BA Casino slot cash question

[bradship]

I was on Breakaway Oct '13 and was not charged 3% for cash withdrawal via slot machine. The next trip a few weeks ago, I had to agree to the 3% fee each time I withdrew. It was an extra step in the withdraw process that I know I did not have for the Oct '13 trip. Something definitely changed between trips. With all of the withdrawals and points earned, the host later removed the fees, after asking on the last day.

 

Brad

[jusstice]

Just to be clear- I was on the BA in May 2012, Dec 2012 and Jan 2103. I did not have to pay the 3% fee.

 

I just was on the BA in mid July 2014, but this time I did have to pay the fee, each and every time I downloaded cash from my onboard account.

 

It was free in the past, but is not now.

[Fishbait17]

I also used this feature on the Breakaway in May 2013 and January 2014, before I was technically "Golden" level, and was not charged the fee. More recently (April or later maybe?), though, people have been reporting that they have added the 3% fee to these transactions. Since I have not sailed the BA recently, I cannot confirm or deny this as certain, but the reports are in from others. I would count on paying the surcharge if you are not Golden level or above, and being pleasantly surprised if you are not charged the fee.

 

Also, the explanation above gives a very good description of how the funds work, but I can add a bit to that. I download larger amounts (up to the daily limits) to "funds available to play" every day early in the cruise, and use parts of them over the entire cruise, instead of downloading from my onboard account each time I play. For example, I might download $2000 each day on days 1,2, 3, & 4, giving me a "Funds available to play" of $8000, etc. this way I know I have plenty of cash for the week and won't have to worry about hitting the daily limit ceiling if I have a heavy play day later in the week. Then as I play each machine, I might might download $100-200-300 from the "funds available to play" directly on to that machine to play. I generally cash out of each machine with tickets (you can cash out everything if you wish, no requirement to play), and use that to take to the next machine, etc - or I can take the ticket to either the cashier or the ticket cashing machine and exchange it for cash, which of course, hardly ever happens for me lol :D. At the end of the week, if there is money left in the "funds available to play", I can either cash it out as above, or (if I remember correctly) I can redeposit the remainder back onto my onboard account - again, there is rarely ever cash left in my account lol :D. Hope this helps to clarify usage!

 

Robin

Edited August 15, 2014 by Fishbait17

[garycarla]

Just to be clear- I was on the BA in May 2012, Dec 2012 and Jan 2103. I did not have to pay the 3% fee.

 

I just was on the BA in mid July 2014, but this time I did have to pay the fee, each and every time I downloaded cash from my onboard account.

 

It was free in the past, but is not now.

 

And this shows why some answers may be correct, and some answers are totally wrong.

 

And my guess? The system had trouble charging the fee in the past and they finally fixed it. Or they tried not charging the fee, and it got out of control so they implemented it.

Edited August 15, 2014 by garycarla

[PokerDave]

Sounds easy enough to test out at low denomination. Also, you should check with the host and see if they will wave the fee. They did for me on my last cruise and I was Hot rather than Golden. They don't really want to charge the fee for anyone who is going to play much. They just got burned badly before by people using the casino as an ATM.

[Stillfloatin']

Thanks to everyone for their personal experiences on the BA. It appears that initially, this service was free, and now is no longer free for players below the Golden level. I will plan accordingly.

[Stillfloatin']

Sounds easy enough to test out at low denomination. Also, you should check with the host and see if they will wave the fee. They did for me on my last cruise and I was Hot rather than Golden. They don't really want to charge the fee for anyone who is going to play much. They just got burned badly before by people using the casino as an ATM.

 

Good suggestion. I have found hosts to be very accommodating after they look up my past play and that I am a long time CAS guest. Also, by now, I'm fairly familiar with many of the casino hosts. It's been 19 months since my last cruise, so I expect my points to have dropped off. I'm not a big fan of the new system, but accept that this is what I need to work under now.

[josh453]

And this shows why some answers may be correct, and some answers are totally wrong.

 

And my guess? The system had trouble charging the fee in the past and they finally fixed it. Or they tried not charging the fee, and it got out of control so they implemented it.

 

I used to do this on Carnival to get cash, the latest time at the end of 2013. Go to the machine to download money without a fee, cash out, and go to the tables, or just have cash. A pit boss explained that this wouldn't work. I said thank you and did it, perhaps a bit brazenly. It sounds like they finally may have cut this loophole out, because I was using it to get 2% credit card rewards cash back on my cash withdrawals.

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Sounds like it has changed. I was on the breakaway the end of March of this year and was not charged the 3% fee and it was my first time on NCL so I had no status. If anyone can report back from recent cruises that would be great my next time on breakaway is this coming November.

 

 

And just to be clear I downloaded the money to play never to just get cash. Unfortunately like Robin I hardly ever had money at the end to take out lol.

Edited August 26, 2014 by FootballParent