Royal Caribbean Visa Rewards

[Cruisegirl1976]

18 minutes ago, AGSLC5 said:

I also have this credit card but I always use to the points to take money off the actual cost of my cruise. I am even able to combine it with Casino Discounts. Do any of you ever take the money right off the cruise fare? sounds like most people just get the OBC. 

We used it once to get the free 4 night passenger fare on a cruise.. but usually we use the OBC for the booze package and shore excursions.

[bookit]

can you use the OBC from the Royal card they give you  to  pay for the gratuities?

[Hutcherl]

28 minutes ago, bookit said:

can you use the OBC from the Royal card they give you  to  pay for the gratuities?

Yes.  Exactly what I’ll be using mine on. 

[Silligan]

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1.  Did you get the email confirmation of the points redemption ?

2.  If so, you are good to go..  Don't expect the OBC to show up on your booking until 2-3 weeks ahead.  They do not post it there immediately if your sailing is a number of weeks out.  If you do not see it on there by 2 weeks prior to sailing, then you will need to start looking into it but don't panic until then.  If you have the email confirmation then I'm confident that you will be fine.  If you did not get the email confirmation then you need to contact RCCL Visa right away.

BTW, keep that email confirmation close by and I always take a copy of it with me onto the ship just to be sure (unless you use it all prior to sailing, of course).  I haven't had an issue with my RCCL Visa OBC for a number of years so I haven't needed that email confirmation for a while.  ...but back in "they day" when they didn't have it all automated I used to need it quite frequently. The process seems to be flawless in the past few years though.

Thanks! I do have the e-mail confirmation

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, AGSLC5 said:

I also have this credit card but I always use to the points to take money off the actual cost of my cruise. I am even able to combine it with Casino Discounts. Do any of you ever take the money right off the cruise fare? sounds like most people just get the OBC. 

Stephanie, we use it as OBC and gamble with it !!

We take the max amount allowed daily as cash draws against our sea pass account.  We get out bill as high as we can and then pay it off using the RCCL Visa at the end of the cruise.  We take the cash, which we have brought back to our room every night, and pay off the RCCL Visa when we get home.  Since you get double points on RCCL when using the RCCL Visa, we will get an automatic minimum of $400 OBC for our next cruise as the cruise bill will be a minimum of $20K.  The only risk here is that if you lose, you still have to make up the difference to pay off the CC b/c the RCCL Visa has an outrageously high interest rate.  Some people are uncomfortable carrying around that much cash but as long as you are going straight home where you can lock it up, it's not really a problem.  Of course, you are limited to $10K per person coming through Customs so we cannot go beyond $20K in cash.  As long as you know you can pay off the balance then this process works like a charm and it is 100 legal and ethical. Combine that money with the value of paying the actual cruises with the RCCL Visa card and you really accumulate OBC in a hurry !  We generally have between $500-$1000 OBC on every cruise and the best part is it is self perpetuating !  The more you cruise and gamble the more you earn.  ...and if you happen to win on the cruise, it's an even better deal !  That is rarely the case for us, unfortunately.  

[AGSLC5]

16 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Stephanie, we use it as OBC and gamble with it !!

We take the max amount allowed daily as cash draws against our sea pass account.  We get out bill as high as we can and then pay it off using the RCCL Visa at the end of the cruise.  We take the cash, which we have brought back to our room every night, and pay off the RCCL Visa when we get home.  Since you get double points on RCCL when using the RCCL Visa, we will get an automatic minimum of $400 OBC for our next cruise as the cruise bill will be a minimum of $20K.  The only risk here is that if you lose, you still have to make up the difference to pay off the CC b/c the RCCL Visa has an outrageously high interest rate.  Some people are uncomfortable carrying around that much cash but as long as you are going straight home where you can lock it up, it's not really a problem.  Of course, you are limited to $10K per person coming through Customs so we cannot go beyond $20K in cash.  As long as you know you can pay off the balance then this process works like a charm and it is 100 legal and ethical. Combine that money with the value of paying the actual cruises with the RCCL Visa card and you really accumulate OBC in a hurry !  We generally have between $500-$1000 OBC on every cruise and the best part is it is self perpetuating !  The more you cruise and gamble the more you earn.  ...and if you happen to win on the cruise, it's an even better deal !  That is rarely the case for us, unfortunately.  

I do exactly what you do with taking out max amount and then paying off the bill lol. I love that its double points and I have no problem having a ton of cash I put most of it in my safe and since I mostly sail from Florida I just literally stop at the bank on my way home deposit the money and pay the bill.. Yes of course there have been times where I have loss too much and had to make up the difference but I still do like getting the points. I guess I will have to try the OBC redemption. I always used it for cruises I don't get fully comped but I could always use to gamble onboard. 

[mworkman]

We transferred VISA OBC awhile back, were 18 days out and nothing is showing in the cruise planner yet.  I will let you know if and when it shows up.

[TheHobbys]

19 minutes ago, mworkman said:

We transferred VISA OBC awhile back, were 18 days out and nothing is showing in the cruise planner yet.  I will let you know if and when it shows up.

We did ours awhile back and a couple of days ago it showed up - of course, after we purchased our excursion lol.  we are about 7 days out from our cruise.

[Ndfan89]

Can I ask what credit card you are using? I do not have a RCI credit card.  Looks like I might need to get one.  I have four scheduled for this year and just booked Harmony for May of 2020.

[Baked Alaska]

6 hours ago, Ndfan89 said:

Can I ask what credit card you are using? I do not have a RCI credit card.  Looks like I might need to get one.  I have four scheduled for this year and just booked Harmony for May of 2020.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/visa-signature-card yes, would help with OBC for your four upcoming cruises. Check out the details. I use only this card for RCCL transactions and it is used for nothing else. @Ndfan89 it has a high interest rate. Pay it off every transaction or it will bite you in he RCCL butt.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Baked Alaska
Further info

[Ndfan89]

Thank you so much!

[Ditchdoc]

Realizing this this a RCCL based site, I have been reading about affinity/travel related credit cards the past few days. No doubt there are some biased opinions out there and the credit card world is primary out there to skim money from retailers and charge exorbitant interest to consumers. Having said all that, some cards offer better travel benefits than others and the RCCL Visa is no where near the top on anyone's list of the 'best of'.

I say that in spite of having used the RCCL Visa myself for over 10 years and earned a couple of 'two for one cruises' and several OBC's of varying amounts. I am seriously reconsidering that choice of credit card. I only carry one card, generally pay it off monthly and channel most every thing I can through it for the sole purpose of travel benefits. There are cards out there with all kinds of agreements with on line reservation systems, hotels, airlines and virtually any travel expense including cruise lines. Many of these offer large 'sign up bonuses' that amounts to hundreds of dollars and some offer as much as 10x credit per dollar spent. Most all convert 10,000 points/miles into $100. Some even allow that to be converted to cash in your pocket.

Some are more biased toward airlines, some toward hotels and others for for any travel expense. Some have no annual membership, some have fairly steep annual membership though a good part of it can be offset with perks. Some are no doubt best suited for professionals that travel world wide on a regular basis. Some are a better fit for families that  do vacations once or twice a year. Most are targeted toward people with good credit scores.

Keeping all that in mind, there are some really good travel benefits to be had. Digging a little deeper, coupling some cards with online reservations as specific incentives with some hotels, rental cars and so on can seriously boost the points/miles you get.

Its kind of like people that cut coupons, if you spend a little time researching and playing the game, you can save a lot of money on travel.

[mworkman]

13 days out..still nothing yet.

[Skid]

29 minutes ago, mworkman said:

13 days out..still nothing yet.

You should have gotten a "Branded Redemption Transaction Details" email when you first redeemed the points. It's supposed to show no later than 2 weeks before the cruise. On my 14th day before sailing I called the C&A number (800-772-9723) and the rep added it to the cruise planner IMMEDIATELY. Give them a call and you should be able to use it today if you so desire.

[RestingBird]

On 5/29/2019 at 2:45 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Stephanie, we use it as OBC and gamble with it !!

We take the max amount allowed daily as cash draws against our sea pass account.  We get out bill as high as we can and then pay it off using the RCCL Visa at the end of the cruise.  We take the cash, which we have brought back to our room every night, and pay off the RCCL Visa when we get home.  Since you get double points on RCCL when using the RCCL Visa, we will get an automatic minimum of $400 OBC for our next cruise as the cruise bill will be a minimum of $20K.  The only risk here is that if you lose, you still have to make up the difference to pay off the CC b/c the RCCL Visa has an outrageously high interest rate.  Some people are uncomfortable carrying around that much cash but as long as you are going straight home where you can lock it up, it's not really a problem.  Of course, you are limited to $10K per person coming through Customs so we cannot go beyond $20K in cash.  As long as you know you can pay off the balance then this process works like a charm and it is 100 legal and ethical. Combine that money with the value of paying the actual cruises with the RCCL Visa card and you really accumulate OBC in a hurry !  We generally have between $500-$1000 OBC on every cruise and the best part is it is self perpetuating !  The more you cruise and gamble the more you earn.  ...and if you happen to win on the cruise, it's an even better deal !  That is rarely the case for us, unfortunately.  

I don't gamble...but I totally just took a screenshot of this reply...never know when it'll come in handy.  Thanks!

P.S.  I mean all that in a good way, it's good advice.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 minute ago, RestingBird said:

I don't gamble...but I totally just took a screenshot of this reply...never know when it'll come in handy.  Thanks!

There could be one slight problem if you are not a Prime member.  For anyone that is not at least a Prime level member of Club Royale, they would charge you a 5% "convenience fee" to take cash against your sea pass card.  So if you  had to pay that fee it would  not be reasonable.  This "scheme" only works if you are already a Prime or higher CR member.  I should have mentioned that but I know that Stephanie does qualify for waiving that fee.

[mworkman]

23 hours ago, Skid said:

I called the C&A number (800-772-9723) and the rep added it to the cruise planner IMMEDIATELY. Give them a call and you should be able to use it today if you so desire.

I tried calling that number and nothing...must have changed numbers...so i called RC and was told it should have posted but might not post on-line until 7 days out.  We're at 12 now..no big deal, however i would prefer it showing up prior to boarding as to not have to go to the guest services desk if at all possible.

[Cruisegirl1976]

5 minutes ago, mworkman said:

I tried calling that number and nothing...must have changed numbers...so i called RC and was told it should have posted but might not post on-line until 7 days out.  We're at 12 now..no big deal, however i would prefer it showing up prior to boarding as to not have to go to the guest services desk if at all possible.

I would call again.. they had mine showing int CP in a couple hours.. and I got a new confirmation that showed the OBC in an email.. 

[Skid]

21 minutes ago, mworkman said:

I tried calling that number and nothing...must have changed numbers...so i called RC and was told it should have posted but might not post on-line until 7 days out.  We're at 12 now..no big deal, however i would prefer it showing up prior to boarding as to not have to go to the guest services desk if at all possible.

I am so sorry..I looked at a wrong number. The correct number is 800-526-9723. Press option 9 right away so you won't have to deal with all the prompts. Should get you right through.

[SweetHomeLady]

A couple of questions for you knowledgeable cruising card holders.... Has anyone ever seen a bonus higher than 10,000 points for signing up?  Will I get double points paying for an RCCL cruise through a travel agent?  Thanks in advance.

[Skid]

19 minutes ago, SweetHomeLady said:

A couple of questions for you knowledgeable cruising card holders.... Has anyone ever seen a bonus higher than 10,000 points for signing up?  Will I get double points paying for an RCCL cruise through a travel agent?  Thanks in advance.

My wife and I each got 15,000 point bonuses last year so ended up with $300 on board credit. 

Interesting question that I cannot answer re paying the travel agent. If the charge is to the agent rather than to Royal directly, could be a gray area.

[WAAAYTOOO]

The actual charge comes from  Royal Caribbean, not the travel agent. We do this 100% of the time.  Always double points.

[Floski]

14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The actual charge comes from  Royal Caribbean, not the travel agent. We do this 100% of the time.  Always double points.

Cruising Sensei

[TheHobbys]

2 hours ago, SweetHomeLady said:

A couple of questions for you knowledgeable cruising card holders.... Has anyone ever seen a bonus higher than 10,000 points for signing up?  Will I get double points paying for an RCCL cruise through a travel agent?  Thanks in advance.

Yes, you get double points going through the TA if you use the RCL card.  That's how I spread out my payments for our cruises.  I'll email my TA and have them toss another payment on that card, then I bill pay it monthly.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, TheHobbys said:

Yes, you get double points going through the TA if you use the RCL card.  That's how I spread out my payments for our cruises.  I'll email my TA and have them toss another payment on that card, then I bill pay it monthly.  

Exactly how we do it !