Table Of Content
Your cruise fare will contribute toward the $23,000 spending requirement for Marriott's Ambassador Elite status. A large purchase, such as a cruise booking, is also a great way to get closer to airline or hotel elite status if you use a cobranded airline or hotel credit card that contributes to your stash of elite-qualifying points. At the top Four Star tier level of the Yacht Club program, passengers get free laundry service and free Wi-Fi on every sailing, both valuable perks. But the most generous perk may be the 15% discount on shore excursions. That's assuming you are a cruiser who signs up for many cruise line-organized shore excursions.
Citi ThankYou Rewards
The welcome bonus is 10,000 Princess Points, which is worth $100 as a statement credit towards a Princess Cruises purchase. You’ll earn 2x points on Princess Cruises purchases and 1x points on all other purchases. This card comes with a measly 10,000 point welcome bonus (worth $100 in ship credit on Royal Caribbean), Celebrity, or Azamara Club Cruises, plus 10,000 bonus points (worth $100 statement credit). You’ll earn 2x points on Royal Caribbean and sister brand ships and 1x point per dollar spent on everything else. The card combines elite travel benefits and perks like airport lounge access, with excellent point earning and redemption options. Plus it offers top-notch travel insurance protections to keep you covered whether you’re at home or on the road.
The elite level that makes a difference
Get thousands of bonus Marriott Bonvoy points when you book a cruise - The Points Guy
Get thousands of bonus Marriott Bonvoy points when you book a cruise.
Posted: Fri, 23 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
We should note that all Mariner Society members get discounts of some sort for the third and fourth passengers staying in their cabins. During the booking process, type in your Mariner ID to view your discount for this. You'll also save a lot of money with the 50% off specialty restaurant perk at this level and the other 50% off discount options. Customers staying in a suite or penthouse on a Holland America ship will get double cruise day credits. One caveat here is that you must have paid the normal fare for the suite or penthouse to get the double credits.
Virgin Atlantic Holidays Points Plus Money
After that, you can redeem increments of 90,000 points toward $500 in savings, up to the entire cruise fare. This redemption rate equates to about 0.56 cents per Marriott point, well below TPG's valuation of 0.84 cents per point. The Citi ThankYou portal allows cardholders to use their ThankYou points as credit toward a cruise. However, if you really want to use your accumulated points to reduce your cruise costs, here are various options for booking a cruise with points and miles.
Credit card programs
Even at the lowest One Star level, the perks are fairly robust, at least as compared to loyalty programs of many of Windstar's small-ship cruise line competitors. While Viking has a cruise loyalty program, the Viking Explorer Society, it isn't a loyalty program in the traditional sense. Passengers don't earn points every time they travel with the brand and progress through multiple tiers that bring an ever-expanding array of perks. Upon reaching the second tier of the program, Ruby, you get a few more perks. While convoluted, this system actually works to your advantage, as you have two ways to reach higher tier levels. As we'll explain below, you can qualify for elite status either through your cruise credit count or your cruise day count, whichever number gets you to your goal first.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Interested in a travel rewards credit card without one of those pesky annual fees? In this guide, we will explore strategies to help you optimize your points and miles to reduce the cost of your cruise vacation. We'll discuss leveraging your existing loyalty programs and the best ways to unlock savings on your cruise fare.
With flights and hotels, you can often get more than 1 or 1.5 cents per point, unlike cruises, which generally provide lackluster redemption rates. Or, you can redeem 30,000 points for a $300 discount on a Celebrity Cruises voyage. To learn more about how to redeem MyCruise Rewards points, check out this PDF. Unfortunately, Chase's booking system doesn't let you book cruises directly through Chase's online Ultimate Rewards portal.
Should you book a cruise with points and miles?
Refer to this post for the best credit card offers currently available. At the Two Star level, customers get all the above plus a 5% discount on shore excursions and beverage packages (again, the latter discount does not apply to the line's All-Inclusive Fares). They also get a $50 per person onboard credit for every cruise they take. Instead, the Viking loyalty program offers just a few basic perks available to anyone who has taken at least one voyage with the line. In addition to all the above, the big add-on for 2-Star Mariners is discounts on Holland America-branded items. Loyal Holland America cruisers at the 2-Star level will get a 10% discount on select Holland America clothing sold on ships.
The Eastern Mediterranean, where it meets the Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean seas, is home to century-spanning sites sure to tempt any history buff. Cruises in this region typically call on Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia and Italy, while some also visit Israel, Jordan and Cyprus. More than any other region, the Eastern Mediterranean offers cruisers the chance to step back in time simply by stepping off their ship. We've been around the block (and around the world) when it comes to cruises. We've explored the most captivating cities, waded into the surf on world-class beaches, hiked unspoiled landscapes and gazed upon treasured landmarks.
We priced out this cruise for 2 adults in the least expensive balcony stateroom available (Deluxe Stateroom Ocean View Veranda). If your goal is to maximize the value you get from your Marriott Bonvoy points, then using them for a cruise isn’t a great idea. While the average value is 0.7 cents, there are definitely opportunities to get even more value from your points. Highlights of a Hawaii itinerary include a pre- or post-cruise visit to the historic sites of Pearl Harbor and perhaps even an overnight stay in Waikiki. On Maui, you can enjoy active thrills, such as biking down a switchback road on the volcanic slopes of Haleakala or snorkeling the offshore Molokini Crater. On an expedition cruise, generally roundtrip from Ushuaia, Argentina, you'll first have to cross the Drake Passage, a notoriously rough and windy body of water.
Unlike Royal Caribbean and some other lines, it doesn't give members a free cruise upon reaching this pinnacle of loyalty status. One of the nice little surprises of Carnival's loyalty program is that you hit the first tier level, Blue, the moment you board your first cruise with the brand. Unlike many lines, you don't have to complete a cruise to reach the first level.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of booking a Virgin Voyages cruise with points, step by step. Additionally, American Express frequently provides rewarding Amex Offers on cruises. Earlier this year, for instance, Amex offered a bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spent $1,000 or more on a Royal Caribbean voyage.
Also, members earn one "cruise day" for every night spent on a ship. So, on a typical seven-night cruise, you would earn seven cruise days and one cruise credit. After just one cruise, as a newly minted Bronze member, you will receive a 30% discount on an unlimited open bar package — a perk that could save you a significant amount of money when cruising if you're a drinker. You'll also get early access to new product information and exclusive offers, a signature pin and a few other minor things. Even at the highest Diamond level of its VIFP Club program, Carnival is still a little stingy with the perks.
Holland America cruisetours in Alaska typically combine a seven-night Alaska cruise with a few days touring the state in motorcoaches or by train. Holland America's Mariner Society points-earning system is also a relatively simple one. In most cases, you will earn one "cruise day" credit for every night you're on a ship. The perks really get interesting once you hit the new Pearl level of the Castaway Club. The big perk at this level is booking new itineraries earlier than everyone else.
The Amex Travel portal has a user-friendly search feature that allows you to explore different cruises based on specific filters such as date, destination, cruise line and trip duration even before you log in. With a little advance planning, you can put your points and miles to work to enjoy a free or discounted cruise. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. But this is a business that is recovering nicely from the worst days of the pandemic.
No comments:
Post a Comment