company. Some make like it but many people have posted here about how unhappy they were with the card & points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly333 Posted February 14, 2009 #3 Share Posted February 14, 2009 The RCL card is better because you can book with any TA and still get those perks and then call RCL to apply the points. I had $300 taken off my final payment of my Voyager cruise. With the Carnival card I hear you have to book thru only a certain TA, not your own. I cruise both lines, but got the RCL VISA card instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzman Posted February 14, 2009 #4 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Trust me, you do NOT want that card. It is a total rip off. Just search the board using key word "seamiles" and you will get a ton of hits; about 90% of the comments are negative! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted February 15, 2009 #5 Share Posted February 15, 2009 http://www.seamiles.com. Check out what you need as far as points go. There are two credit cards, one is Carnival, the other just SeaMiles. Read the fine print. EM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doe326 Posted February 15, 2009 #6 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I just booked a cruise for two. I was short some points and it cost me an additional $70+ to get a 5 day "free" cruise the charge was for an upgrade). We got the card in 2006 and just now had enough points for a free cruise. And believe that card gets well used! I will say the person I spoke to, to make reservations was very professional and helpful. Once we take this cruise we are looking for a card that we get cash back. If I were you I would look around and see what other cards are available. This one isn't the greatest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habby Posted February 15, 2009 #7 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I just booked a cruise for two. I was short some points and it cost me an additional $70+ to get a 5 day "free" cruise the charge was for an upgrade). We got the card in 2006 and just now had enough points for a free cruise. And believe that card gets well used! I will say the person I spoke to, to make reservations was very professional and helpful. Once we take this cruise we are looking for a card that we get cash back. If I were you I would look around and see what other cards are available. This one isn't the greatest. Similar situation here except we're paying $400 for a 7-day cruise, with a balcony. Prompt friendly service for booking. Not going to use this card again unless absolutely necessary. (especially after getting a letter that the interest rate will now be 30%, which really shouldn't matter since it gets paid off) Now using a card that gives us CASH. To answer the OPs question, it takes too many points to get a free cruise. You get 1 point for every dollar in purchases, and 2 points per dollar for using it for cruise fare and anything on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fllady61 Posted February 15, 2009 Author #8 Share Posted February 15, 2009 thanks for the info. I will check into it. one more question... with the RCCL card, is it only RCCL cruises you can take? or can you take any cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzman Posted February 15, 2009 #9 Share Posted February 15, 2009 thanks for the info. I will check into it. one more question... with the RCCL card, is it only RCCL cruises you can take? or can you take any cruise? Excuse me mam, but understand that neither the RCCI or the Seamiles card are anywhere near the best reward card. Get one that offers you a CASH reward that you can spend any old way that you wish. Google "rewards credit cards" and there are a ton of them that are better than these cruise rewards cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieastrosfan Posted February 15, 2009 #10 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Using 88k miles, I got $707 off a 4-day cruise for 3 in a 6D on the Ecstasy. I'll continue to use the card for Carnival purchases just to keep it active, but that's about the only use it gets now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGP1111 Posted February 15, 2009 #11 Share Posted February 15, 2009 My heading says it all. We are considering getting a Carnival Credit card, and we were wondering how many points you need to book a cruise? and how many points per dollar you get with the card? Penny: I hope this link will work properly for you, as it should take you directly to the page for the rewards program details. As others are saying about "read the fine print", I'm going to echo that statement, and suggest you look at the very bottom of the page before reading any of the large details that want to draw your eyes. Things such as 'Based On Double Occupancy', meaning what you read there (as well as what they spiel onboard the ships) about the points system is actually half of what you need. Seems rather deceptive. I do have the card, and I have already taken *free* (?) cruises, and will be booking one final sailing through SeaMiles, and then getting rid of the card. Going to go with a cash-rewards card next time. https://www.seamiles.com/ITGUpload/flashimage/SeaMiles_PTandC.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHP Posted February 15, 2009 #12 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Just be aware that to use the points on this card, you MUST use their booking service. We have had the Carnival card (in one of its various forms) since day one and we finally cancelled it after we used the rest of our points. I won't go into great detail but they lied to us. We have cruised with Carnival for 26+ years, so we know what we are doing. And when someone tries to tell me that cruise insurance is REQUIRED and actually charges it to our credit card without our permission (or even asking us if we want it)...then these are people I do not want to do business with. It is run by ICE....the same people that fouled the Carnival Vacation Club program and I will never deal with them again. Another point is that there are MUCH BETTER programs out there for folks who are looking for a "Rewards Card". We use American Express Blue Sky. No restrictions...no blackout dates....easy to use....7,500 points gets us $100.00 and we can book through whomever we please. And the best part was they gave us 30,000 points ($400.00) to join!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc&lnc Posted February 15, 2009 #13 Share Posted February 15, 2009 The best card I have found is the Schwab Visa which returns a flat 2% into a joined Schwab brokerage account. And there is no yearly cap. The original Carnival card was great but is long gone. I dropped the Seamiles like a hot potato. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyStar Posted February 15, 2009 #14 Share Posted February 15, 2009 We love to travel so we looked for a good overall travel card. One to consider is the AMEX Blue Sky. I love the perks of having an AMEX, it has no annual fee and the bennies are fantastic. You should really check them out. I was able to apply miles to my cruise. The points convert to cash which I applied to my Carnival cruise. There are lots of other cash rewards cards out there, I have a Capital One (MilesOne) card that I like as well. AMEX gives more miles though. \ Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Karaoke Girl Posted February 15, 2009 #15 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I would advise not getting this card. I've used the card for every cruise, major purchases etc. I always keep a zero balance (pay it off when due). They just raised our interest rate to 25%. Me & DH both have credit scores over 800 so there is absolutely no reason for this except that they can. I'll be cancelling the card as soon as I get back from my cruise next week without getting to use my seamiles credits. Very disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevekiel Posted February 15, 2009 #16 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Why cancel before using the miles? Is there an anual fee due? If you don't pay interest what is the difference. I suspect it is just the point of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDC Posted February 15, 2009 #17 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I recently used some AMEX membership rewards and got a $2200 credit towards the purchase of my cruise. As a previous posted noted, look out for the small print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Karaoke Girl Posted February 15, 2009 #18 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Why cancel before using the miles? Is there an anual fee due? If you don't pay interest what is the difference. I suspect it is just the point of it. Exactly. I thought it was crazy that they were charging me 15% when I got the card cuz that is the highest interest rate I've ever paid but I knew it would be used for purchases without carrying a balance so the interest rate didn't matter too much. But when they raised it for no reason to 25%, what would happen if I couldn't pay off the balance that month. No way. Not risking it. I have another card I could use that has just as much available credit and the APR is under 10%. It is the point that they just raised it since last month, without warning, without justification. I only noticed it when I logged onto my account online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manmtnmike Posted February 15, 2009 #19 Share Posted February 15, 2009 FYI...Discover Card has different quarterly offers where you get 5% back...if you sign-up for it each quarter ...from Jan-Mar cruises qualify. It's not the best for cash back...normally it's UP TO 1 % back. Check it out... http://discovercard.com/customer-service/rewards/get-more-calendar.html?hcmpgn=0801_hpu_lhn_5cb_3_txt Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamboatin Posted February 15, 2009 #20 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Here is a web site link for finding the best credit cards. http://www.creditcards.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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