Royal Caribbean Signature VISA Card...Your Experiences?

[flowers44]

Yes and Yes.

 

Thanks for that information. I will wait until I get closer to my 90 day time period and see how much more I need to charge to get to that $3000 mark and then make a payment on my cruise. It works for me.

[Jimmers]

We stopped using our cards some months back when it appeared the perpetual Bogo sales were going to prevent us from using them toward a free cruise.

 

I hope it's true that we can now use the points toward paying off a Bogo cruise. We did that once on a nonbogo cruise but I can't recall for sure what dollar value they applied to our 125k points.

 

It's true that you can get much better rewards with other CCs but we've enjoyed using our RC card as a vacation savings plan and if this info pans out we'll probably start using them again.

[outtoseacruise]

I have had the Royal Caribbean Visa since 2008. This was my primary card until last year. In the past I thought it was great. Now with all the restrictions it only comes out to about a 1% reward.

 

After cashing in 125,000 points in January because of the fare restrictions it still cost me $1375.20 for a triple occupancy outside on Freedom this month. The points can't be used with promos, offers, or Oasis Class at this point level like in the past. I still have 103,021 points and once I hit the 125,000 I will cash them in. I have even debated taking the OBC and cashing them in now.

 

My primary card for rewards has become the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Barclay Arrival Plus. The RCCL Visa will be joining the Carnival MC in safe once I redeem the points.

[cjdixon4]

OP again -

Everybody has given me much to contemplate concerning the RC Visa cards. Lots of good stuff to help me make an informed choice. The advertisements make the card sound so appealing, but you actual users have shed light on issues that I might miss. Thanks.

[derrick22]

Throwing my two cents in.

 

I have had the card since 2006 and have traveled twice for free for the two of us.

 

I have enough to travel again but can't use the points on Quantum so for the first time I redeemed points for OBC.

 

I use the card for everything and pay it off every month.

 

I haven't tried to redeem with any sales.

 

I am pleased with the card.

 

Turning points in for a cruise gives a return of over 2%.

 

Truthfully I haven't research any new cards in a while.

[karena1]

I received an invitation to sign up for the RCI Signature VISA card. I was looking at it, but I'm not certain whether I want one or not. Anyone who currently has a card, can you tell me whether you like/dislike it? What advantages are there to applying for one, in terms of using the card for RCI purchases or points? Thanks for the insight.

 

here is my .02 worth. I LOVED this card when it first came out. We charged everything, paid if off monthly so no interest. Saved a TON of money on our Royal cruise with companion fares combined with D+ balcony discounts etc. Now the card is worthless. You cannot combine with anything - no sales, senior rates, etc. The only thing you can use it for basically is OBC. So, if I am only getting 1x on purchases and 2x on Royal purchases, then it just is not paying off anymore.

 

I finally gave up on this card and now have the Barclays Arrive Plus Elite MC. Yes, $89 fee a year (never paid a fee before) BUT you get 2x on every purchase, you can use it for ANY kind of travel and then they give you 10% back. So totally worth it for me. I have stopped using the Royal card, working on using up the points I have left to put to OBC and that is it. All good things come to an end, and the Royal card is just not worth anything anymore. I love my new Barclay's card. So easy to redeem points, no waiting, it is automatic. Great card.

Edited March 6, 2015 by karena1

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We use the Sam's Club Mastercard for 3% back on travel and restaurants, 5% back on Gas.

[publicpersona]

I have had one for a long time, but it is now a back of the wallet card which I use twice a year at McDonald's to keep the card active (and thus contributing positively to my credit score).

 

Some of my old posts here warn that the day will come when they have "Exciting news about the reward program" which will make it undesirable and apparently that day has come.

 

There are other no fee travel cards (e.g. Barclay) that yield 2% or better on travel and dining.

[cjdixon4]

Throwing my two cents in.

 

I have had the card since 2006 and have traveled twice for free for the two of us.

 

I have enough to travel again but can't use the points on Quantum so for the first time I redeemed points for OBC.

 

I use the card for everything and pay it off every month.

 

I haven't tried to redeem with any sales.

 

I am pleased with the card.

 

Turning points in for a cruise gives a return of over 2%.

 

Truthfully I haven't research any new cards in a while.

 

derrick22 - thanks for the infomation. Very helpful.

[cjdixon4]

here is my .02 worth. I LOVED this card when it first came out. We charged everything, paid if off monthly so no interest. Saved a TON of money on our Royal cruise with companion fares combined with D+ balcony discounts etc. Now the card is worthless. You cannot combine with anything - no sales, senior rates, etc. The only thing you can use it for basically is OBC. So, if I am only getting 1x on purchases and 2x on Royal purchases, then it just is not paying off anymore.

 

I finally gave up on this card and now have the Barclays Arrive Plus Elite MC. Yes, $89 fee a year (never paid a fee before) BUT you get 2x on every purchase, you can use it for ANY kind of travel and then they give you 10% back. So totally worth it for me. I have stopped using the Royal card, working on using up the points I have left to put to OBC and that is it. All good things come to an end, and the Royal card is just not worth anything anymore. I love my new Barclay's card. So easy to redeem points, no waiting, it is automatic. Great card.

 

karena1- great pointers. Thank you for the info.

[molly361]

Makes sense. The rules change right after I pay off the only 4 day cruise I have booked.

 

Give them a call. I think you may still be able redeem them and get credit back to your credit card.

[kruzerci]

Give them a call. I think you may still be able redeem them and get credit back to your credit card.

 

 

I called yesterday to have $500 applied to our Indy cruise (final payment is due Monday). They let me use it with the BOGOHO and balcony/suite discount. They said if it is not posted to the reservation by Monday, make the full final payment and the $500 can be refunded to my credit card when the credits post.

 

I'd call and give it a shot.

[BillOh]

We had 150,00 points on our card and used it to pay for a Celebrity cruise because you could not use it to reduce the price of a cruise on Royal because of their ongoing promotions.There are better cards out there that give you 2% car back.

 

I did get an email today saying the sale was ending, but perhaps its jsut this version of the sale :(. Your point is a good one for people trying to book cruises. I just do it for the OBC.

 

People have discussed the value and they are correct On the bright side, I will say BOA's website for the card seems very secure and is very easy to use.

[chuckvwinner]

Here is my pet peeve #1 with Cruise Line credit cards. They don’t give you any sort of status to go along with their CC. They don’t need to make me a Diamond Plus Elite, but something simple like double points on trips would be a nice incentive.

 

A lot of hotels do this. For instance, I get instant Gold Status with my Hilton HHonors Reserve Card. You don’t even get a free drink coupon with any of the cruise line cards.

 

Here are a couple of cheap benefits that the cruise lines could give to sweeten their offers in no particular order.

 

1. Priority Boarding

2. 25% off drinks and drinking packages when using the card

3. A coupon for a free drink, chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of champagne, etc.

4. One free room upgrade when you apply for the card

5. Double each day toward elite status when you book with the card

6. Let you redeem points for casino credits and double the points (they would get almost all of this money back, especially when I’m playing.)

7. Priority seating at shows (Don’t flame me! I’m just throwing out ideas here.)

8. A free picture

9. Let you drive the ship around for a little bit. I’m just kidding…kind of

 

I can think of six different cards off the top of my head that offer better bonuses, and points earning that I can use to reimburse for any travel expenses. Not just cruising or one particular cruise line. I’ll follow this post up with their pros/cons. So cruise lines if you’re reading my humble little rant, please get your credit card act together. The airlines and hotels are light years ahead of you.

[cjdixon4]

chuckvwinner-

OP here...your post is pretty interesting (not to mention funny). I'm evaluating all of the points being made here, and weighing out whether RC's card would be worth it for me. Right now it's not looking good, but I'm still giving it some thought.

[chuckvwinner]

Here a couple of cards that I would recommend. All of these cards work by applying points as a statement credit. So you can use it for whatever cruise line or travel that you like. Then when it pops up on your bill you pay for that portion, or part of it with points. This allows you to take advantage of sales, travel agent perks, or use an online site like Expedia (which I don’t recommend.)

 

Some of them have an annual fee, but it is waived for the first year. With the annual fee you get a bigger bonus and more points per dollar spent. If you don’t want to pay the annual fee at the end of the year, just call and have the card downgraded to the no annual fee version. I’ve also added their no annual fee little brothers for comparison. Here they are in order of my preference.

 

Barclays Arrival Plus: My wife and I both have this card, and we both love it. You earn 2X points for every dollar you spend on anything. That’s it. No special categories or special days of the month. This is my day to day card that I use for most everything. Plus it has a nice 40,000 bonus when you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days. Another bonus is that you get 10% points back to use toward your next redemption every time you redeem for travel statement credits. So you spend $1,000 to book a cruise, you use 100,000 points to pay for it when the statement comes, then you get 10,000 of those points back. So really every dollar you spend is worth 2.2 cents toward travel. There is an $89 annual fee that is waived the first year. In my humble opinion, this is the card to get. If you don’t believe me, it was Money magazine’s 2014 Travel Card of the year.

 

Barclays Arrival: This is the little brother to the Arrival Plus with no annual fee. It gives you 2X mile on travel and dining or 1X on everything else. The bonus drops to 20,000 points after spending $1,000 in 90 days, but you still get 10% points back.

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred: I have this card and my wife has the Chase Ink Bold which is the business version for her business. I’ve had to call the customer service before and they have the best customer service of any other card that I’ve had. You get 2X points on travel and dining, and 1X on all other purchases. There are a 40,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. Plus 5,000 bonus points after you add the first authorized user and they make a purchase in the first 3 months. Now you can use your points toward a statement credit at 1 point equals 1 cent rate, or you can book travel through their Ultimate Rewards (UR) portal and every point is worth 1.25 cents. So, your 45,000 bonus points will get you $562.50 in free travel. Also, their points are transferable to any of their UR partners like, Southwest Airlines, Hyatt Hotels, British Airlines, and there are lot of others. These points greatest advantage is their flexibility. This card does have a $95 annual fee that is waived the first year.

 

Chase Freedom: This card offers 5X on rotating categories every quarter. Right now the categories are Grocery stores, movie theaters, and STARBUCKS! I kind of wish I had this card so I could get 5X points at Starbucks. The 5X is only good for the first $1,500. After that you get 1X like every other purchase. You can use these points through the UR portal at 1.25 cents each. However, you can’t transfer these to the UR partners unless you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Ink.

 

Capital One Venture Card: I don’t have this card, but it’s on my short list. I’m just waiting to see if the bonus goes up. Currently it is 40,000 bonus offer after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. You earn 2X points on all purchases. One problem with redeeming points is that you can’t do partial redemptions. So let’s say you book another $1,000 cruise, but you only have your initial 40,000 points. You cannot apply that $400 or 40,000 toward the $1,000 payment. The way you get around this is by asking your friendly TA to split up your payment. Pay $400 as a down payment. Then pay off the remaining $600 later on. My father-in-law has had this card for years and he likes it, but I hear that they can be hard to deal with. There is a $59 annual fee that is waived the first year.

 

Capital One Venture One Card: This is the no fee little brother to the Venture Card. It offers 1.25X per every dollar spent and is currently offering a 20,000 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months.

 

I didn’t mention the APR on these, because you should be paying them off in full every month anyways. Otherwise, they are not worth it. I’m sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give you a clear picture of your options. There are other options out there, and I’d love to hear about them.

[jticarruthers]

Barclays Arrival Plus for me, just coming up on the first anniversary but loved it so far.

 

Originally planned to cancel it about now instead of paying the annual fee but did some math and I easily earn back the annual fee with the extra 0.5% from not switching to the no fee version, so it will be my card for the next year as well.

[setsail]

We don't have a problem at all with the rci visa

Things to consider for getting any rewards card

 

1-does the card have an annual fee

2- will you 0 balance the card every month

3- all reward cards change (just as the rci card has), don't think so, there are bridges for sale

Edited March 6, 2015 by setsail

[Jimmers]

They just changed that rule recently. Now you can use them for money off a cruise that has BOGOHO on it. Apparently, they were getting a lot of complaints.

 

Maybe some are getting special consideration but according to C&A the rules haven't been changed. The points can only be used as OBC credit on a bogo booked cruise. And the cash value for 125k points is only $1250 or roughly half of what it would be in cruise value.

 

So it's either find a non bogo cruise which we were told are still available or use the points as OBC. I'm leaning toward splitting our 150k points between our two upcoming cruises but my wife wants to hold out for a cruise. In any case, we're done using the RC Visa card.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Jimmers

[cjdixon4]

chuckvwinner-

Wow...the detailed research. Much appreciated! Thanks everybody for the input. Believe it or not I'm STILL giving the RCI card some consideration, but also adding in all of the valid points that others are giving as well.

[WyKnott]

Capital One Venture Card: I don’t have this card, but it’s on my short list. I’m just waiting to see if the bonus goes up. Currently it is 40,000 bonus offer after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. You earn 2X points on all purchases. One problem with redeeming points is that you can’t do partial redemptions. So let’s say you book another $1,000 cruise, but you only have your initial 40,000 points. You cannot apply that $400 or 40,000 toward the $1,000 payment. The way you get around this is by asking your friendly TA to split up your payment. Pay $400 as a down payment. Then pay off the remaining $600 later on. My father-in-law has had this card for years and he likes it, but I hear that they can be hard to deal with. There is a $59 annual fee that is waived the first year.

I have this card, and love it! They recently changed the redemption rule and you can now do partial redemptions. This would have come in handy when I went to London. It took me years to get enough points for a plane ticket.

[marci22]

Chase Freedom: This card offers 5X on rotating categories every quarter. Right now the categories are Grocery stores, movie theaters, and STARBUCKS! I kind of wish I had this card so I could get 5X points at Starbucks. The 5X is only good for the first $1,500. After that you get 1X like every other purchase.

 

April-June categories: restaurants, BB&B, H&M, Overstock

 

I see you posted in March-anywhere here's the update.

Edited April 9, 2015 by marci22

[Paulette3028]

I received an invitation to sign up for the RCI Signature VISA card. I was looking at it, but I'm not certain whether I want one or not. Anyone who currently has a card, can you tell me whether you like/dislike it? What advantages are there to applying for one, in terms of using the card for RCI purchases or points? Thanks for the insight.

 

I have the BofA Royal credit card.....it is sufficient....I could have other credit cards; I don't want a card that has ANY annual fees and I had a difficult time with Capital One years ago, and won't go that route ever again.

 

So the BofA card works for us.....but I am wondering if the OP is asking about the newer version of the BofA Royal Card, which is called a Signature Card....I had gotten info about it and converting my card to it...but it made no sense to do....so I did not.

[Grand PooBah]

Absolutely the BEST... earn 40,000 points for spending 3,000 in the first 3 mo. (thats worth $400.00) Gives you 2 points per dollar on ALL purchases, NO limits. Then when you apply points against your purchases, they credit you back 10% of the points. There is an $89 annual fee, but well worth it if you look at the rewards. I have received excellent customer service too.

 

I dumped my RCI visa a couple of years ago, after trying to redeem points for a free cruise, which was a very disappointing experience to say the least.

[01Sweetpea]

DH & I each have a card. I THINK when we got the card we each got 15,000 points, but I'm not 100% sure. :confused:

 

We are going on our second "free" cruise in a few weeks. :D

 

Helping 4 kids pay for college will quickly rack up the points. :eek:

 

The only change I didn't like was not being able to combine points. For our first free cruise, DH & I each cashed in points for certificates, then we combined the certificates to reach 125,000 points for the free cruise. Then we paid the upcharge for a balcony.

 

This time I wasn't able to do that, and thought we'd be waiting a while longer to cruise. BUT I was able to cash in 100,000 points and put the credit towards the discount price of a D3 balcony. Total cost...$32 plus port fees & taxes. To ME...a MUCH better deal that the 125,000 points for an OV.

 

We also cashed in the rest of our points for OBC.