RCI Visa Credit Card

[London, Canada]

I just received my Crown & Anchor, and see the application for the RCI Visa. Does anyone have one and if so, do you think it is worth calling and getting one? I just wonder how long it would take to get sufficient points to use any of them.

 

Also if anyone wants or needs any coupons for 2004 I have them here. We are not going until Feb. 05.

 

[TexasTwoSteps]

We recently signed up for and got our RCL VISA card. I am a frquent traveler on business and my rational was that the rebate fees offered by Discover didn't seem to compare to what I could build for with the RCL card. While it will take 125,000 points for a 7 day cruise for two it would be equivalent to about $2,000 at retail cruise rates. We normally only get $150 a yr back from Discover and if we spend the same amounts on te RCL VISA, we figure a cruise as a return in about 4-5 yrs. 5 times 150 would only be about $750. Guess you can tell I am a CPA here.

 

 

[lauren0309]

Question- If I were to charge say $2,000 on my Visa card before my cruise and cashed in my bonus points, approximately how much would my onboard ship credit be worth in dollars?

 

Till the Enchantment!

[Murphy]

$5000 in credit card charges = $50 onboard credit. You do get double dollars for all charges to RCI, either onboard or pre-cruise. NOTE: They officially tell you it takes 6-8 weeks to receive your credit coupons that you then need to send to RCI at least one week prior to your cruise, so keep that in mind. Unofficially, I've redeemed twice and it took 2-3 weeks to get the coupons.

 

7 previous cruises, Hawaii on Legend scheduled May 2004, and Enchantment Oct 2004

[bplazo]

I believe that you receive 2,500 bonus points when you make your first transaction. We charged our credit card for our cruise so that was double bonus. Which came to about 7,500 points.

 

We are also going to charge our airfare and all our excursions (we book these way ahead of time) So we should have quite a few points.

[Dadofsara]

I've been using my charge for about 6 months and have charges a cruise and excursion son it. With the bonus points I now have about 25,000 points. I am half way to a free crusie for 2 to The Bahamas for 4 nights. Has anyone earned a free crusie yet? I'd love to know.

[marciemi]

We also just reached 25,000 points, but already have our cruise scheduled. We called and emphasized that we wanted 5 of the 5,000 point certificates ($50 onboard credit each). Went over and over it. Sure enough about 3 weeks later we got a 25,000 coupon good for something like companion fare on 3-4 day cruise and various upgrades, NOT what we wanted. Had to call them again, resend it in, and wait another 3 weeks (hopefully). Fortunately our cruise isn't until Sept, but I'd read before on these boards to start cashing in 6 months out and I see why!

 

Days until Voyager of the Seas - 9/10/2004

 

Big Red Boat '88,

Fair Princess '90,

Norway '91,

Regal Princess '91,

Carnival Fantasy '93,

Regent Rainbow '95,

Big Red Boat '98,

Disney Wonder '00,

Grand Princess 11/16/03,

Voyager of the Seas 09/10/04

[wdwpluto]

bumping to see other experiences...

 

is the interest rate fixed or variable? and what is the current rate? (I pay in full each month, but it's nice to know - just in case!)

 

Thanks!

Lori

[bpear1600]

Anybody else get cheated out of points? In other words if you have purchases that add up to $1800 and you only get 1350 points.

 

This has happened twice in 6 months and there were no credits offsetting purchases nor were there any items that didn't earn points.

 

Bob

 

 

 

[ondeckatsea]

I got one a couple of months ago. I was curious to see if we could put our next cruise on the card and get double points. We pay in full each month anyway, so why not.

 

Jan

[want2seaitall]

I've only turned in 5,000 for two free waffle robes on my last cruise...I luv um!!! We already had 5,000 more accrued prior to our cruise last week...and put all of our RCCL purchases on it...double points...so I'm waiting for my cc statement to see what we've got now. I'll be booking another trip on it soon too. I'm going to let them get a bit higher this time before cashing them in.

 

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004

Carnival Inspiration - June 2003

RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

 

 

[marciemi]

Got called yesterday and (surprise!), they need us to send the 25,000 coupon they sent us back before they send us the 5 x 5,000 coupons. Imagine that! We suggested that a week and a half ago when we told them of the error, and they said no, they'd just send the others out. So just mailed it back, and will wait (again!) for the right ones! Again warning to turn them in early in case this happens to you!

 

We've also earned 2 more 5,000 coupons in the meantime so we're up to a total of 7 of the $50 onboard credits (35,000 points total) - and we just got our card in September. And we still have over 4 months to go (less if I allow time to actually receive the coupon!). The guy suggested we continue saving for a larger award, but didn't really see anything better at 50,000 points - you can get $500 off your cruise, but effectively I can get $500 in onboard credit (shoot - with 5 of us tips alone for 9 days will be about that!). And since we have our cruise already booked and prices have gone up so much, don't know how or if upgrades would work. And the free cruise wouldn't apply to our 9 day sailing. And I don't know if we'll do RCI after this, and if we did how long it would be until our next cruise so we'll just keep accruing the $50 certificates. Anyone got more than 35,000 points so far?

 

We also charge everything and pay it off each month so can't help with interest rates! One thing I found interesting, though, is that a couple months ago we reached our (very high!) credit limit. Instead of increasing our limit, they just basically cut off our card. It was like 2 days before we had an automatic transfer from our bank account to pay, but too short of notice to change the transfer date. Since we've paid it off each month for 6 months, and our minimum payment was $15, don't you think they would have let us charge those last couple days and raised it a couple hundred dollars? Guess we were too much of a risk!

 

Big Red Boat '88,

Fair Princess '90,

Norway '91,

Regal Princess '91,

Carnival Fantasy '93,

Regent Rainbow '95,

Big Red Boat '98,

Disney Wonder '00,

Grand Princess 11/16/03,

Voyager of the Seas 09/10/04

 

<MARQUEE> Voyager of the Seas - 9/10/2004 <MARQUEE>

[want2seaitall]

marci...funny the loyalty ambassador on the ship last week...was trying to convince me to do the same...save up points instead of using them for the 5,000 gifts. HHMMMM.

 

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004

Carnival Inspiration - June 2003

RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

 

 

[CrazyCruiseCanuck]

To Original Poster:

 

I see you are Canadian, as am I . If you read the terms and conditions for the RCCL Visa, I believe you have to be an American resident.

 

Cindy

[Tra4]

We asked (online) for a increase on our limit and a few days later, they emailed the approval.

 

Until we cruise again. . . . . .

 

Premier Oceanic-Bahamas, 2/89

Rhapsody-East. Carib. 12/97

Grand Princess-East. Car. 5/00

Radiance-Hawaii,10/2001

Adventure-South. Car. 7/2002

Brilliance-Panama Canal 12/2003 "Happy New Year!"

Mariner-East. Carib. 6/2004

[emilymad]

I called last week to get certificates mailed to me and they said I should have them in 5-7 business days. It hasn't been that long yet so we will see how accurate that was. I am hoping they come soon since we leave in June and I want to use those credits.

[normaxs]

I have both the RCCL credit card and a credit card to earn air miles with no restrictions. I take turns using a different card each month. It's amazing how fast the points add up.I usually get at least one flight every year and am piling up points for next years cruise credits. I charge everything including many of my regular montly bills and pay off the balance every month so no interest. It's become a game!

Norma

[Apex Cruiser]

Bpear1600,

 

If you charge anything they consider to represent "cash" they will not give you credits for those charges. Imagine the fun we could all have if we went to the casino on ship maxed out our cards for cash and got double points for that. I'd get a free cruise real quick.

 

Mariner 9/12/04

Adventure 9/03

Explorer 9/02

Majesty 9/00

Fantasy 3/00

Seaward 8/95

Mardi Gras 3/80

[giggles1972]

i rcvd my statement the other day.

 

my purchases where something like $1300, but my reward points were only about $1100.

 

I am going to call and see why i didnt rcv my full amount.

 

Stacey

 

1985 M/V Atlantic

1992 R.C. Nordic Empress

1996 Carnival Fantasy

Days remaining till Enchantment of the Sea!!!

 

[bpear1600]

Stacey, I called and could not get a straight answer. All my purchases were legit and I had no credits. The rep thought purchases in the last few days of the cycle may be added the next month but this sounds like a crock to me.

 

She said to call again next month if the problem persists.

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Italy52]

We used to have a Lattitudes visa card many years ago. We cancelled it because we were only allowed to acummulate so many points in a year and had to redeem points within a certain time frame. It didn't take long for us to figure out that something odd was going on. The most we were ever able to get back as a rebate was $600 towards a cruise. My husband used this card heavily on business and we never seemed to get a good deal. Is the new card set up the same as I described above?

 

We actually got a free HAL 7-day cruise for two to the Caribbean by using our Marriott points. All we paid was port taxes I believe. We felt it was a better deal overall.

[want2seaitall]

apex...what do you mean by "cash"??? Thanks.

 

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004

Carnival Inspiration - June 2003

RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

 

 

[the_psycho]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Apex Cruiser:

Bpear1600,

 

If you charge anything they consider to represent "cash" they will not give you credits for those charges. Imagine the fun we could all have if we went to the casino on ship maxed out our cards for cash and got double points for that. I'd get a free cruise real quick.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

You actually can do this. There is a limit to how much the casino will let you withdraw in a day (2000USD per person, per day), but since all your seapass charges are billed to your card in one lump sum at the end of the cruise, it doesn't show up as cash. We did this on our last cruise, but only did $500 per person ($500 x 5 people x 7 days = a lot of points, and a lot of cash) and just took the cash home, deposited it in the checking account (the forms that you fill out is a pain in the butt for amounts over 10,000USD), and the just paid off the balance when we got the bill. When you consider that we paid for our fares (2x points), our airfare, pre- and post- cruise hotel, and all the stuff that we bought in port with this card, we netted about 50,000 from this one cruise alone. Not too bad a deal.

 

If you were to go on a 7 night and a 12 night (like the one that we have planned and upcoming), and do what we did, you would easily clear enough for a free 7 night caribbean for two.

 

Buy two, get one free. I really like the sound of that.

 

A potential example:

 

If you have a high enough credit limit, you can get up to 2000USD a day from the casino.

 

Figure you do a 12 night Panama Canal in a D balcony with airfare, 1 night hotel stays pre and post cruise, and transfers, you're looking at $7,220 for two people. Add to that $500 of RCI-Brand excursions, $750 from the bar and wine cellar, $500 worth of tips and onboard purchases, and you're looking at a total of $9000. Thats 18,000 points. Now, add to that your casino withdrawls (2000x12x2) and you've got a credit card bill of $57,000 for your vacation, and 114,000 points on your card. Add pay off the housesitter and all the other stuff you bought while in port, and you've got yourself a buy one get one free deal.

 

Kinda neat, huh?

 

<color=#8b0000>until Serenade of the Seas Spring Break 2004!!

[marciemi]

psycho - another idea I was wondering about. We've already charged all our shore excursions - about $1000 worth for the 5 of us and gotten double points for them. What would keep you from now cancelling them, if we already have the vouchers for the onboard credit in hand? We're not doing this since we want those excursions, but couldn't you book a lot of them for your cruise, then cancel. Or even rebook them onboard if they were available, effectively giving you quadruple points? Or do they somehow make you reimburse them? ie. do they take points away?

 

Big Red Boat '88,

Fair Princess '90,

Norway '91,

Regal Princess '91,

Carnival Fantasy '93,

Regent Rainbow '95,

Big Red Boat '98,

Disney Wonder '00,

Grand Princess 11/16/03,

Voyager of the Seas 09/10/04

 

<MARQUEE> Voyager of the Seas - 9/10/2004 <MARQUEE>

[the_psycho]

I would imagine that if you cancelled shore excursions before you got onboard, then they would refund the money paid, and take the points away. If you already had the vouchers, they would probably just put you into the negative for points. The same thing with rebooking them on the ship. MBNA does the points, not RCI, so they're pretty good about catching stuff like this. The reason you get away with the casino trick is that your card is only charged once, at the end of the trip, and its a lump sum, not itemized charge list. It might look funny, but if MBNA squeals, just tell them you bought a bunch of watches and jewelry and did poorly in the casino.

 

<color=#8b0000>until Serenade of the Seas Spring Break 2004!!