Forget Cruise Line Credit Cards This is The Card You Want

Cruise line credit cards seem like a great way to save money on a cruise. But while you can save a couple of hundred dollars, these cards are rarely worth the effort. For saving money on a cruise, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is the card you want.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a lot going in its favor as the top credit card for cruise travelers. Not only is it a fantastic everyday earner, but it also offers one of the most lucrative bonuses of any travel rewards credit card, and Venture Miles are incredibly easy to use.

Unlimited 2X Miles on Purchases

There’s no need to worry about complicated spending categories with this rewards card. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card 2 Venture Miles for every dollar on every purchase. That alone makes this card worth keeping in your wallet.

And when you have a trip planned, book hotels or rental cars through Capital One Travel with the card and earn 5 Venture Miles per dollar.

Fixed Value

When you are ready to redeem your Venture Miles, there’s no need to worry about “getting the most” from your miles. There are no poor-value redemptions. Venture Miles are worth exactly 1 cent a piece.

Flexible Miles

While you can transfer miles to a small handful of airlines and hotel reward programs, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card really shines when it comes to cruise travel. The Venture Miles it earns can be redeemed as a statement credit against purchases that code as travel.

What counts as a travel purchase? Your $500 cruise deposit. Charge that to your card and then redeem 50,000 Venture Miles to effectively “erase” that purchase. What else qualifies? Your cruise fare payment, beverage packages, gratuities, on onboard purchases, like specialty dining and shore excursions — it all counts!

A Valuable Bonus

When you sign up for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you can earn 75,000 Venture Miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

The bonus alone is worth $750. But you will also earn as you make purchases toward the $4,000 spending requirement. With 2 miles earned per dollar, that’s another $80.

The value of the Venture Miles you earn is an incredible $830!

Compare to Cruise Line Credit Cards

If you have a favorite cruise line, you’ve probably been targeted for their rewards credit card. You’re taking cruises anyway, why wouldn’t you want to save a little money in the process? With their cards, you will save a little money. Emphasis on the word little.

Small Bonuses

Carnival Corporation partners with Barclays for their suite of co-branded credit cards for Carnival, Princess, and Holland America. In exchange for applying for the card and meeting the minimum spending requirement, you receive a welcome bonus worth somewhere between $50-$250 dollars depending on the card.

Meanwhile, Bank of America issues co-branded cards for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian. Welcome bonuses offered with these cards range from $100-$200

Disney does slightly better with its Chase credit cards. The Disney® Visa® Card offers a welcome bonus of a $150 statement credit after spending $500 within the first 3 months from account opening. The second option and better option is the Disney® Premier Visa® Card is the only card that charges an annual fee, although it is relatively low at $49. This card offers a $300 statement credit after spending $1,000 within the first 3 months from account opening.

Poor Earners

Cruise line credit cards don’t fare much better on the earning side either. Norwegian comes out on top by earning 3 points per dollar on all Norwegian purchases and 2x points per dollar on eligible airfare and hotel.

Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity earn 2 points per dollar spent on purchases with the cruise line (Royal and Celebrity earn 2x points on either line).

Since Disney isn’t specifically a cruise line credit card, it earns points a little differently. The Disney® Premier Visa® earns 5% in Disney Dollars Rewards on purchases made directly on DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com, and ESPN.com, and 2% at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and most Disney U.S. locations.

All the remaining spending put on any of these cards earns just 1 point (or 1% in Disney Rewards Dollars in the case of the Disney cards).

Limited Redemption Opportunities

Cruise line credit card rewards are also limited in how they may be used. There is little to no flexibility. Want to use it for your airfare or pre-cruise hotel? Nope. Most points earned with these co-branded credit cards are only good for cruise-related redemptions.

Accumulated Carnival and Princess points can be used as a statement credit toward cruise purchases. Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian points are restricted to redemptions as an onboard credit.

Thankfully, the bonus earned from Disney cards is a statement credit and can be used toward whatever you like. The Disney Rewards Dollars earned from spending can be redeemed to a Disney Rewards Redemption Card.

Do the Math

Here’s a simple exercise to demonstrate why your cruise line credit cards fall short. If you’d like to open a credit card and save a little money, what’s the difference between a cruise line card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Card? We’ll use Royal Caribbean as an example.

Let’s say your plan is to open a credit card, charge your cruise deposit of $500 on it, and continue spending $2,000 a month on other purchases for 6 months.

Royal’s Card

Bank of America’s Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® Card will earn you 10,000 MyCruise® bonus points after you make a qualifying transaction within 90 days from account opening. It earns 2 MyCruise® points for purchases on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity and 1 point for all other purchases.

$500 cruise deposit x 2 MyCruise® points = 1,000 MyCruise points. Value $10

10,000 MyCruise® points earned for making a qualifying transaction. Value $100

$2,000/month x 6 months = $12,000 or 12,000 MyCruise points. Value $120

Total earned: $10 + $100 + $120 = $230 MyCruise® points which can only be used as an onboard credit.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Opening up a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and following the same spending criteria will result in the following:

$500 cruise deposit x 2 Venture Miles per dollar = 1,000 Venture Miles

$2,000/month x 2 Venture Miles per dollar x 6 months = 24,000 Venture Miles

Miles earned meeting spending bonus requirement = 75,000 Venture Miles

Total earned: 100,000 Venture Miles worth $1,000 that can be redeemed toward your cruise travel purchases made with the Capital One card.

Additional Benefits

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a $95 annual fee, which is quite reasonable for all the benefits it offers. In addition to the generous welcome bonus, this card includes other perks that are useful for cruise travel.

TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry

Got a long layover on your flight out to or from your cruise? The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card gives cardholders 2 free lounge visits each year of card membership. Available lounges include Capital One lounges or one of the 100 locations in Capital One’s partner network.

Bottom Line

Cruise line credit cards offer meager bonuses and low earnings. There’s no compelling reason to even consider opening one. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most valuable travel rewards cards for any kind of travel. But its increased earnings potential, flexible-to-redeem fixed value miles, and generous bonus make it a card that should be in every cruiser’s wallet.