Redeeming RC Visa reward points

[Paulette3028]

These Visa pts and BOGO are driving me crazy. I booked a cruise under BOGO.I was told I could use either the crown and anchor balcony discount or get the 200 OBC but not both. I took the balcony discount and also used my next cruise cert. I think I can use Visa point for an OBC, but can I also use it for $ off the cruise or not- because I took the C&A balcony discount. How much can you take for a cruise discount... because it doesn't say you can use multiples if earned? Also I am past final payment, does that matter.

In addition I am looking to book a second cruise soon. Also if bogo ever ends( which I doubt) can you still book a free cruise, then upgrade to a better cabin and only pay the difference? Sorry its so long but I haven't cashed in points before and I am not sure what to do.

 

You can redeem your BofA points for $ off the cruise.....for awhile they were not letting you do it, but they have changed the policy, and as of a few months ago, HAVE been allowing you to do it.

 

What you cannot do, is use your BofA Visa points for a Free Cruise using the BOGOHO pricing. It would have to be priced at regular pricing and then the Free Cruise value deducted. From the experience other cruisers have said, this has not been cost effective to do -- because the pricing with the BOGOHO was better, then redeeming points for $ off.

 

You mention that you are 'past final payment' -- so therefore your cruise is paid in full, and the only thing for this cruise would be to redeem for OBC, from what I can tell.

 

We always redeem our points prior to final payment to reduce the amount of our final payment, especially when redeeming 50,000 points for a $500 credit toward cruise cost. I believe you can make more than one point redemption per cruise.

Edited March 21, 2015 by Paulette3028

[vacationers]

we were able to apply money for the cruise with the BOGO

[molly361]

we were able to apply money for the cruise with the BOGO

 

They were not allowing that but now they are

[tarheelkate]

I have booked two "free" cruises, and the value is definitely going down as they keep changing the terms of the card.

 

The free cruise is the value of the highest available ocean view stateroom, not to exceed $2500. (Something around 125,000 points, i think?)

 

In 2011, my husband and I used the points for a 2012 Allure cruise. Total package with tax/fees came to $2600. So RC told us they would give us $2500 towards the cruise, and our bill came to $100. I said, hey, let's get a balcony since that only costs $3000. They subtracted the $2500, and our final bill was $500. We thought we had scored the deal of the century. (At this time, there was a paper voucher that was treated like cash. We never paid more than $500).

 

In 2014, we booked a 2015 Freedom cruise using the same level of rewards points. Two in an Oceanview room came to $2500. We have a lot of family traveling with us, so we wanted to upgrade to a Junior Suite. There was a BOGOHO sale, so the JS was about $4500. I thought this seemed great, that we could use the points and get a JS for just $2000 out of pocket. (For this particular sailing, the JS was about a hundred bucks more than a balcony, which is why we skipped that category and went straight to considering a JS).

 

But the program had changed (maybe I should have read the fine print they kept sending me? LOL). RC told me that they would have to cancel my existing reservation and start from scratch, because you can not do any upgrades after the fact when using the free cruise points. The Junior Suite would be priced at regular price $6500. The current oceanview stateroom price had dropped, and was no longer valued at $2500, it was only valued at $2000 for two, so that became my new credit value. So $6500 - $2000 = $4500.

 

So in the end, it would have been the same price to just book suite outright, rather than use our points. Needless to say, we kept our original booking.

 

(For this cruise, they did away with the paper voucher and we were just supposed to call RC to book. I had no confirmation email or number. It was a very bizarre process and it took a while for them to find our reward points in the system. We were required to pay the entire $2500 bill, and were told that RC would credit our Visa after the final payment was due. We booked in August, and final payment was not due until March, which meant we wouldn't see any rebate until then. The whole "paperless" process had already proven a little sketchy to me, and I didn't want to wait 7 months to get our rebate. So we opted to pay for the entire cruise in August, and a week later, RC credited our Visa).

 

Is it worth it?

Depends. If you are good with being an oceanview cruiser, then ABSOLUTELY. The free cruise is always a free cruise up to $2500 (and there are not many 7 day Caribbean cruises out there that are much more than that for two people).

 

However, if you want to upgrade, I recommend doing the math to see if it would be worth it. Chances are, it won't be.

 

I think it is important to note that you CAN use the free cruise points in conjunction with the kids sail free. We did this on our second cruise.

 

Also, you can book the free cruise AT ANY TIME. It doesn't matter what sales are going on. They have "full price" quotes for every sailing. When you call, they'll just tell you that they can't apply the current promotion, and that the full oceanview fare for your particular cruise is X, and therefore your voucher is worth X.

[bilyclub]

I decided over the course of the last several months to cash out my points for OBC and be done with the R/C Visa. The total lack of explanation of how many points are expiring and when, combined with the current state of complexity when redeeming points for anything other than OBC has made me quit using the card. To top it off, called Royal today and found out $50 of OBC from points was missing on my invoice.

[Grand PooBah]

Alas, the RC Visa is no longer my car of choice. Not when the Barclays Arrival MC gives me 2.1 points for every dollar, every day, every place.

When you pay for travel expenses with your card, you go on their website and apply your points to your charge. No fuss, No muss, No BS You earn 2 points per dollar, then when spending, they give you 10% of your points back. The very best deal around if you are a traveler. Plus they have been giving a 40,000 mi sign up bonus. Thats worth $400. How can you go wrong.

[denatravels]

Alas, the RC Visa is no longer my car of choice. Not when the Barclays Arrival MC gives me 2.1 points for every dollar, every day, every place.

When you pay for travel expenses with your card, you go on their website and apply your points to your charge. No fuss, No muss, No BS You earn 2 points per dollar, then when spending, they give you 10% of your points back. The very best deal around if you are a traveler. Plus they have been giving a 40,000 mi sign up bonus. Thats worth $400. How can you go wrong.

 

 

That sounds awesome!! I just applied and was approved. Looking forward to some nice travel benefits.

[maureencruiser]

The total lack of explanation of how many points are expiring and when,

 

I agree with this, why is this info not available online? I've had points expire this past year as I've been cruising Carnival and MSC. I have the Carnival card as well, now, I have NO idea how that works, LOL.

[bilyclub]

I guess B of A expects one to keep every statement for five years and make notations on how many points are expiring and when.

[CptSticky]

I guess B of A expects one to keep every statement for five years and make notations on how many points are expiring and when.

Actually, you can call the rep and they will tell you. Guess you still have to write them down:o. I have done this in the past, but now I use them to fast to worry.

[cruzingduo]

Are the new ships excluded? I assume so but I want to be sure.

[Clarea]

Are the new ships excluded? I assume so but I want to be sure.

I believe there is a exclusion for some redemptions for any ship in the first 13 months of operation.

[Paulette3028]

I believe there is a exclusion for some redemptions for any ship in the first 13 months of operation.

 

I can fully understand the exceptions for types of cabins on ships (at any time), not just in the first 13 months of operations: for example: 'Cannot be redeemed for a companion fare' -- but I can't understand why they would exclude you from redeeming points into dollars off the cruise (eg. 50,000 points for $500 redemption).

 

As I work for a company that has a partnership with a bank for a credit card -- they want you to use the credit card (they earn money every time you make a purchase), they hope you don't pay off your account each month (they make money when you don't pay your account in full each month) and they want you to redeem your points (so you perceive that you have benefitted) and then rack up more points.

 

I also accept the terms that Royal puts forth and as long as they list the exceptions, and do not blindside anyone, all is fine.

 

I am glad that they again allow redemption of points on sailings that were made using BOGOHO pricing.

[js]

Im sailing in December on Indy and have RCCL Visa to redeem. Ive only done this once years ago. When do you suggest I do this?

 

Thank you.

[Clarea]

Im sailing in December on Indy and have RCCL Visa to redeem. Ive only done this once years ago. When do you suggest I do this?

 

Thank you.

Unless you have points that are about to expire (5 years after you earn them), I would wait until you are just before final payment. Once you redeem points, you lose them if you cancel the cruise.