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The Royal Caribbean credit cards can make it easy to save for your next cruise, and they also offer valuable discounts and other perks that can elevate your sailing experience. For Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises or Silversea loyalists, the cruise lines offer two co-branded credit cards through Bank of America: the Royal ONE™ Visa Signature® and the Royal ONE Plus™ Visa Signature®.
For either card to pay off, though, you need to cruise often enough and spend enough on board to get more value than you would from a flexible general travel card. Here's how to determine whether a Royal ONE card is right for you.
Comparing the two Royal ONE cards
Royal Caribbean's branded credit cards are issued by Bank of America and operate on the Visa network. Both Royal ONE cards earn points on purchases with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, and both let you redeem points for cruise discounts and onboard credit across all three brands.
Beyond that, you'll find benefits such as priority boarding, anniversary cruise discounts and travel protections. The $99 annual fee Royal ONE Plus™ Visa Signature® adds even more perks for cruise enthusiasts. Here's how the cards compare.
When a Royal Caribbean credit card makes sense
You cruise with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Silversea regularly
Cruise one of the three brands once a year, and the bonus points add up fast, whether you redeem them against your fare or what you spend on board.
The Royal ONE Visa Signature card earns 3 points per dollar on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea purchases. The Royal ONE Plus Visa Signature card bumps that to 4 points per dollar on the same purchases.
Points are worth 1 cent each and can be redeemed across all three brands for either cruise discounts or onboard credit you can spend on specialty dining, beverage packages, Wi-Fi, shore excursions and more. Points don't expire, and there's no cap on what you can earn each year.
Both cards also waive foreign transaction fees, which is valuable if your itinerary includes international ports.
»Learn more: Royal Caribbean Cruises: The ultimate guide
You spend a lot on board
Both cards let you redeem points two ways: as a discount on a cruise booking or as onboard credit you can spend on beverage packages, specialty dining, Wi-Fi, shore excursions and similar extras.
It's also worth using the card for onboard purchases while you sail, since those charges count as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Silversea spending and earn bonus rewards. The more you put on the card during a cruise, the faster your points stack up for the next one.
You can hit the anniversary spending threshold
Both cards offer an anniversary cruise discount — with a spending requirement. The Royal ONE card gives you a $100 discount after $10,000 in purchases within the prior year, which works out to roughly $833 a month.
The Royal ONE Plus card raises that threshold to $200 after $20,000 in spending, or about $1,667 a month. If you're already using one card for most of your household purchases, either threshold may be reachable without changing how you spend.
You'd use the Plus card's travel perks
The Plus version adds priority suite boarding, priority luggage handling and a statement credit of up to $120 every four years toward TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. If you don't have another card that offers a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit, that benefit covers more than the annual fee on its own.
The boarding and luggage perks are harder to put a dollar value on, but cruisers who've waited in long embarkation lines know what they're worth. Boarding sooner means you can start exploring the ship and settling in before the main rush hits.
»Learn more: The best ways to book a cruise
When a Royal Caribbean credit card isn't worth it
A Royal ONE credit card isn't the right fit for everyone, even some who cruise often. Here are some situations where it might not make sense:
You don't cruise often
The card earns bonus points on a handful of everyday categories but not much compared to other top travel rewards credit cards. Plus, those points can be redeemed only for cruise discounts or onboard credit with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Silversea. Occasional cruisers will have a hard time using their rewards between trips. A general travel card will give you more redemption flexibility.
You don't spend much on board
Onboard charges earn 3 or 4 points per dollar as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Silversea purchases, and that's a big part of how points add up during a sailing. If you stick to what's included in your fare, you'll earn most of your points only on the cruise booking itself, which makes it harder to justify either card over a more flexible travel card.
You want flexible rewards
Royal ONE points are locked to Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea, making them harder to use than some airline and hotel rewards currencies. Flexible-points programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express Membership Rewards and Capital One Miles allow you to redeem rewards for just about any cruise line in addition to flights, hotels, rental cars and more. Many also allow you to transfer your points to partner programs for even more flexibility.
»Learn more: The best time to book a cruise
You don't put all your spending on one card
You have to meet a certain spending threshold to earn either card's anniversary cruise discounts, which may mean consolidating most of your purchases onto a single card to earn them. If you'd rather use multiple cards to take advantage of their different bonus rewards categories and benefits, the spending requirement could become an obstacle.
You'd carry a balance
Credit card rewards can't keep up with credit card interest, regardless of the value they offer. Both cards come with potentially high APRs, and if you carry a balance from month to month, any value you get from the card's rewards and benefits may be neutralized.
The bottom line
A Royal Caribbean credit card can be worth it if you cruise Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Silversea regularly and put enough spending on the card to earn the anniversary discount. The Royal ONE Plus card is the better fit if you'd use the priority boarding, priority luggage and TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit often enough to offset the annual fee.
But if you only cruise occasionally or sail with different cruise lines, you'll likely earn more flexible rewards with a general travel credit card.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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