No more Royal Rewards free or companion cruises

[FloridaPalms]

April fools? No, BOGO fools!

 

With the never-ending BOGO promotions, Royal seems to have effectively abolished using Royal Rewards for free or companion cruises, since they (unfairly) cannot be combined. Oh you can still redeem them but the 2nd person will be charged full fare before application of the maximum value of the Reward points. As we all know, the full fares are jacked way up to cover the BOGO half off.

 

I am so sick and tired of these BOGOs.

 

Earning 2% on all Royal purchases, I used to be able to get an additional 2% return by redeeming say 25,000 or 50,000 points for $500 or $1000 toward a free or companion cruise. Because of the BOGO pricing, the best return now seems to be in taking the 1% redeeming points for OBC.

 

This is a good deal for Royal. And it makes me wonder if this was originally another intended benefit of their BOGO promotions - and another reason they want them to continue, in one form or another, over and over again.

 

Did I mention I am sick and tired of these BOGOs?

 

Soooo, I'm looking to trade in my BoA Royal credit card. Sam's Club has one that offers 5% back on gas, 3% on travel & dining and 1% on everything else, with a maximum of $5000 cash back per year.

 

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

 

~ Judy

[Clarea]

I believe you can still apply Visa points for fare reduction, thus getting a 2% benefit on Royal expenditures.

 

I do agree that the loss of the free cruise redemptions of up to 4% has been very disappointing.

[FloridaPalms]

I believe you can still apply Visa points for fare reduction, thus getting a 2% benefit on Royal expenditures.

 

I do agree that the loss of the free cruise redemptions of up to 4% has been very disappointing.

 

Thanks Bob. You are correct - I forgot to mention you could apply points to fare reduction.

 

On a happy note, while not free, I booked our Thanksgiving 2015 NOTS cruise last month for the same lowest BOGO price it was on 5/1/14 and it came with $100pp OBC.

 

~ Judy

[pstone1]

I believe you can still apply Visa points for fare reduction, thus getting a 2% benefit on Royal expenditures.

 

I do agree that the loss of the free cruise redemptions of up to 4% has been very disappointing.

 

Hi Bob,

 

Is the fare reduction now combinable with the C&A balcony discount? It was, then I thought it wasn't? If not, we are giving up a price reduction to use the points to get a price reduction! :confused:

[Clarea]

Hi Bob,

 

Is the fare reduction now combinable with the C&A balcony discount? It was, then I thought it wasn't? If not, we are giving up a price reduction to use the points to get a price reduction! :confused:

I don't know about that. Perhaps Ellen will see this and comment. She is more knowledgable about the Visa redemptions than I am.

[pstone1]

I don't know about that. Perhaps Ellen will see this and comment. She is more knowledgable about the Visa redemptions than I am.

 

Thanks for your quick response! I could also call and ask! It's just hard to find the time to sit on hold! :D. I keep waiting, racking up more points, and hoping the BOGO will stop so we can get the free cruise or companion fare. I just need to suck it up, take the OBC, and get a different card!

[Clarea]

Thanks for your quick response! I could also call and ask! It's just hard to find the time to sit on hold! :D. I keep waiting, racking up more points, and hoping the BOGO will stop so we can get the free cruise or companion fare. I just need to suck it up, take the OBC, and get a different card!

I suspect the BOGO is working too well for them, and it's a permanent feature now. Too many nice features from their point of view, like the inability to use the higher value Visa rewards.

[pstone1]

I suspect the BOGO is working too well for them, and it's a permanent feature now. Too many nice features from their point of view, like the inability to use the higher value Visa rewards.

 

Agreed! Change is always such a PITA, though LOL!

[molly361]

Hi Bob,

 

Is the fare reduction now combinable with the C&A balcony discount? It was, then I thought it wasn't? If not, we are giving up a price reduction to use the points to get a price reduction! :confused:

 

I don't know about that. Perhaps Ellen will see this and comment. She is more knowledgable about the Visa redemptions than I am.

 

Yes it is combinable with the balcony discount

[Clarea]

Yes it is combinable with the balcony discount

I knew you would know.:)

[FloridaPalms]

... I keep waiting, racking up more points, and hoping the BOGO will stop so we can get the free cruise or companion fare. I just need to suck it up, take the OBC, and get a different card!

 

Me too. While other cards may offer better cash back, I liked that the Royal Rewards could only be used for our cruises. I think we've done two companion and one free, paying only the upgrade in cabin category. And then throwing in some more points for romance package once and champagne & strawberries on the rest.

 

It was like a little Royal Caribbean savings account as opposed to the cash back ones where you don't really bank anything. Silly maybe, but it made me feel justified cruising Royal. "Hey, we have 50,000 points - let's take a cruise!" :D

 

I suspect the BOGO is working too well for them, and it's a permanent feature now. Too many nice features from their point of view, like the inability to use the higher value Visa rewards.

 

Sadly, I think you are right. :(

 

~ Judy

[orville99]

I believe the restriction on combining with C&A only applies when you use the free cruise option (which may never happen again).

 

I'm starting to migrate my CC spending to a Chase Rewards card that gives me 3% cash back on everything I purchase, and I'll spend down my Visa points with Royal on short cruises where I can still get a decent return on the points. Since RCL's BOGO insanity actually works in reverse on these because they have to remove the BOGO on the minimum available OV cabin before they apply the points, I can usually max out the value of the 50,000 points. :)

Edited April 1, 2015 by orville99

[FloridaPalms]

I believe the restriction on combining with C&A only applies when you use the free cruise option (which may never happen again).

 

I'm starting to migrate my CC spending to a Chase Rewards card that gives me 3% cash back on everything I purchase, and I'll spend down my Visa points with Royal on short cruises where I can still get a decent return on the points. Since RCL's BOGO insanity actually works in reverse on these because they have to remove the BOGO on the minimum available OV cabin before they apply the points, I can usually max out the value of the 50,000 points. :)

 

Thank you for your response. I may look into the Chase Rewards card.

 

~ Judy

[John&LaLa]

But the RCL card is prettier. Makes me smile

[FloridaPalms]

But the RCL card is prettier. Makes me smile

 

LOL! Yes it is! :D I'll have to get a card I can personalize with a picture of one of our favorite Royal ships! :)

 

~ Judy

[george35]

Are visa points only redeemable thru RCL????

 

George 35

[orville99]

Are visa points only redeemable thru RCL????

 

George 35

 

 

On their BoA visa card, yes.

[mxylpic]

Hi Bob,

 

Is the fare reduction now combinable with the C&A balcony discount? It was, then I thought it wasn't? If not, we are giving up a price reduction to use the points to get a price reduction! :confused:

 

If you are asking about the BOGOHO, yes it is combinable with C&A balcony discount.

 

With Visa Points, I would think it would be since benefit is paid by Bank of America and not by Royal, but I haven't tried to do that.

[pstone1]

Yes it is combinable with the balcony discount

 

Thank you Ellen!

[pstone1]

If you are asking about the BOGOHO, yes it is combinable with C&A balcony discount.

 

With Visa Points, I would think it would be since benefit is paid by Bank of America and not by Royal, but I haven't tried to do that.

 

Thanks Ed! I was wondering whether using the points to reduce the price of the cruise was combinable with the C&A balcony discount. We have done that several times in the past but not in a couple of years.

[Ollie_WA]

I have to ask.....we have a cruise booked for Sept. We are in a D1 Balcony. We did not use our C&A discount since our TA said we could not if we wanted the $200 OBC...we took that instead.

 

We have 140,000 points...what is the best way to use them? OBC? I have never cashed any of points in so I am clueless.

 

Thanks for any help you can give!!

Edited April 2, 2015 by Ollie_WA

[Clarea]

I have to ask.....we have a cruise booked for Sept. We are in a D1 Balcony. We did not use our C&A discount since our TA said we could not if we wanted the $200 OBC...we took that instead.

 

We have 140,000 points...what is the best way to use them? OBC? I have never cashed any of points in so I a clueless.

 

thanks for any help you can give!!

You can use points for a fare reduction. Redeeming 50,000 points would give you a $500 discount on your cruise.

[Ollie_WA]

Can I use it all for OBC? I am thinking we could pay all the gratuities and possibly drink packages for 2?

[Clarea]

Can I use it all for OBC? I am thinking we could pay all the gratuities and possibly drink packages for 2?

Sure, you could get $1400 on OBC if you want.

[Ollie_WA]

Sure, you could get $1400 on OBC if you want.

 

Great, Thanks Bob!