OBC from credit card points?

[39august]

Been a while since I have done this. So, questions. Do these show up very quickly, like the next day? Do you still need to call X to verify as the portal doesn't work properly?

[Arizona Wildcat]

The points have always been posted within a few days.

Using them is more of an adventure as you need to use the website (good luck) or call Celebrity. 

If your cruise is soon I would call, otherwise email them.

[leaveitallbehind]

Not sure if this is the timing reference you are questioning, but in general third party (non cruise line sponsored) OBC's often take until the 2nd day on board to actually appear in the account.  I also think calling is never a bad thing to assure confirmation of the transaction, especially if you are close to your sailing date.

 

Sorry if I'm missing your question.

Edited March 1 by leaveitallbehind

[hcat]

We use Royal BOA Card points and MUST call Celebrity to apply them.

 

  It is a chore but once it is approved the points show up..and we request a revised invoice reflecting it.

 

Best is if we have enough points  to reduce final payment but  that's alot of points!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

34 minutes ago, hcat said:

We use Royal BOA Card points and MUST call Celebrity to apply them.

 

  It is a chore but once it is approved the points show up..and we request a revised invoice reflecting it.

 

Best is if we have enough points  to reduce final payment but  that's alot of points!

We always use them to reduce final payments, same number of points either way. 

[39august]

hcat, so you mean you simply call X to apply points, or do you go thru' the BOA system to apply points, and then call?

[NaplesKnitter]

Call Captains Club and it’s one of the options on this call. It goes right on after your call 

[hcat]

12 minutes ago, NaplesKnitter said:

Call Captains Club and it’s one of the options on this call. It goes right on after your call 

or gen X ph number..  Because we still use our Royal BOA card we have to go thru  Celebrity.. BOA not part of the process but it will reflect on our BOA statement

[39august]

So, the answer is call, not use the BOA portal?

[NaplesKnitter]

Yes, Call. When I’ve done online, it took a long time to post and I ended up calling to speed up process.

[2flacruisers]

And always, ALWAYS print out a copy of the transaction you make to make sure it is on your account when you get on the ship...on our last cruise (recently), before we left, I called Celebrity to make sure the OBC was showing up on our account, and I was advised it was there.  We got on the ship and they didn't have the info in their computer.  I showed the rep the receipt that I printed out, and she still questioned it...it took 3 days for the ship had any record of it in their computers...

 

[Laurab23]

8 hours ago, 2flacruisers said:

And always, ALWAYS print out a copy of the transaction you make to make sure it is on your account when you get on the ship...on our last cruise (recently), before we left, I called Celebrity to make sure the OBC was showing up on our account, and I was advised it was there.  We got on the ship and they didn't have the info in their computer.  I showed the rep the receipt that I printed out, and she still questioned it...it took 3 days for the ship had any record of it in their computers...

 

If you call to add it how do you get a receipt? Do they email something?

 

Laura

[hcat]

My husb called Celeb.. as soon as it was processed they generated and sent out an updated invoice showing the OBC..   Checked  BOA and pts showed they were redeemed.

 

Keep on it til your are sure it worked!

[darsura]

On 3/1/2024 at 7:03 PM, NaplesKnitter said:

Call Captains Club and it’s one of the options on this call. It goes right on after your call 

What is the Captain’s Club telephone number?  Hoping the wait is less than the general number, currently 40 minutes.

 

Thanks! 

[HLR]

How far in advance should you redeem your credit card points for the OBC to be on the safe side?

[hcat]

1 hour ago, darsura said:

What is the Captain’s Club telephone number?  Hoping the wait is less than the general number, currently 40 minutes.

 

Thanks! 

Truthfully..all calls route the same way..but we used the phone no on our Cap CLub Card..do not have it handy.  Never had a 40 min wait.. they must have a sale going on!

 

 We redeem a few weeks before we cruise.. to make sure there are no issues.  It went very smooth this time despite my fears.

[darsura]

Found a number for Captain’s Club, (800) 760-0654.  Took just a few minutes to apply my VISA points redemption to my upcoming cruise.  

[taxiang]

I just did this and I was told you HAVE to call. I also had to give them my BOA credit card number that the points we attached to, so have that ready.  I got the credit right away.

[SharonK]

I have used points in the past and redeemed them a few weeks or a month before the cruise.  We redeemed for OBC to be used once on the ship.  But I have a different situation now.  We booked a European cruise for August 2025 and only have a small amount of OBC.  We've have a lot of points to redeem so we could get more OBC so that we could book some excursions before they are sold out.  My question is if we trade in the points now to book excursions or upgrade drink pkg, what will happen if we had to cancel the cruise (or Celebrity cancels). I think once the points are redeemed they are not refundable.  Is that correct?  If so what have people done?

[HLR]

14 hours ago, SharonK said:

I have used points in the past and redeemed them a few weeks or a month before the cruise.  We redeemed for OBC to be used once on the ship.  But I have a different situation now.  We booked a European cruise for August 2025 and only have a small amount of OBC.  We've have a lot of points to redeem so we could get more OBC so that we could book some excursions before they are sold out.  My question is if we trade in the points now to book excursions or upgrade drink pkg, what will happen if we had to cancel the cruise (or Celebrity cancels). I think once the points are redeemed they are not refundable.  Is that correct?  If so what have people done?

Hi....one point....and correct me if I am wrong....if you redeem them now....you can't use OBC until you get on board. So you can't pre-book excursions. Unless you know something I don't know!

Edited March 13 by HLR

[SharonK]

1 hour ago, HLR said:

Hi....one point....and correct me if I am wrong....if you redeem them now....you can't use OBC until you get on board. So you can't pre-book excursions. Unless you know something I don't know!

I don't know either and I'm trying to find out.  I probably wouldn't redeem as much if I can't use it until I'm onboard.  Does anyone know the answer to this dilemma?

[CHEZMARYLOU]

1 minute ago, SharonK said:

I don't know either and I'm trying to find out.  I probably wouldn't redeem as much if I can't use it until I'm onboard.  Does anyone know the answer to this dilemma?

I don't know the answer but if you still have payments to make on the cruise, book and pay for the excursions using the card then cash in points to reduce the balance due on the cruise.  Same # of points and value either way I think.

[tschwa2]

1 hour ago, HLR said:

Hi....one point....and correct me if I am wrong....if you redeem them now....you can't use OBC until you get on board. So you can't pre-book excursions. Unless you know something I don't know!

Points show up pre cruise and you can use them pre cruise.  We generally wait until after final payment because it is a final transaction and if you cancel the OBC is lost.  I assume if you modify the booking to a new cruise the OBC would also be lost.  

I tried to convince my DH to take the statement credit and book on the card for the extra rewards points but it is his card and he likes the feeling of OBC.

[SharonK]

from reading this thread it sounds like I need to call Celebrity when the time comes to reduce the balance.  Good idea ChezMarylou to use the card to book the excursions thus building up more points!

[HLR]

1 hour ago, tschwa2 said:

Points show up pre cruise and you can use them pre cruise.  We generally wait until after final payment because it is a final transaction and if you cancel the OBC is lost.  I assume if you modify the booking to a new cruise the OBC would also be lost.  

I tried to convince my DH to take the statement credit and book on the card for the extra rewards points but it is his card and he likes the feeling of OBC.

Okay....how do you use your OBC credit pre-cruise? If I were to select something on the website it wants me to pay with credit card....do tell!

 

Howard