RCCL Credit Card Info: Anyone?

[SteadyBetty]

Hello!

 

To anyone who has or had an RCCL credit card, would you post your experience as to usage, points or customer service.

 

Last month, I received an invite to sign up for one and would like to know the advantages of using it.

 

Any information would be helpful - thanks!

[3Blessings]

I got one two cruises ago and only used it for two purchases. With those two purchases (one being paying off the remainder of a cruise) I was able to get a $150 shipboard credit on my last cruise. It was very easy going online to request the shipboard credit. I think it is definitely worth it even if you don't plan on making it your everyday card.

[hlfrps]

we have enjoyed this card for ten years. Received two 7 day cruises, ship board credits and the points last for five years which is a nice feature. Yes, you can get better deals, i.e. cash back on card, rewards from all travel, but we cruise twice a year and the rewards are looked upon as part of the fun. Cashing in points is easy.

[orville99]

We've used ours for two free cruises so far, and a lot of OBC. For us it is well worth it.

[Sherri914]

Same experience as the other posters above. Last cruise we boarded with $450 in OBC - all from using this card for everyday purchases and paying off at the end of the month. They've never made a dime of interest on us. :) And the process of requesting OBC and applying was very simple.

[Paulette3028]

You will hear from many people that there are better deals and there are. For us, it works well so that we can get either a cash reduction on a cruise by redeeming points receiving a $500 credit, or with an OBC. Redemption is easy, even if you are working through a travel agent.

 

We pay some of our monthly bills using it, that we will have to pay anyway, and therefore get 'easy points' and one bill to actually pay. DH pays the bill each month, so no interest costs to us, as well.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Paulette3028

[cruzin lady]

[/size]

 

Like others, we use our card only when purchasing RC cruises. When we first

used it, we received a large amount of points (?10,000?), and we charge only

RC cruises, as well as a few large purchases, now and then. We can always accumulate enough points to turn them into our twice a year cruise onboard credit.

 

Other times, we use a different credit card for the majority of our usual

purchases, which gives us cash back, but our RC purchases count double on

the Visa card,so we use it only for getting onboard credit. Also, as others have

said, we don't use it as our major credit card, but we can use it enough to get

onboard credit, and doing that is very easily accomplished.

 

Happy sailing, :)

 

Cruzin Lady

[39august]

Since there is no annual fee, it's a no-brainer for me. Using your points is easy, peasy. and if you use the points for OBC and you don't spend it all, you can go to Guest Services on the last evening or late afternoon and get cash back. Don't let it go back to the cc as you will be losing points for the refund. So it can be like a cash back card.

[cruzin lady]

[/size]

 

Like others, we use our card only when purchasing RC cruises. When we first

used it, we received a large amount of points (?10,000?), and we charge only

RC cruises, as well as a few large purchases, now and then. We can always accumulate enough points to turn them into our twice a year cruise onboard credit.

 

Other times, we use a different credit card for the majority of our usual

purchases, which gives us cash back, but our RC purchases count double on

the Visa card,so we use it only for getting onboard credit. Also, as others have

said, we don't use it as our major credit card, but we can use it enough to get

onboard credit, and doing that is very easily accomplished. In fact, I need to

redeem some points now for our September cruise.

 

Happy sailing, :)

 

Cruzin Lady

[skis2]

When booking a cruise using your points, how far in advance did you have to book? Were there any issues with availability? Did you upgrade or just go with the "lowest available ocean view/boardwalk view" they offer?

We have enough points for a cruise and starting to look...

[cjdixon4]

Hello!

 

To anyone who has or had an RCCL credit card, would you post your experience as to usage, points or customer service.

 

Last month, I received an invite to sign up for one and would like to know the advantages of using it.

 

Any information would be helpful - thanks!

 

Hi SteadyBetty,

I see you're a Chicagoan also...great!

FYI, I started a thread earlier this year revolving around the same credit card concerns. The responses are quite interesting and helpful. Here's the link if you'd care to check it out.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2177242

[K1200S]

We have had the RCCL VISA card for several years now. It is the only CC I carry and use it for just about everything. Pay the bill at the end of the month. As has been said redeeming the points couldn't be easier.

[hollon]

Say, I have a cabin with four people in it, say I have 150,000. Can I use 50,000, 50,000 and 50,000 = 500.00 off for each three people, can you combine them for one cabin?

[SteadyBetty]

Thanks to everyone, I appreciate all the information.

 

I am not a fan of those pesky interest charges, so I also pay my balances every month - love seeing that zero balance!

 

PS: Hi cjdixon - fellow Chicagoan! I will hop over to that thread you started and have a look-see. Thanks!

[cpa2be]

My experience is like the others. I have had the card for 10 years, charge everything I can on this card and pay it in full each month. I have redeemed points for five 7 day cruises to get the most bang for my buck. We typically pay for our cabin and use the freebies to bring family members along. (They love it!)

 

The redemption is very easy.

 

Sadly, now that you cannot use points in conjunction with the never ending BOGO pricing, it makes it difficult to get a free cruise or companion fare. I am sitting on $200k points and want to book a freebie, but the BOGO is killing me.

 

We're not big spenders onboard so getting shipboard credit at 1% return is not an inducement to use the card.

 

We will continue to cruise and drag family members with us, but now I will be doing it with a new 2% cash back card I just recently received.

[orville99]

Say, I have a cabin with four people in it, say I have 150,000. Can I use 50,000, 50,000 and 50,000 = 500.00 off for each three people, can you combine them for one cabin?

 

I believe you can stack the discounts in order to get the total $1,500 reduction in a single cabin. I don't believe RCL cares whose portion of the total bill goes to who.

Edited August 13, 2015 by orville99

[molly361]

When booking a cruise using your points, how far in advance did you have to book? Were there any issues with availability? Did you upgrade or just go with the "lowest available ocean view/boardwalk view" they offer?

We have enough points for a cruise and starting to look...

 

You can not use upgrades and/or free cruises on any bookings that have a BOGOHO or any other RCL promotions on it. You would have to have the promotion removed first and it usually works out better to use the points for money off the cruise fare or OBC

[hollon]

I believe you can stack the discounts in order to get the total $1,500 reduction in a single cabin. I don't believe RCL cares whose portion of the total bill goes to who.

 

Thank you, I will have enough for a free companion when I decide to book, but rccl excludes it for oasis/allure correct?

[BillOh]

Hello!

 

To anyone who has or had an RCCL credit card, would you post your experience as to usage, points or customer service.

 

Last month, I received an invite to sign up for one and would like to know the advantages of using it.

 

Any information would be helpful - thanks!

 

Other people will tell you there are better reward cards, but I have had this one for about 8 years now. There automated system for bill paying, and checking balances and such has always been good. The system for redeeming points for cruise related things use to be cumbersome, but 2 or 3 years ago, they improved it tremendously.

[jticarruthers]

Its a solid card, worth getting just for the initial signup bonus if nothing else.

 

With the neverending BOGO sale having nixed the ability to use points for the "double value" awards there are definitely cards with better payback though for continual use.

 

I charge everything to my card and pay it off every month, so never any interest.

 

If you pick up 1.5 or 2% on everything vs 1% on everything with this card it does add up over time.

 

Redeeming rewards has been painless for me as well though

[RocketMan275]

Hello!

 

To anyone who has or had an RCCL credit card, would you post your experience as to usage, points or customer service.

 

Last month, I received an invite to sign up for one and would like to know the advantages of using it.

 

Any information would be helpful - thanks!

 

Here's a useful article from cruise critic on the advantages and disadvantages of credit cards affiliated with a cruise line.

 

You may get 1% or 2% from the RCCI card. You can do much better. Most articles on "Best Credit Cards" do not recommend cruise credit cards. Even cruise critic says you can do much better.

 

I get 3% from my Sam's Mastercard for all travel including airfare, hotels, and cruise line purchases. I also get 5% on gasoline. I use a different card for other purchases that pays 2%.

 

I much prefer cash back cards for one simple reason. Cash can always be combined with any promotion or perk offered by the cruise line. And, that includes BOGO.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1453

Edited August 13, 2015 by RocketMan275

[Stevie17]

Echoing what others have said, this card is a good one and really works. We've been able to use both the companion fare rewards as well as on-board credit in the past, and it's been very simple to redeem.

 

Currently, we working toward a $750 on-board credit for our March 2016 cruise!

[novalab]

Hello!

 

To anyone who has or had an RCCL credit card, would you post your experience as to usage, points or customer service.

 

Last month, I received an invite to sign up for one and would like to know the advantages of using it.

 

Any information would be helpful - thanks!

 

I've had mine for over 10 years now & as long as I don't carry a balance, it has been a good deal for us. In addition to onboard credit, which we cash in for each cruise we have taken, I was able to get a free companion fare for my DD on our Allure cruise last year (Boardwalk balcony). The reps are very friendly and helpful and you get double cruise points on RC purchases.

 

I know there are better reward program cards out there, but I have been very happy with this particular card.

Edited August 13, 2015 by novalab

[novalab]

Thank you, I will have enough for a free companion when I decide to book, but rccl excludes it for oasis/allure correct?

 

No problem getting my DD a free companion fare on our 2014 Allure cruise. My TA contacted the redemption rep and I didn't have to do a thing.:D Super easy.

[Ren1216]

Add me/us to the list of RC card users (myself, hubby, son, mom, a couple aunts and my grandmother all have one). While I don't particularly care for BoA as a company, this card has worked very well for me because my extended family prefers to sail with RC. The interest rate is higher than some, so as others have already said, it's a card that really needs to be used and paid in full each month to make it worthwhile. We use it to pay all RC purchases, including cruise fare, for the double points. Also for gas all year long (which really adds up), all online shopping, plus some auto-pay bills that we'd pay anyway. We end up with $300-700 in OBC for each cruise (depending how long in between). Free money! What's not to love?!

 

None of us have ever really had any problems, so I can't speak to their customer service in regard to resolutions, only a few short calls with general questions which went fine. Redeeming points is easy via the redemption site.

 

If you get one, be sure to make the required qualifying purchase within X days (30? 60?) to obtain your sign-on bonus points (10k usually). That equates to your first $100 OBC.