Important note when using Visa points for a cruise discount

[Clarea]

We have a booking for which was applied a 50K RC Visa point redemption for a $500 discount.

 

We decided we wanted to change to a more expensive category, same cruise. RC would not move the discount to the new category. They say it was applied as a one-time discount to the current category and does not transfer. So if we want to change categories, we lose that $500 discount. Hindsight says I should have waited as long as possible to redeem the points. Hope someone else can benefit from this info.

[molly361]

Thanks for the info. Did you try calling a second time? You know how that goes.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the info. Did you try calling a second time? You know how that goes.

I think my TA has called three times since yesterday. I don't want to hassle her any more, I know how painful it is dealing with RC.:rolleyes:

[juliea344]

We have a booking for which was applied a 50K RC Visa point redemption for a $500 discount.

 

We decided we wanted to change to a more expensive category, same cruise. RC would not move the discount to the new category. They say it was applied as a one-time discount to the current category and does not transfer. So if we want to change categories, we lose that $500 discount. Hindsight says I should have waited as long as possible to redeem the points. Hope someone else can benefit from this info.

This sucks! I hope you get it worked out. Thanks for the heads up. I probably would have redeemed my OBC right away. Now I'll wait until final payment is made.

 

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[Clarea]

This sucks! I hope you get it worked out. Thanks for the heads up. I probably would have redeemed my OBC right away. Now I'll wait until final payment is made.

Funny thing is that had I redeemed for OBC, I would not have the problem. OBC would get transferred even if I changed ship and/or sail date. But since I redeemed for the discount, I was stuck.

[CAT GIRL]

Thanks for the info Bob. That's good to know. I'm sure you

just helped many people.... as always.:)

[dplusd]

Funny thing is that had I redeemed for OBC, I would not have the problem. OBC would get transferred even if I changed ship and/or sail date. But since I redeemed for the discount, I was stuck.

 

That makes no sense. Thanks for sharing...

[Debitoo]

Thanks Bob. I was going to redeem 50k points for a cabin discount myself when the new itineraries come out and now I won't. I'll just use it for OBC. Your heads up is much appreciated! :D

[juliea344]

Try posting it to the RCCL Facebook page. I've noticed that when people complain there they usually get a response.

 

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[Tee & Chilli]

Will Royal add the points back to your account if you change to a higher category?

[killtheump]

We have a booking for which was applied a 50K RC Visa point redemption for a $500 discount.

 

We decided we wanted to change to a more expensive category, same cruise. RC would not move the discount to the new category. They say it was applied as a one-time discount to the current category and does not transfer. So if we want to change categories, we lose that $500 discount. Hindsight says I should have waited as long as possible to redeem the points. Hope someone else can benefit from this info.

 

Bob this must be a recent change. I changed from a Junior Suite to a Grand Suite last October on The Adventure, I had already applied a $500 discount to the JS and had no problem applying it to the GS. I did book with Royal so I am not sure if different with a TA.

Hope you get it squared away.

[Grand PooBah]

Better suggestion..... ditch that RCI card and get a Barclays arrival mastercard. Earn 50,000 bonus points then 2 points for every dollar. Spend them for any travel expense. You also get 5% point rebate when you use them. Beats the RCI Visa all to heck. Last year I earned a Jr suite on Harmony. Not bad for free.

[molly361]

Will Royal add the points back to your account if you change to a higher category?

 

No they will not

[printingchick]

Wow! This is really surprising news! I typically trade my points for discounts. At one time, I used them for a cabin upgrade - booking an inside cabin but upgrading to an OV. But I discovered the problem with that is arguing for a price drop. They don't care what category of cabin you upgraded from, they only care which category you booked. So trying to negotiate the different when prices drop is a huge challenge. I didn't expect issues with using the points for a discount.

 

I noticed a response saying that you could NOT get your points BACK if you upgrade. How is that possible? They are really telling you that you will pay a $500 penalty for wanting to upgrade your cabin! That makes no sense.

[Clarea]

Will Royal add the points back to your account if you change to a higher category?

No, once you make a redemption, you cannot put the points back.

[eel]

The moral is to always use for OBC which is fully refundable anyway. Slowly eating through the massive number of points I accumulated before they changed the policy on free cruises. Now using my Costco Visa with 3% cash back on travel for all of my travel purchases. Also includes decent travel insurance coverage.

[Clarea]

... I noticed a response saying that you could NOT get your points BACK if you upgrade. How is that possible? They are really telling you that you will pay a $500 penalty for wanting to upgrade your cabin! That makes no sense.

I agree, it certainly makes no sense to me. Our TA says they are treating the redemption as a one-time discount to the stateroom we have now.

[bilyclub]

I cashed in my last 5000 points on my next cruise, then I'm canceling. B of A had decent customer service as far as disputes over charges.

[steveru621]

The moral is to always use for OBC which is fully refundable anyway. Slowly eating through the massive number of points I accumulated before they changed the policy on free cruises. Now using my Costco Visa with 3% cash back on travel for all of my travel purchases. Also includes decent travel insurance coverage.

 

I believe the travel insurance is only available on a Costco business Visa Signature card. We are also moving away from the BofA RCI card. We may try the Costco card.

[ZimmCouple]

A few weeks back I "cashed in" 10000 points from my RCI card (for $100 OBC) for our upcoming cruise the end of April. I requested a copy of my confirmation from RCI to make sure the $100 OBC was listed, it wasn't. I went online to the RCI CC site and they show no record of the points redeemed - but they are not part of my balance of points either. I do however have the email confirmation that the points were redeemed. Who do I contact first... RCI or the CC company?

[John&LaLa]

We are transitioning to a Sam's MC. 3% cash back on travel. Just got $1,007 back. Had to cash the check at Sam's though. Weird.

 

Currently have 250K points on the Visa, slowly turning it into OBC. Good to know about problems with discount certificate

 

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[Clarea]

A few weeks back I "cashed in" 10000 points from my RCI card (for $100 OBC) for our upcoming cruise the end of April. I requested a copy of my confirmation from RCI to make sure the $100 OBC was listed, it wasn't. I went online to the RCI CC site and they show no record of the points redeemed - but they are not part of my balance of points either. I do however have the email confirmation that the points were redeemed. Who do I contact first... RCI or the CC company?

I would contact the redemptions people at Royal:888-305-4626.

 

 

Note that they apply some redemptions in order of cruise date, so if your sailing date is far in advance, they may not have gotten around to applying it yet.

[bilyclub]

A few weeks back I "cashed in" 10000 points from my RCI card (for $100 OBC) for our upcoming cruise the end of April. I requested a copy of my confirmation from RCI to make sure the $100 OBC was listed, it wasn't. I went online to the RCI CC site and they show no record of the points redeemed - but they are not part of my balance of points either. I do however have the email confirmation that the points were redeemed. Who do I contact first... RCI or the CC company?

 

 

I would call RCI first.

[Clarea]

Bob this must be a recent change. I changed from a Junior Suite to a Grand Suite last October on The Adventure, I had already applied a $500 discount to the JS and had no problem applying it to the GS. I did book with Royal so I am not sure if different with a TA.

Hope you get it squared away.

I wonder if the difference might be because I had already paid off the cruise? Final payment date is this coming Monday. We paid off the cruise two days ago, and then tried to change categories yesterday.

[cruiselvr04]

We have the card too. It's getting harder to use... We couldn't use it on a booked BOGO for a discount. We could on a 30% or 60%. Too many rules. For now we are still using it but they are making it tough to stay with them.