Which credit cards offer the best perks to cruisers?

[hammerinfrank]

I have read threads where some CCers have mentioned using the AMEX Platinum for booking cruises (as well as other travel). I have done a bit of research and have found that this card has an annual fee of $395, $320 if you are a Fidelity account holder. Which card do you feel offers the best perks for booking a cruise and what are they?

[sail7seas]

For each cruise you pay for with an AmEx Platinum card, you receive $150 pp (limit 2 people) per cruise. That is $300.00..... for certain category cabins. We cruise a number of times a year. If we only reaped that benefit it would be so worth it to us but there are many more features/services attached to that card that make it very worth it to us to have/use.

 

[Arizona Cruiser II]

We run the entire cost of the cruise through our Discover card and get huge cash back bonuses each year.

[jhannah]

I still wish HAL had an affinity credit card ... one that use would build up "dollar points" or discount levels to apply to cruises.

[bruce-r]

We run the entire cost of the cruise through our Discover card and get huge cash back bonuses each year.

We do the same with our Costco AMEX and I try to charge every thing else I can too. We usually get over $200 back a year. It's easier to spend $ than use FF miles.

[garydm]

We use the Amex Platinum and last year our "return on investment" of the $395 was almost $3,000 on cruises alone. We were able to book cabins for our cruising companions and they also recieved the $300 per cabin credit. On some cruise lines you also receive an additional $100-200 credit in lieu of a shore excursion, so we have often received $500 per cabin credit.

 

Gary

[HalFan]

garydm/sail7seas,

 

Using the AMEX Platinum card, is there a sliding scale for the credit amount based on the category or dollar amount of your cabin, the length of your cruise (like the CCL shareholder's credit) or is it always $300 per cabin ($150 pp)?

[gizmo]

Halfan,

 

It depends on your stateroom. Not everyone receives the $. This is from the Amex site.

 

For Hal:

 

Two-category upgrade on outside staterooms or $300 per suite shipboard credit

Complimentary dinner at the Pinnacle Grill (available first night only)

Welcome bottle of champagne

 

Depending on the cruise line it can differ. Check out this site.

 

https://www124.americanexpress.com/cards/platinum/cruiseprivileges.jsp

[Krazy Kruizers]

THat $300 shipboard credit for HAL is for any length of cruise - 7 days - 10 days - it doesn't matter.

 

Since we cruise quite a few times a year, what we get in shipboard credit more than pays for the annual fee.

[kryos]

I don't have the AMEX Platinum. I'm too cheap to pay the $300+ yearly fee that one requires.

 

But I have an AMEX Gold Card, and if I book a cruise through an AmericanExpress travel agent, and charge it to my AMEX card, I get double reward points for every dollar I spend on the cruise.

 

Normally, this perk would mean next to nothing to me. I want the best deal on my cruise and won't book with a certain TA just because she happens to be affiliated with American Express. However, in the case of my upcoming October cruise, she came in with the best price ... so the extra perk of reward points was an added benefit.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[KateQ22003]

THat $300 shipboard credit for HAL is for any length of cruise - 7 days - 10 days - it doesn't matter.

 

Since we cruise quite a few times a year, what we get in shipboard credit more than pays for the annual fee.

 

OK, you've peaked my interest. Is the shipboard credit only on suites? Do you have to book through an AMEX travel agency, or can you book the cruise anywhere and pay with the AMEX card? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the money.

 

Thanks for any help any of you can provide!

 

Kathy

[kakalina]

I also use Discover card and last year we received over $700 in cash back from our cruising charges.

 

It was great, I mean it is like getting paid to have a good time.

 

Trisha

[sail7seas]

Kathy.......

 

You can book with any TA, however, in the last year or two, AmEx began charging 'outside' of their network TA's a yearly charge in order for them to make use of their 'outside agent desk' and obtain the tracking number in order for HAL Suite guests to obtain their shipboard credits. I am not exactly sure but I think my 'outside TA' pays about $1,000 per year fee and that is for all of his clients who pay for their cruises with AmEx Platinum.....not just for our business.

 

It is sooo worth having the card for us. We take at least 4 cruises a year. That's $1,200 in shipboard credits. BUT, equally important to us, are the other features of the Platinum Card which make it worth a great deal more money.

 

Among those other features are 'emergency medical evacuation' coverage. That is worth a great deal more than $1,200 should either of us have to be removed from a ship with a medical emergency.

 

It is worth your while to read all the features of this card if you are considering it. We've had it for many years and have so much more than gotten 'our money's worth'.

 

I don't work for AmEx by the way. :) I can only tell of our personal view of what it is worth to us.

 

[KateQ22003]

Kathy.......

 

You can book with any TA, however, in the last year or two, AmEx began charging 'outside' of their network TA's a yearly charge in order for them to make use of their 'outside agent desk' and obtain the tracking number in order for HAL Suite guests to obtain their shipboard credits. I am not exactly sure but I think my 'outside TA' pays about $1,000 per year fee and that is for all of his clients who pay for their cruises with AmEx Platinum.....not just for our business.

 

It is sooo worth having the card for us. We take at least 4 cruises a year. That's $1,200 in shipboard credits. BUT, equally important to us, are the other features of the Platinum Card which make it worth a great deal more money.

 

Among those other features are 'emergency medical evacuation' coverage. That is worth a great deal more than $1,200 should either of us have to be removed from a ship with a medical emergency.

 

It is worth your while to read all the features of this card if you are considering it. We've had it for many years and have so much more than gotten 'our money's worth'.

 

I don't work for AmEx by the way. :) I can only tell of our personal view of what it is worth to us.

 

 

Thank you so much for this information! I will get on their website and read about all of the features available. Sounds like a good deal if you travel on a regular basis (which I hope to do now that I've become addicted to cruising!)

 

Kathy

[cruisecache&squash]

The Citibank Dividend Select Platinum gives you 1%-5% cash back on all your purchases. HAL purchases are good for 4% cash back. No annual fee.

[FoxyTerrier]

We do the same with our Costco AMEX and I try to charge every thing else I can too. We usually get over $200 back a year. It's easier to spend $ than use FF miles.

 

We also use the Costco AMEX (it's platinum too, but not like S7S's platinum) we got back $800 this year. Next year DS goes off to college and I found out we can play his tuition on AMEX so I expect even a bigger rebate next year.

 

I'm still trying to figure out a way to make our mortgage payments on that card for even a bigger bump. :D

[Robin7]

Next year DS goes off to college and I found out we can play his tuition on AMEX so I expect even a bigger rebate next year.

 

We have one in college this year and next year we'll have THREE. UGH. (No cruise next year unless we luck into the company paying for it like we did this year!) You need to check out:

 

Hope and Lifetime are tax credits which allow you to subtract, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the amount of the credit from your total federal income tax bill. Income tax deductions are subtracted from your income before your taxes are calculated. As a result, tax credits usually allow for greater total savings than tax deductions.

 

The Hope Tax Credit

 

This tax credit applies to tuition and fee expenses for the first two years of post-secondary education.

• To claim Hope credit, the student must be enrolled at least 1/2 time for at least one academic period.
  
• The maximum yearly credit per eligible student is $1,500.
  
• There is no limit on how many family members can receive the credit.
  
• The amount of the credit begins to phase out if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is between $41,000 and $51,000 for a single return and between $82,000 and $102,000 for a joint return.
  
• For your parents to claim a Hope credit for your expenses, your parents must also claim an exemption for you. If your parents do not claim you as an exemption, you yourself can claim the Hope credit.
  
• You claim the Hope credit by completing Parts I and III of IRS Form 8863, entering the education credit figure on your 1040 or 1040A, and submitting it with your tax return.

Good luck!

 

Robin

[HeatherInFlorida]

It won't do you any good with HAL, but if you cruise Celebrity then the Celebrity Amex card is a must-have!!! I got it last year shortly before our cruise and still was able to manage $250 in shipboard credit (for one thing I charged our final payment on it). I combined that with my $250 credit for owning RCL stock and I had $500 credit before I even got on the ship!!:) . And best of all, there's no fee at all.

 

But I shouldn't be posting this on a HAL board! My walking papers will be in the mail!!!:D

 

Just wish HAL had a card, too.

[shepsm001]

Question, what if you show a lot of AGI and you claim your children as Dependants? At what point, AGI wise, are you denied credits for their education? What if you have more than one child in college? which is next year for us.

[bruce-r]

Question, what if you show a lot of AGI and you claim your children as Dependants? At what point, AGI wise, are you denied credits for their education? What if you have more than one child in college? which is next year for us.

courtesy of Google: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch02.html

[tuggers]

I may be a piker with all you guys are getting back, but I have for years used a US Air Visa. I pay everything I can with it, utility bills, cable, groceries, gas, you name it. I have mostly used it to get free air fare to Europe for TA's. I like to travel first class on long trips. Getting a $10,000 FC ticket to Europe once a year is a good deal to me!

[Alexborngal]

OK, you've peaked my interest. Is the shipboard credit only on suites? Do you have to book through an AMEX travel agency, or can you book the cruise anywhere and pay with the AMEX card? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the money.

 

Thanks for any help any of you can provide!

 

Kathy

 

Talked to AMEX directly. The $300 shipboard credit is for any category. I've signed up for the card as I'll pay $320 for a year - that's the price if one has a Fidelity account - so the card will end up costing us $20. I told AMEX that I had already charged my cruise to a Costco AMEX card and would I be able to credit the cost back to that card and charge the Platinum when I get it. Was told I could. Hope this helps.

[Alexborngal]

Talked to AMEX directly. The $300 shipboard credit is for any category. I've signed up for the card as I'll pay $320 for a year - that's the price if one has a Fidelity account - so the card will end up costing us $20. I told AMEX that I had already charged my cruise to a Costco AMEX card and would I be able to credit the cost back to that card and charge the Platinum when I get it. Was told I could. Hope this helps.

 

If you book through a TA, as I did, the TA has to call AMEX Travel Services to get a code for the cruise so I can get the perks.

[KateQ22003]

My travel agent is trying to book a suite on the Westerdam in October and she is telling me that they will not honor the $150pp shipboard credit because this is a special "inventory clearance" sale. Is this right? What a ripoff. I thought it was $300 on a suite no matter what? Should I call AMEX?

 

Help me! I am so mad I'm ready to tell HAL to stuff it!

[Alexborngal]

OK, you've peaked my interest. Is the shipboard credit only on suites? Do you have to book through an AMEX travel agency, or can you book the cruise anywhere and pay with the AMEX card? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the money.

 

Thanks for any help any of you can provide!

 

Kathy

 

Yes, the shipboard credit is only for suites. However, the two category upgrade is for all other categories. You can book through a TA and the TA has to call Amex Platinum travel services to get the proper code so you can get the perks. The whole trip must be billed on Amex Platinum. If you have an account with Fidelity you can get a Platinum card through them for $320 a year. Hope this helps.