Which Credit Card for Cruising?

Hi Folks.

I've been repairing my credit with Credit One but am tired of their interest and fees. Which credit card do peeps use for the best rewards or miles when booking? I just need one that would be good for general purchases too.

BTW I used to have the Freedom card by Chase before I started cruising. My wife ran off with her ex boyfriend and ruined my credit in the process. My new gal and I are now eligible for a normal card again and I want to keep travel in mind.

............and I want to keep travel in mind.

If "travel" means to places where USD aren't the official currency or aren't widely accepted or are accepted at a premium - I'm thinking Europe, Asia, South America etc - then consider a card which doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. That's way better value than any exchange bureau etc for purchases in another currency

But cakes don't come with two cherries on top, so don't expect cash-backs, miles, etc with those cards.

We keep one no-foreign exchange-fees card just for international travel.

Can't help with which cards do that in the US, but your fellow-Americans can suggest a few.

We use cards only as charge-cards, we settle the balance each month by automatic bank transfer and avoid both fees and the punitive interest rates charged by card issuers. That's difficult if money is tight, but there are cheaper forms of credit.

JB :)

My Costco Visa (Citi bank) pays 3% back on restaurants and travel but it imposes a 3% fee on international transactions. Since the onboard charges are in dollars in most cases I tend to use that for cruises and domestic travel. For international travel I have a Capital One Visa that pays 1.25% with no international transactions fee. If you're willing to pay an annual fee CapOne has 2% cards with no international fees.

Oh, and this year American Express has had a special offer a couple of times where if you charge $500 to a cruise line (as I recall, any of the Carnival lines, so Carnival, HAL, Princess, etc) they'd rebate $100 of that. The deposit on our Alaska cruise was $300 for each of us so that was an easy $100.

If "travel" means to places where USD aren't the official currency or aren't widely accepted or are accepted at a premium - I'm thinking Europe, Asia, South America etc - then consider a card which doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. That's way better value than any exchange bureau etc for purchases in another currency

But cakes don't come with two cherries on top, so don't expect cash-backs, miles, etc with those cards.

We keep one no-foreign exchange-fees card just for international travel.

Can't help with which cards do that in the US, but your fellow-Americans can suggest a few.

 

We use cards only as charge-cards, we settle the balance each month by automatic bank transfer and avoid both fees and the punitive interest rates charged by card issuers. That's difficult if money is tight, but there are cheaper forms of credit.

 

JB :)

Would be interested to hear who you use for your no foreign exchange fees card and if it is still available

Good morning, I may not be understanding exactly what your asking, maybe ignorance on my part, but my Carnival Mastercard does not charge a foreign transaction fee, not sure if that's the same as a foreign exchange fee. I only get 1% reward though.

Check out the Frugal Travel Guy he writes a great travel blog and has great information on which cards are good for how you plan on traveling

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Would be interested to hear who you use for your no foreign exchange fees card and if it is still available

I recently signed up for the CapitalOne VentureOne card. Noforeign exchange fees and no fee to join. I believe the special promotion is going on that they give you 20,000 bonus points if you use it to charge 1,000 in first three months. We went to London. I charged everything and then used the points I had to erase a bunch of charges. They only give 1.25 points per dollar on that one, but with the no fees it's worth it.

There are some websites that have done most of the work for you just

google " best credit credit cards for US citizens"

then pick the one that suits your needs the best

here is one site

https://creditcards.usnews.com/

I recently signed up for the CapitalOne VentureOne card. Noforeign exchange fees and no fee to join.

So do you get 1 for 1 deal ??

1 USD = 1 GBP

Or are you confusing the wording & mean no foreign TRANSACTION fee

quite different

Here is the " sticky " for the NCL master card.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=588120

We have a chase premier united mileage plus card for which we pay $100 a year. Besides no foreign transaction fee, it has $10,000 of travel insurance.

Our granddaughter had a ruptured appendix before on of our cruises and she and her parents were unable to cruise. the card reimbursed us for her and her parent's cruise fares. The reimbursement was almost 6K so that paid the $100 yearly fee for a few years.

I think most of the major airlines in the USA have similar cards.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I recently signed up for the CapitalOne VentureOne card. Noforeign exchange fees and no fee to join. I believe the special promotion is going on that they give you 20,000 bonus points if you use it to charge 1,000 in first three months. We went to London. I charged everything and then used the points I had to erase a bunch of charges. They only give 1.25 points per dollar on that one, but with the no fees it's worth it.

Have used CapitalOne Rewards - Visa Signature all over the world with no foreign exchange fees and points per dollars spent, which I cash in or apply to the account balance once or twice a year.

I wanted to know of a U.K. company???

Thepointsguy.com is another good resource. Check for UK credit cards on one of the sites.

Better reward cards generally have higher interest rates. People who don't pay off their full balance every month might benefit more from a card which offers a lower interest rate rather then a higher reward payout.

Don't let a merchant in another country put through the charge in dollars. The foreign exchange rate is so bad even a card with a 3% foreign exchange fee will be a better deal.

Also use my Capital One for my international travel.

I like the Costco credit card, and that Norwegian one looks like more options than the other cruise line cards I've looked at. We just have to try Norwegian and see if we like it. I've been paying my Credit One card off every week because they charge interest immediately after the charge! The logo looks like Capital One but they're not. At least it's helped me rebuild my credit.

I'm getting Sams club for the same perks as Costco but no Foreign Transaction fees. Thanks folks!

I wanted to know of a U.K. company???

We're from the UK and have a Capital One Mastercard with no foreign transaction fees. Don't know if it's still available for new customers though.

I recently signed up for the CapitalOne VentureOne card. Noforeign exchange fees and no fee to join. I believe the special promotion is going on that they give you 20,000 bonus points if you use it to charge 1,000 in first three months. We went to London. I charged everything and then used the points I had to erase a bunch of charges. They only give 1.25 points per dollar on that one, but with the no fees it's worth it.

If the cruise line charges your card in the same currency your card i.e. no foreign transaction charges on your cruise card account settlement but you have a target as above ($1000.00 in three months) or a cashback system it is possible to draw cash at the pursers desk to hit your target and pay the cash into your bank account and pay back the credit card from your bank account and receive a small benefit by doing so. Cash drawn at reception is not usually regarded as a "cash withdrawl" as would using your credit card at an ATM, it's just part of your cruise cost bill.

Regards John