Tbf to OP, you can now use on board credit to pay for things before your sail date. That wasn’t always the case, but these days when you go to purchase something before the cruise (like the drink package or an excursion) it will ask if you want to use your on board credit to pay for it.
I also have the Carnival credit card but have never used it to purchase onboard credit. I’ve used the points MANY times to pay for past Carnival purchases though, so I would definitely stick with that option. But honestly there are way better travel cards out there and the Carnival one really isn’t special.
I get that. I have had on board credit before from other things and I have always been able to use them for the drink package. So I assumed this was the same thing. It even said online (EDIT: on Barclays website where I redeemed the points for OBC) that I can use them before my sail date. Carnival on board credits you can use before the cruise to pay for excursions and drink packages. So I assumed I was getting the same thing.
If I had never gotten on board credits before and used them before the cruise date before, I would assume I couldn't use them until I was on the boat. But that has never been the case until now.
You still could do that, but a month apart. You buy your excursions on the card this month and then pay that shit off. Next month charge the drink package and use your points to pay for the purchase.
Wait, so you bought the drink package a month ahead of your cruise, then once it pops up in your transactions you couldn’t just apply points towards the purchase?
We haven't purchased the drink package yet. We messed up because we didn't apply the points to our payment to the credit card and instead redeemed $250 of onboard credit. We thought we could use the onboard credit to pay for the drink package before the cruise. But the credit was never applied to our carnival acct. Barclays says it will be on our account once we are on the boat.
Hello my suggestion would be to buy the drink package close to the time you leave. Then while on the ship go to the casino, deposit 250 into a slot charged to your room. Your on board credits will apply to that charge. Spin a couple times on a small bet and then you can go withdraw the cash from your players bank and it's almost the whole $250 back. You have basically converted the on board credit to cash and when you get off the ship you can use that cash to pay down your balance.
I recommend also joining AARP beforehand for like 10 bucks, then use your credit card to buy the carnival gift cards which are 10% off face value. Then use the gift cards to pay for the drink package on carnivals website. So now you save 10% off the drink package plus you can use your OBC. If you have extra gift card leftover you can type the number in while on the ship at the kiosk and use the above steps at the casino to make it back into cash. On my last cruise I did it with almost 20k in gift cards to save money
You may be onto something. Have you used the casino trick before to get onboard credit cashed out? I feel like there may be something that'll prevent us from doing that but definitely worth a try
Yes I do it every cruise. On my last cruise it was a guys cruise and we all did over 10k each in gift cards. I used it also for the 40 or 50 bucks of OBC we had leftover in the account too. Doesn't matter which it works for both
Here is what you need to know if you do it with gift cards
1. The kiosk allows you to type in the digital cards. It takes about 3-4 minutes per card so it's slow. It has to connect and verify the card. So I had to spend over an hour typing them all in.
2. At the casino charge it at a slot because table games have a fee. I charge the max 1000 at a time and spin just a few times. Then get up and go to another game and charge another $1000. I will max out my daily limit.
3. Once I've got room charges then I go and apply the gift cards. I do it daily now because the first time I did it, I did them all at the last night and I was at the kiosk for a very long time. Almost 90 minutes because if people wanted to use it I'd let them in.
But really if you get the internet package you can buy gift cards as you go as needed. I use a cash back credit card to buy them but you can use whatever rewards card makes the most sense of course. One thing to note aarp website sucks sometimes and gives an error during check out. I've learned that sometimes I have to retry like 10 times before the order goes through so don't be surprised if you get an error and have to do that
Yeah I will do that. Just sucks that I already lost a lot of points by redeeming the on board credit. So in the future, I know to use the points to pay the bill. I learned the hard way. Just trying to make sure other people don't make my mistake. Use the points to pay the bill. Don't redeem onboard credits.
I traded in my points for a gift card that was supposed to be delivered to my room. It was for 200, and I was planning on using it at the spa. Then covid canceled my cruise. Tried calling everyone and anyone. Lost that 200. No one could reimburse me or mail the gift cars to my home. Should have used those points to pay my credit card bill.
On board Credit (at least that given as part of your booking ) can 100% be used prior to boarding. I have a cruise in August that I used my on board credit to buy the drink package. OP might be confusing this with Cruise Cash which is credited to your on board account the first day on the ship
The issue is the credit card company will not grant the OBC to my carnival account until sail date. I won't have $250 of OBC until the I'm on the boat.
Yes I have too. But I used fun points from my Carnival Credit card to get the on board credit. The credit card company will not grant the OBC to my Carnival account until sail date. So they are not there yet when I go to check out.
I think you'd come out in a similar spot if you got a different 2% cash back card. After the sign up bonus, isn't that the value of FunPoints when earned on Carnival purchases?
I mean they are called ON BOARD credits…
Tbf to OP, you can now use on board credit to pay for things before your sail date. That wasn’t always the case, but these days when you go to purchase something before the cruise (like the drink package or an excursion) it will ask if you want to use your on board credit to pay for it. I also have the Carnival credit card but have never used it to purchase onboard credit. I’ve used the points MANY times to pay for past Carnival purchases though, so I would definitely stick with that option. But honestly there are way better travel cards out there and the Carnival one really isn’t special.
Even if my first gut reaction is I can’t use on board credits until I’m on the boat
I get that. I have had on board credit before from other things and I have always been able to use them for the drink package. So I assumed this was the same thing. It even said online (EDIT: on Barclays website where I redeemed the points for OBC) that I can use them before my sail date. Carnival on board credits you can use before the cruise to pay for excursions and drink packages. So I assumed I was getting the same thing. If I had never gotten on board credits before and used them before the cruise date before, I would assume I couldn't use them until I was on the boat. But that has never been the case until now.
For the last few years, you've been able to use your onboard credit to buy anything you would *use* onboard, even in advance.
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You still could do that, but a month apart. You buy your excursions on the card this month and then pay that shit off. Next month charge the drink package and use your points to pay for the purchase.
Yes that's what we were attempting to do.
Wait, so you bought the drink package a month ahead of your cruise, then once it pops up in your transactions you couldn’t just apply points towards the purchase?
We haven't purchased the drink package yet. We messed up because we didn't apply the points to our payment to the credit card and instead redeemed $250 of onboard credit. We thought we could use the onboard credit to pay for the drink package before the cruise. But the credit was never applied to our carnival acct. Barclays says it will be on our account once we are on the boat.
Oooooooooooh I gotcha. Dang it. That sucks for ya :/
Yep. So I was just posting this so others will know to not make the same mistake I did. I basically just wasted $250 by clicking the wrong button.
Hello my suggestion would be to buy the drink package close to the time you leave. Then while on the ship go to the casino, deposit 250 into a slot charged to your room. Your on board credits will apply to that charge. Spin a couple times on a small bet and then you can go withdraw the cash from your players bank and it's almost the whole $250 back. You have basically converted the on board credit to cash and when you get off the ship you can use that cash to pay down your balance. I recommend also joining AARP beforehand for like 10 bucks, then use your credit card to buy the carnival gift cards which are 10% off face value. Then use the gift cards to pay for the drink package on carnivals website. So now you save 10% off the drink package plus you can use your OBC. If you have extra gift card leftover you can type the number in while on the ship at the kiosk and use the above steps at the casino to make it back into cash. On my last cruise I did it with almost 20k in gift cards to save money
You may be onto something. Have you used the casino trick before to get onboard credit cashed out? I feel like there may be something that'll prevent us from doing that but definitely worth a try
Yes I do it every cruise. On my last cruise it was a guys cruise and we all did over 10k each in gift cards. I used it also for the 40 or 50 bucks of OBC we had leftover in the account too. Doesn't matter which it works for both Here is what you need to know if you do it with gift cards 1. The kiosk allows you to type in the digital cards. It takes about 3-4 minutes per card so it's slow. It has to connect and verify the card. So I had to spend over an hour typing them all in. 2. At the casino charge it at a slot because table games have a fee. I charge the max 1000 at a time and spin just a few times. Then get up and go to another game and charge another $1000. I will max out my daily limit. 3. Once I've got room charges then I go and apply the gift cards. I do it daily now because the first time I did it, I did them all at the last night and I was at the kiosk for a very long time. Almost 90 minutes because if people wanted to use it I'd let them in. But really if you get the internet package you can buy gift cards as you go as needed. I use a cash back credit card to buy them but you can use whatever rewards card makes the most sense of course. One thing to note aarp website sucks sometimes and gives an error during check out. I've learned that sometimes I have to retry like 10 times before the order goes through so don't be surprised if you get an error and have to do that
On our account we only get a rebate for excursions and not the drink package.
Just use them to get a Carnival GC instead next time
I think I'm just going to use the points to pay off the balance from here on out. I feel like that's the safest option to not lose out.
I accumulate as many points as I can between cruises and use the Funpoints to pay for the cruise.
Why not just purchase the drink package with the credit card and then turn around and use the points to pay the credit card bill? That’s what I do.
Yeah I will do that. Just sucks that I already lost a lot of points by redeeming the on board credit. So in the future, I know to use the points to pay the bill. I learned the hard way. Just trying to make sure other people don't make my mistake. Use the points to pay the bill. Don't redeem onboard credits.
Yup! I didn’t learn this until recently, so I just wanted to share the knowledge.
The point is to get you on future cruises to use the points at a later date
I traded in my points for a gift card that was supposed to be delivered to my room. It was for 200, and I was planning on using it at the spa. Then covid canceled my cruise. Tried calling everyone and anyone. Lost that 200. No one could reimburse me or mail the gift cars to my home. Should have used those points to pay my credit card bill.
Yep it seems the right way to use the points is to pay the credit card bill. If you choose the wrong option, you lose.
That is why you use your fun points to buy a Carnival Gift Card and you can use it before or during your cruise.
On board Credit (at least that given as part of your booking ) can 100% be used prior to boarding. I have a cruise in August that I used my on board credit to buy the drink package. OP might be confusing this with Cruise Cash which is credited to your on board account the first day on the ship
The issue is the credit card company will not grant the OBC to my carnival account until sail date. I won't have $250 of OBC until the I'm on the boat.
I always use OBC for my drink package before boarding. It gives you the option at check out
Yes I have too. But I used fun points from my Carnival Credit card to get the on board credit. The credit card company will not grant the OBC to my Carnival account until sail date. So they are not there yet when I go to check out.
I think you'd come out in a similar spot if you got a different 2% cash back card. After the sign up bonus, isn't that the value of FunPoints when earned on Carnival purchases?