Major changes to RCCL Visa program

[DragonOfTheSeas]

As a stockholder I am concerned that RCL Marketing/IT/Communication departments are so lacking. There seems to be a "brush fire" every few months where one department jumps the gun and creates confusion or just plain provides misinformation. :( Sometimes it is a typo [i.e. change vs chance] A multi-million dollar company should be able to do better.

 

There are several threads on this topic and almost everyone has been pretty disappointed. --but, then we were taking the information at face value. I guess we should know better than that by now. :confused::rolleyes:

Edited August 17, 2013 by DragonOfTheSeas

[slyster]

Just spoke to Redemption Center and I got someone who actually gave me some information that makes sense.

 

OBC ~~ The information listed under Rewards Options when it refers to OBC is incorrect and will be corrected. You will still be able to redeem points for a $50, $100, $150 and $200 OBC and use it on any RCI cruise (as well as Celebrity/Azamara). This was not listed before. Seems that there was a miscommunication between the Redemption Center and Marketing and they are in the process of getting that corrected!:eek:

 

Combining Points with C&A Benefits ~~ Yes you Can. If you have a balcony discount and an OBC from booking on board or using a C&A Certificate, you will still be able to redeem points and use it on that booking or any future booking. The only time that a balcony discount would not be applied is if you are booking a "free" cruise.....which kind of makes sense!:D

 

RCI will now have 2 credit cards, a Visa Platinum Plus and a Visa Signature. When someone is applying for either card for the first time, eligibility for a card will be determined by credit level. The reason for this, I was told, is because the Visa Signature has a lot more benefits available.

 

All those that currently have a Visa Platinum Plus card will automatically be enrolled in the Visa Signature Card program and receive new cards. You will keep the same account number and your points will automatically be transferred over to the new card.

 

The young lady that I spoke with did not give me a kick-off date. Guess there are a few more glitches to work out.

 

There is no annual fee for either card.

 

Wow...thank you. I sure hope this is all correct...because what you said does make sense!

[tomahawk246]

Thanks for the info. When I looked at the Capital One website, the card that gives 2% cash back has an annual fee. It's still a better deal but just wanted to check that this is the card you are referring to and that I am not missing something. Is it the Capital One Venture Rewards card with the annual $59 fee?

 

Thanks!

 

I have two Capital one cards, both work the same way. The Signature Card has no annual fee, but I don't think that is offered any more. The Venture Card I think has no fee the first year and 59.00 dollars after that. The fee is not a problem for me because I use my cards for business and personal use. I will get 300000 points per year. With Capital One there is no jumping through hoops to redeem your points.

[tomahawk246]

We have Capital One accounts and don't recall ever getting promos for this type of card. How do you redeem the points? Is it via credit to your card, a check or can it be applied directly to RCI amounts due? Also, with your purchases, does it give 1% for everything you use the card for or do they have any purchases that are greater such as some cards give higher percentages when you purchase gasoline or some restaurants.

 

Although we use our RCI points strictly for OBC, it is only a 1 for 1 swap and now that we have to do in 25k increments then some points will go unused each cruise.

 

Sounds like the 2 for 1 points as you note, that even negates the double points feature when you use the RCI Visa to pay for RCI amounts due.

 

You redeem the points by using the card for the purchase, when the bill comes you pay that item with your points. There are hundreds of companies that offer additional points when you do business with them and use the Capital One card.

[mein18]

You redeem the points by using the card for the purchase, when the bill comes you pay that item with your points. There are hundreds of companies that offer additional points when you do business with them and use the Capital One card.

 

Looking at their site it kind of makes you believe you must have enough points to pay for the entire cost of the travel. In other words, partial payments by points are not allowed. Is that correct?

 

If this is the case, you would need 300,000 points to pay for a $3,000 cruise instead of just applying say 100,000 points against the cost.

[croosieloosie]

Just spoke to Redemption Center and I got someone who actually gave me some information that makes sense.

 

OBC ~~ The information listed under Rewards Options when it refers to OBC is incorrect and will be corrected. You will still be able to redeem points for a $50, $100, $150 and $200 OBC and use it on any RCI cruise (as well as Celebrity/Azamara). This was not listed before. Seems that there was a miscommunication between the Redemption Center and Marketing and they are in the process of getting that corrected!:eek:

 

Combining Points with C&A Benefits ~~ Yes you Can. If you have a balcony discount and an OBC from booking on board or using a C&A Certificate, you will still be able to redeem points and use it on that booking or any future booking. The only time that a balcony discount would not be applied is if you are booking a "free" cruise.....which kind of makes sense!:D

 

RCI will now have 2 credit cards, a Visa Platinum Plus and a Visa Signature. When someone is applying for either card for the first time, eligibility for a card will be determined by credit level. The reason for this, I was told, is because the Visa Signature has a lot more benefits available.

 

All those that currently have a Visa Platinum Plus card will automatically be enrolled in the Visa Signature Card program and receive new cards. You will keep the same account number and your points will automatically be transferred over to the new card.

 

The young lady that I spoke with did not give me a kick-off date. Guess there are a few more glitches to work out.

 

There is no annual fee for either card.

 

Is this not effective yet? I just booked Allure today and redeemed 125,000 pts and applied it to the booking. Didn't know anything about this....

[cruisenfever]

Is this not effective yet? I just booked Allure today and redeemed 125,000 pts and applied it to the booking. Didn't know anything about this....

No, it is not in effect yet. Effective date has yet to be determined.

[croosieloosie]

No, it is not in effect yet. Effective date has yet to be determined.

 

 

Whew, thx!

[mein18]

No, it is not in effect yet. Effective date has yet to be determined.

 

From what crusinfever found out during the phone call, are there really any changes going to be made except adding Celebrity and Azamara to the mix?

[suzyed]

I'm a little confused by your statement above. You earn 2 points for every RCI transaction. If you pay a balance off that's, let's say, $3000 you will earn 3000 points plus a bonus of an additional 3000 points.

 

That's what I was thinking too? I'm confused too! :confused:

[suzyed]

You are referring to, or confusing with a different BOA card as the RCI Visa has no "periodic promotions" nor is it a "cash back" card. We have had the card for many years and if I told you the amount of points we accumulate would astonish most. Never have seen a promotion as you describe. Our other BOA card, yes, you do get occasional promotions for cash back.

 

Unfortunately, you are still only getting points on a 1 to 1 basis even if you use for Celebrity. Like that AT&T commercial with the guy and kids at the table "which is better" 1 for 1 or 2 for 1?

 

I was wondering the same thing...I never got any promos with the RCI card and I have had mine since it was a MBNA card!

 

My problem with the card is that the points expire after a period of time...don't know when or how, since they don't "warn" you that they will be expiring (like the Airtran card does). I recently lost 5000 points because they expired!! :eek: Most annoying...

[setsail]

From what crusinfever found out during the phone call, are there really any changes going to be made except adding Celebrity and Azamara to the mix?

 

I can think of 2, restrictions with O/A use and new ships out of the picture for 13mo. But, since they admit some of it was in error, maybe now we should just wait for the real card with the real rewards. There are others, but one would have to open the link in post 1 then compare

Edited August 18, 2013 by setsail

[suzyed]

The BOA RCI Visa did have a promotion this past winter. It was double points on many different things (groceries, gas, etc) and triple points on Royal Caribbean purchases. We went ahead and paid off our cruise leaving in 2 weeks back in January to get the triple points.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

How were you notified of this promotion, because like the other poster I never have seen an offer of triple points! I would have been all over that one!

[suzyed]

Just spoke to Redemption Center and I got someone who actually gave me some information that makes sense.

 

OBC ~~ The information listed under Rewards Options when it refers to OBC is incorrect and will be corrected. You will still be able to redeem points for a $50, $100, $150 and $200 OBC and use it on any RCI cruise (as well as Celebrity/Azamara). This was not listed before. Seems that there was a miscommunication between the Redemption Center and Marketing and they are in the process of getting that corrected!:eek:

 

Combining Points with C&A Benefits ~~ Yes you Can. If you have a balcony discount and an OBC from booking on board or using a C&A Certificate, you will still be able to redeem points and use it on that booking or any future booking. The only time that a balcony discount would not be applied is if you are booking a "free" cruise.....which kind of makes sense!:D

 

RCI will now have 2 credit cards, a Visa Platinum Plus and a Visa Signature. When someone is applying for either card for the first time, eligibility for a card will be determined by credit level. The reason for this, I was told, is because the Visa Signature has a lot more benefits available.

 

All those that currently have a Visa Platinum Plus card will automatically be enrolled in the Visa Signature Card program and receive new cards. You will keep the same account number and your points will automatically be transferred over to the new card.

 

The young lady that I spoke with did not give me a kick-off date. Guess there are a few more glitches to work out.

 

There is no annual fee for either card.

 

So you are saying that the Visa Signature Card is the better one? Did they give you any indication of what the credit level is for that card? And by credit level, do you mean, credit limit?

[SherriZ366]

I was wondering the same thing...I never got any promos with the RCI card and I have had mine since it was a MBNA card!

 

My problem with the card is that the points expire after a period of time...don't know when or how, since they don't "warn" you that they will be expiring (like the Airtran card does). I recently lost 5000 points because they expired!! :eek: Most annoying...

I think points last for about 360 months before they expire but it could be more. I use mine fairly quickly so that is not an issue.

[gdpups]

I also received new cards because they said our account may have been compromised. Note that the new Visa cards have chips in them, so I guess I need to purchases those sleeves to protect them.

[Coralc]

I think points last for about 360 months before they expire but it could be more. I use mine fairly quickly so that is not an issue.

 

:D That would be 30 years! I believe it is 60 months/5 years when the points start dropping off as expired. :)

Edited August 18, 2013 by Coralc

[mein18]

That's what I was thinking too? I'm confused too! :confused:

 

Please see post #95

[mein18]

I also received new cards because they said our account may have been compromised. Note that the new Visa cards have chips in them, so I guess I need to purchases those sleeves to protect them.

 

Definitely. We are shopping for them now. They even make men's and women's wallets that protect them from being read.

[karena1]

Definitely. We are shopping for them now. They even make men's and women's wallets that protect them from being read.

 

We have those sleeves. Bought them online they are RFID Shields. Have used them for a while now.

[mickey-mouse]

I wanted to apply my points towards the Quantum of the Seas, during Nov. 2014.

(I have about 114,00 points). I was going to wait until I had more points and till it was closer to sail date because points are not refundable, but if it is true that you won't be able to use points at all on any new ships within first 13 months, I'm wondering if I should hurry up and cash points in before they implement changes.

[dcward89]

How were you notified of this promotion, because like the other poster I never have seen an offer of triple points! I would have been all over that one!

 

I believe I got a separate mailing with the promotional info. I don't get paper statements so I know it wasn't included with a statement.

[bcarney]

My advise to everyone that uses this card is to look into getting a Capital One card. Capital One card is mush simpler to redeem points. Example, if you spend 1000 dollars you get 2000 points. 2000 points will get you 20 dollars that is good towards any type of travel. You get 2% of whatever you spend towards any type of travel. I get a free cruise every year. Believe me get rid of the Royal Caribbean card and stop jumping through hoops. Look into the Capital One Card.

 

I checked out their website and saw the travel "purchase eraser" method to use points, but they weren't clear about a few things -

 

1) Can you use credits to cover a portion of a purchase - i.e., apply 75,000 points to a $2,500 cruise?

 

2) How do you obtain an OBC with this card?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[mein18]

I checked out their website and saw the travel "purchase eraser" method to use points, but they weren't clear about a few things -

 

1) Can you use credits to cover a portion of a purchase - i.e., apply 75,000 points to a $2,500 cruise?

 

2) How do you obtain an OBC with this card?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

We are hoping that tomahawk246 can answer #1 but you won't be able to use the Capital One card to add OBC since it can only be used to pay for travel. It is possible from what I have read that when you settle out your sea pass account to your credit card then you could apply points to that charge which would be about the same as OBC.

[tomahawk246]

I checked out their website and saw the travel "purchase eraser" method to use points, but they weren't clear about a few things -

 

1) Can you use credits to cover a portion of a purchase - i.e., apply 75,000 points to a $2,500 cruise?

 

2) How do you obtain an OBC with this card?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

I don't think you can cover a portion of a cruise. 75,000 points is = to 750 dollars, if your cruise was for two people at 1500 dollars total you would be able to pay for one person cruise. For on board credit, you would pay the on board credit with the card and use the purchase eraser when you get the bill. I would also use the points for my flight, rental car, and my before cruise hotel. It works for any travel. If you buy a meal at a Hilton Hotel, it works. I even bought concert tickets at Foxwoods Resort. You can also buy new cloths worth 750.00 dollars for your cruise by purchasing gift cards for almost any retail store. If you want cash 75000 points will get you 325.00 dollars, (not the best use of your 75000 points). I use the card for any merchant that would take it (to build up points), I pay my cable bill, cell phone bill, Gasoline bill, groceries, if they take the card I use it.

Edited August 18, 2013 by tomahawk246