Carnival Mastercard and On Board Credit

I'm trying to decide how to redeem rewards for our upcoming cruise. If I elect to use the points for on board credit, will that cover drinks, photos, excursions, etc? There is always the option to get the photo credit, bar credit, etc. separate, but if we don't use it, we lose it. So our thought is to redeem for whatever will give us the most flexibility. Appreciate the input.

Charge your onboard account to the card then get a statement credit when it posts. It’s a better redemption rate that way.

Charge your onboard account to the card then get a statement credit when it posts. It’s a better redemption rate that way.

Already done! It's what to do with the points pre-cruise we're trying to figure out. We know we will probably drink some, and will probably buy a photo or two and some fun shops purchases. Not sure yet about excursions. So we are wondering if we just redeem for on board credit, can we use it for anything on board? Or will it not cover the bar or excursions?

Already done! It's what to do with the points pre-cruise we're trying to figure out. We know we will probably drink some, and will probably buy a photo or two and some fun shops purchases. Not sure yet about excursions. So we are wondering if we just redeem for on board credit, can we use it for anything on board? Or will it not cover the bar or excursions?

It’s better if you use that for your S&S card and charge whatever to it. Then you can redeem your points to “erase” the purchases. So for example $100 on your statement would cost 10,000 points. It’s better that way vs redeeming for OBC. Do it after the cruise, not before. Hope this makes sense.

It’s better if you use that for your S&S card and charge whatever to it. Then you can redeem your points to “erase” the purchases. So for example $100 on your statement would cost 10,000 points. It’s better that way vs redeeming for OBC. Do it after the cruise, not before. Hope this makes sense.

It does make sense and we may go that route. We were thinking the benefit for us of the on board credit is that it would give us a "budget" with no money out of pocket (hopefully)! Thanks!

It does make sense and we may go that route. We were thinking the benefit for us of the on board credit is that it would give us a "budget" with no money out of pocket (hopefully)! Thanks!

How many points do you have?

We save up our points until we have 100,000 because then you get 1.5% instead of just 1%. In other words, we get $1500 off of our cruise price, (not $1000), when we save our points up. We are currently using our points for our 3rd "free" cruise, thanks to points.

How much do you have to spend on your card to equal 100,000 points ? We are thinking of getting one and using it on a regular basis to accumulate points.

How much do you have to spend on your card to equal 100,000 points ? We are thinking of getting one and using it on a regular basis to accumulate points.

It’s 1 point per dollar spent except for Carnival purchases in which it’s 2 points per dollar. Even at a redemption rate of 1.5%, you earn at a way too low of a rate. As you can see from the thread below there are much better cards out there.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2547543

It does make sense and we may go that route. We were thinking the benefit for us of the on board credit is that it would give us a "budget" with no money out of pocket (hopefully)! Thanks!

You won't have money out of pocket.

1. Put it all on your Carnival Card

2. Apply your points to the cruise charges when you get home.

This is the better way to use your points. Also, you get points on the charges that you applied the points against. Win Win.

No need to use the points for OBC.

We won't come anywhere close to the points some people are mentioning here! We basically just use the card to purchase the cruise, with a little extra here and there, then pay it off. Not the best card for points redemption, but we don't really use credit cards if we can help it. I have 2 kids in college and ALL of my money goes there! :-)

I appreciate the advice though.

Also, we're not really big drinkers, but enjoy an occasional cocktail or beer. If we have OBC, we're likely to order a drink to use it. If not, we probably wouldn't order - we're cheap that way!:')

We've used it for OBC before. It applies to anything you charge to you S&S card. Drinks, excursion, etc.

That said, we don't have enough points to redeem it for stuff on the card and would rather do like the OP said and give ourselves a budget. We've decided to use the points to pay for gratuities (because you get more bang for your buck this way instead of OBC). We've been using the card for about 3 years and have only 36k in points.

We've used it for OBC before. It applies to anything you charge to you S&S card. Drinks, excursion, etc.

 

That said, we don't have enough points to redeem it for stuff on the card and would rather do like the OP said and give ourselves a budget. We've decided to use the points to pay for gratuities (because you get more bang for your buck this way instead of OBC). We've been using the card for about 3 years and have only 36k in points.

I’m not understanding this train of thought. How is it that you would have enough for OBC, but wouldn’t be willing to redeem the points to erase a purchase? For example: $100 OBC = 12,500 points OR charge $100 to the card onboard and redeem 10,000 points. You still have a budget of $100 but are now using less points. So in your case you can charge $360 to the card on the ship, redeem 36,000 points and owe nothing. You still have a budget no matter how you look at it.

Or if you want a physical barrier to your spending, buy a Carnival GC through the card. It’s in the redemption catalog. $100 GC = 10,000 points. Why someone would get a horrible rate of doing OBC is beyond me.

ZOOOM That was your comments flying over my head LOL. use your points to reduce your credit bill. Do the math

ZOOOM That was your comments flying over my head LOL. use your points to reduce your credit bill. Do the math

That’s what I’m trying to say and hopefully breaking it down so they can physically see the difference.

I used my points for OBC and didn't use all of the OBC so I got a refund check (all of $11 leftover - ha!) But I used it for gratuities, drinks, and gambling in the casino at the slot machine.

Buy cruise cash online with your Carnival Mastercard then use the Cruise Cash while on the cruise. Apply rewards points to your statement to pay for Cruise cash.

I’m not understanding this train of thought. How is it that you would have enough for OBC, but wouldn’t be willing to redeem the points to erase a purchase? For example: $100 OBC = 12,500 points OR charge $100 to the card onboard and redeem 10,000 points. You still have a budget of $100 but are now using less points. So in your case you can charge $360 to the card on the ship, redeem 36,000 points and owe nothing. You still have a budget no matter how you look at it.

 

Or if you want a physical barrier to your spending, buy a Carnival GC through the card. It’s in the redemption catalog. $100 GC = 10,000 points. Why someone would get a horrible rate of doing OBC is beyond me.

I'm not sure your math is correct (but mine could be off too!). I just went on the Barclays site to double check. They stated that rewards could be redeemed starting at 5,000 points. And on another page purchases had be made over $50.

So 5,000 points = $50 or $1 = 100 points.

Paying for 8 day gratuities for 1 costs 9,600 points or I could pay Carnival direct for $207.20. Using the points suggested by Barclays- I could charge the $207 or I could use points equivalent of $96. If I'm thinking correct, which could be wrong, wouldn't I be choosing between $96 or $207?

Or maybe Barclays just doesn't provide the right break down of points to dollars.

Also, 20,000 points gives you $200- I agree that the $100 OBC is a rip off. :)

AND now that I'm re-reading and thinking. We might be arguing the different sides of the same thing.

I'm not sure your math is correct (but mine could be off too!). I just went on the Barclays site to double check. They stated that rewards could be redeemed starting at 5,000 points. And on another page purchases had be made over $50.

 

 

 

So 5,000 points = $50 or $1 = 100 points.

 

 

 

Paying for 8 day gratuities for 1 costs 9,600 points or I could pay Carnival direct for $207.20. Using the points suggested by Barclays- I could charge the $207 or I could use points equivalent of $96. If I'm thinking correct, which could be wrong, wouldn't I be choosing between $96 or $207?

 

 

 

Or maybe Barclays just doesn't provide the right break down of points to dollars.

 

 

 

Also, 20,000 points gives you $200- I agree that the $100 OBC is a rip off. :)

 

 

 

AND now that I'm re-reading and thinking. We might be arguing the different sides of the same thing.

Math has never been my strong suit [emoji846]. So gratuities for 8 days for 1 person is $207? Seems too high.

Math has never been my strong suit [emoji846]. So gratuities for 8 days for 1 person is $207? Seems too high.

Nah...That's gotta be two people for 8 days. One person would be roughly $104.

Nah...That's gotta be two people for 8 days. One person would be roughly $104.

That’s what I was thinking too. So I wonder if they were only figuring one prepaid gratuities through Barclays bringing the totals closer together. I will have to log in and look.

OK yeah I did. 8 day gratuities per person is 9,600 each for a grand total of 19,200 points which is slightly better than charging it to the card and erasing the purchase. Although since you earn 2 points on every $1 with Carnival, it may come close to breaking even. I have no idea. Like I said, math isn’t my strong suit.

Did anyone else get the promo where you get an extra 1000 bonus points when you spend $1000 in Oct, Nov, and Dec? Plus another 2000 if you do all 3?

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This is complicated! LOL....I have 32,000 points....WHAT IS THE BEST BANG FOR MY POINTS...IS IT TO CHARGE MY CRUISE TO MY CREDIT CARD AND THEN USE THE POINTS TO MAKE A PAYMENT ON MY CREDIT CARD....ya math !!!

Did anyone else get the promo where you get an extra 1000 bonus points when you spend $1000 in Oct, Nov, and Dec? Plus another 2000 if you do all 3?

 

 

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Actually I did only because I just got the card this summer for the special promotional offer to basically receive $200 free, however paid off purchases for offer and haven't used it since. My husband however uses his card for everything which allows us a free cruise every couple of years, he didn't receive the offer, lol. It works well for us because we basically get $2,000 cruise for free every 2 years, that's probably why they didn't send him the offer. :rolleyes: I don't plan on using my card anymore, but was worth it to get the freebies, $200 in gift cards to use on our next cruise for OBC. :D