Princess Cruises Visa Review: Seaworthy, but Hard to Navigate
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3.5
If you want to save on cruises, a general travel card can earn you higher rewards without having to keep track of varying redemption values.
Pros
No annual fee
New cardholder bonus offer
Intro APR period
Cons
Low rewards rate
Complicated redemptions
High minimum redemption requirement
Compare to Other Cards
Annual fee$0 | Annual fee$95 | Annual fee$0 |
Regular APR20.49%-27.49% Variable APR | Regular APR17.49%-27.49% Variable APR | |
Intro APR0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers | Intro APRN/A | Intro APR0% intro APR on Purchases for 18 billing cycles and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days |
Recommended Credit Score |
Recommended Credit Score |
Recommended Credit Score |
Detailed review: Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card
Whether you're planning a once-in-a-lifetime cruise or it's the only way you ever travel, costs can add up. The Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card might help brand loyalists get their travel-reward sea legs, but it's not necessarily the smoothest sailing.
The card, issued by Barclays, offers frequent Princess passengers some decent perks, including a sign-up bonus and a $0 annual fee. But plenty of other travel credit cards offer higher rewards rates, richer bonuses and more straightforward redemption rules. Some of these other options do charge an annual fee, but some will waive that fee for the first year — and there are no-annual-fee travel cards to choose from, too.
Even if 100% of your travel budget goes toward cruises, you might be better off charting a different course for a travel rewards credit card.
Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card: Key features
Card type: Travel.
Annual fee: $0
Sign-up bonus: Earn 10,000 bonus points after you use your card for the first time - that's enough to redeem for a statement credit of up to $100 toward your next cruise purchase.
Rewards:
Earn 2 points per $1 spent on all Princess purchases, including onboard purchases.
Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Points can be redeemed for statement credits, starting at 5,000 points for a $50 statement credit toward an eligible Princess Cruise Line purchase. But what makes this card different, and confusing, is that the amount of points needed to redeem will vary by transaction because redemption value is tied to the amount of your Princess Cruise Line purchase:
$50 - $499.99: You'll get a statement credit redemption value of 1%.
$500 - $2,000.99: Statement credit redemption value of 1.25%.
$2,001 - $4,000.99: Statement credit redemption value of 1.5%.
$4,001 and up: Statement credit redemption value of 2%.
You can also redeem points for statement credit toward several other cruise lines (see list below), as well as for airline purchases. The statement credit redemption value for airline purchases is 1%.
Points can also be redeemed for:
Onboard credits.
Onboard amenities (when available).
Airfare, hotel and car rentals booked via BarclaycardUS.com or by calling customer service (10,000-point minimum required).
Gift cards/certificates. You'll need a minimum of 3,300 points for a $25 gift card, meaning points are worth less than a penny each when used this way.
Merchandise. Point values will vary.
Intro APR: 0% intro APR balance transfers for 15 billing cycles, and then the ongoing APR of 19.49%, 25.49% or 29.49%, Variable APR.
Ongoing APR: 19.49%, 25.49% or 29.49%, Variable APR.
Balance transfer fee: 5%.
Foreign transaction fee: 0%.
Benefits and perks
No annual fee
Many travel cards charge annual fees, meaning you'll have to figure out whether you're earning enough in rewards and perks to outweigh the yearly cost of card ownership. Not an issue with the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card.
Flexible redemption options
When you're ready to cash in points, you're not limited just to Princess cruises. You can also redeem points for statement credits toward Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, The Yachts of Seabourn, P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, Aida and Fathom. Other travel-related redemptions are available, too, not to mention gift cards.
Good terms for balance transfers
If you have credit card debt, the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card can help you save money on interest. The issuer phrases the offer this way: 0% intro APR balance transfers for 15 billing cycles, and then the ongoing APR of 19.49%, 25.49% or 29.49%, Variable APR. But you will have a balance transfer fee of 5%.
Drawbacks and considerations
Redemption complexity
With many travel cards, points are often worth a penny each. But the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card has a tiered system of varying statement credit redemption values, which can make it tough to know what exactly your points are worth. When you erase a $50 Princess purchase by redeeming points for statement credit, you get a penny a point. But when you erase a $5,000 purchase, you get 2 cents per point.
There's no 0% intro APR for purchases
The ongoing APR for purchases kicks in on Day One. If you're planning to spend a few thousand dollars on a cruise and pay it off over several months, for example, the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card isn't your best option.
Alternate pick: No Annual Fee
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® also has no annual fee, but it earns much richer rewards on a much wider variety of spending. You get 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®; 3% back at restaurants and on drugstore purchases; and 1.5% cash back on other purchases. Technically, that cash back comes in the form of points, which can also be used toward travel.
How to decide if it's right for you
The Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card can offer some benefit to Princess Cruises fans who spend a lot with the cruise line, and its flexible redemption options are a plus. But its complicated redemption tiers can be confusing.
Even if you do take to the sea on a regular basis, other travel cards offer more lucrative sign-up bonuses and point-earning programs that are easier to understand and potentially better fits for everyday spending. Research these options to make sure the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa® Card is seaworthy for you.
