Prepaid OBC bought in GBP

[Martha1974]

DH and I are sailing on Sky Princess in September and when we pre-booked specialty dining and an excursion we paid in USD and were charged by our credit card for the privilege.  Because prepaid OBC bought through the Princess UK website is charged in GBP we have decided to take that option to remove the additional charges, but now I'm confused about what we actually get.

 

The travel summary shows that we have bought 4 x $100 of OBC, but my account shows OBC of £288

 

Does this mean I have $400, or do I have £288 and the dollar value will depend on the exchange rate at the time? If that's the case it would currently be in the region of $350 available to spend. I guess that whatever the answer we'll still use the OBC, but it would be good to have a rough idea so we don't get too carried away!

 

TIA for any information. 

 

[Reina del Mar]

I think that may be because Princess has charged you an inflated currency conversion rate.

 

Try getting a credit card which does not carry a transaction fee and pay in the currency of the ship (USA Dollars) in this case.

 

Some credit cards which do not charge transaction fees include: - Santander Zero card, Halifax Clarity Card, Post Office ( this may have changed), Monzo (don’t know anything about this one).. Look on Martin Lewis site for further information.

[Martha1974]

@Reina del MarThanks for the information - to be honest I'm not in the market for a new credit card (I rarely use the one I've got).  I think maybe my question wasn't clear - I just wanted to check if anyone could tell me how much I will have to spend on board.  The way I see it, if it's $400 then I'm better off, as the GBP value at the moment would only buy $350, so I'm getting $50 more than the current conversion rate... that's why I suspect it will be £288 at the conversion rate at the time

[Adventures ahead]

I believe you have $400US to spend and paid £288 for it at a Princess rate of £72/$100US. Hope this makes sense.

 

We're Canadian and pre-purchased excursions and OBC are sold in Cdn$. Princess made their own conversion when they set the prices for our sailing months ago. I use a Cdn credit card so pay whatever mark up my bank may charge for an international transaction from US to Cdn. 

 

For our August cruise, we're charged $125Cdn for $100US OBC. So, a Princess exchange rate of $1.25Cdn. It's charged to our credit card in Cdn$ and valued at $100US. At the moment, if I purchased US$ at my bank, I'd pay $1.323, so pre-paid OBC is better for me.

 

BTW, at the end of the cruise, any balance owed should be charged in US (preferred), allowing our bank to make the only conversion, not Princess at an inflated rate. There's been a box to tick off at check-in at the port indicating the currency you want to use to pay your balance. Not wanting to risk being charged in Cdn$ in error (because I've registered a Cdn credit card), I visit the desk on the last afternoon to ensure that I'll be charged in US$.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[Martha1974]

1 minute ago, Adventures ahead said:

I believe you have $400US to spend and paid £288 for it at a Princess rate of £72/$100US. Hope this makes sense.

 

We're Canadian and pre-purchased excursions and OBC are sold in Cdn$. Princess made their own conversion when they set the prices for our sailing months ago. I use a Cdn credit card so pay whatever mark up my bank may charge for an international transaction from US to Cdn. 

 

For our August cruise, we're charged $125Cdn for $100US OBC. So, a Princess exchange rate of $1.25Cdn. It's charged to our credit card in Cdn$ and valued at $100US. At the moment, if I purchased US$ at my bank, I'd pay $1.323, so pre-paid OBC is better for me.

 

BTW, at the end of the cruise, any balance owed should be charged in US (preferred), allowing our bank to make the only conversion, not Princess at an inflated rate. There's been a box to tick off at check-in at the port indicating the currency you want to use to pay your balance. Not wanting to risk being charged in Cdn$ in error (because I've registered a Cdn credit card), I visit the desk on the last afternoon to ensure that I'll be charged in US$.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

Thank you, that makes sense 😁 I’m not expecting to have much left at the end. We’ve been waiting for this cruise since 2019 and like so many other people we’ve had 3 cancelled (including a Princess cruise in March when we got to embarkation in Southampton and DH tested positive!) so I’m going all out to enjoy it as much as possible, but I’ll remember your advice if we’re due anything refunding. 

[minikiss]

For our 1st cruise back in 2010 we uploaded quite a bit of bought OBC to use on board. My understanding back then was they allocated a set exchange rate for each cruise. Back then it was almost 2 to 1 a really good exchange rate and way better than the banks and card rates. The next 2 cruises we did the same but by then the rates were not so good. However we have not bothered for years to buy anymore. We now don't find it worth it as we are not big drinkers and big spenders so only have small bills at the end. Plus as we now book with a future deposit we get a small amount of OBC to boot. Post pandemic we have cruised on a princess plus fare, so drinks and tips are included. That being so the bills at the end have been even smaller. In fact last year on the Sky we ended up with credit to be refunded. 

My advise is if you like not having a bill at the end keep the credit which will be $400 worth. 

[cosytoes]

I've just

On 7/3/2022 at 1:34 PM, Adventures ahead said:

I believe you have $400US to spend and paid £288 for it at a Princess rate of £72/$100US. Hope this makes sense.

 

 

I've just looked looked online and mine is units of £19, £38, or £76, but it doesn't actually say what I am buying. Does it show up in the travel summary after purchase?

 

I wonder if they fix the rate at the time you book or does it go up and down. anyway that still is better than todays exchange rate. for me at £76 to $100 that is $1.31 to £1 compared to $1.19 to £1. So unless the rate goes up pre cruise you are getting a goods deal at £72 to $100 = $1.38 to £1.

Edited July 5, 2022 by cosytoes

[minikiss]

1 hour ago, cosytoes said:

I've just

I've just looked looked online and mine is units of £19, £38, or £76, but it doesn't actually say what I am buying. Does it show up in the travel summary after purchase?

 

I wonder if they fix the rate at the time you book or does it go up and down. anyway that still is better than todays exchange rate. for me at £76 to $100 that is $1.31 to £1 compared to $1.19 to £1. So unless the rate goes up pre cruise you are getting a goods deal at £72 to $100 = $1.38 to £1.

The rate is fixed and will not change. You could buy the credits now and again in 3 weeks and the rate will be the same.

[Adventures ahead]

2 hours ago, minikiss said:

The rate is fixed and will not change. You could buy the credits now and again in 3 weeks and the rate will be the same.

Correct. Rate set for a particular cruise.

[Martha1974]

I called Princess (about something else) but thought I’d ask the question and they confirmed that once on board the credit will show in dollars in units of either $25, $50 or $100 depending on what has been purchased. Currently looking like a good deal, but obviously based on the exchange rate YMMV 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Martha1974
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