What's The Best Way To Redeem Fun Ship Points?

[GulfCoaster]

Hello All...

 

About a year ago I applied for and received the Carnival Mastercard. I want to redeem points for use on my upcoming cruise and just not sure what is the best way to do this. Secure a gift card, have the points applied to statement balance, etc. I have around 13,000 points as of now and my cruise is in May. Not a lot of points but I am sure they can make a difference somewhere if redeemed properly.

 

Any thoughts on this and which way to go would be a great help.

 

Thanks!!

[kingston13]

For me it was more $$ when I applied it to my balance

[13cheermom]

We've had the carnival master card for about 10 years now, and the best way is to apply toward a statement credit. You get the most bang for the buck that way. We use our card for everyday use and all expenses, (of course paying the balance every month) so we rack up quite a few points. Then of course use it to pay for your cruise to earn extra points. Once you reach a certain amount of points you earn extra to apply to your balance. Usually you have up to six months to apply to a statement credit. We just recently applied $1150 toward a cruise, but in the past have claimed as much as $1900. Sometimes it's better to wait and let points accrue when you cruise often to get the most from them. Good luck and happy cruising!

[drosphot]

We've had the carnival master card for about 10 years now, and the best way is to apply toward a statement credit. You get the most bang for the buck that way. We use our card for everyday use and all expenses, (of course paying the balance every month) so we rack up quite a few points. Then of course use it to pay for your cruise to earn extra points. Once you reach a certain amount of points you earn extra to apply to your balance. Usually you have up to six months to apply to a statement credit. We just recently applied $1150 toward a cruise, but in the past have claimed as much as $1900. Sometimes it's better to wait and let points accrue when you cruise often to get the most from them. Good luck and happy cruising!

 

What 13cheermom said! If you apply points to a Carnival charge over $1500 you get more value per point. We've saved over $4600 so far on cruises.

[GulfCoaster]

Thank you! I was looking at the points being applied to the statement balance and thinking that was going to be the best way to go. So that is what we will do. Again thanks for your help. Can't wait for next month and time to get away - if only for a bit!

[momonthego17]

Help me! I have 12 days to use my credits on a Carnival purchase I made on my Carnival card. How do I apply my reward to my monthly payment? I just looked through my "Manage Rewards" and couldn't figure it out. Thanks in advance!!

[iwannacruznow]

Help me! I have 12 days to use my credits on a Carnival purchase I made on my Carnival card. How do I apply my reward to my monthly payment? I just looked through my "Manage Rewards" and couldn't figure it out. Thanks in advance!!

Do points expire?

[w8ing2cruz]

I'm confused :o

 

I didn't think my points EVER expired?

 

I have always redeemed my points for onboard credits and usually walk off the ship with no balance on the sign and sail. Am I not getting the best bang for my buck?

 

What if I did this: I was going to call my TA and have her put $1,000 on our Carnival card towards our cruise. (I'd like to have it paid off before final pmt is due). Should I have her charge/apply $1,500 instead? We have Just under 45,000 points.

[Otowncruiser]

We put EVERYTHING we can charge on a credit card on our Carnival card and pay the balance every month. We have gotten a few free or almost free cruises. The value goes up once you get 100k points-you go from 1% to 1.5% returns. I just booked a cruise for our family of 4 that costs $2518. I put down a $1500 deposit instead of the $800 required. As soon as that $1500 posts to my account I can get that credited with the 100k points I have, so our cruise will only be $1018.

[Frank12]

Do points expire?

Yes. Points expire in 5 years.

[iwannacruznow]

Yes. Points expire in 5 years.

 

Thanks that's good to know. I think I still have some time.

[momonthego17]

Okay, I called Barclay and the relationship specialist :rolleyes: explained that the 11 days left indicated the time left for me to use $1,500 of Carnival cruise charge from the same cruise to be applied to my statement. Doing this before 11 days was up meant I could get $150 applied to my account balance instead of $100. I hope this works! I'm glad this thread was started because I didn't know about this time factor. Thanks!

[cbreit]

We use our points for the Outback Steakhouse gift certificates so when we cruise out of Ft Lauderdale and stay at Embassy Suites, we walk next door and get a "free" dinner.