Bank of America Celebrity Credit Card

[AbbyCruiser45]

Hi all- we have the Celebrity Credit card and redeemed our credit card intro points a few months ago for OBC. The OBC hasn’t shown up on our Celebrity account yet. I mentioned it as an aside while on the phone with Celebrity about something else and asked if I need to talk to Celebrity about it or to the credit card. Celebrity said the credit card. We called the credit card today, and they said to call Celebrity. So we are officially in a loop! Before we push further, I wanted to post here to see if anyone has experience with redeeming the credit card points with the Celebrity card and who to contact. Thank you in advance! 

[Buckwheel]

I am having the exact experience you are and am wondering if we are required to bring our printed receipt then redeem it onboard. 

[39august]

You now must call Celebrity as the portal from the CC doesn't work properly. My understanding is that you do this on line as usual, then call X a day or so later. They will "see" it. We recently paid $1000 with CC points and this is what I had to do and was told. 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

You need to call Celebrity. There is a redemption confirmation on line that has some information that will make it easier to get this taken care of. Someone just asked about this on another site. Here's the info on how to get this document.

 

Log into your BOA account. Click on the Rewards Tab. Then Redeem My Cruise Points. The link will take you to the Celebrity Site. At the top you will see your account #, Sign Out opt and My Orders, etc. Click on My Orders. It will show you the date redeemed and the # of points redeemed. Click on details. A screen will open with all the details of the redemption. Once you have this you can contact Celebrity with the transaction details. Strongly recommend printing the page, and take it with you. It sometimes takes a while to have them applied to your account BTW.

 

I had 2 numbers to call pre covid: 

844 418-6824 

Ext 3 then 1

 

Per FAQ, 800 760-0654 opt 3

 

Don't know if they are still good.  The last time I called the Retreat # since we were in a suite.

 

[jwlane]

4 hours ago, 39august said:

 that you do this on line as usual, then call X a day or so later. 

You can actually call before submitting online, and they will do the transaction during the call.

[AbbyCruiser45]

Thank you, everyone! We’ll tackle this on Tuesday. 

[5:00_Somewhere]

20 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

You need to call Celebrity. There is a redemption confirmation on line that has some information that will make it easier to get this taken care of. Someone just asked about this on another site. Here's the info on how to get this document.

 

Log into your BOA account. Click on the Rewards Tab. Then Redeem My Cruise Points. The link will take you to the Celebrity Site. At the top you will see your account #, Sign Out opt and My Orders, etc. Click on My Orders. It will show you the date redeemed and the # of points redeemed. Click on details. A screen will open with all the details of the redemption. Once you have this you can contact Celebrity with the transaction details. Strongly recommend printing the page, and take it with you. It sometimes takes a while to have them applied to your account BTW.

 

I had 2 numbers to call pre covid: 

844 418-6824 

Ext 3 then 1

 

Per FAQ, 800 760-0654 opt 3

 

Don't know if they are still good.  The last time I called the Retreat # since we were in a suite.

 

 

Thank you SO much for this information. We only recently opened our Celebrity Credit Card and haven't used the points yet. We've had a Princess CC for years (through Barclays Bank), and they have made it incredibly easy to redeem points on the CC website in recent years, so it's good to have this information.

 

Gracias. 😉 

[kearney]

How soon before your cruise do you need to request OBC from BofA? We are sailing in late August.. and this would be a nice touch... Thanks in advance

[jwlane]

27 minutes ago, kearney said:

How soon before your cruise do you need to request OBC from BofA?

It will be applied to your account when you make the call.  I'd do it when you get the statement preceeding the cruise---assuming it's not within a couple of days of sailing.

[kearney]

23 minutes ago, jwlane said:

It will be applied to your account when you make the call.  I'd do it when you get the statement preceeding the cruise---assuming it's not within a couple of days of sailing.

Thanks.. I keep forgetting to take advantage of the OBC...

[cruisestitch]

Here is another strategy for using points rather than cashing them in for OBC. Assuming you are going to cruise on Celebrity again, use the points for a reduction in the cruise fare.   I always do this right after I have done a final payment. The reduction in cruise fare then shows up as a credit on my next Celebrity BOA statement.

 

On the cruise, I then use that credit card to pay for any onboard expenses, thus accruing  more points at the bonus level.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

With the perks for suites and booking on board OBC we don't usually have a big bill at the end of the cruise.  I use the points for a reduction in cruise fare before final payment.

[39august]

Me too. 

[Mcgeneseo]

2 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Here is another strategy for using points rather than cashing them in for OBC. Assuming you are going to cruise on Celebrity again, use the points for a reduction in the cruise fare.   I always do this right after I have done a final payment. The reduction in cruise fare then shows up as a credit on my next Celebrity BOA statement.

 

On the cruise, I then use that credit card to pay for any onboard expenses, thus accruing  more points at the bonus level.

Please help me understand this. You make your final payment but then use credit card points as a reduction to your cruise price? Then you get a credit to your Celebrity credit card? This is brilliant but I'd be worried it wouldn't work. I use my points to reduce the price but once final payment is made, I use them for OBC.

[cruisestitch]

You understand it correctly. I make final payment. Then I redeem points, choosing the option to reduce the cruise fare rather than OBC and I get a credit on the next visa statement. I do it every cruise that I have sufficient  points accrued.. No problems.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

@cruisestitchI've seen you post this before and I still don't know how you come out ahead. 

You owe 9500, pay 9500,  turn in points to get a credit of 500 on your CC that you spend on board.

Or

You owe 9500, turn in points to get a reduction of your cruise fare of 500. You now owe 9000 and you pay 9000. You then spend 500 on board.

 

The net amount coming out of your checking account is still 9500.

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by CHEZMARYLOU

[Mcgeneseo]

32 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@cruisestitchI've seen you post this before and I still don't know how you come out ahead. 

You owe 9500, pay 9500,  turn in points to get a credit of 500 on your CC that you spend on board.

Or

You owe 9500, turn in points to get a reduction of your cruise fare of 500. You now owe 9000 and you pay 9000. You then spend 500 on board.

 

The net amount coming out of your checking account is still 9500.

 

But the final payment is due 3 months or so before sailing. This allows you to apply points you earn after the final payment is due, so you are ahead.

[ChucktownSteve]

I'm curious. Has anyone calculated what percentage credit equals?  I receive 3% cash back on one of my credit cards for booking travel without jumping through these hoops for OBC.  Is the BoA credit more than 3% spent equivalent?

[cruisestitch]

44 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@cruisestitchI've seen you post this before and I still don't know how you come out ahead. 

You owe 9500, pay 9500,  turn in points to get a credit of 500 on your CC that you spend on board.

Or

You owe 9500, turn in points to get a reduction of your cruise fare of 500. You now owe 9000 and you pay 9000. You then spend 500 on board.

 

The net amount coming out of your checking account is still 9500.

 

I get bonus points for that on board spend, points which I will use on the next cruise.

 

 

[cruisestitch]

12 minutes ago, Mcgeneseo said:

But the final payment is due 3 months or so before sailing. This allows you to apply points you earn after the final payment is due, so you are ahead.

Exactly so

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Just now, cruisestitch said:

I get bonus points for that on board spend, points which I will use on the next cruise.

 

 

One last question, when you get the $500 credit on your CC don't they reduce the number of points you have by 500 or 1000 (double celebrity points)?  Since we rarely have a balance from on board spending after the cruise due to AI and OBC I'd rather take my $500 up front.

[cruisestitch]

1 minute ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

One last question, when you get the $500 credit on your CC don't they reduce the number of points you have by 500 or 1000 (double celebrity points)?  Since we rarely have a balance from on board spending after the cruise due to AI and OBC I'd rather take my $500 up front.

No they don’t reduce the points — it’s a payment on the balance just as if it had been paid out of my checking account.

[JuliaMS]

On 7/4/2022 at 12:12 PM, ChucktownSteve said:

I'm curious. Has anyone calculated what percentage credit equals?  I receive 3% cash back on one of my credit cards for booking travel without jumping through these hoops for OBC.  Is the BoA credit more than 3% spent equivalent?

It's 1 pt per $, double on Royal/Celebrity purchases. 5000 pts get's you $50. so your 3% on everything is better than this card. It's the same value weather redeeming for OBC or cruise fare. I'm not sure what the value works out to for the cabin upgrade or 2nd passanger fare.