Thursday, April 25, 2024

How to book a cruise using points and miles

marriott cruise

Note that the number of points customers earn during the promotion is based on the total cruise purchase price, including taxes, insurance and processing fees. However, you can book cruises on well-known cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and more through the Marriott Cruises program. When using Marriott Bonvoy points for a cruise, you’ll get ~0.4 cents per point in value, which is less than what those points are typically worth. When you choose to earn Marriott Bonvoy points on your cruise, you’ll be subject to a $24.99 processing fee, which can negate the value of some of the bonus points you can earn. For example, you could transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United MileagePlus and get 3 cents per mile by booking a flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Miami International Airport (MIA).

Marriott Bonvoy™ Credit Cards

You can earn Capital One miles with cards like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Each has varying features, so do some research to decide which card is best for you. Points from the $95 per year Chase Sapphire Preferred Card are worth 1.25 cents each toward travel booked through Chase, while points from the $550 per year Chase Sapphire Reserve are worth 1.5 cents. The Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal is similar to Amex Travel, but the redemption value is higher. TPG currently values Marriott Bonvoy points at .84 cents each, meaning that 88,000 points would be worth $739.20 at our valuation. Booking a cruise with Marriott Bonvoy Points may not always be the best redemption value, but it definitely has its place in the hierarchy of redemption options.

Cobranded Cards

When you book a cruise with Marriott Bonvoy points, the amount you’ll need will vary based on the cost of the cruise. You’ll get 0.4 cents per point in value, so a $1,000 cruise would cost 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. If you don’t have quite enough points, you can pay for part of your cruise in points and the rest with a credit card. Be sure to add the processing fee cost to the price of the cruise to determine if it’s worth it to book your cruise through Marriott Cruises instead of a website that does not charge an additional fee. If you pay for your cruise with a Chase co-branded Marriott Bonvoy credit card you’ll earn an additional 2 points per $1 spent. Here, you'll want to be sure you can use your points toward the cruise fare instead of only onboard purchases.

How to Book a Cruise with Marriott Bonvoy Points

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection Targets IPO and More Ships in Major Expansion - Bloomberg

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection Targets IPO and More Ships in Major Expansion.

Posted: Wed, 27 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Marriott Bonvoy is a loyalty program that allows members to earn points through hotel stays, events, and partnerships. The points can be redeemed for hotel stays, shopping, car rentals, and cruise vacations among other things. Once booked, the Capital One award redemption process is straightforward; simply apply your mileage balance as a credit toward your total credit card statement. Each mile is worth a flat 1 cent toward travel, so you always know the value for comparison purposes. If you have American Express, Capital One, Chase or Citi points, you might be able to get a redemption value of 1 to 1.5 cents per point for cruises. In this case, you'd get $100 or $150 off your cruise fare by redeeming 10,000 points.

Should you book a cruise with points and miles?

The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection Guide – Forbes Advisor - Forbes

The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection Guide – Forbes Advisor.

Posted: Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

In researching this and other articles about cruising, we have found that the price of cruises tends to be pretty standard across most booking websites — the real difference in value is the extras that come with the cruise. If you decide you’d rather not use your Marriott Bonvoy points for a cruise, you can still book with Marriott Cruises to earn 3 Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 spent. This is in addition to any points you earn from your credit card. Then scroll down the page until you see Travel (Use your points to book cruises, flights, car rental, and more).

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Right now, you can earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. You might make better use of your points and miles by redeeming them for flights to your departure port and for pre- and post-cruise hotel stays instead of for the cruise fare itself. 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. Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).

marriott cruise

Hotels

Again, the price is based on 2 people, but this time we’ll look at the overall least expensive option available (an interior stateroom). 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. If you ask me, that's how I'd book a cruise with points and miles to get the best value. Finding your cruise within the Citi ThankYou portal can be frustrating because the search functionality isn't very robust. Travelers can only search for cruises by destination or cruise line, not by available dates.

Redeeming points doesn't require booking through a portal, thus freeing you up to book your cruise directly with the company or via a travel agent to get extra perks. This option also lets you pursue promotional package rates or discounts that might not be available through the Amex, Chase or Citi portals. Capital One offers more flexibility and a more straightforward redemption process than Amex, Chase and Citi. Unless you transfer your miles to an airline or hotel partner, each mile is worth a flat 1 cent toward travel.

However, if you don’t need any more Marriott Bonvoy points, or just want to get the best deal, there are other websites out there that may offer better deals. Don’t forget to factor in the $24.99 booking fee you’ll be charged. That said, you should steer clear of using airline miles or hotel points for cruises if you want to redeem your rewards for maximum value. 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. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is currently offering a sign-up bonus of three Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening.

It isn't always easy to get great value for your points and miles when you use them toward cruise redemptions — at least, not the way you can for first-class flights. However, redeeming your points for free or discounted cruise travel is possible. 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. You'll have to call the Ultimate Rewards booking hotline and talk to someone in the cruise reservations department instead. Instead, the Marriott Cruises site acts like an online travel agency to allow you to book cruises through Marriott Bonvoy. Whether or not it’s a good deal to book a cruise through Marriott Cruises depends on how much you value Marriott Bonvoy points. If you need more Marriott Bonvoy points or are a Marriott Bonvoy loyalist, it could be worth it.

Capital One offers the most flexibility of all the major issuers because you can book your cruise directly or through a travel agent. With multiple booking options, you can take advantage of additional perks and access promotional rates from travel agents and online retailers that aren't available through credit card portals. You could even stack those deals for additional savings by booking via an airline portal to earn miles. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Some cruise lines have their own credit cards, but a few have formed partnerships with other brands.

While this may seem high, it falls short compared to the value some travelers get when redeeming points for luxury hotels or first-class flights. We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology.

No comments:

Post a Comment

How Each Member Voted on the House Stopgap Spending Measure The New York Times

Table Of Content Here are the states where polls closed at 8 p.m. ET Legislation banning TikTok is coming this week. How will it affect the ...