If you carry an American Express credit card, you should check to see if you have a new offer to get a lot of money back for simply booking a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Amex Offers are an area at the bottom of the page when you log into the American Express site, where you can earn all sorts of statement credits for buying things from certain vendors.
Select card members may see an offer to get up to 25,000 bonus rewards points for booking a new Royal Caribbean cruise.
The exact offer seems to vary depending on who the cardholder is, but if you have an American Express card, it is worth checking out if the offer is for you.
Since there are many types of American Express cards, not all of them may offer it.
Like all Amex Offers, there is specific language about how you can redeem this offer:
"Offer valid on cruise bookings made online at royalcaribbean.com, by calling 1-866-562-7625 or booked through your Travel Professional. Reservations must be booked on US website only. Purchases must be made in US dollars. "
"Excludes onboard purchases, e-gift card and physical gift card purchases made online, transfers/transportation to the ship, MGM Resort International Joint Vacation and Royal Wedding Packages. Excludes Celebrity Cruise, TUI Cruises and Silversea brands."
Keep in mind you do not have to spend the qualifying amount in one transaction. Rather, you can do it over the course of many transactions, but the offer kicks in once the aggregate total exceeds the threshold for the offer.
It can be redeemed once, and is open to only U.S.-issued American Express Cards.
You must take advantage of the offer by 12/31/2022.
Typically, Amex offer statements appear on your statement within a day or two, it can sometimes take several days for the statement credit to hit your account.
How much are 25,000 AmEx Membership Rewards Points worth?
Getting 25,000 points sounds great, but what kind of a benefit is that to you?
There are many ways to possibly redeem your points, especially depending on which American Express card you have.
According to a NerdWallet analysis, AmEx points value is between 1 cent when used to book travel directly and 2 cents when transferred to partners.
The Points Guy estimates Membership Rewards points are worth 2 cents each.
Using your points for airfare is typically the best value, while redeeming them for cash to erase eligible charges from your statement is widely considered a poor value.
How to activate the offer
Before you can utilize an Amex Offer, you generally have to activate it on your account, so before paying for anything, be sure to do that. By using your credit card at a qualifying merchant, you can instantly take advantage of the discount, credit or bonus by using your American Express card there.
Simply log into your American Express account on their website or via their app.
Look for the Amex Offers & Benefits section, which is usually located towards the bottom of the main page.
Categorized under "Travel", you should see the Royal Caribbean offer there.
Pro tip: This offer can be activated for each card, so if your spouse has a shared card, you could activate the offer for their card and "double dip".
How to use this if you use a travel agent
You may notice in the fine print for this offer it states you can use a travel professional with this offer, which means you can still support your favorite travel agent.
You could simply book this offer with them, or book it on your own and transfer it to the agent immediately afterwards.
Even after booking a cruise with Royal Caribbean directly, you have up to 30 days to transfer it to a travel agent after initial booking. It must be outside of Final Payment and the booking is not paid in full.
I would recommend informing your travel agent what you are doing first, so they can be prepared for the necessary paperwork to transfer it to them.
All you have to do is complete this online form and the booking gets transferred to the agent.
