redeeming credit card points ??

[fletch5727]

I called Bank of America Feb 15 to redeem my points, and I just got the certificate in the mail today.

[Retired LEO]

If I charge the balance of my cruise on the BOA Visa, will I earn points for that? Or do you only earn points for certain types of purchases?

 

Thanks!:)

 

Double points for any RCI purchase. All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar spent.

[Travel_World]

I did the Bank of America certificate run around ONCE.. Now, I just get the CASH and apply it to my cruise fund. Simple, fast and no paper follow thru. Takes only days to receive the check.

 

...no worries...

 

 

I have a new BoA Royal Caribbean Credit Card and want to use the points for a cruise in April for OBC but if I could get cash rewards instead, that would be even better. I did not see anywhere where this is an option for the RCCL Visa. How do you get cash?

[grazrock4]

Double points for any RCI purchase. All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar spent.

 

That's great, thank you!!

[schmoopie17]

I called Bank of America Feb 15 to redeem my points, and I just got the certificate in the mail today.

 

WOW...they are really SLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it takes almost a year, people will be out of luck if they cruise next month...;)

[39august]

Bonus points for paying your Sea Pass account with the RCI card is triple points thru' March.

[foxgoodrich]

Hi 39 August,

You're catching onto the strategy of maximizing those points! We usually book our next cruise onboard and put the deposit on the RC Visa (double points), then we make the final payment with it (double points) and also use it for the shipboard account (double points). I didn't know there are triple points for this through March - thanks for that info!! We'll use it for the onboard account on our Feb 27 cruise anyway, but triple is better than double...

Judy

P.S. We are both from OKC!

[39august]

Judy, a fellow Okie! The web site states triple thru' March. Hope it shows up this way. Thanks for all the info. We will be using the RCI card for all things RCI related!

[JMG680]

Judy, a fellow Okie! The web site states triple thru' March. Hope it shows up this way. Thanks for all the info. We will be using the RCI card for all things RCI related!

 

Awesome. X3 points will be great. Feb 20 sail date. Will have to max it out.

[garianns]

Here is my question: I have sent in all of my certificates for OBC. We cruise in March. Will the OBC be available to us upon embarkment? or as one post stated will it be credited the 2nd or 3rd day? We are on a 4 day cruise and would like to be able to use this as soon as possible. HELP!!!

[39august]

Just an FYI - Requested certificate Sat. Jan. 22 and received it Mon. Jan. 31.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I have a question regarding companion fares. I will have enough points after I make final payment on the Allure in August. The points will show up on my September 6 statement. Can I book a cruise before the points are available for the companion cruise or do I have to wait until after September 6 to book? If the points have to be available before booking, must I have a certificate in hand before booking?

[CptSticky]

Here is my question: I have sent in all of my certificates for OBC. We cruise in March. Will the OBC be available to us upon embarkment? or as one post stated will it be credited the 2nd or 3rd day? We are on a 4 day cruise and would like to be able to use this as soon as possible. HELP!!!

As long as it posts to your on board account by the end of the sail, you will be fine. Your charges are not due until the end of the cruise.

[cruiseguy1016]

Here is my question: I have sent in all of my certificates for OBC. We cruise in March. Will the OBC be available to us upon embarkment? or as one post stated will it be credited the 2nd or 3rd day? We are on a 4 day cruise and would like to be able to use this as soon as possible. HELP!!!

 

Before you get on the ship you have to set up a charge account, usually with a credit card. They will give you a Sea Pass that is used to open your cabin door and also to charge things to your account. From that moment on, all purchases made on the ship will go against that account. Your OBC will go towards paying off those charges. Here's an example. You get on the ship and have a few drinks, purchase some stuff in the gift shop, go to a specialty restaurant for dinner and then have a few more drinks after dinner in one of the bars. Your total for the day is $200. You have an OBC of $500 that shows up on your account on the second day. Boom, that $200 is (more or less) erased and you still have $300 to spend for the rest of your cruise.

 

So, in answer to your question, yes. Since you don't pay for things with cash, you can start spending right away. If you want book shore excursions as soon as you get on, those also will go on your Sea Pass account and the OBC will go towards those too.

 

The only way this will not work is if you want to set up your charge account with cash. You will have to give them a nominal amount (I think $200) to secure the account. The OBC will not show up when you board. It should be there on the second day.

[freedom1]

I mailed in my certificates about 3 weeks ago to RCL. Does anyone know if my onboard credit will show up on my reservation (I reserved online through their website)? I hate to call to "confirm" if the information should be right in front of me.

[cruisenfever]

I mailed in my certificates about 3 weeks ago to RCL. Does anyone know if my onboard credit will show up on my reservation (I reserved online through their website)? I hate to call to "confirm" if the information should be right in front of me.

You need to call RCI and request a Confirmation Invoice be emailed to you. On your invoice under Booking Charges will be a code similar to this.....C30C-$$$ - OBC P-P......substitute the dollar amount for the $$$.

 

Or you can call RCI's Coupon Redemption Center at 1-888-305-4626 and give them your booking number and they can check for you.

[lambs2]

Call RCI's Coupon Redemption Center at 1-888-305-4626 and give them your booking number and they can check for you.

 

We mailed our Visa points certificates in to RCCL two weeks ago (2X$150 and 1 $50.) to be applied as OBC. Just called the number above a few minutes ago to check if they had received the certificates in the mail. I barely had the question out of my mouth when the nice person on the phone at the RCCL redemption desk was telling me that I had three different OBC'c (all correct) applied to our upcoming cruise and that the amounts would be on our Sea Passes when we checked in! We will have our proof of the certificates with us, just in case, but that was a very easy and reassuring phone call!!:)

[Pomperaugrr]

Related question:

 

What is the best way to maximize the bang for the buck with the VISA points. We have over 125,000 points and would be happy to book a balcony or JS by paying the difference between the upgrade and the min. available ocean view. How have those of you with experience done this and is it worth it? We'd rather get a larger $ amount applied to a cruise as opposed to $1,250. onboard credit. All suggestions are welcomed!

 

Eric

[Texmike]

I lost 10,000 points because I didn't know the correct procedure a few years ago.

 

I got them from the credit card company but didn't know that you had to mail them to RCI-

 

I found out when I checked in before boarding

[freedom1]

Earlier this year we cashed in 100,000 points and got $1,000 taken off our balance. We had an inside cabin for about $700 each--so, we had a "very" cheap cruise.

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

Even after reading all of these posts I'm still really confused:confused:

 

I just got the RCI VISA card to start earning points for our cruise in March. I'm used to using the American Express Delta card. The card automatically keeps track of the miles and you can just go to the delta website and get the miles taken off to pay for or reduce your airfare.

 

Isn't it automatic with the RCI VISA? What's all this about sending in for certificates? If I plan on cashing in points for our March trip...what do I have to do and when do I have to do it?

 

Thanks for your help!

Robin

[I Church]

A couple of years ago we had enough for $1,000 (2 $500 certificates) off our up coming cruise so called BoA and got the certificates and gave them to our TA and it was applied to our account for the cruise payment. We found this was the best way to go. We now have nearly the same or will have when we make the payment for the September cruise so will use the certificates for the Nov cruise.

 

Take care...

Irene & Miles

[kc320]

Even after reading all of these posts I'm still really confused:confused:

 

I just got the RCI VISA card to start earning points for our cruise in March. I'm used to using the American Express Delta card. The card automatically keeps track of the miles and you can just go to the delta website and get the miles taken off to pay for or reduce your airfare.

 

Isn't it automatic with the RCI VISA? What's all this about sending in for certificates? If I plan on cashing in points for our March trip...what do I have to do and when do I have to do it?

 

Thanks for your help!

Robin

 

It's not automatic with RCL..when you reach the number of points you want to redeem for OBC or Money off your cruise you have to call the number on the back of your card & ask them to mail you the certificate for X number of points...it's a good idea to do this 6-8 weeks before your cruise..MOST people get their certificates in 7-10 business days..mine always seem to take 3-4 weeks...when you get the certificate fill out the back..make a copy for your records & mail to the address shown on the certificate..

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

It's not automatic with RCL..when you reach the number of points you want to redeem for OBC or Money off your cruise you have to call the number on the back of your card & ask them to mail you the certificate for X number of points...it's a good idea to do this 6-8 weeks before your cruise..MOST people get their certificates in 7-10 business days..mine always seem to take 3-4 weeks...when you get the certificate fill out the back..make a copy for your records & mail to the address shown on the certificate..

 

Thanks...where does it go when you mail it? How is the credit applied?

[packercruising]

When you call to redeem your points for OBC you will get a confirmation # and they will apply it to your cruise. When you get the certificate you send it to the cruise line. If you do not receive the certificate in time to send it you can bring it with you. When you set up your ship account you will see the credit.