Will RCCL start adding 3% for casino cash?

[gambalor]

I never would of thought people abused the casino cash priviledges this way. I usually pull out some SeaPass money at the ol' 3-Card Poker table for DW and myself. If we cash out winning money, then we have some more for the next night:rolleyes: It's such a nice perk for gamblers to have.

 

I see no problem with using casino cash for tipping cocktail servers and other small expenditures, but deliberately walking in and out...soaking up the cash for points on a credit card...ug,

grifting truly is a discipline.

[bambidrummer]

With double points since its an RCl charge he got 28,000 points, (almost $600) quite nice and clever although i wouldn't walk around with that much cash myself. This is an example of how posting little tricks and secrets on a public forum get them revoked. I liked being able to get the cash for the envelopes to tip at the end of the cruise but won't pay 3%. I'll have to bring enough cash for tips now.

Really do not think it ever happen. It must be urban myth.

[bambidrummer]

Are ATM machines available onboard?A: All ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet have ATM machines. There is a transaction fee up to $5.50 plus any other fees the guests financial institution would charge

[pcur]

Who says you have to get the advance in the casino in cash? Why can't we get it in slot tokens, keep the tokens, then go back and cash them in later in the day or the next day like winnings?

 

Do they charge you a 3% fee to get tokens? Are they considered cash?

[CcCcCcCindy]

That sucks. I never leave home without my American Express card. They don't charge me a fee for foreign country transactions.

American Express charges a 2% fee. Most Visa/MC's are 3%. Capital One is free. These are still cheaper than many places that convert currency. Some banks charge up to 7%, and AAA can be even higher.

[CcCcCcCindy]

Regarding the 3%, it would be shooting themselves in the foot. The casino is their main profit center. Anything that discourages people from spending money in the casino will not be popular with RCCL execs. More than likely, BOA will restrict miles for charges to the Casino.

[Merion_Mom]

Cash pulled out against your credit card costs them something. It's likely closer to 2% than 3, but it costs them, because the credit card company and issuing bank take their cuts.

 

I meant that when a staff member receives a tip in cash, the cruiseline doesn't have to do anything, doesn't have to process anything, doesn't have to get involved in the transaction.

 

Yes, they have to pay fees for the privilege of accepting credit cards. But that's a cost of doing business.

 

Many businesses DO give a discount if you pay cash, for that very reason.

 

It would be perfectly reasonable for RC to limit the amount that you can take out at the casino cashier's cages in cash to a far smaller amount than they do now.

 

But to charge 3% for ALL funds taken at the casino...............cutting off their nose to spite their face.

 

(and yes, that's what Princess does. It doesn't matter if you get it in tokens or chips and go directly to the tables and gamble. 3% babeeee. :()

[chaleg]

Last spring, before my trip to Europe, I went to AAA to get my "free" traveler's cheques.

 

I purchased them in EUROS to avoid problems on the other end. I had to pay the prevailing exchange rate for dollars to euros, although there was no separate "fee" for purchasing the cheques.

 

When I got to Paris EVERY bank charged me a conversion fee to cash the friggin' traveler's cheques EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE IN EUROS.

 

TCs no longer function as they used to. :( :mad: :mad:

 

The ship's purser's desk will cash Euro TCs to Euros notes without fees just like they do for US$ TCs for US cash. We have done this on several Med. cruises. They will only charge a fee if you want to convert a US$ TC to Euro cash which of course involves a currency exchange transaction.

[Hypo]

Most people do not realize that it costs the cruise lines money to have the cash on hand, that is $$ they cannot have in the bank earning interest. It is not chump change either. Since everyone is trying to save costs any way they can, here is another.

If they feel there is also abuse from the credit card thing, B/A and RCCL can always amend the card agreement to not allow points on casino transactions or any non purchases, or just treat them as a cash advance.

 

 

While this statement is true, it overlooks the fact that the cruise lines are using the money that we have all paid in advance as deposits for our cruises or the full payments which the cruise line has the use of, for at least 70 days (All of this with no interest being paid to us)

 

Hypo

[kauppias]

I for one will stay out of the casino completely if they start charging me for losing :) I for one take out cash and then pay off my seapass with any "winnings" i get lol so thus it would not pay off anymore. the RCCL casino is stingy as it is with bonuses perks and so on so they will be losing some of us players this way... the cashless casino might not be a bad idea :)

[bambidrummer]

I just spoke with Sara a Casino Host with RCI. She said that you go to the cashier in the casino ask for $2,000 (as long as your credit card has that much avaible) and they charge your sea pass the amount. You can get $2,000 a day. RCI then charges your credit card at the end as an entertainment expense. No cash advance fee or any other fee. I am so going to get $10,000 on by credit card this week on my cruise. Think of all the points, cash back, free gas, and miles I could collect. My husband could do the same thing. $20,000 wholly crap. :)

[twoputt.plusone]

Last spring, before my trip to Europe, I went to AAA to get my "free" traveler's cheques.

 

I purchased them in EUROS to avoid problems on the other end. I had to pay the prevailing exchange rate for dollars to euros, although there was no separate "fee" for purchasing the cheques.

 

When I got to Paris EVERY bank charged me a conversion fee to cash the friggin' traveler's cheques EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE IN EUROS.

 

TCs no longer function as they used to. :( :mad: :mad:

 

American banks do the same IF they'll cash them at all. This happened to me several years ago and that was the end of TCs for this girl.

 

2P.P1

[logan1_2000]

I just spoke with Sara a Casino Host with RCI. She said that you go to the cashier in the casino ask for $2,000 (as long as your credit card has that much avaible) and they charge your sea pass the amount. You can get $2,000 a day. RCI then charges your credit card at the end as an entertainment expense. No cash advance fee or any other fee. I am so going to get $10,000 on by credit card this week on my cruise. Think of all the points, cash back, free gas, and miles I could collect. My husband could do the same thing. $20,000 wholly crap. :)

 

So I guess this is the attitude that many on this thread are characterizing as "abuse" that "ruins" it for everyone else. And the poster I have quoted does not appear to be talking about an RCI card, where the points are doubled.

 

At least as far as the RCI card goes, they could have a second code used for a casino cash advance, rather than simply a purchase like anything else on the ship, so that the transaction could be recognized as not eligible for points, just like ATM cash advances and balance transfer checks do not accumulate points/rewards on virtually all cards. Might be an accounting complication, but I have faith in financial programmers to make sure I pay the right amount, but only get RCI points for non-cash advances.

 

I never got $2,000 a day. But several thousand over the course of a cruise, yes. A companion fare on a cruise last year, and a decent chunk of a free cruise for two this year. And if they put in the 3%, the math would not work and I would cease. I'm currently accumulating points on Norwegian Mastercard now, anyway, because I can use that discount over Christmas and I cannot use the RCI Visa rewards on a cruise that includes Christmas or New Year's. So I would also fall into the category that some posters consider abusers. Its a loophole, I saw an opportunity within the rules of the system that they set up, and I took it. When they close the loophole I'll be done. But honestly, I thought it was a bad business move to be doling out cash w/o a cash advance fee anyway--that is being a bank, and lending for free, and they don't do that at land-based casinos. I'm also a shareholder.:D

[pmfan]

I just spoke with Sara a Casino Host with RCI. She said that you go to the cashier in the casino ask for $2,000 (as long as your credit card has that much avaible) and they charge your sea pass the amount. You can get $2,000 a day. RCI then charges your credit card at the end as an entertainment expense. No cash advance fee or any other fee. I am so going to get $10,000 on by credit card this week on my cruise. Think of all the points, cash back, free gas, and miles I could collect. My husband could do the same thing. $20,000 wholly crap. :)

OMG Is it a good idea to have that kind of cash in your cabin? To travel with it? :eek: :eek: I believe you need to declare in when coming back into the states as well. :D

[bambidrummer]

OMG Is it a good idea to have that kind of cash in your cabin? To travel with it? :eek: :eek: I believe you need to declare in when coming back into the states as well. :D

That's why there is no way that so guy did that. Noone would leave that much cash around for the points. It would be a major mistake if the money was spent, lost or stolen. But it is good to know that I don't have to carry cash on to the ship and can get just a few hundred before leaving the ship every day. That seems safer.

:D

[flagger]

So I guess this is the attitude that many on this thread are characterizing as "abuse" that "ruins" it for everyone else. And the poster I have quoted does not appear to be talking about an RCI card, where the points are doubled.

I have had a membership rewards card from Amex and every cruise they have offered double points for travel related expenses. The cruise when billed at the end comes under the travel category. Sometimes it is double points for gas, sometimes for groceries, etc.

 

You are right, it is a loophole. If it gets closed no big deal. However you cannot say someone who gets money out to not use in the casino but to get more reward points is an abuser and not say the same thing about someone who gets out cash for tips, or to use on shore or for shopping.

 

As I said before, no one knows I carry that amount of cash with me off the ship. There is no more chance I will get mugged carrying it than if I am carrying $100. I said it before, I have been mugged exactly once in my life. I have never lost money nor had it stolen from the safe on a ship or say at a hotel. It is also perfectly legal to bring that much into the country if you declare it.

[MakinGold]

You are right, it is a loophole. If it gets closed no big deal. However you cannot say someone who gets money out to not use in the casino but to get more reward points is an abuser and not say the same thing about someone who gets out cash for tips, or to use on shore or for shopping.

 

I agree. It is intended as a way for passengers to get money for the casino, and using it as just a free way to get a cash advance on your credit card is abusing the system.

[flagger]

I agree. It is intended as a way for passengers to get money for the casino, and using it as just a free way to get a cash advance on your credit card is abusing the system.

How is it abusing the system when the company itself offers a way to get a cash advance without paying a cash advance fee?

 

I mean technically you could say that charging tips to a shipboard account linked to a credit card is abusing the system as well. Your credit card is charged as it is a shipboard purchase, not as a cash advance.

[twoputt.plusone]

I agree. It is intended as a way for passengers to get money for the casino, and using it as just a free way to get a cash advance on your credit card is abusing the system.

 

I disagree with that statement. As I said earlier, I load up my seapass account with lots of cash long before I ever set foot on the ship. My credit cards aren't the rewards type so I'm gaining absolutely nothing from it other that the convenience of not having to carry a lot of cash with me. Not everyone is in it for the perks and I don't think it's fair of you to assume they all are.

 

2P.P1

[MakinGold]

I disagree with that statement. As I said earlier, I load up my seapass account with lots of cash long before I ever set foot on the ship. My credit cards aren't the rewards type so I'm gaining absolutely nothing from it other that the convenience of not having to carry a lot of cash with me. Not everyone is in it for the perks and I don't think it's fair of you to assume they all are.

 

2P.P1

 

If you load up your seapass account with lots of cash long before setting foot on the ship, then you're not using the casino as a way to get a free cash advance on your credit card. I don't see how what I wrote applies to what you described. :)

 

And to flagger, the company offers you a way to get gambling money from you seapass account, just as they offer you a way to apply tip money to your seapass account. Neither of those is abusing the system; they are using the system as it was intended. Using the casino as a way to get a free cash advance for expenses off the ship (or just to rack up reward points) is abusing the system.

[flagger]

Sorry but there is no RULE that you spend the cash in the casino. It is not written nor stated as such. They cannot make anyone spend money in their casino. It is not abuse to use the system and exploit any loophole proffered.

[MakinGold]

Sorry but there is no RULE that you spend the cash in the casino. It is not written nor stated as such. They cannot make anyone spend money in their casino. It is not abuse to use the system and exploit any loophole proffered.

 

The very fact that you use terms like exploit and loophole should ring a bell that it's an abuse of the system. I won't argue the point any more, though. You and I clearly have different ideas of what "abuse" means.

[logan1_2000]

That's why there is no way that so guy did that. Noone would leave that much cash around for the points.

:D

 

No one? Maybe it is a matter of degree, but would you also say that no one would go get $5,000 or $7,000? I've done that a few times now. Always with a safe in the stateroom. And then kept it in my pocket while I drove home. So while $14k does run up against the immigration rule about $10k in currency, it is otherwise not so different. So I cannot agree with your statement that no one would do so. If I would do the same with 5-7k, someone else would do go get twice that amount, as I am not a wealthy person and I have many clients who think nothing of such amounts of money.

[flagger]

The very fact that you use terms like exploit and loophole should ring a bell that it's an abuse of the system. I won't argue the point any more, though. You and I clearly have different ideas of what "abuse" means.

Well if it is available to ANYONE, it ain't exactly abuse is it? I can also get money from my grocer by using a POS machine and pay no fee. If I go to the ATM, I get charged a fee from the ATM owner and my bank. I exploit that particular loophole ALL the time!

 

It will be interesting to see if this "rumor" is in effect in October, otherwise that will be quite fun over a 15 day cruise.

[twoputt.plusone]

If you load up your seapass account with lots of cash long before setting foot on the ship, then you're not using the casino as a way to get a free cash advance on your credit card. I don't see how what I wrote applies to what you described. :)

 

Keep in mind that I never said I was using the cash received from the casino cashier for gambling. Would you still say your comments don't apply to me?

 

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