Carnival Rewards Card

[lekisha20]

I currently have the Discover rewards card and enjoy 5% cash back on predetermined purchases during the quarter. For instance the first few months of the year, you earn 5% back on travel and restaurant purchases. The last few summer months it’s gas and hotels. I’m trying to determine if the rewards are that great with Carnival for a person doing one cruise per year to switch it?

Anyone else have the Carnival card? What do you enjoy most?

[brickergirl]

I've got the card and the interest rate is awful. That being said, I love the card and I play the game. I charge everything to it that I would normally use my debit card for and I use it for all my automatic payments (netflixs, cable, cell phone and such) then I pay it off weekly. No interest charge. I've been doing it for the last 6 months since I booked my September cruise and I've got enough points for $100 OBC. I'll also be using it for my Sign and Sail card, which will give me 2 points per dollar spent w/Carnival. It's conceivable that I'll have enough points to go on a "free" cruise next year or so. :D

 

Hope I helped!

[golfadj]

Too complicated to remember when you get 5% on what. Made a mistake on a home improvement purchase of $ 3000 and got all of 1/4 %.

 

Now use Carnival MC for all Carnival purchases for double points and have Fidelity Amex giving 2% back for everything.

 

Use MC in places where Amex is not accepted and this is working best for me.

[luvmysox1]

That's we are doing to with card.

[okwriter]

I pay mine off monthly, so interest rate is irrelevant to me. I use it for as much as I can but certainly not everything.

 

I've had it for 18 months and now have enough points for $300 either onboard credit or to pay on a future cruise fare. I haven't yet decided whether I'll use it for my Magic cruise in April or keep letting the points add up.

 

What I really like is the email options with Barclay (the card issuer). They email me plenty ahead of a due date. They email me again as the date gets closer. They email me again when they receive my payment. ALSO, we recently traveled out of state and they emailed me when they saw charges that weren't "normal" for me.

 

Plenty of people will say the card isn't worth it because of the interest rate or the crappy payback. But it works great for me! :)

[Bermuda C]

I have the Carnival MC. We signed up onboard the Miracle this past January. So we were given 5,000 points automatically and then our sign and sail card purchases from that cruise received double points.

 

We use it as well and the points have really accumulated. We pay off the balance every month so the interest rate doesn't impact us.

 

Now the reality is will we ever get a totally free cruise??? Not sure as it takes about 110,000 points (depending on cruise price) to get a free one.

 

But can cash in to pay a portion, get OBC credit, drink coupons, etc..

[sewut]

We have gotten two free cruises with ours. We use it for OBC also. :D

[ShakyBeef]

This topic comes up on the boards every few months it seems. Pretty soon, the usual suspect will get on here and call all of us who like this card "suckers" again.:rolleyes:

 

Regardless, I'll say what I always say on these threads: we have the Carnival FunPoints MC and love it. We have had it since 2005. We have taken one "free" cruise and had another "free" sail & sign account balance (which was higher than our cruise fare on that sailing).

 

We use it for everything that a credit card can be used for, pay it off every month, and have never paid one penny in interest. The credit card company hates people like us.:cool:

 

Since everything we buy with the card we were going to buy anyway, and we don't pay any interest, we really have gotten FREE cruises from this card.:)

[okwriter]

Pretty soon, the usual suspect will get on here and call all of us who like this card "suckers" again.:rolleyes:

 

:D Yep, won't be long now... :D

[golfadj]

Who are you talking about?

[mikel24m]

I use my carnival card alot and pay the balance off each month .we just used 20000 points for a $200 OBC

[UpstateCruizer]

I currently have the Discover rewards card and enjoy 5% cash back on predetermined purchases during the quarter. For instance the first few months of the year, you earn 5% back on travel and restaurant purchases. The last few summer months it’s gas and hotels. I’m trying to determine if the rewards are that great with Carnival for a person doing one cruise per year to switch it?

 

Anyone else have the Carnival card? What do you enjoy most?

 

I have the Carnival Seamiles card and there really isn't an advantage to using it for everyday purchases esp if those purchases fall under one of Discover's 5% cash back rewards. If you are using it on Carnival purchases you actually get 2% cash back which isn't bad.

The issue I've found with Discover Card is that they limit the amount of money you can get the bonus cash back on. It's usually something like the first $400 spent within that category. That's an extra $20 in cash back which is nice but as soon as you hit the max amount it reverts back to 1%.

We tend to stick with our Seamiles card since it's easier to just use one card!

[Brighton Line]

I got it, funny how Barclay gave me the card but NCL won't. Even if you pay off your balance and don't get interest charges the Bank won't love you but they will like you. Every charge you do they get a fee from the Merchant so they are making money.

I like the option of paying any Carnival Charge off with points. Online they list the charges you had with Carnival and you can use points to pay some or all of the charge.

I stick with it and use it as a debit card and pay the balance every payday.

Won't get finance charges but Barclay will get the merchant fees from all my charging.

[ShakyBeef]

Who are you talking about?

 

Remember this one...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1332137

 

The "card churner" that is so much smarter than those of us who like this card and doesn't hesitate to let us all know (and call us names) every time this subject comes up (he's done it in other threads on the subject too).:rolleyes:

[ShakyBeef]

I got it, funny how Barclay gave me the card but NCL won't. Even if you pay off your balance and don't get interest charges the Bank won't love you but they will like you. Every charge you do they get a fee from the Merchant so they are making money.

I like the option of paying any Carnival Charge off with points. Online they list the charges you had with Carnival and you can use points to pay some or all of the charge.

I stick with it and use it as a debit card and pay the balance every payday.

Won't get finance charges but Barclay will get the merchant fees from all my charging.

 

That's a good point about Barclays getting the merchant fees from customers like us. I had forgotten about that. I was just remembering what I learned from a documentary about Americans' credit card debt: the credit card companies have a name for people like you and me that use their cards and pay them off each month, never paying any interest... "deadbeats". They actually call us deadbeats.:p I think that's beautifully, ironically funny.

 

I too, like the online list of purchases eligible for "paying yourself back". That is how we got our free cruise and our free sail & sign balance - we got refunds for the full ammounts after the sailings by redeeming FunPoints that way.

[girlscruise2011]

Remember this one...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1332137

 

The "card churner" that is so much smarter than those of us who like this card and doesn't hesitate to let us all know (and call us names) every time this subject comes up (he's done it in other threads on the subject too).:rolleyes:

 

Is that the same one that tells people who like to pay with cash on their S&S, they they are in debt and have financial problems that they need to get help with if they don't have a credit card to use because you don't get rewards with cash? I remember that thread fondly ;).

[FloridaCouple05]

Regardless, I'll say what I always say on these threads: we have the Carnival FunPoints MC and love it. We have had it since 2005. We have taken one "free" cruise and had another "free" sail & sign account balance (which was higher than our cruise fare on that sailing).

 

We use it for everything that a credit card can be used for, pay it off every month, and have never paid one penny in interest. The credit card company hates people like us.:cool:

 

Since everything we buy with the card we were going to buy anyway, and we don't pay any interest, we really have gotten FREE cruises from this card.:)

 

We carry an American Express Delta Sky Miles card, and use it to pay for everything we buy, from utility bills to gas to lunches. Pay the balance in full each month. We've accumulated enough miles to take the entire family to Hawaii (first class) and fly to the British Virgin Islands, just by buying things we already intended to purchase. And you're not a "deadbeat," because AMEX prefers that you pay in full each month, although this particular card does let you carry a balance (for an exorbitant interest rate).

 

Might be a good strategy for those of you who are not fortunate enough to live within an easy drive of a variety of cruise ports like we Floridians. It's probably how we'll eventually manage a European cruise someday. :)

[Gig103]

I prefer sticking with cards that aren't tied to a specific bonus, so I wouldn't get a Carnival or RCI card. I also have a Discover, and if you look through the cashback bonus page, you can get double your redemption in a Carnival credit (redeem $60, get $120). Make sure you read the terms and conditions first, such as having to book direct, but if you change your mind about cruising with Carnival you can instead you can get cash instead of waiting for another year or two down the road to redeem your rewards.

 

If you have a Costco membership, you can get a TrueEarnings card from American Express. I just signed up and get 2% on travel, 3% on fuel, 2% on restaurants, and 1% on everything else, as cash back. Better than Discover, but you need a Costco membership.

[yesaccasey]

Other cards will give you a better return. This card gives you 1%.

[VickiD59]

Received an email the other day from Barclays regarding my Fun Points card and their new program that gives you higher point % when you shop directly from their website (which then links you to the websites of other merchants/stores). Example, instead of going directly to say.. JC Penney's website to purchase something at 1pt per $ spent (using your FunPoints card of course), they'll now give you 3pts or whatever it is, if you go the route of Barclays site. If you log into your Fun Points account you'll see it on the homepage just beneath were you see your point acccumulation listed. I haven't tried it yet, but it's worth it as long as it doesn't make it more complicated than need be to shop. All the merchants seem to be offering at least more than the 1pt you traditionally earn on non-Carnival purchases. Seems a faster way to rack up points.. but again haven't tried it yet.

[Offroad]

We will be receiving OBC on our Oct. cruise just for using the card on items we purchase anyway. Pay every month and No interest:D

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I think Discover is the best

[ShakyBeef]

Received an email the other day from Barclays regarding my Fun Points card and their new program that gives you higher point % when you shop directly from their website (which then links you to the websites of other merchants/stores). Example, instead of going directly to say.. JC Penney's website to purchase something at 1pt per $ spent (using your FunPoints card of course), they'll now give you 3pts or whatever it is, if you go the route of Barclays site. If you log into your Fun Points account you'll see it on the homepage just beneath were you see your point acccumulation listed. I haven't tried it yet, but it's worth it as long as it doesn't make it more complicated than need be to shop. All the merchants seem to be offering at least more than the 1pt you traditionally earn on non-Carnival purchases. Seems a faster way to rack up points.. but again haven't tried it yet.

 

Vicki,

 

I just want to thank you for drawing my attention to the Rewards Boost program. I had received the same email from Barclays a few days before you posted this, and had glanced at it, but I probably wouldn't have invistigated it if your above post hadn't reminded me to do so.

 

I checked it out and found lots of vendors I was shopping with anyway. I bought several items from a few sellers online through the Rewards Boost portal. I got FunPoints multipliers from 3x to 32x (that means 32 points for each dollar spent!:D) for these items that I would have had to spend the gas to drive to town to buy anyway for only 1 point per dollar. Most of them with free or really low shipping! I'm sorry I'm sounding like a commercial here:o, but I'm just so excited that I just got thousands of extra points (for just a few hundred dollars spent) and am now so much closer to my next free cruise!:D

 

I thought this program was worth further mention here, for those that already have this card or are thinking about getting it.