Carnival Mastercard

We just received an offer to get extra points equaling $100 in Carnival Gift Cards for applying. I'm not sure if there are strings like you need to spend so much first or any of that yet. I'm just asking those of you with a CCL MasterCard what you think of the card. Is it easy to turn points into CCL credit? If there anything I should know or beware of before we apply and try to earn points? I'd love to be able to cruise for less by just making my typical purchases. thanks in advance

I've had the Carnival Card for three years and I am just reaching 100,000 points. I use the card for all of my daily purchases to build points.

I posted a reply yesterday to another thread saying how PO'd I am at Barclay Bank for the way they treated my request for a replacement card since mine was starting to crack in half.

So last night I setup a new account with a sweet, cash-back card deal that I will start using as soon as I receive the card next week. I am done with the Carnival Card!

I can't find your other post and am curious as to what happened when you asked for a replacement card. Seems a reasonable request. I just got this card which is why I am asking.

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We just received an offer to get extra points equaling $100 in Carnival Gift Cards for applying. I'm not sure if there are strings like you need to spend so much first or any of that yet. I'm just asking those of you with a CCL MasterCard what you think of the card. Is it easy to turn points into CCL credit? If there anything I should know or beware of before we apply and try to earn points? I'd love to be able to cruise for less by just making my typical purchases. thanks in advance

It is very easy to turn it into CCL credit you can either purchase OBC with your points or if you made a purchase on carnival you can use your points to pay all or part of it off

We just received an offer to get extra points equaling $100 in Carnival Gift Cards for applying. I'm not sure if there are strings like you need to spend so much first or any of that yet. I'm just asking those of you with a CCL MasterCard what you think of the card. Is it easy to turn points into CCL credit? If there anything I should know or beware of before we apply and try to earn points? I'd love to be able to cruise for less by just making my typical purchases. thanks in advance

I have it... it is just meh. Interest rate is high so unless going to pay in full each month it's not worth it IMO.

I racked up my 20,000 points which was enough points for a $200 OBC- but now I am just going to cancel it once paid in full next week. There are better ones out there IMO that give 1.5x or double points for ALL purchases (not just purchases made on carnival) so it will be much easier to rack up the points. ;)

The card is meh. High interest rate and low points. I got it for the intro offer. Probably will use it for booking and for onboard purchases since it's double points. I do know there are some cards that offer better travel offers, but I don't have them. I use my Cap One that has 1.5% cash back on all purchases primarily. I can just redeem those to negate cruise cost. Also my AMEX card has double points at restaurants and I can directly redeem points for Carnival gift cards.

Navy Federal rewards card is the best really. 9%, 3x points restaurants, 2x points gas. You get $50 for every 5k you spend. I treat it like a debit card and pay it off every month. No annual fee. Don't need to be a member of the service anymore either.

I cut up all my other cards.

They do 1.9% auto loans too.

People who have the discipline to save money are always better off using a bank revolving line of credit with a " cash back " feature/benefit.

If you pay off your balance every month the Carnival card is not bad. But if you run a balance the interest rates of 15% to 20% are points beyond my credit union card that charges 8%.

I've had the Carnival Card for three years and I am just reaching 100,000 points. I use the card for all of my daily purchases to build points.

 

I posted a reply yesterday to another thread saying how PO'd I am at Barclay Bank for the way they treated my request for a replacement card since mine was starting to crack in half.

 

So last night I setup a new account with a sweet, cash-back card deal that I will start using as soon as I receive the card next week. I am done with the Carnival Card!

My card cracked in half too! What problem did you have? I just requested a replacement through the app...got it about a week later...no problem.

My card cracked in half too! What problem did you have? I just requested a replacement through the app...got it about a week later...no problem.

I requested my replacement card and explained that I use it daily for everything I buy. They asked if I wanted to expedite delivery and when I said yes, they advised of a $15 fee. I pushed back a little and they refused to waive it.

It's not a big deal in the big scheme of things, but I've learned over the years that you should throw a bone to your regular, good customers every now and then when they have an issue.

It just irked me how they took that position and then refused to acquiesce. Poor business sense to me, so I voted with my feet and now I'm taking my credit card spending to a better situation (a plus for me!).

I requested my replacement card and explained that I use it daily for everything I buy. They asked if I wanted to expedite delivery and when I said yes, they advised of a $15 fee. I pushed back a little and they refused to waive it.

 

 

 

It's not a big deal in the big scheme of things, but I've learned over the years that you should throw a bone to your regular, good customers every now and then when they have an issue.

 

 

 

It just irked me how they took that position and then refused to acquiesce. Poor business sense to me, so I voted with my feet and now I'm taking my credit card spending to a better situation (a plus for me!).

I never missed a beat with mine. I was able to use it for everything while it was cracked..a couple days before my new one came in it totally broke in half and I was still able to use it.

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Here is what will probably be a stupid question, but if you pay off your balance every month, doesn't the credit card company not make any money off of you? Hence they would not want to keep you as a customer? Or do they make money other ways from your use of the card?

I was planning to pay off the balance every month but if it will hurt my standing not to keep some revolving credit I won't.

I normally use an AmEx card for every single daily purchase I make and pay it all at the end of the month (it makes it easy for me to keep track of where I'm spending) but it was just a regular green Amex with no rewards so I was excited to get this Carnival card so I can earn points for cruising.

So is it ok to pay off the balance every month or will they cancel me after a while if I am not profitable enough to them?

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Here is what will probably be a stupid question, but if you pay off your balance every month, doesn't the credit card company not make any money off of you? Hence they would not want to keep you as a customer? Or do they make money other ways from your use of the card?

 

I was planning to pay off the balance every month but if it will hurt my standing not to keep some revolving credit I won't.

 

I normally use an AmEx card for every single daily purchase I make and pay it all at the end of the month (it makes it easy for me to keep track of where I'm spending) but it was just a regular green Amex with no rewards so I was excited to get this Carnival card so I can earn points for cruising.

 

So is it ok to pay off the balance every month or will they cancel me after a while if I am not profitable enough to them?

 

 

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They charge transaction fees to the place you're using the card at. That's why some of these Mom and pop gas stations require a min $5 purchase for you to use a credit card.

So is it ok to pay off the balance every month or will they cancel me after a while if I am not profitable enough to them?

I won't say that NEVER happens, but in my experience with credit cards, I've never had one threaten to drop me for being a good payer. Pay it in full each month proudly.

I have one card that I use exclusively for a small recurring charge each month (Netflix). I pay it each month in full and I've been doing so for at least five years. If they didn't like it, I'd have been given the boot a long time ago.

Here is what will probably be a stupid question, but if you pay off your balance every month, doesn't the credit card company not make any money off of you? Hence they would not want to keep you as a customer? Or do they make money other ways from your use of the card?

 

I was planning to pay off the balance every month but if it will hurt my standing not to keep some revolving credit I won't.

 

I normally use an AmEx card for every single daily purchase I make and pay it all at the end of the month (it makes it easy for me to keep track of where I'm spending) but it was just a regular green Amex with no rewards so I was excited to get this Carnival card so I can earn points for cruising.

 

So is it ok to pay off the balance every month or will they cancel me after a while if I am not profitable enough to them?

 

 

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I pay mine off weekly...have been for going on three years. I haven't paid a penny of interest. They haven't dropped me yet.

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Have to agree with what others have said, if you get it during a promotion it's pretty worth your while. Initially a free $100 carnival gift card just for applying then after your First transaction no matter the value you receive enough bonus points to purchase $100 bar credit for onboard. So the way I look at it they gave me $200 free just for applying for the card. Now my husband also has one uses it for every thing and pays it off every month. With the points we basically get a free cruise every 2 years for about $2,000 value.

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Somewhat related. A lot of the Travel sites are meh relating to the Carnival branded card. Personally I like the Chase Saphire Preferred Visa card it give 50,000 Ultimate Rewards Points after doing a 4,000 spend in a 3 months time frame. This translates to roughly a $650 credit redeemable from any travel related expense example Plane Tickets, Cruise Companies, Hotels. The points also transfer at a 1 to 1 ratio to most other loyalty programs. Anything travel earns x2 points per dollar spent. The card also has other perks such as a fairly comprehensive travel insurance among other goodies like free rental car insurance. Google it. I hope I'm not schilling too much for the card but I really do like it. If there is a way to send me a message on this forum please do so and I will send you a referral which I think gets me a bunch of points LOL... anyway google it.

You can get a better rewards card than the Carnival MasterCard. In fact, most branded credit cards are not a good deal unless you use them a lot at their company's stores. My wife has a credit card for her favorite clothing store and she uses it because they send her tons of coupons that you can't get otherwise.

The Costco credit card gives 4% back on ALL travel (hotel rooms, flights, cruises), 3% back on gas, 2% back at Costco, and 1% everywhere else. No annual fee. You do have to be a Costco member to have the card, but we are Costco members anyway. It comes as a check that you can only cash at Costco. Of course they want you to use it as a Costco gift card but they'll happily cash it for you.

Discover has revolving 5% cash back categories. Capital One Quicksilver gives 1.5% back on every purchase.

Tons of other cards out there, none with an annual fee. We signed up for the Carnival card for the bonus credit for signing up. Cancelled it about 6 months afterward when we realized how bad of a deal it was compared to other rewards cards.

If you're OK with an annual fee, there are cards out there that are even better than the ones I talked about.

I never missed a beat with mine. I was able to use it for everything while it was cracked..a couple days before my new one came in it totally broke in half and I was still able to use it.

 

 

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That worked out well for you.

I stopped this morning to buy a bagel and my card was declined! They shut it down while I wait for the new card. Unbelievable!!!

I called Barclay Bank this morning and they turned it back on. But oh boy....So hard to bite my tongue and simply smile. But I did... :D

That worked out well for you.

 

 

 

I stopped this morning to buy a bagel and my card was declined! They shut it down while I wait for the new card. Unbelievable!!!

 

 

 

I called Barclay Bank this morning and they turned it back on. But oh boy....So hard to bite my tongue and simply smile. But I did... :D

My cards have the same number...since I replaced a damaged card...not a lost/stolen card. That would be a real pain if my number changed.

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Carrying balances on credit cards mostly negates any monetary advantage with the loyalty cards. If you pay your cards off monthly then there is definitely some travel cards that really benefit the traveler. I have the Delta Amex which gives me and my family free checked bags on flights. The card also gave me 2 free uber trips into Manhattan from LGA as a promotion. Just last month the AMEX offers netted me $100 off $500 spent booking my Carnival cruise. The Saphire preferred I've already talked about. I have a Wyndham branded Barclaycard Visa that I use with my work travel expenses - (this earns me free room nights). I also have a Citibank 2% cash back that I use for everything else. I haven't paid a penny of interest in over 7 years. I have paid a few annual fees but in most cases annual fee cards offer a promotion that makes the fee a wash or at least revenue neutral example the UBER credit on the Amex card which was worth $100. A lot of sites do a real good job explaining the pros and cons (the points guy) is one.. google it... anyway I love to travel and I love good deals... the two go very well together. See ya!

Thanks everyone. I'm trying to learn more about card churning and making them work in my favor. I have a chase Freedom I've had for years. I usually cash my years worth of points into gift cards each Christmas and it helps. I know there are better cards out there so I'm looking. We never hold a balance so I'm just looking for the perk factor. I certainly need to use my card more often than I do but I find myself using my debit. My husband also owns a small business so I need to get him on board with using a credit card so we can benefit vs his debit he currently uses. We have 3 years worth of missing perks. Lol. I've read the points guys page but sadly to me it's like reading Greek I think that's why I've never gotten into this process. I just opened a Southwest card and need to spend my 2,000 so I can get the 50,000 points. Will probably drop once I book some free flights as its an annual fee card and we don't fly that often at this point. I might try the CCL $100 is $100 and I like free money

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