Royal caribbean bank of america credit card

It’s difficult to recommend the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card when other cards — such as the Citi® Double Cash Card — provide a better value over time. At best, the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card provides a 2% rewards rate — but only on Royal Caribbean purchases. Other purchases garner a lackluster rewards rate of 1%.

What’s worse about the card is that the benefits are fairly limited, as they're only redeemable for cruise-related purchases. By contrast, a cashback card’s rewards can be used toward cruise purchases, as well as any other type of purchase.

Frequent travelers who take cruises and other vacations may also do better with a general travel rewards card that offers more flexible points and better travel benefits. Many travel cards provide rewards rates of 2% or higher in a broader array of categories than the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases.

Bottom line: Even for a $0-annual-fee card, the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card isn’t worth writing home about. Most individuals will be better off with a 2% cashback credit card or a travel card that offers flexible rewards.

Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card benefits and features

On the plus side, while other credit cards require you to spend hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars to earn a sign-up bonus, the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card makes it incredibly easy. The Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card offers 10,000 bonus points after your first qualifying transaction within 90 days of account opening, and a $100 statement credit after making $1,000 in purchases within 90 days of account opening. You can use those 10,000 points for a $100 onboard credit through the MyCruise Rewards Program. And while this isn’t the highest bonus we’ve ever seen, it’s a decent offering for a $0-annual-fee card and there’s no minimum spending requirement.

In addition to bonus points, the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card advertises a $50 airfare discount through Royal Caribbean’s Air2Sea program after making at least $3,500 in card purchases within the first 90 days of account opening (students, however, are ineligible for this offer). Overall, though, this $50 discount is a measly offer and isn’t necessarily compelling.

In terms of the earnings rate, the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card rewards users Earn 2x MyCruise® Points on qualifying Royal Caribbean purchases - plus 1 point per $1 spent on purchases everywhere else. MyCruise Points are worth about $0.01, putting this card’s rewards rate at anywhere between 1% and 2%.

Besides the sign-up bonus, the only real benefit of the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card is None foreign transaction fees, allowing you to use your card in international destinations with no problems. Meanwhile, other travel rewards cards, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, come with much more valuable travel benefits, such as complimentary trip and car rental insurance. As such, the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card leaves a lot to be desired with lackluster cruise line and travel benefits.

How Much Are MyCruise Points Worth?

With the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card, you’ll earn rewards in the form of points through the MyCruise Rewards Program. You can redeem these points on Royal Caribbean or its sister brands Azamara or Celebrity Cruises.

The estimated value of a single MyCruise point is $0.01, as the value of the bonus equates to a $100 onboard credit ($100 / 10,000 = $0.01).

You’ll need a minimum of 1,000 points to make a redemption with your MyCruise points. Outside of onboard credits, points can be redeemed at a value of $0.01 per point for stateroom upgrades and cruises with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.

You’ll be able to view your MyCruise points balance through your Bank of America online banking account. Keep in mind that you’ll need to call the cruise line directly to book your cruise at least seven days before sailing, and mention that you want to use points.

How does the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card compare to other cards?

The only way to gauge the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card’s value is to compare it with other available offers. Here’s how the card stacks up against some other top choices.

Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card vs. Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card

While you may think that the Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card is better suited for Celebrity Cruises loyalists, it’s almost identical to the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card. Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card has the same sign-up bonus: 10,000 bonus points after making a qualifying transaction in the first 90 days of account opening, and a $100 statement credit after you spend at least $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening.

Since both cards earn points through the MyCruise program, you can use either card to earn rewards on both cruise lines. However, the Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card does not come with the $50 airline credit, so between these two you’re better off applying for the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card.

Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

APR

18.24% - 25.24% Variable

Individuals who spend big on dining and travel (averaging at least $10,000 annually) may find the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to be one of the best options for them.

The card is part of the Ultimate Rewards program, which is not affiliated with any airline, hotel or cruise line. Instead, users can transfer their rewards points to a number of loyalty programs — including Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, Marriott Rewards and United MileagePlus, to name a few. And while you can’t transfer Ultimate Rewards points to any cruise lines, you can use your points as a travel statement credit to pay yourself back for any cruise expenses.

Unlike the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card does come with an annual fee of $95 — although that fee could be well worth the rewards. Overall, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with a better earnings rate and a high-value sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card vs. Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer

Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer

APR

16.99% - 26.99% (Variable)

The Citi® Double Cash Card allows users to Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. The same rate applies to all types of purchases, while the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card limits you to a bonus on cruise purchases only.

ValuePenguin’s verdict

If you’re looking to apply to the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card in hopes of earning loyalty benefits or perks, this card unfortunately disappoints. Besides the sign-up bonus and airline credit, you won’t receive much value from this card as a Royal Caribbean cruiser. The Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card falls short of many features and benefits that other credit cards offer. Still, since it has a $0 annual fee, there may not be much harm to applying for this card.

The information related to Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® card and Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card has been independently collected by ValuePenguin and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.

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