Compass Rewards Program Ends

[ljrfrm]

:(

 

 

We should get a group cruise together. That would make the misery easier to take. :)

 

 

 

Great idea!

 

Think of all the cruises they're going to sell now because of all this!

[halos]

Right now the best rewards card with no fee that I am finding is the Chase Freedom Visa Signature card. 3% in top 3 categories, 1% on other purchases. You can switch between cash and points.

 

 

 

That's what I'm looking at as well.

[terrymtex01]

Well, we're in trouble. We are planning a Summer 2010 graduation cruise for my son. We have $1,500 at this point saved up. But, it sounds like we now have to cruise by January 2010. I certainly don't want to lose the points.....so I guess we'll have to find a way to use them. But, then we won't be able to do the summer cruise. This is a nice way for NCL to get a bunch of people to take cruises they hadn't planned.........very frustrating! Like you all though, I kind of knew this was all too good to be true. Oh well.

 

Ok.. here is my suggestion.. Right now the way you are looking at it YOU ONLY have cruises to choose from until Jan 2010. And I do know that is what the rules for the certificates state, however not only have we had them apply the certificates to cruises that were more than a year out, we have read on here of many people who have had the certs credited towards cruises more than 12 months out. If the cruise you are looking at for your family is avialable at this point to be booked, I would request the certs, book the cruise, and send the certs in as a payment. ALL they can do is come back and tell you that you can't use those certs for that cruise and THEN you can narrow your search for a cruise between now and Jan 2010. Does that make sense what I'm saying? Let them tell you that you are that limited in your choice, do YOU limit yourself. Hope that explains what I'm trying to say.

 

Some questions...

 

1) What happens to our extra points? Are we getting a certificate for them? (I'll have 400-500 or so...right around the amt for a cert, not sure if I'd have enough)

 

2) My final payment on my 2/15/09 cruise will have passed by 12/31. If I get the cert could I put it towards that? (and would they still credit my card, as they have done others?)...Or should I start looking for another cruise?

 

This is only to respond to your number 2 question. If you have made final payment and you get certs after that, you can send the cert to them and they will either credit your charge card, or give you an OBC. I have yet to figure out how they decide which of those to do, but they have done both for us. One thing to keep in mind.. if they give you OBC instead of a refund to your card, you usually can not use OBC towards the daily service charge. You can use it for the casino or drinks, gift shop purchases, etc. Pretty much you can use it for anything other than service charges. Or at least that is what I have read here recently on CC.

[smeyer418]

Well, we're in trouble. We are planning a Summer 2010 graduation cruise for my son. We have $1,500 at this point saved up. But, it sounds like we now have to cruise by January 2010. I certainly don't want to lose the points.....so I guess we'll have to find a way to use them. But, then we won't be able to do the summer cruise. This is a nice way for NCL to get a bunch of people to take cruises they hadn't planned.........very frustrating! Like you all though, I kind of knew this was all too good to be true. Oh well.

I think you are ok. You will have to the end of 2009 to get the certs which are good to cruise for one year from the date of ISSUE.

[terrymtex01]

I think you are ok. You will have to the end of 2009 to get the certs which are good to cruise for one year from the date of ISSUE.

 

Our letter from BoA says "You will receive Compass Rewards Certificates for your remaining points balance by January, 31, 2009." which, according to the rules on the certificate, means the sailing has to take place by Jan 2010. However I still think they will be OK trying to use it on a cruise for Summer, 2010. It would at least be worth a try. What do you have to lose?

[AFT_LOVER]

I just phoned B of A to inquire about the change of cards for NCL cruisers who love the 500 points for $500 off a cruise. Now we have to spend $50,000 to get $500 off. I spoke to Josh McDuffy, Supervisor here in Beachwood OH office.

 

He read me a statement given to the phone center on the change of cards for NCL & how to promote it to their customers. It states per NCL's inquiries on saving money with credit card rewards, they are using the one they use for RCCL & Celebrity - WORLDPOINTS. So NCL took it. But you & I will not lose our point value even if it is only half the points to the $500 credit, we will ge $250 for 250 points, etc. He also told me that you statement closing date in December (mine is the 15th) will be the end of Platinum Plus MC for the Worldpoints to be in effect. So I will be receiving the new card & welcome package to read thru it to see the stated rewards by NCL for points we get at $1 a point for everyday charges or $2 a point for NCL charges. He seemed positive it will be better than the stated $10,000 for $100 OBC, which is the Worldpoints stated reward for all cards with them. But I told him I doubt it will be comparable to what we had if NCL is saving money with this.

 

So he is also sending me the VISA Signature welcome package without the card so I do not lose my NCL points. He agrees this card will spoil us and with no anual fee it is a sell for us. If I like it I should wait til January to tell them to change me to it. So I get my certificate for the points I have earned by December 15th.

 

Great guy to talk with, who knew all about what we will be going thru but he also states it isn't as bad as we make it out since it i not the normal Worldpoints card. Then he tells me a cute story of a Myrtle Beach golf club who had a credit card with great perks, points earned easily, and then the club closed it & B of A made it a Worldpoints. The people who had 250,000 points now had only 65,000 & were livid. Major headache for all managment at B of A. So they learned by this error & I am told NCL folks will not go thru this.......

 

Then I asked him about a credit card that B of A keeps trying to change me to - a Signature VISA.

[defreeze]

The NCL FAQ page states: "IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS, you will be issued a Compass Reward certificate based on your point balance as of December 31 , 2008. You will receive your final certificates in January 2009."

 

So, I got out the Compass Rewards program terms and conditions. Here is what it says about the program ending.

 

"One hundred and twenty (120) days from the date notice of termination of the Program is mailed, IF YOUR CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF AVAILABLE POINTS IS SUFFICIENT TO QUALIFY, . . . then MBNA will send you the appropriate number of Certificates. Each Certificate . . . will be honored by NCL . . . for three hundred and sixty-five (365)days from its date of issue."

 

If they hold fast to these rules, that means that people will probably lose points.

[Preds]

The NCL FAQ page states: "IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS, you will be issued a Compass Reward certificate based on your point balance as of December 31 , 2008. You will receive your final certificates in January 2009."

 

So, I got out the Compass Rewards program terms and conditions. Here is what it says about the program ending.

 

"One hundred and twenty (120) days from the date notice of termination of the Program is mailed, IF YOUR CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF AVAILABLE POINTS IS SUFFICIENT TO QUALIFY, . . . then MBNA will send you the appropriate number of Certificates. Each Certificate . . . will be honored by NCL . . . for three hundred and sixty-five (365)days from its date of issue."

 

If they hold fast to these rules, that means that people will probably lose points.

Do you have a link to this FAQ? Where are you reading that?

 

Thanks.

[98Charlie]

The NCL FAQ page states: "IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS, you will be issued a Compass Reward certificate based on your point balance as of December 31 , 2008. You will receive your final certificates in January 2009."

 

So, I got out the Compass Rewards program terms and conditions. Here is what it says about the program ending.

 

"One hundred and twenty (120) days from the date notice of termination of the Program is mailed, IF YOUR CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF AVAILABLE POINTS IS SUFFICIENT TO QUALIFY, . . . then MBNA will send you the appropriate number of Certificates. Each Certificate . . . will be honored by NCL . . . for three hundred and sixty-five (365)days from its date of issue."

 

If they hold fast to these rules, that means that people will probably lose points.

That sounds reasonable from the corporate stand point. I'll bet that BoA will make an offer to transfer some of the loose change points to their new card to keep people from abandoning the card all together.

 

Charlie

[defreeze]

To get to the FAQs, go to the Bank of America website. After you sign in, click on your NCL account. Then, look for the box on the bottom left of the screen that says NCL. When you click on it, it directs you to a page on the NCL site where the FAQs can be found.

 

The Program terms and conditions I quoted from came from a hard copy brochure that I received when I got the card.

[ljrfrm]

You all are right - it might be worth the gamble to see if I can use my certs. for my 2010 cruise by applying them early. The problem is if I can't use them, we can't afford to cruise then. We can't afford to pay for 5 people, full price. And I certainly don't want to lose the points. So, then I think maybe we'll just cruise early. Problem is that leaves us with Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations - which are so high in price. Oh, what to do, what to do? I think for now we'll just wait to see what happens in January and follow this thread and others to see what is working for other people. Thanks all for your advice.

[Dolphins]

1) If we won't have 500 points by December 31st, what will the certificate they will give us in January for our point total be worth? What can it be used for?

 

2) If we won't reach 500 points by Dec. 31st, is their any advantage to continue using the card until then or would we be better off using another card for all our holiday shopping?

 

It's decision time!

[smeyer418]

I just phoned B of A to inquire about the change of cards for NCL cruisers who love the 500 points for $500 off a cruise. Now we have to spend $50,000 to get $500 off. I spoke to Josh McDuffy, Supervisor here in Beachwood OH office.

 

He read me a statement given to the phone center on the change of cards for NCL & how to promote it to their customers. It states per NCL's inquiries on saving money with credit card rewards, they are using the one they use for RCCL & Celebrity - WORLDPOINTS. So NCL took it. But you & I will not lose our point value even if it is only half the points to the $500 credit, we will ge $250 for 250 points, etc. He also told me that you statement closing date in December (mine is the 15th) will be the end of Platinum Plus MC for the Worldpoints to be in effect. So I will be receiving the new card & welcome package to read thru it to see the stated rewards by NCL for points we get at $1 a point for everyday charges or $2 a point for NCL charges. He seemed positive it will be better than the stated $10,000 for $100 OBC, which is the Worldpoints stated reward for all cards with them. But I told him I doubt it will be comparable to what we had if NCL is saving money with this.

 

So he is also sending me the VISA Signature welcome package without the card so I do not lose my NCL points. He agrees this card will spoil us and with no anual fee it is a sell for us. If I like it I should wait til January to tell them to change me to it. So I get my certificate for the points I have earned by December 15th.

 

Great guy to talk with, who knew all about what we will be going thru but he also states it isn't as bad as we make it out since it i not the normal Worldpoints card. Then he tells me a cute story of a Myrtle Beach golf club who had a credit card with great perks, points earned easily, and then the club closed it & B of A made it a Worldpoints. The people who had 250,000 points now had only 65,000 & were livid. Major headache for all managment at B of A. So they learned by this error & I am told NCL folks will not go thru this.......

 

Then I asked him about a credit card that B of A keeps trying to change me to - a Signature VISA.

 

 

I hope this is true but I must tell you most of the time you get a "supervisor" you are speaking to the operator in the next cubicle. In addition most of the time even the supervisors don't know what they are talking about. We will see when the paperwork comes through.

[Sandyshore]

This is so frustrating! We only just got the cards in August, so we haven't earned enough points yet for even one certificate. We could just stop using them and go back to our Capital One Visa which gives us air miles (or the ability to use miles to pay for hotels, car rentals, etc.). I hate all the lost dollars that were charged to the NCL/BOA cards that would have been Cap One miles! Such a waste. :( And if we did keep using the NCL cards thru December, we could manage a $500 certificate, but that's not enough to make a cruise affordable for us. :mad:

[98Charlie]

This is so frustrating! We only just got the cards in August, so we haven't earned enough points yet for even one certificate. We could just stop using them and go back to our Capital One Visa which gives us air miles (or the ability to use miles to pay for hotels, car rentals, etc.). I hate all the lost dollars that were charged to the NCL/BOA cards that would have been Cap One miles! Such a waste. :( And if we did keep using the NCL cards thru December, we could manage a $500 certificate, but that's not enough to make a cruise affordable for us. :mad:

It seems that the cut off for accumulating points would be your billing date in December. Ours is usually around the 12th so any charges after 11 December would not add points. If your cut off is later in the month you would have more time.

 

Charlie

[98Charlie]

I hope this is true but I must tell you most of the time you get a "supervisor" you are speaking to the operator in the next cubicle. In addition most of the time even the supervisors don't know what they are talking about. We will see when the paperwork comes through.

You mean that it might not have been a real supervisor that she talked to at the suburban Cleveland branch at 7 AM on a Sunday???:eek:

 

Who da thunk?

 

Charlie

[Sandyshore]

It seems that the cut off for accumulating points would be your billing date in December. Ours is usually around the 12th so any charges after 11 December would not add points. If your cut off is later in the month you would have more time.

 

Charlie

 

That makes it even harder. One of our cards cuts off even earlier than yours, on the 10th. The other one is the 22nd. And to be honest, it's not just the earlier time cut-off. It's the amt we can afford put on a credit card in a month's time. Even tho' we're allowed to go as high as $8300 or so to get those 250 pts per month, there's the small matter of paying it off! In this economy, it's hard to justify making big purchases just for the chance to earn certificates. :eek:

[98Charlie]

That makes it even harder. One of our cards cuts off even earlier than yours, on the 10th. The other one is the 22nd. And to be honest, it's not just the earlier time cut-off. It's the amt we can afford put on a credit card in a month's time. Even tho' we're allowed to go as high as $8300 or so to get those 250 pts per month, there's the small matter of paying it off! In this economy, it's hard to justify making big purchases just for the chance to earn certificates. :eek:

I hear you! We are considering booking a cruise with NCL next fall and/or winter. If we do it now we can pay off just enough to get a couple of $500 cerificates and get the 4% since it would be an NCL purchase. Then turn around and use the certificates to finish off the cruise payment. It's just that we weren't really thinking of booking this early.

 

Charlie

[DMH15]

Hey d man

 

Do you know what happened to our 2/15 roll call? I can't find it.

 

Thanks.

[jame_g]

So I will be receiving the new card & welcome package to read thru it to see the stated rewards by NCL for points we get at $1 a point for everyday charges or $2 a point for NCL charges. He seemed positive it will be better than the stated $10,000 for $100 OBC, which is the Worldpoints stated reward for all cards with them. But I told him I doubt it will be comparable to what we had if NCL is saving money with this.

 

So he is also sending me the VISA Signature welcome package without the card so I do not lose my NCL points. He agrees this card will spoil us and with no anual fee it is a sell for us.

 

At a 1% reward rate instead of a 3% rate for everyday charges, and a 2% rate on NCL instead of a 4% rate on NCL, I don't see how this card will spoil us. Like most people towing the company line, this guy is just attempting to create a positive spin where one doesn't exist. I for one will not be using the NCL/BOA card any longer given this level of rewards. I think NCL should have investigated a new relationship instead of sticking with BOA.

 

There are definitely better rewards cards out there depending on what you use most. Overall, the Chase Freedom card still sounds like a much better deal than this for me... And I'm still keeping my eye out for others.

[d man]

Hey d man

 

Do you know what happened to our 2/15 roll call? I can't find it.

 

Thanks.

Hi Donna,

It dropped off the list because of lack of use. Sometimes they do reappear. Start a new one and we'll talk.

[d man]

At a 1% reward rate instead of a 3% rate for everyday charges, and a 2% rate on NCL instead of a 4% rate on NCL, I don't see how this card will spoil us. Like most people towing the company line, this guy is just attempting to create a positive spin where one doesn't exist. I for one will not be using the NCL/BOA card any longer given this level of rewards. I think NCL should have investigated a new relationship instead of sticking with BOA.

 

There are definitely better rewards cards out there depending on what you use most. Overall, the Chase Freedom card still sounds like a much better deal than this for me... And I'm still keeping my eye out for others.

BOA could have lowered the rewards to 2% and 3%(for NCL purchases) and charged an annual fee and I think most people would have been fine with that. Instead they have upset and or lost many customers.

[lyndyb]

We were also bummed to get the letter in yesterday's mail - just got our card in June. We are at 365 points and are hoping to get to the 500 point increment to earn one $500 certificate for our cruise in May.

 

Ah well, in our efforts to earn points, we used a credit card for most expenses for the first time and this has actually helped educate us in where our money was going - so it hasn't been for naught.

 

There is an article published in MSN Money by Liz Pulliam Weston about the best credit cards. The article is several months old, so I don't know how relevant it is, but she advises she used another site for a lot of her information and the article provides a link to THAT site ... I've attached a link to the article for anyone who might be looking for another rewards card.

 

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/TheCoolestCreditCardPerks.aspx

 

You know, in the short term, NCL may actually see an increase in business as folks scramble to use their points within the allotted timeframe. Long term, I think they will see a decrease in business as people who liked the deal their card provided will have less incentive to stick with NCL. We're not really cruisers, but this card would surely have motivated us to cruise at least every 3 years just to get a relatively inexpensive and maybe even free vacation. I guess after our cruise in May, we'll go back to land vacations and AI's.

[DMH15]

d man

 

Mr Lee sent me some link to it and I posted and ow it is back. I am not that technological so I don't know what happened.

 

Four months and 10 days to go.

[JPAU]

OUCH. We weren't cruising again until 3/2010 (Sandals next year) and were hoping to have about a $2,000 credit by payment time in 2010. I'm anxiously awaiting all the "fine print".