Cruise Credit Cards

[karinad]

Which cruise line credit card do you get the best perks from? I don't know what cruise I really plan on going on next yr. I know that none of them are really the best for your money, but, if you're using them strictly to put money towards a cruise it's not a bad idea.

 

I have Carnival, Princess, NCL, and RCCL. We just got off NCL and I did have and OBC for $150. (I just got the card 2 months before) so it did help some. I never cashed in on any others.

[Bonnie J.]

We have a Carnival Master card through Barkley Bank. We get points every time we use it and use the points for on board credit. I was surprised once when we thought we had to use all the OBC or we'd lose. So, we bought two bottles of Tanqueray Gin the day before we got off. Imagine our surprise when we got the final bill the last morning and there was a check attached for $3.47. This was the OBC we didn't use. So, when we use this OBC we get cash back for what we didn't use!

Edited December 2, 2014 by Bonnie J.

[Philob]

IMHO unless you plan on cruising with one company exclusively you are better off with a general cash back rewards card or one like Chase Sapphire which is geared for travelers. Why go and earn most of your "points" on a RCCL card when your going on Carnival later :confused:

[travlnblueberries]

We go for help with flights rather then OBC. The flights are what kills us.

[Bonnie J.]

WE got Carnival's because we cruise Carnival a lot (61 cruises). We cruised NCL, Princess and RCCL this year too but cruise Carnival more. Haven't flown in years, we just drive. The Fantasy is a 4 1/2 drive, not 12-14.

[karinad]

IMHO unless you plan on cruising with one company exclusively you are better off with a general cash back rewards card or one like Chase Sapphire which is geared for travelers. Why go and earn most of your "points" on a RCCL card when your going on Carnival later :confused:

I've always wondered about the cash back cards. I told my brother-in-law how we manage to fly free or get free hotel rooms and what cards to get. I don't think he listened. I think he got a cash-back card and he said that he was charging everything and thought he earned decent points. When he checked what he earned it was $12.!

 

Like I said, I don't know what card he got or what he spent. I always thought that the cash-back cards didn't earn as much as the frequent flyer cards, especially if they give u a r/t ticket right away.

[Philob]

I've always wondered about the cash back cards. I told my brother-in-law how we manage to fly free or get free hotel rooms and what cards to get. I don't think he listened. I think he got a cash-back card and he said that he was charging everything and thought he earned decent points. When he checked what he earned it was $12.!

 

Like I said, I don't know what card he got or what he spent. I always thought that the cash-back cards didn't earn as much as the frequent flyer cards, especially if they give u a r/t ticket right away.

 

Almost all cards are like that. The r/t ticket will probably be from redemption of the 50,000 points you get when you sign up. After that you'll be back to the 1% - 2% on your regular purchases. The NCL card only offers 2% on purchases with NCL.

 

My point is that unless you favor a particular airline or cruise line a good cash back card may be all you need.

:cool:

[iaa]

I usually sign up for credit cards to get the bonus, then cancel them after a period. I do this quite a bit with hotel and airline credit cards (my credit score is still over 800, so I'm not worried about that).

 

The cruise credit card bonuses are not that great. RC has 17500 sign up bonus and NCL 10000 with a $50 gift card. The Carnival one is not worth mentioning. I did get the NCL card, just because I was already planning on taking a cruise with them, but I will cancel it as soon as I redeem the points for OBC.

 

If I keep any of the cards, it is due to perks. E.g. Marriott annual hotel stay certificate and American Airlines free first checked bag pay for the annual fee many times over. Cash-back cards are usually indeed the best deal, but I mostly use my AA card because they are the only airline that is convenient for me at our small regional airport and the customer support has been great so far.

[karinad]

Almost all cards are like that. The r/t ticket will probably be from redemption of the 50,000 points you get when you sign up. After that you'll be back to the 1% - 2% on your regular purchases. The NCL card only offers 2% on purchases with NCL.

 

My point is that unless you favor a particular airline or cruise line a good cash back card may be all you need.

:cool:

 

O f course u are right! I do the same thing Iaa, the poster after u does. I sign up for the bonus, especially airline and hotels, and cancel when the yr. is up if there is a fee. Sometimes it is a job playing with the cards to get the most of the benefits.

[Cruzaholic41]

IMHO unless you plan on cruising with one company exclusively you are better off with a general cash back rewards card or one like Chase Sapphire which is geared for travelers. Why go and earn most of your "points" on a RCCL card when your going on Carnival later :confused:

 

My thoughts exactly. Cruise line credit cards are a bit of a waste unless you're cruising only that line and cruising them very often. Chase Sapphire is a good one, so is Barclays, Amex, etc.