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Final Payment tips?

uneamie

By uneamie,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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uneamie Great Review Rare

uneamie

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Our final payment is coming up Jan 2 for our May 7th cruise on Prima. It's been quite awhile since we've done this and I forget all the things we should be considering BEFORE we make that final payment. Is there anything we should be aware of?  Thanks! :classic_smile:

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ChiefMateJRK

ChiefMateJRK

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15 hours ago, NW Pacific said:

Travel Insurance

I'm guessing this is based on the assumption that a person is purchasing a policy with some level of cancellation coverage.  If only for medical/medevac and trip interruption, then this can wait until just prior to departure.

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SunshineGal2022

SunshineGal2022

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On 12/2/2022 at 7:23 PM, uneamie said:

Our final payment is coming up Jan 2 for our May 7th cruise on Prima. It's been quite awhile since we've done this and I forget all the things we should be considering BEFORE we make that final payment. Is there anything we should be aware of?  Thanks! :classic_smile:

You might want to see if any of your credit cards cover travel insurance or trip interruptions.  I would use that card to book. 

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

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9 hours ago, SunshineGal2022 said:

You might want to see if any of your credit cards cover travel insurance or trip interruptions.  I would use that card to book. 

Costco credit card does. 

I cancelled my SAMS card because they didn't.

Some Chase and AMEX cards do, especially the ones with a big annual fee.  

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graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

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2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Costco credit card does. 

I cancelled my SAMS card because they didn't.

Some Chase and AMEX cards do, especially the ones with a big annual fee.  

Costco does, indeed.  Did the same in cancelling Sam’s for the same reason.

 

My AMEX Platinum has some decent travel insurance.  They also offer some nice OBC and Specialty Dinner perks, too.  Annual Fee is hefty.  But, with the perks the card offers (Delta Lounge, OBC on most cruise lines, land based dinner perks at some pretty nice restaurants, etc), it has more than paid for itself.

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PTC DAWG Holiday Sharing Rare

PTC DAWG

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On 12/2/2022 at 10:23 PM, uneamie said:

Our final payment is coming up Jan 2 for our May 7th cruise on Prima. It's been quite awhile since we've done this and I forget all the things we should be considering BEFORE we make that final payment. Is there anything we should be aware of?  Thanks! :classic_smile:

If you want to cruise, pay your bill. 

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

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24 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Costco does, indeed.  Did the same in cancelling Sam’s for the same reason.

 

My AMEX Platinum has some decent travel insurance.  They also offer some nice OBC and Specialty Dinner perks, too.  Annual Fee is hefty.  But, with the perks the card offers (Delta Lounge, OBC on most cruise lines, land based dinner perks at some pretty nice restaurants, etc), it has more than paid for itself.

I went with Chase Sapphire Reserve.  Close decision between AMEX Platinum and the Reserve.  If I were still travelling as I did before I retired would probably gone with the Platinum.  The travel insurance alone has more than paid for itself.

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

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17 minutes ago, Level six said:

Interesting.....to those that say costco has trip insurance.......it used to, but I don't think it does now.  Where did you find the information?  Thanks. 

You're right.  As of Sep 2016.

https://costco-travel-us-mbr.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5730/~/does-my-credit-card-offer-travel-insurance%3F

Just another reason to keep my Chase.

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phillygwm

phillygwm

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21 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm guessing this is based on the assumption that a person is purchasing a policy with some level of cancellation coverage.  If only for medical/medevac and trip interruption, then this can wait until just prior to departure.

Though a lot of travel insurance won't cover pre-existing conditions unless you purchase it early on.  Plus, I like to pay for stuff along the way instead of having one big FP charge.  I got my insurance early for that reason: just to get it out of the way.

 

 

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phillygwm

phillygwm

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Posted (edited)
22 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I went with Chase Sapphire Reserve.  Close decision between AMEX Platinum and the Reserve.  If I were still travelling as I did before I retired would probably gone with the Platinum.  The travel insurance alone has more than paid for itself.

I realize I'm probably insane but I have both.  Amex has paid for itself between the $350 cash I got back when I booked my last cruise plus other deals I take advantage of.  I'll wait until the deadline to make FP just in case they run something like that again.

 

I had my Sapphire Reserve well prior to my Amex and keep it around because the net cost is $250/year and I'd be paying at least $100 to get a card with extra dining benefits anyway, so for $150 net it was worth keeping it.  Plus, I can use my Freedom cash back categories, transfer those 5 points per $1, then use the 1.5x multiplier.  It's otherwise tough getting 7.5% cash back 🙂

 

 

Edited by phillygwm
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graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

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37 minutes ago, Level six said:

Interesting.....to those that say costco has trip insurance.......it used to, but I don't think it does now.  Where did you find the information?  Thanks. 

Thanks.  I didn't know that, either!  I still like Costco better than Sam's.  So, keeping it nonetheless!

 

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graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

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23 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I went with Chase Sapphire Reserve.  Close decision between AMEX Platinum and the Reserve.  If I were still travelling as I did before I retired would probably gone with the Platinum.  The travel insurance alone has more than paid for itself.

A few years ago, Chase was offering a heckuva deal by giving 100K points by signing up.  At the time, that was worth about $1,500.  Net-net +$1,000...given their $500 annual fee at the time.  Kept it for business expenses (which were the qualifiers) and then cancelled once I secured the points.  I actually used those points to book a cruise.  So, net effect, I got a free cruise out of it.  

 

Not sure what they offer now.  But, the perks of AMEX Platinum keep it in my wallet.  Whenever that's not the case, I'll downgrade it to Gold.

 

As an aside, I put my last car purchase on my AMEX Platinum.  Obviously had to pay it off within 30 days, but those points were worth nearly $1,000.  Lots of perks to go along with the high entrance fee.

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

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42 minutes ago, Level six said:

Thanks, I thought so.  I had my husband looking at the website now.  I will check out Chase! 

Both Chase and AMEX offer trip insurance as a benefit on their top level travel cards.  You're looking at an annual fee of over $550 or $650 but they come with perks that offset those fees.  For example Chase credits your first $300 of travel. They pay your Global Access Fees.  AMEX offers similar benefits.  Different but similar.

You might find this useful:

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/amex-platinum-vs-chase-sapphire-reserve-which-card-is-right-for-you/

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ChiefMateJRK

ChiefMateJRK

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1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

Though a lot of travel insurance won't cover pre-existing conditions unless you purchase it early on.  Plus, I like to pay for stuff along the way instead of having one big FP charge.  I got my insurance early for that reason: just to get it out of the way.

 

 

Yep.  Pre-existing condition waivers apply to cancellation coverages, which is why I qualified my statement. 😎  If I'm self-insuring for cancellation, I have no need to purchase insurance early (which likely won't be refunded if I do need to cancel the trip).  I generally buy insurance with a 60 day look back for pre-existing conditions.  If I have some medical tests coming up, I buy the insurance prior so that I'm still covered if something medical prevents me from traveling.  I use Squaremouth to find and compare coverages.  I know a lot of folks like that Steve guy's store, but I prefer to be able to compare a broader collection of policies.  

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phillygwm

phillygwm

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1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I use Squaremouth to find and compare coverages.  I know a lot of folks like that Steve guy's store, but I prefer to be able to compare a broader collection of policies.  

I've used Steve's store a couple times.  I don't need analysis paralysis 🙂  I've also used Geoblue, mostly for land-based vacations, when my primary concern is illness.

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