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Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card review
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Designed with big-spending cruise lovers in mind.
- Get this card if you want strong rewards for Celebrity Cruises getaways.
- Pick something else if you can’t manage the spending that makes this card worth its price tag.
- Apply with a good to excellent credit score of 670 or higher.
10,000
Points as welcome offer
Up to 2x
Points
$69
Annual fee
17.24% to 25.24%
Purchase APR (variable)
Details
| Product Name | Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card |
|---|---|
| Card type | Visa |
| Annual fee | $69 |
| Purchase APR | 17.24% to 25.24% variable |
| Balance transfer APR | 17.24% to 25.24% variable |
| Balance transfer fee | $10 or 3% of the transaction, whichever is greater |
| Cash advance rate | 20.24% to 27.24% variable |
| Cash advance fee | $10 or 3% of the cash advance amount, whichever is greater |
| Cash advance fee description | $10 or 3%, whichever is greater on direct deposit and check cash advances. $10 or 5%, whichever is greater on other cash advances. |
| Penalty APR | 29.99% variable |
| Foreign transaction fee | None |
| Interest free period | Up to 25 days |
| Late payment fee | Up to $38 |
| Returned payment fee | Up to $27 |
The basics
The Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card offers cardholders a rewards program aimed squarely at providing discounts, upgrades, additional cruises and other benefits when taking Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Azamara Club cruises.
Bonuses on this card are solid as far as cruise line cards go: you can easily earn a decent welcome offer, and you’ll earn accelerated rewards on every Celebrity Cruises purchase.
Unfortunately, maintaining this value past the first year can become more difficult with the loss of the bonus intro if you don’t regularly spend with the cruise liner.
When combined with some of the other perks this card offers — such as Visa Signature travel benefits and airfare credit that you can gain by booking a flight along with your cruise — the card can offer strong value for Celebrity Cruises regulars.
The perks
- Rewards: Up to 2x MyCruise points on eligible purchases.
Every dollar spent on qualifying purchases at Celebrity Cruises and sister brands earn 2x MyCruise points. All other purchases earn 1x points per dollar. Points can be redeemed for cruise vacations, onboard credits and amenities, stateroom upgrades, cruise discounts, merchandise and as charitable donations. - Bonus miles.
Earn 10,000 MyCruise points with your first transaction within 90 days of opening your account. You can earn an additional 5,000 points when you make a total of $1,000 in purchases within the same timeframe. According to the Celebrity Cruises website as of January 2019, when combined, the bonuses are worth $150 in onboard credit. - Cruise discount.
Spend $5,000 within 60 days of your account opening and receive a $300 discount on a qualifying future cruise. - No foreign transaction fees.
You won’t have to worry about any foreign transaction fees for purchases made outside the US.
You’ll also like
- Airfare discount.
Earn a $50 discount on flights booked through Celebrity. - Cruise and tour discounts.
Premium Beverage Packages and Private Journeys shore excursions come with a 10% discount. When you bring a second guest to any specialty restaurant, you’ll receive another 50% off. - Visa Signature travel rewards.
With a Visa Signature card, you’ll enjoy several travel perks, including 24/7 concierge service, lost luggage reimbursement and car rental insurance.
No-annual-fee Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card
A version of the Celebrity Cruises® Visa Signature® Credit Card with a $0 annual fee is also offered. Its rewards options are more limited, and you won’t get the discounts offered by the annual-fee version of the card.
The casual cruise-goer may get more value out of the no-annual-fee version.
What to watch out for
- Annual fee.
The card carries a $69 annual fee, meaning you’ll have to spend regularly for the card to pay for itself. - Potentially high APR.
Starting purchase and balance transfer interest rates for the card range from 17.24% to 25.24% variable APR. Cash advances are also subject to a variable APR of 20.24% to 27.24%. - Expiring points.
MyCruise points earned through your card expire five years from the month you earned them if they’re not spent.
Compare travel credit cards
Bottom line
While the first year of use can be lucrative in terms of rewards for cardholders, maintaining that value the subsequent year and beyond can prove difficult if you don’t take frequent cruises on Celebrity Cruises or its sister cruise companies.
If you want a rewards card without a yearly fee and a more diverse reward program, compare some of your options for no-annual-fee travel rewards cards.