Celebrity MBNA American Express Card

[gary]

Does anyone have this card yet? It looks like a relatively good value. 125,000 points for up to a 10 day cruise is not too bad. Any thoughts?

[cruiseguy2]

Can we get instant credit with this card?

 

-Chris

[dfhnis]

Celebrity only came out with the VISA card a few months ago also by MBNA I called MBNA There is no difference in points, benefits etc. in fact they said that visa is more widely accepted than the american Express which i know is true I have no idea why Celebrity would come out with two similar cards back to back In fact if you go on the web site you cant even find a link to the Visa when a few weeks ago they were pushing the hell out of it Strange world of marketing

[gary]

There is a link to the visa as well as the Amex. The rewards are not the same.

[kely53]

I got the card a couple of months ago. I pay my cards off each month so I am only using it as a means to earn points toward my next cruise.

[dfhnis]

There is a link to the visa as well as the Amex. The rewards are not the same.

 

MBNA says they are

[joeyanddavid]

the differences in the 2 cards are very slight one being that first purchase is worth twice the amount with amex the other is amount of double points for 2005. those are two differences that I noticed.

 

As far as "Instant" credit I had to wait for an answer by mail.

fair interest rate and nice line of credit. ( at least thats what i got)

hope that answers some of the questions

 

joey

[Ships R Great]

Do I understand correctly that you don't get points for cash advances or for MBNA checks that come inthe mail?

[GBarrontine]

I have the MBNA Visa and was able to cash in 5000 points for a $50 onboard credit for my 5/15 cruise on the Mercury. I did get double points for paying for the cruise with the Visa.

[stefhef]

What are the other rewards that you can get at the various point levels?

How many points for a 7 day Caribbean cruise for two?

[Iamboatman]

I have the MBNA World Rewards Platinum AMEX card and asked if there was any benefit in having the Celebrity branded card. I was advised that the Platinum was the better card because you get all the same Celebrity benefits without your points being tied just to Celebrity. I don't know if all the World Rewards AMEX cards have this same benefit, but it is worth looking into if you are seriously considering the Celebrity card.

[flagger]

I would RUN very far away from anything backed by MBNA. IF you are one day late on your payments on some cards, they can jack your interest rates to 24.9% forever. They hide their terms and conditions in law-speak (as do all credit issues), but they are particularly sinister, IMHO.

[hajekfam]

I have the MBNA World Rewards Platinum AMEX card and asked if there was any benefit in having the Celebrity branded card. I was advised that the Platinum was the better card because you get all the same Celebrity benefits without your points being tied just to Celebrity. I don't know if all the World Rewards AMEX cards have this same benefit, but it is worth looking into if you are seriously considering the Celebrity card.

The one point selling point on the Celebrity card is double points for dollars spent on Celebrity. If you are a regular Celebrity cruiser, that is a definite benefit especially with cruise prices rising - more points.

[CruisingChick]

I have the MBNA World Rewards Platinum AMEX card and asked if there was any benefit in having the Celebrity branded card. I was advised that the Platinum was the better card because you get all the same Celebrity benefits without your points being tied just to Celebrity. I don't know if all the World Rewards AMEX cards have this same benefit, but it is worth looking into if you are seriously considering the Celebrity card.

 

I have both the Celebrity VISA and AMEX through MBNA and all our points are ALSO redeemable for NON-Celebrity items, such as airfare and other products offered. Whomever told you it was strictly tied to Celebrity was incorrect.

 

Anne Maria

[canderson]

I would RUN very far away from anything backed by MBNA. IF you are one day late on your payments on some cards, they can jack your interest rates to 24.9% forever. They hide their terms and conditions in law-speak (as do all credit issues), but they are particularly sinister, IMHO.

Somehow "sinister" doesn't work for me. "Predatory" seems more appropriate. Here's a site describing their business practices and how consumers have been responding. The UK division, in particular, has been raising some real ire:

 

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/mbna_america.htm

 

Of course, they don't hold a candle to Providian in this regard.

[SusieV]

I wish Celebrity would offer a credit card for Canadians, too. I have an MBNA credit card and I have no problems with it but it doesn't earn points.

 

I do have a card that earns grocery store points but I'd much rather be able to save for a cruise!

[Iamboatman]

Ya' gotta luv MBNA! I bet if I call back 3 times I will get three answers.

 

The reality is that the Celebrity rewards aren't that great and unless you are regularly booking suites, it'll take quite a few cruises to get any real benefit...IMHO.

[Emme]

I have the Celebrity MBNA card, I got it to earn points so I could cash them in for cruise credits.

After I asked and re-asked if I could actually redeem the points for my up coming cruise, they said yes, not a problem.

One day when checking out the MBNA site and browsing through their catalog, I noticed a little asterick (sp) at the bottom of the points that can be redeemed for a $50 cruise credit, it said "can only be used on Millineum class ships only". I was NOT happy since the Horizon is not considered Millineum class.

After MANY calls and no real answer I finally got to talk with a very nice lady who did some research and told me that even though the Horizon was not a Millineum class ship that the points which I have been earning COULD be redeemed for cruise credits. I had her actually write that in my profile so anyone who pulled up the info could clearly see that I have been given the okay by this person to use the points for c.c. on the Horizon.

 

What really irritated me was when I originally talked with both Celebrity AND MBNA they both knew what boat and which sailing I was on and still nobody made mention of the * (asterick) by the $50 cc on the MBNA site, it ended up just being something that I stumbled across by accident.

 

I HATE it when I think I did my homework and then something pops up that could potentially be an issue.

I mean that was the whole reason behind getting this card in the first place!

[CruisingChick]

One day when checking out the MBNA site and browsing through their catalog, I noticed a little asterick (sp) at the bottom of the points that can be redeemed for a $50 cruise credit, it said "can only be used on Millineum class ships only". I was NOT happy since the Horizon is not considered Millineum class.

 

Is this what you are talking about?

 

Among the most versatile ways to redeem your points is a $50 shipboard credit. From an exciting shore excursion to a heavenly massage in Steiner's AquaSpa® by Elemis to an unforgettable dining experience at one of our specialty restaurants*, your onboard credit can be applied to any purchase made onboard the ship.

 

*On Millennium class ships only

 

The asterisk seems to refer to the Speciality Restaurants that are ONLY found on M Class ships, not the onboard booking credits.

 

Anne Maria

[joeyanddavid]

I would RUN very far away from anything backed by MBNA. IF you are one day late on your payments on some cards, they can jack your interest rates to 24.9% forever. They hide their terms and conditions in law-speak (as do all credit issues), but they are particularly sinister, IMHO.

Best thing to prevent that.DONT BE LATE.....

[Emme]

Cruisingchick, Hmmmm.....that either is something I missed or it is something that they have just added. I can tell you that I read and re-read the following and I have a feeling it is something they've just added. I say this because of all the times I've checked into this and every single person who I've talked with at MBNA & Celebrity got on the site over the phone with me and not one of them saw the asterick by the speciality restaurant part. Maybe it was changed to clear up the confusion?

Anyway, thanks for showing me this. :o)

 

 

Celebrity Cruises $50 Onboard Credit

 

View Larger

 

 

Among the most versatile ways to redeem your points is a $50 shipboard credit. From an exciting shore excursion to a heavenly massage in Steiner's AquaSpa® by Elemis to an unforgettable dining experience at one of our specialty restaurants*, your onboard credit can be applied to any purchase made onboard the ship.

 

*On Millennium class ships only

Place your order

 

Amount: 5,000 Points

Item #: 76468

Quantity:

 

Add To Cart

[catmommy]

 

Celebrity Cruises $50 Onboard Credit

 

View Larger

 

 

Among the most versatile ways to redeem your points is a $50 shipboard credit. From an exciting shore excursion to a heavenly massage in Steiner's AquaSpa® by Elemis to an unforgettable dining experience at one of our specialty restaurants*, your onboard credit can be applied to any purchase made onboard the ship.

 

*On Millennium class ships only

Place your order

 

I could be wrong about this but I don't think they mean that the credit only aplies to the speciality restaurant. I think they mean that only the Millennium class has speciality restaurants where this can bw applied.

 

In other words if you are on Zenith or Horizon there is not restaurant where you can use this and it must be used on something else. I think neither the Zenith nor the Horzion *have* a speciality restaurant.

 

If you look at the Celebrity website many of the items indicate that certain features or services are only available on the Millennium class ships.

 

HTH,

Caroline

[catmommy]

Sorry, you were saying the same thing I was. Got my posters mixed up. Oops.

 

Caroline

[CruisingChick]

Emme,

 

I wouldn't doubt that the web-site had been wrong. At least it seems to be clear now!

 

I've gotten different answers from MBNA, my TA and Celebrity about how to redeem points.

 

All I got from MBNA was a number and a letter. MY TA says I'm suppose to get a certificate and Celebrity said whatever they send me should have an address of where to submit it to them. Well, it doesn't. I have my written confirmation from MBNA and I am going to call my TA again to make her confirm we have our onboard credits. I am also making sure I take the letter on the ship with me.

 

It's a case where no one has the same story and that scares me.

 

Anne Maria

[roboref]

I don't have the Celebrity MBNA card , however I do have the NCL MBNA card. This NCL/MBNA card is about the best reward program I have found. 3% of purchases, dollar for dollar with a maximum earned points of 1000 ($1000) per year. I buy everything on this card and within about 10 months have my $1000. This credit is good for upgrades up to $250 and then you can start paying for your cruise with the certificates. We just used $2000 to purchase a balcony cabin in January. The price was $1800 and we had been told we would lose the $200, but when we boarded it showed we had a $200 stateroom credit. I would not trade this card for anything.

 

I have also found Customer service at MBNA to be very helpful. Once my payment arrived late, I had mailed it on time and they removed the interest charge. So I will continue to use MBNA card for free NCL cruises and my SWA VISA card for free airfare. One free cruise and one free airline ticket a year.