EZPay - a monthly payment plan

[johnatsis]

I understand Princess is going to start EZpay - Its a monthly payment plan option that allows you to spread the cost of your cruise over time and the payment will be automatically charged to your debit or credit card. Supposed to have no interest charges or additional fees.

 

Sounds like a good plan - has anyone know if its true

[capriccio]

I thought that you can make incremental payments now without interest or additional fees as long as the cruise is paid in full by the final payment date.  That gives you much more control over having Princess do it automatically.

[cruzsnooze]

24 minutes ago, johnatsis said:

I understand Princess is going to start EZpay - Its a monthly payment plan option that allows you to spread the cost of your cruise over time and the payment will be automatically charged to your debit or credit card. Supposed to have no interest charges or additional fees.

 

Sounds like a good plan - has anyone know if its true

I'll keep control of money and collect my interest up until final payment.  

[Astro Flyer]

My TA recently informed me about this new program & here’s a FAQ with more details.

 

PC_PrincessEZpayProgramFAQs.pdf

[satxdiver]

It is a monthly payment plan to periodically make payments.  It starts soon after booking and ends on the normal cruise final payment date.  I see no advantage to this and like to see the money in my account until final payment date.  

[Ep010835]

12 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

It is a monthly payment plan to periodically make payments.  It starts soon after booking and ends on the normal cruise final payment date.  I see no advantage to this and like to see the money in my account until final payment date.  

 

Agreed. A new "enhancement" that rolls out with 2 pages of Q&A leaves me wondering. 

[Thrak]

This is not for me but I'm sure there are some folks to whom this will have great appeal.

[caribill]

Need to go back to the EZPay plan they used to have for shore excursions, pay when on board, not months before you have to make the final payment for the cruise itself.

[pms4104]

Hasn't Carnival offered this for at least a couple of years?

Edited April 1, 2019 by pms4104

[CC Rider 69]

2 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

Hasn't Carnival offered this for at least a couple of years?

Yes

[pms4104]

I might consider this if, and only if, the payment plan offered me a financial incentive ... such as a 10-15 percent discount off my fare.

 

Otherwise, I'm perfectly capable of budgeting and remembering to make my payments on time.

[skynight]

I see no downside, only upside for those that want to use it.

[Tak8]

For some people who need help budgeting or not spending their cruise money on something else, it could be helpful.

 

[pathi]

Been doing this on my own for years. It's nice only owing 500$ or so at final payment.

[Cruise Junky]

how does this differ from just calling your TA saying, hey put $1,000 on my card please.

[Colo Cruiser]

17 hours ago, johnatsis said:

I understand Princess is going to start EZpay - Its a monthly payment plan option that allows you to spread the cost of your cruise over time and the payment will be automatically charged to your debit or credit card. Supposed to have no interest charges or additional fees.

 

Sounds like a good plan - has anyone know if its true

Thanks for the heads up!  😉

IMO.....

I agree it is probably a good way for some to go...........I guess If you don't like to don't use it.  

[Cruiser_1977]

I feel no need for this. From the date I book, I spread the payments out to the final payment date. Then each paycheck I transfer the funds from my checking to my savings. That way I keep my money and earn any interest. The only benefit I see could be if you may have trouble not touching the funds before final payment. That also keeps me from spending my savings and sometimes puts me into a higher interest rate for awhile.

 

Ex: I book Feb 15th with $100 deposit. Balance due Sept. 30th is $1600. I would take the $1600/13 (2 pay periods per month) and move the  $123 each paycheck into savings.

[bemis12]

40 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

I feel no need for this. From the date I book, I spread the payments out to the final payment date. Then each paycheck I transfer the funds from my checking to my savings. That way I keep my money and earn any interest. The only benefit I see could be if you may have trouble not touching the funds before final payment. That also keeps me from spending my savings and sometimes puts me into a higher interest rate for awhile.

 

Ex: I book Feb 15th with $100 deposit. Balance due Sept. 30th is $1600. I would take the $1600/13 (2 pay periods per month) and move the  $123 each paycheck into savings.

 

Go ahead and compute the interest you earn on the $1,600 for the 7 months.  That would be interesting.

[gatour]

1 hour ago, bemis12 said:

 

Go ahead and compute the interest you earn on the $1,600 for the 7 months.  That would be interesting.

Better for you get the interest no matter how small it is, compared to the cruise line getting it.

[capriccio]

38 minutes ago, gatour said:

Better for you get the interest no matter how small it is, compared to the cruise line getting it.

I agree.  Why should customers be providing any business an interest free loan?

Edited April 1, 2019 by capriccio

[pms4104]

My guess is that, while the EZ Pay option sounds as though it is for client convenience, this was a business decision meant to help Princess.

 

If people opt for EZ Pay, Princess will not lose some bookings at final pay if people forget or are unable to meet that deadline.  And, Princess won't need to bargain-bucket those cabins to fill the ship.  Only Princess knows how many clients are in this group.

 

Possibly this move is a way to attract a younger  or different demographic, based on some bean-counter's research on today's versions of yesterday's lay-away.  

 

I think the program is a creative way to get heads in beds ... with minimum cost and effort from Princess. 

 

 

[emmak8]

Overall, this seems like a great deal for Princess. Not a deal for me.

[damiross]

I just make payments every two or three weeks so the final payment is not that much.  As some one said here, if there was a financial incentive to use their payment plan, I would.  Even if it was only 5%.

[Thrak]

I use FCD to pay the deposits and then just pay the entire thing on the credit card when final payment is due. We normally pay the credit card off completely each month. When we make a cruise payment we  generally take 2 months to get back to a zero balance but we never pay interest. Last month we made final payment on a cruise and paid off a big chunk of the credit card balance. This month we paid off the rest and have a zero balance again and didn't accrue any interest. I'm totally "allergic" to paying interest to a credit card company. (This is a nasty month. I never like April as we have to pay income tax and we also have to pay half of the annual property tax. Bah.)

Edited April 2, 2019 by Thrak

[Cruiser_1977]

@Cruise Junky I hear what you're saying....Happy Cruising 🙂