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I've written about several opportunities to book casino-comped cruises with a hotel status match. However, that isn’t the only way to cruise without breaking the bank. There are, in fact, many ways to use points or miles to book cruises or reduce the cost of a cruise trip.
You may get better point value by using your points to book flights or hotel stays, rather than redeeming them to book a cruise. But if your travel goals include reducing the cost of your sailings, here are some ways to use points and miles toward a cruise.
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Using Bank Travel Portals To Book a Cruise
Most of the banks with transferrable points also have travel portals that allow you to book air travel, hotels, rental cars, and even cruises through them — including using points as payment. These are some of the options available for booking cruises with flexible points currencies.
Chase TravelSM Portal
Booking travel through the Chase Travel Portal gives you a set value for your Ultimate Rewards. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, your points will be worth up to 1.75 cents each in the portal, depending on your specific redemption. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠, each point will be worth up to 2 cents per point, again, dependent on the specific redemption booked. All other Freedom-branded and Ink-branded cards with no annual fee let you redeem points for 1 cent apiece in the portal. You can search for your preferred cruise on the portal, but you will only be able to book by calling a travel specialist. Chase works with almost every cruise line except, unfortunately, for Disney.
In order to book your cruise:
- Find the trip you would like on the travel portal, noting the cabin and the dates you want to book.
- Call a travel specialist at 855-234-2542.
- Let them know the number of points you would like to apply to the trip.
American Express Travel
American Express has a similar portal with a few notable differences. First, Amex Travel Portal redemptions tend to net you less than a cent per point in value for anything but flights. AwardWallet members typically get about 1.96¢ per Amex Membership Rewards point when transferring to Amex transfer partners. Therefore, this isn't a great use of points.
However, Amex does have a very simple search engine and an easy online booking process that allows you to pay in cash, Membership Rewards points, or a combination of both.
Cardholders of the Centurion® Card from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and The Platinum Card® from American Express can also access the Cruise Privileges Program to enjoy additional perks when booking cruises lasting five nights or longer through the travel portal. These include onboard credits and other perks.
To book your cruise with points through the American Express Travel Portal:
- Search for your cruise on the portal's user-friendly search engine.
- Add passenger information.
- On the payment screen, you have the option to use some, all, or none of your Membership Rewards.
Numerous cards earn Membership Rewards, including the cards above plus:
- Amex EveryDay® Credit Card
- American Express® Green Card
- American Express® Gold Card
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Related: All of the Cards That Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points
Using Capital One Miles Against Travel Spending
Capital One makes using miles for cruises even more simple with the ability to redeem miles against recent travel expenses. Capital One cards earning miles have the option to use miles as statement credits for purchases coding as travel. Instead of searching for cruises through a bank portal, you can simply book your cruise however it makes the most sense and then use miles to reimburse yourself. Here's how it works:
- Make your cruise booking as you normally would and complete the purchase with your Capital One card.
- Within 90 days of the purchase, log into your Capital One account and select the option to “Cover travel purchases.”
- Click on the travel purchase you want to redeem miles for and then select how many miles you want to redeem. You can use as many or as few miles as you want, and you don't need to have enough miles to cover the entire purchase. If your cruise is $1,000 and you only have 60,000 miles, you can still get a credit for $600 off your purchase price. Capital One miles are worth 1 cent each when used this way.
When transferred to travel partners, AwardWallet members typically redeem Capital One miles for 2.01¢ each. Again, this isn't the most valuable use of rewards, but it's a nice option to have.
Cards that earn Capital One miles include those in the Venture family, like Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Business, plus those in the Spark Miles family, such as Capital One Spark Miles for Business.
Related: All of the Cards That Earn Capital One Miles
Using United MileagePlus Miles To Book Cruises
If you are super-flush with United MileagePlus miles and want to use them for a cruise, remember that you aren't going to get a great deal here, value-wise. On average, AwardWallet users get 1.94¢ per mile when redeeming United MileagePlus miles for flights. Booking a cruise with United, the value will be closer to 0.7¢ per mile. Here's how to book a cruise with United miles:
- Log into your United account and click on the cruise tab to begin your search.
- At the top of the cruise search screen, click on “Book With Miles.”
- Search for your preferred cruise; pricing options will be displayed in MileagePlus miles.
Use Marriott Points
You also can redeem Marriott Bonvoy points to book a cruise; there are two options. Option one: You can book through the Cruise With Points site, providing options to book most cruise lines using your Marriott points. When you find the cruise you want, you can book paid cruises online or call the 800 number to book with points.
Your points will be worth about 0.4 cents when booking a cruise this way. Compare this to the average value of 0.94¢ that AwardWallet users usually get for Marriot points.
Option Two: You can use your Marriott points towards a cruise on the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. You will need to spend a minimum of 180,000 points to unlock $1,000 in savings on the fare. You can further reduce the cost in increments of 180,000 points for $1,000 in additional savings or 90,000 points for $500 more off the cruise fare. In this way, points are worth about 0.5¢ each. This also requires a large stash of Marriott points.
Related: How To Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points Without Staying at a Hotel
What About Co-Branded Cruise Line Credit Cards?
Each of the cruise lines offers credit cards that earn rewards you can be apply to voyages. If you are considering getting a cruise line credit card, be aware that the value to be gained from these cards is typically far inferior to other more flexible rewards cards.
These cards tend to offer lesser rewards and a lower rate of return on your spending. They lock you into one type of reward and typically don't have the same travel protections as other travel credit cards. Additionally, they don't help you accrue loyalty with the cruise brand like a hotel card often can. Therefore, even though it may seem counterintuitive, the best cards for travelers wanting to cruise are rarely the cruise lines' co-branded credit cards.
Ways To Reduce the Cost of Cruising
Beyond using points to book cruises directly, there are several ways that you can reduce the cost of a cruise trip using points or credit card perks. Some of them include:
Credit card travel credits
Several premium credit cards give cardholders credits for booking travel with the card:
- The Chase Sapphire Reserve® includes a $300 annual travel credit that will automatically be applied when you use the card to pay for travel expenses, including cruises.
- The Citi Prestige® Card offers a $250 annual travel credit. This card is no longer open to new applicants, but current cardholders can still take advantage of this benefit to book a cruise.
- Those with the U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card have $325 in annual credits that can be applied to travel or dining.
While these cards have steep annual fees, the many benefits they provide members with can make the card worth the hefty price tag.
Booking flights and hotels with points
As I've mentioned, booking cruises with points can certainly be done but may not be the best in terms of value for your points. In the end, you may decide you'd rather pay cash for your cruise but would still like to mitigate the costs of your trip. In that case, you can save money by using points to book your flights to and from the cruise terminal and your hotel stays before and after the cruise.
Related: What Flights Can I Book With Miles?
Check credit card rebate offers
Before booking your cruise, check the offers pages for your credit cards. I have frequently seen Chase Offers and Amex Offers for cruise lines. Some, like the one pictured here, give bonus points for using your card. Others will give you a credit, such as “Spend $500, get $50 back.”
Note that these offers are targeted, and not everyone will see the same offer. Additionally, you'll need to enroll your card first and then use that same card to complete the payment.
Final Thoughts
The good news is that you can definitely book a cruise with points and miles, and there are lots of ways to go about it. The bad news is it may not always be a great idea to use your points for cruises. Certainly, I would steer clear of using my airline miles or hotel points for such low-value redemptions; they provide much more value on flights and hotel stays.
On the other hand, using bank travel portals could be an OK strategy, even if not the most lucrative. You could also use a combination of points, travel credits, and cash — along with award flights and hotel stays — to significantly lower the cost of your cruise holiday. If a cruise is your dream vacation, points, miles, and other credit card benefits can help get you there.
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