leesam82 Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 Hello Everyone! I know earlier in the year the community shared the American Express offer. I was very lucky and able to take advantage of that offer. I saw an offer currently offered by the Royal Caribbean branded Bank of America Credit Card. It looks like there is a $100 dollar statement credit after a $1000 minimum spend in the first three months. You will also get a 10K point bonus which is equivalent to a $100 on board credit. The credit card is a zero fee card which is nice. You can find more information on the credit card https://www.royalcaribbean.com/plan-a-cruise/visa-signature-card. I know that a $1000 minimum spend is really easy especially with 4 guests paying the $250 pp deposit. I wanted to ask the community if there are any other credit card hacks or tips that you have tried that worked really well for you? I know for myself I've used credit card bonuses to book a hotel prior to embarkation day. I've also heard of others booking their flights using credit card points as well. Thanks! AlmondFarmer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 I like my Amex card. I get points towards Amazon every time I use it. Amazon is where I buy most of my ‘stuff’ and the points are pretty generous. Also, Amex has quite a few travel protections built in…and a very good customer help and conflict resolution department. They also have quite a few offers which I can add to my card, including the RC offer. The offers are numerous and new ones are added quite frequently. Many of them are cash back offers…use the card towards a purchase and receive a credit back to my account. My card also has a ‘Plan it’ program, where I can defer payment (for a fee, of course) if I need to stretch out the payment. Otherwise, I just pay the total at the end of each cycle. Actually, it’s an automatic payment from my connected bank account. I don’t know of any other credit card issuer who can beat Amex for their reliability and ease of use…but there are some businesses who don’t take it. And the annual fee for my Platinum Card is fairly high. But, after reviewing all of the cash backs and Amazon purchases, it’s a win for me. ChessE4, PPPJJ-GCVAB and D Alt 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 A review of the Royal Caribbean credit card: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/09/10/it-the-royal-caribbean-credit-card-worth-it Dlove707 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Matt said: A review of the Royal Caribbean credit card: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/09/10/it-the-royal-caribbean-credit-card-worth-it Based on that it's not that great of a card (for the purposes of rewards points at least). The best you can do it get 2% back, and the 2% is only for cruises or other items/services purchased from RC. Other cards give you upwards of 5% back based on the purchase for far more purchase categories. For example, to earn $100 in credits with the RC card, I'd have to spend $5000 on a cruise at 2% back. Yet to earn $100 in credits with the Amazon card, I'd just have to spend $2000 on Amazon purchases at 5% back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 I don't really travel enough to create the type of loyalty to a hospitality brand where branded cards would benefit me, so I just stick to whichever card gives me the most cash back for a specific spending category. As for hacks, I just pay attention to the special offers that the cards sometimes have and try to capitalize on them, like the Amex offer for Royal Caribbean. I have a credit card that occasionally offers 10% cash back on a grocery store purchase up to $40 back. I go to a grocery store and purchase $400 in gift cards to take advantage of that offer. Then I use those gift cards for my grocery purchases throughout the year. Lots of little savings here and there tend to add up. PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicey Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 We use the Chase Sapphire Reserve - it's 3% on travel purchases and when you redeem for credits on dining purchases the points are worth 50% more so it's like getting 4.5% back. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve that 3x the points on anything travel related. They also do promotions that net more points for certain services. If you book travel with them your points are worth 50% more. I pay all my cruises off with this card so I can often get my hotel stays for free by using the points. Of course, it has a pretty high annual fee but all my perk more than offset that. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 3 hours ago, smokeybandit said: Based on that it's not that great of a card (for the purposes of rewards points at least). The best you can do it get 2% back, and the 2% is only for cruises or other items/services purchased from RC. Other cards give you upwards of 5% back based on the purchase for far more purchase categories. For example, to earn $100 in credits with the RC card, I'd have to spend $5000 on a cruise at 2% back. Yet to earn $100 in credits with the Amazon card, I'd just have to spend $2000 on Amazon purchases at 5% back True, but perhaps the point is that a cruise probably wouldn't show up in Amazon, right? So for comparison purposes, the main alternative to Royal's card is another card that gives more than 2% cash back when used to purchase a cruise. I haven't found that yet on free cards (other than short-term promotions). Now if you could buy a cruise from Amazon and get 5% back, that would be a real find. Can you do that? PS. I found a $100 gift card listed at Amazon for another cruise line... CruiseGus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 3 hours ago, ChessE4 said: True, but perhaps the point is that a cruise probably wouldn't show up in Amazon, right? So for comparison purposes, the main alternative to Royal's card is another card that gives more than 2% cash back when used to purchase a cruise. I haven't found that yet on free cards (other than short-term promotions). Now if you could buy a cruise from Amazon and get 5% back, that would be a real find. Can you do that? PS. I found a $100 gift card listed at Amazon for another cruise line... Money is money though. You could buy a cruise with your Amazon (or any other card that gives 5% for purchases more common than a cruise) points, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cakemeister Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 I use a 2% cash back Mastercard for a daily driver, an Amazon card for Amazon purchases (5%), a Chase Sapphire card (not reserve, I don't pay annual fees for cards) for cruise purchases, and a 1.5% Mastercard for places like Costco that don't take MasterCard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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