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ROYAL VISA


MDFirst

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5 hours ago, MDFirst said:

Hello,

I was wondering what experiences everyone has had using the Royal Caribbean visa

how is the redemption process and is there good value over other cards rewards programs

thank you

Michael

 

 

 

how

I agree with @SpeedNoodles  and@DMLM .  On the redemption, which you can do online, I find that OBC isn't credited until a couple of weeks before the cruise.  So if you want to use the OBC for cruise planner purchases, you need to call the rewards program so that they force through the conversion right away.  On the other hand, if you use the Visa for your career planner purchases, you rack up more points.  It boils down to how you will use the OBC.  We usually end up spending it on an extra purchase on the ship.  

I have seen 3% offers as a teaser rate, including travel card offers from AAA, but i find that a consistent 2% is good enough for me long term.  Best of luck!

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I've actually had the opposite happen - last year when used my redemption points 2 separate times for the same cruise - first time I did it 6 months before the cruise and it showed up in my cruise planner within 2 weeks and the second time it showed up later that day in my cruise planner.

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We did a podcast episode about credit cards: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-209-using-credit-cards-save-cruise-vacation

I don't have the RC Visa card, but I do believe other travel cards are potentially more lucrative. Ultimately, it boils down to what sort of rewards are of interest to you and how you use your card.

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I have the Celebrity Select VISA; same exact card in terms of usage, you can use any of those cards with any of Royal's ship lines, it's just different branding and card image. Like @SpeedNoodles and @DMLM, I only use that card to pay for my cruise and any Cruise Planner purchases I happen to buy, so I can get the double rewards points and faster OBC redemption for on-board spending. I agree with @Matt that it's probably not the best rewards card out there, and for general usage I have my Amazon rewards card that works a lot better for me. But having an easy way to get some OBC for the cruise is nice, especially now that the drink package prices are getting astronomical.

I actually got the card because of a promotion being done at the time, which I think is being offered again now -- 100,000 bonus points (effectively $100 OBC) for getting the card and making a modest amount of purchases in the first 90 days. Since I was doing initial booking at the time, it was a no-brainer as I qualified for the bonus instantly. I figure between that, the cost of the cruise, and any excursion I buy through the Cruise Planner, I should manage to get between $200 and $250 in OBC for that sailing, which will help pay for my bar tab. ? 

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As said by some, there are better travel cards that provide a greater flexibility. Not going to geek-out in points talk but do some Google searches a lot of great information about different rewards programs on YouTube, Reddit, Podcasts, "The Points Guy", etc, etc.

My wife isn't into the points game or credit cards with fees (smart) so other than Discover her credit cards do not earn her anything. So, we discussed it and decided the RCL card would be a good fit for her. She can use it for some of our RCL purchases (I have Sapphire so like to get some points & insurance) and some of her everyday spend where it's not a Discover category. Between the signup bonus and her spend we hope to have a few hundred as @JLMoran said to offset a bar tab or something else. 

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Be careful if you have a RC Visa as I found out recently that the points DO EXPIRE.  I had to take a year off cruising due to major illness and received a warning that my points were about to expire.  That being said,  I use my RC Visa for "Everything" from online bill paying, Groceries, Cruise Bookings (You get the Idea).  My next cruise is booked for Sept. 28th and we will have $1000 Shipboard Credit to use.  I have even booked one week cruises using my points.  I do use mine a lot for the cruising points so for me it is a great fit.

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3 minutes ago, BigKarl said:

Be careful if you have a RC Visa as I found out recently that the points DO EXPIRE.  I had to take a year off cruising due to major illness and received a warning that my points were about to expire.  That being said,  I use my RC Visa for "Everything" from online bill paying, Groceries, Cruise Bookings (You get the Idea).  My next cruise is booked for Sept. 28th and we will have $1000 Shipboard Credit to use.  I have even booked one week cruises using my points.  I do use mine a lot for the cruising points so for me it is a great fit.

THANK YOU about the expire I will read my wife's RCL credit card terms and conditions closely.

Edited by sk8erguy1978
It read like my wife came with terms & conditions!
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