Carnival cruise credit card

[Sagittarius traveler]

Anyone have it? 

 

Or is the credit card not really worth it?

[Essiesmom]

I had it for a time.  But to me, it was only worth it if the only line I sailed with was Carnival.   But we sail a number of different lines, and although I could redeem the points on other lines of the Carnival family, they were only worth 3/4 of what I got when I used them on Carnival.  So I let it lapse.  EM

Edited April 13, 2021 by Essiesmom

[Tapi]

I used to have one. At the time, I was an avid Carnival cruiser, so it made sense to have it. I earned enough points for a 7 night cruise on the Carnival Dream but then I stopped sailing exclusively on Carnival. So it made little sense to keep using that card for the sake of racking up points to take a Carnival cruise.
 

I now use a credit card that provides cash back on every purchase. For me it’s a much better choice. It provides much more flexibility because I can redeem the cash back accumulated for various things, including paying down the balance, getting actual cash back, or redeeming for gift cards among other things. 

[Sagittarius traveler]

Thank you so much just trying to see if i should just do expedia instead of carnival lol. 

[ledges1]

I have the card. For regular purchases the points do not accumulate very fast. If you take lots of cruises, it is ok. I have had one for since 2011. I have probably generated $2000 in credits. Today, this is worth one cruise with an inside room and all the cruise services put on the card during the cruise. Points do not accumulate very fast and they can only be used to pay your bill for carnival purchases. It is limited.

[jcool]

I have it and i do not care for it.

[mredandchis]

I have it and use it exclusively.  I cruise mostly on Carnival and usually get a bar tab or ship credit.  It usually pays for all our drinks onboard but we are not huge drinkers.

[BlerkOne]

I have one and a pile of other cards. I use the Carnival card for Carnival. You get a discount on Carnival shore excursions purchased in advance, which many come in handy if limited to Carnival excursions when cruising restarts. If you have a $1500 Carnival purchase you can get a 1.5 multiplier for points applied to statement credit. And it doesn't cost anything.

[xDisconnections]

That’s a negative, ghost rider. The card’s benefits are awful.

[racing1a]

I have it and love it but I have a different situation than most do. I own a automotive customization shop and as such buy and resell tons of aftermarket accessories for trucks and automobiles. I have paid for all those parts for years through my Carnival card and as such accumulate more than enough points each year to pay for a couple of 1 week cruises for my wife and I per year. I just noticed this months balance is just shy of 900,000 points. So if you just happen to own a small business and can buy your supplies and products through it then it is a great way to get a nice vacation for free each year. 

[ledges1]

I thought it was a   2x multiplier.

[balcony bound]

2 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

I thought it was a   2x multiplier.

2x on carnival purchases, 1x on all others.  But, you can also shop through the card's portal at various stores and earn a lot more (I've bought ink for my printer at 15x for example).  Like said above - if you redeem on a cruise that is more than $1500 your redemption rate increases to 1.5x.  Has worked well for us until nobody can cruise!  Our next one is totally covered by points though... and a couple more.

[ledges1]

I have also used the online shopping through Barclay and you can get much higher points as you mentioned. I just have to remember to look at what is available.

[gtalum]

Personally, I think you’ll find that a good cashback rewards card will offer better benefits. For instance, the Citi Double Cash card offers 2% cash back on everything. No annual fee. There are others. This is my backup card (I use a USAA cashback card that gives 2.5%, but it’s not always easy to get a USAA account with their membership requirements).
 

Some of them offer up to 5% cash back on certain categories. 
 

Just bank your cash back and it’s the same as having a Carnival cruise credit to use (except you can use it on anything). 
 

You get a bigger benefit that is more flexible. 

[bumorgan]

Received a letter yesterday that they cancelled my card due to inactivity.😄 No great loss. Only got it for the initial $100 off a cruise.

[IntrepidFromDC]

25 minutes ago, bumorgan said:

Received a letter yesterday that they cancelled my card due to inactivity.😄 No great loss. Only got it for the initial $100 off a cruise.

 

I had the same thing from Barclay's and then a week later I got an email from Carnival offering a $200 account credit for applying again (getting a new card).  I happily accepted and will return to using the card only for Carnival purchases, which net 1.75% to 2% return on conversion to cash equivalent when applied to the cruise cash credit, perhaps slightly less or more for the gift card redemptions.  Remember you can use the card for more than just purchase of cruise to get the 2x points.  Cards I use regularly include a Capital One orange card that gives 4% cash back for restaurants and grocery stores, Chase card that gives 5% back for Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, and a green and blue card that gives 2% on EVERYTHING.

[shoptom]

I had the card until a merchant refused to ship my order or refund my money and customer service wouldn't protect my account, despite having this information in writing, from the merchant.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 4/13/2021 at 4:11 PM, Sagittarius traveler said:

Anyone have it? 

 

Or is the credit card not really worth it?

NO! Way to many that offer far better choices and perks. My cards from Bank of America gives me Travel insurance which I already used. You get 2% for travel and I keep enough in the bank to get an extra .75% in addition. So total rewards are 3.5%. Example. if the cruise was $3000.00 I get in rewards $105.00 Yes that card is $99 a year but well worth it for the travel insurance. They have another card which has no yearly fee. You get the same rewards but no travel insurance. On that card you can pick what purchases you want the higher perk for. I choose the gas. I get 5.25% back for my gas purchase.

Citi bank. 1% when you buy 1% when you pay.

[Sagittarius traveler]

22 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

NO! Way to many that offer far better choices and perks. My cards from Bank of America gives me Travel insurance which I already used. You get 2% for travel and I keep enough in the bank to get an extra .75% in addition. So total rewards are 3.5%. Example. if the cruise was $3000.00 I get in rewards $105.00 Yes that card is $99 a year but well worth it for the travel insurance. They have another card which has no yearly fee. You get the same rewards but no travel insurance. On that card you can pick what purchases you want the higher perk for. I choose the gas. I get 5.25% back for my gas purchase.

Citi bank. 1% when you buy 1% when you pay.

 yes, okay i will stick to my citi bank and discover i was hoping they aleast give some special emails every so often like discount on bubbles or cheers lol or free night at a select dinner lol

[Elkins45]

I have it and have built up a whole bunch of points...which can only be used for Carnival or affiliated expenses. Max benefit is 1.5 x and that’s only if you spend $1500 in one lump. My Discover card gets 3% and I can use it anywhere. It finally dawned on me to go back to my Discover card.