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Royal One Visa Review: Royal Caribbean Points, No Annual Fee
The Bottom Line
3.5
The card is a good option for Royal Caribbean devotees who refuse to pay an annual fee and want a straightforward redemption process. But even if you book often with the cruise line, a general travel card can offer better rewards and more flexible redemptions.
Rates, fees and offers
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1x-3x
Bonus offer
Get 45,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening, redeemable for $450 in onboard credit or cruise discounts.
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 17.49%-27.49% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: See Terms
Penalty APR: 29.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
5% of the amount of each transaction
Foreign transaction fee
None
More details from Bank of America
More details from Bank of America
- Limited-time online offer - 45,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening, redeemable for $450 in onboard credit or cruise discounts.
- Earn 3x points on eligible Royal Caribbean®, Celebrity Cruises® and Silversea® purchases.
- Earn 2x points on eligible grocery, gas and EV charging station purchases.
- Earn 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Receive a $100 cruise discount after spending $10,000 on purchases within the prior anniversary year.
- Enjoy priority boarding through the Royal ONE Rewards℠ designated access line on boarding day (where available).
- Redeem your points for cruise discounts or onboard credit to use toward cruise favorites like specialty dining, beverage packages, Wi-Fi, shore excursions and more on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
- Enjoy benefits like Visa Signature® Concierge, emergency cash worldwide, common carrier travel accident insurance and more with the Visa Signature card.
- No annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
- This offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Pros and Cons
Pros
No annual fee
Welcome offer
Priority boarding
Cons
No 0% intro APR
Limited redemption options
Detailed Review
If you’re planning to set sail soon with Royal Caribbean International or one of its sister brands (Celebrity Cruises and Silversea), the Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card might float your boat.
The card, issued by Bank of America®, earns rewards for spending with Royal Caribbean and for some everyday spending as well. It also shines for its lucrative welcome offer, flexible redemption process and $0 annual fee.
Even so, the card is restrictive in ways that are common among other co-branded cruise cards: The highest rewards are reserved for brand-related spending — which for cruise vacations is likely intermittent at best — and you can redeem those rewards only toward ... well ... more brand-related spending, including cruise discounts or onboard experiences.
Here are the card’s main features, to help you decide whether it's right for you.
The Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card is replacing a previous iteration from Bank of America®, called the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature card. That previous card has been discontinued and is no longer accepting applications. Cardholders who had that earlier version will receive the new card in the following months. The name of Royal Caribbean's rewards program, which offers rewards across the company's brands, has also been changed to Royal ONE.
Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card: Key features
Card type: Travel.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: Get 45,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening, redeemable for $450 in onboard credit or cruise discounts.
Rewards:
Earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
Earn 2 points per $1 spent on groceries, gas, and EV charging.
Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Points are worth 1 cent each and do not expire.
Redemption options:
Cruise discounts in the form of dollars off the total price of a cruise purchase.
Onboard credits for experiences like specialty dining, shore excursions and WiFi, to name a few.
Additional perks:
Priority boarding for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises.
Annual $100 anniversary reward after spending $10,000 within the previous year.
Visa Signature benefits, including access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection, 24/7 Visa Signature concierge and various travel protections.
Ongoing APR: 17.49%-27.49% Variable APR.
Balance transfer fee: 5% of the amount of each transaction.
Foreign transaction fee: None.
How it compares to the other Royal Caribbean card
The Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card is one of two Royal Caribbean cards issued by Bank of America®. There’s also the $99-annual-fee Royal ONE Plus™ Visa Signature® credit card, which as you might expect offers more perks than its annual-fee-free sibling. Here’s a quick look at how the cards compare:
$0
$99
Get 45,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening, redeemable for $450 in onboard credit or cruise discounts.
Get 70,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening, redeemable for $700 in onboard credit or cruise discounts.
3X points on purchases with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea.
2X points on grocery, gas, and EV charging.
1X point on all other purchases.
4X points on purchases with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea.
2X points on grocery, gas, EV charging, plus air, hotel, and dining.
1X point on all other purchases.
Priority boarding for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises.
A $100 anniversary reward after meeting a $10,000 spending requirement.
Visa Signature travel protections.
Priority suite boarding for Royal Caribbean.
Priority luggage handling with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises.
A $200 anniversary reward after meeting a $20,000 spending requirement.
Up to $120 as a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit (every four years).
Visa Signature travel protections.
Benefits and Perks
Significant welcome offer
New holders of the Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card are eligible for the following: Get 45,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening, redeemable for $450 in onboard credit or cruise discounts.
That bonus can save you a substantial amount off a future cruise booking or on cruise purchases. Plus, it's significant compared to what similar cruise line cards typically offer, especially those with a $0 annual fee.
Light on fees
The Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card does not charge an annual fee nor a foreign attraction fee, which means it won’t cost you to keep the card in your wallet or use it overseas. And because it runs on the Visa network, the card will be widely accepted by merchants internationally.
Straightforward redemption
Some co-branded cruise line cards — like the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card and the Holland America Line Rewards Visa® Card, for example — feature complicated, tiered redemption processes and restrictive rules. Comparatively, points redemption with the Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card is straightforward and flexible.
Points earned with the card are worth one cent each. Cardholders can redeem them (starting at 5,000 points) toward discounts off cruise bookings and for onboard credit for things like specialty dining, beverage packages, Wi-Fi, shore excursions and more across Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
There’s no cap on the number of points you can earn, and points don’t expire. But keep in mind that when you use them to book a cruise or make onboard purchases, points cannot be redeemed towards taxes, fees and gratuities.
Potential discount every card anniversary
The Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card offers the chance to earn an anniversary reward that can help on your next booking. Cardholders will receive a $100 cruise discount every anniversary year when they spend $10,000 within the prior year. This discount can be used only toward future cruises booked directly through Royal Caribbean Group cruise lines.
Drawbacks and Considerations
Limited rewards and redemption options
Those who cruise frequently with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea can earn rewards at a decent clip with the card's 3x category. But because that's the card's only triple-points-earning category, it'll be difficult to rack up points quickly. True, the Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card also offers 2x back on some everyday, non-cruise-related purchases, but these days you can find any number of cards that offer 2% back on all purchases, not just some.
Additionally, points earned with the card can only be redeemed for cruise discounts or onboard experiences, which can be restricting — particularly if you don't cruise exclusively or often with Royal Caribbean.
As an alternative, consider the $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph® Card. It earns 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants, travel (including cruise lines), transit, gas stations, electric vehicle charging stations, popular streaming services and select phone plans, plus 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Points are worth 1 cent each and can be redeemed for travel, gift cards or statement credits, and can also be transferred to eligible Wells Fargo travel partners. Also, new applicants are eligible to receive the following welcome bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value.
» MORE: These are the best cruise lines
How To Decide If It's Right For You
The Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® credit card’s welcome bonus, ongoing rewards and anniversary award (if you spend enough to earn it) can offer some savings on cruises booked with Royal Caribbean and its sister brands. Plus, the card’s redemption process is straightforward which, coupled with its $0 annual fee, makes it an easy card to hold and use.
However, those who want more flexibility in terms of earning and redeeming rewards should consider a general travel card that isn't tied to one brand.
More redemption flexibility
Earn 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants, travel (including cruise lines), transit, gas stations, electric vehicle charging stations, popular streaming services and select phone plans, plus 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for travel, gift cards or statement credits, and can also be transferred to eligible Wells Fargo travel partners. The card's annual fee is $0.
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Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
About the author
Funto Omojola
Lead Writer & Content Strategist
