Royal Caribbean credit card

[willow0325]

What are your thoughts (positive and negative) about the RCI credit card?  I know the perks aren't terrific but I do love "freebies"!  

[cruisinfanatic]

5 minutes ago, willow0325 said:

What are your thoughts (positive and negative) about the RCI credit card?  I know the perks aren't terrific but I do love "freebies"!  

except for the initial incentive, there are better cards. Citi® Double Cash Card for example which pays you 2% on everything

[willow0325]

14 minutes ago, cruisinfanatic said:

except for the initial incentive, there are better cards. Citi® Double Cash Card for example which pays you 2% on everything

 

Definitely true!  Do you know what benefits Royal offers from a cruise perspective?  Thanks!

[John&LaLa]

It got you into 4 parties on the 2018 Presidents Cruise last month

[johnjen]

We use it for cruise charges and other things, pay off the balance each month, and like that little OBC surprise for the upcoming cruises.

[mattb31]

Pros: 2x points on RCCL/Celebrity, No Fee

Cons: Redemption options are really not good at all, only 1x points on all other purchases.

 

As for other options I know that Amex Cruises offers $25-$100 OBC for booking through them.

 

I personally use the Chase Sapphire Reserve/Freedom/Freedom Unlimited for cruising. CSR gets 3x back on the cruise fare and anything I purchase onboard, Freedom Unlimited is 1.5x back on anything else, and Chase Pay has been a 5x category for the Freedom meaning that with my Samsung Pay I get 5x points almost anywhere (so any purchases off the ship).

 

The points I racked up doing this on my summer cruise paid for a good portion of my roundtrip flights and the hotel we are staying at (Hyatt in Miami) for the next cruise.

 

Everyone's situation is different but if you play your cards right with credit card rewards you can certainly max them to your benefit and find redemption's for each part of your cruise.

 

Edited October 26, 2018 by mattb31

[willow0325]

Great info from all, thank you!

[BNBR]

The cruise cards are generally terrible.  Just use a standard 2% card like another poster suggest.  You can then use that cash back towards your cruise if you wanted.  You'll get much better returns.

[Cigar King]

There are better cards out there.  That being said, I did just score almost 4 points to the dollar instead the 2 you get for OBC.  First time for everything I guess.

[scheat]

Totally agree there are much better cards out there.  If you can get USAA, they have a 2.5% cash back on all purchases.  We use it for everything and pay it off each month-I understand they're making money off this too, but it's almost feels criminal they allow me to do that.

 

I built my own home and did sign up for the RCCL card just before starting.  Put everything construction on it possible(foundation guy and framer couldn't take a card) and had a free cruise for my wife and I when we were done.

[h20skibum]

We use a Paypal card that gives us 2% on everything, so we are not limited in what it can be used on.  

 

We we just use the Royal card for booking the cruise and for any thing our OBC does not cover. Their benefits in the past were much better, and we redeemed for a couple free cruises.  With the changes and restrictions, the card is no longer a good deal. 

[John&LaLa]

37 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

There are better cards out there.  That being said, I did just score almost 4 points to the dollar instead the 2 you get for OBC.  First time for everything I guess.

 

I'm planning on cashing in 50k on a bunch of 4 day Mariner 

Edited October 26, 2018 by John&LaLa

[Getting out there]

Take the money they give you for signing up. Buy 1 thing and have OBC, then don't use it again. After cruise cancel it.

[Cigar King]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I'm planning on cashing in 50k on a bunch of 4 day Mariner 

 

This is essentially what we did.  Cashed in 125k points and got $2359.00 applied to one of our upcoming cruises.  That's almost twice as much as we would have gotten with OBC.

[Keri's Cruisin']

I open the card, charge my cruise to it, pay it off when the bill comes and net around $150-$200 OBC.  Then cancel the card. It's worth it to me for the OBC.   And no interest paid if you pay it off in full. 

[suesnake2002]

I like the card, yes there are better deals. I put only cruise stuff on card for double points. 

It is also my travel card while cruising. They do not charge the foreign transaction fees. 

I cash in my points for obc. 

[CapeCoralCruiser]

2 hours ago, Cigar King said:

 

This is essentially what we did.  Cashed in 125k points and got $2359.00 applied to one of our upcoming cruises.  That's almost twice as much as we would have gotten with OBC.

That's our plan, also.  Currently have almost enough for a couple 3-4 nighters, but should have 125k by the time we finish our currently booked cruises. Only use it for RCI/Celebrity expenses for the double points.

[willow0325]

Can I use it to pay the balance on a currently booked cruise?  How long before the points are available to use as OBC?  Thanks again, everyone!

[Clarea]

12 hours ago, willow0325 said:

Can I use it to pay the balance on a currently booked cruise?  How long before the points are available to use as OBC?  Thanks again, everyone!

Yes, there are redemptions available that act as discounts to your cruise.  Bonus points become available on the first or second bill after the first purchase using the card.

[John&LaLa]

13 hours ago, CapeCoralCruiser said:

That's our plan, also.  Currently have almost enough for a couple 3-4 nighters, but should have 125k by the time we finish our currently booked cruises. Only use it for RCI/Celebrity expenses for the double points.

 

The 125K redemption was excluding Oasis ships for a couple of years, but that is redeemable again. 

[h20skibum]

They still have a restriction on new ships.  They must be in service more than 13 months to be able to use them. 

[cruiser123!]

21 hours ago, johnjen said:

We use it for cruise charges and other things, pay off the balance each month, and like that little OBC surprise for the upcoming cruises.

Wait...what?   I have the card and we are cruising in July.  How do I get the free obc?

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, cruiser123! said:

Wait...what?   I have the card and we are cruising in July.  How do I get the free obc?

 

I believe they are referring to the initial 10K point bonus for signing up with the card.

[CapeCoralCruiser]

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

The 125K redemption was excluding Oasis ships for a couple of years, but that is redeemable again. 

 

Thanks, good to know.

 

Don't know if the VISA parties will occur with any frequency, other than Pres' cruises, but they were a nice perk.  Our favorites were the morning on Boardwalk and on Labadee during the Billy Ocean concert.  Ended up talking to fellow cruisers more than listening, but had a great time.🍹

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, CapeCoralCruiser said:

 

Thanks, good to know.

 

Don't know if the VISA parties will occur with any frequency, other than Pres' cruises, but they were a nice perk.  Our favorites were the morning on Boardwalk and on Labadee during the Billy Ocean concert.  Ended up talking to fellow cruisers more than listening, but had a great time.🍹

 

Pretty sure it's just that occasion. I liked all of the events. Martini party was last attended, but it was first and Formal suggested.  Probably cut down on attendance