Should you’re desirous to embark on a cruise and have amassed factors or miles over time, you won’t should pay on your subsequent journey.
Learn on to discover methods to optimize your factors and miles, leverage loyalty packages and unlock financial savings in your cruise fare to scale back the price of your cruise trip.
Listed below are the highest methods to make use of your factors and miles to e-book a cruise.
Associated: A learners information to selecting a cruise line
Must you e-book a cruise with factors and miles?
Whereas varied choices can be found for redeeming your factors and miles towards a cruise, you will need to word that the worth you obtain won’t at all times be optimum (i.e., lower than TPG’s month-to-month valuations). Within the realm of journey rewards, there are sometimes extra profitable alternatives to leverage your factors and miles for flights or resort stays the place the worth and adaptability are usually larger.
In case you have American Categorical Membership Rewards factors, Capital One miles or Chase Final Rewards factors, you might obtain a redemption worth of 1 to 1.5 cents per level or mile for cruises. On this case, you’d get $100 or $150 off your cruise fare by redeeming 10,000 factors or miles. Whereas this might sound excessive, it falls quick in comparison with the worth some vacationers get when redeeming factors and miles for luxurious lodges or business-class flights.
Some cruise traces provide their very own bank cards, whereas others have fashioned partnerships with established manufacturers. For instance, Marriott Bonvoy members can redeem factors on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment cruises at 180,000 factors, leading to a $1,000 financial savings. Nevertheless, these accomplice choices are sometimes restricted and may require loyalty to a particular journey model.
You’ll be able to at all times use factors or miles to scale back journey bills for any cruise trip. For instance, you should use Amex Membership Rewards factors, Bilt Rewards Factors, Capital One miles, Chase Final Rewards factors, Citi ThankYou Rewards factors and Wells Fargo Rewards factors to cowl prices related to airfare, lodges or rental automobiles on your cruise. This typically proves to be a greater use of your rewards.
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Nevertheless, if you wish to use your amassed factors or miles to scale back your cruise prices, beneath are varied methods to e-book a cruise with factors and miles.
E book a cruise with bank card factors and miles
You need to use sure bank card factors and miles to e-book a cruise. Sometimes, you’ll be required to make the reservation by way of the portal offered by your bank card issuer; nonetheless, some issuers might require you to name a reserving middle. You may additionally be capable to cost the cruise to your card after which redeem your rewards for an announcement credit score towards some (or all) of that buy.
Right here’s how one can e-book a cruise on factors and miles with a number of main bank card corporations.
American Categorical Membership Rewards
In case you have an eligible American Categorical card that earns Membership Rewards factors, you should use these factors to cowl the price of your cruise by way of the Pay with Factors program. With this program, you possibly can redeem Membership Rewards factors at a worth of 0.5 to 0.7 cents per level for many journey purchases.
Nevertheless, TPG values Membership Rewards factors at 2 cents every (per our January 2026 valuations) if you maximize this system’s switch companions. So, you’d use them at a decrease worth should you use Pay with Factors.
The American Categorical Journey® portal has a user-friendly search function that lets you discover totally different cruises primarily based on particular filters reminiscent of date, vacation spot, cruise line and journey length, even earlier than you log in.
To e-book a cruise utilizing Pay with Factors, log into the journey portal and do the next:
- Choose your most well-liked cruise itinerary and cabin.
- Enter your passenger data.
- When it’s time to take a look at, enter your Membership Rewards-enrolled American Categorical card data and choose “Sure” to find out what number of Membership Rewards factors your account has.
- Pay for the complete cruise utilizing Pay with Factors, or pay a portion of the price with factors and the remaining with money.
Alternatively, you possibly can search for the cruise you need and name 800-297-5627 to e-book straight with the Amex Journey workforce over the telephone.
Associated: The very best bank cards for reserving cruises
Chase Final Rewards
The Chase Journey℠ portal is just like Amex Journey, however the redemption worth could also be larger, relying on which card you earned the Final Rewards factors from:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see charges and costs) and Chase Sapphire Reserve for Enterprise℠ (see charges and costs): For cardholders who utilized earlier than June 23, 2025, redeem for 1.5 cents on all non-Factors-Increase Chase Journey purchases (on factors earned previous to Oct. 26, 2025, and redeemed till Oct. 26, 2027, then 1 cent thereafter). For cardholders who utilized on or after June 23, 2025, redeem for 1 cent apiece on all non-Factors-Increase Chase Journey purchases.
- Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card (see charges and costs) and Ink Enterprise Most popular® Credit score Card (see charges and costs): For cardholders who utilized earlier than June 23, 2025, redeem for 1.25 cents on all non-Factors-Increase Chase Journey purchases (on factors earned previous to Oct. 26, 2025, and redeemed till Oct. 26, 2027, then 1 cent apiece thereafter). For cardholders who utilized on or after June 23, 2025, redeem for 1 cent per level on all non-Factors-Increase Chase Journey purchases.
Sadly, Chase’s reserving system doesn’t allow you to e-book cruises by way of Chase’s on-line journey portal. You’ll must name the reserving hotline and communicate with somebody within the cruise reservations division as an alternative.
To e-book a cruise and pay with Chase Final Rewards factors:
- Discover the cruise itinerary and availability you need by way of the cruise line’s web site. In case you have a particular cabin in thoughts, be sure that data is helpful. Sadly, experiences point out that you simply can’t e-book Disney Cruise Line sailings with Chase Final Rewards factors.
- Name a Chase journey specialist straight at 855-234-2542, and be ready to stroll the adviser by way of the cruise line reserving web page on their finish to allow them to discover and e-book the cabin and choices you need. Cruise advisers can be found Monday by way of Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST and Saturday from 9 a.m. to five p.m. EST.
- Your cruise adviser will arrange the itinerary for you, and, upon checkout, they’ll ask you what number of factors you need to apply towards your remaining stability.
Citi ThankYou Rewards
When you can’t redeem your Citi ThankYou Rewards factors by way of the Citi Journey portal to e-book a cruise, you possibly can redeem your factors to buy reward playing cards with choose cruise traces reminiscent of Carnival, Holland America, Princess Cruises and Virgin Experiences. Notice that redemption charges might differ by model, however you will discover as much as 1 cent per level for some reward card redemptions, reminiscent of Carnival.
Capital One miles
Capital One provides extra flexibility and a extra simple redemption course of than Amex and Chase. Until you switch your miles to an airline or resort accomplice, every mile is price a flat 1 cent towards journey.
Redeeming miles doesn’t require reserving by way of a portal, which frees you as much as e-book your cruise straight with the corporate or by way of a journey agent to get additional perks. This feature additionally lets you pursue promotional bundle charges or reductions that might not be accessible by way of the Amex or Chase portals.
The award redemption course of is simple: Use the cardboard when paying on your cruise bundle, then log into your account and choose the “Cowl your journey purchases” possibility to use your mileage stability as a credit score towards the whole quantity due in your bank card assertion.
You’ll be able to earn Capital One miles with the Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card and the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card. Every has various options, so do a little analysis to resolve which card is finest for you.
Associated: Capital One Enterprise Rewards vs. Capital One Enterprise X: Price the additional $300 in annual charges?
E book a cruise with airline miles
It’s also possible to e-book cruises utilizing some airline loyalty packages, reminiscent of United MileagePlus and American Airways AAdvantage. Nevertheless, you are solely more likely to obtain round 0.7 cents per mile or 1 cent per mile, respectively, in worth this manner — properly beneath our valuation of those airline miles.
Use factors from cruise line cobranded bank cards to e-book
With cruise line cobranded bank cards, you possibly can earn factors for purchases that you may then use to offset the price of your cruise reserving. Nevertheless, this won’t be the best choice for incomes and redeeming factors.
Right here, you’ll need to be certain you should use your factors towards the cruise fare as an alternative of just for onboard purchases. For instance, the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® Credit score Card provides a welcome bonus of 35,000 factors after you spend $1,500 or extra on purchases inside 90 days of opening your account. Your redemption decisions differ.
As an illustration, you possibly can redeem 25,000 factors towards your companion’s cruise fare on a three- or four-night Royal Caribbean cruise, topic to sure situations (like, for instance, that the worth doesn’t exceed $500). Be taught extra about how one can redeem MyCruise rewards factors right here.
The knowledge for the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
Redeem Marriott Bonvoy factors
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment participates within the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. Members can redeem factors on Ritz-Carlton cruises and revel in elite standing perks on voyages.
You’ll be able to redeem not less than 180,000 factors towards a flat $1,000 financial savings on the cruise fare. After that, you possibly can redeem increments of 90,000 factors towards $500 in financial savings, as much as the complete cruise fare. This redemption fee is roughly 0.56 cents per Marriott level, which is beneath TPG’s January 2026 valuation of 0.7 cents per level.
Associated: Greatest methods to earn Marriott Bonvoy factors: From resort stays and bank card spending to journey companions
Moreover, Marriott Bonvoy’s Cruise with Factors program lets you money in Marriott factors for credit score towards any cruise that’s bookable on the Cruise with Factors web site.
You’ll be able to redeem factors within the following denominations, all valued at 0.4 cents per level:
- 63,000 factors for $250 off your cruise fare
- 125,000 factors for $500 off
- 250,000 factors for $1,000 off
- 625,000 factors for $2,500 off
- 1,250,000 factors for $5,000 off
To redeem Marriott factors for a cruise, name 800-596-0452.
Redeem Hilton Honors factors
Hilton and Explora Journeys simply unveiled a luxurious ocean‑journey partnership with the launch of Hilton Honors Adventures. Vacationers must wait till summer time 2026 to begin incomes and redeeming their Hilton Honors factors on Explora journeys. However, efficient instantly and thru June 7, Hilton Honors loyalty program members get a restricted‑time preview of the partnership with a curated set of 16 Explora Journeys itineraries. These embrace as much as $400 in Journey Expertise Credit (and $200 on different voyages), an in‑suite welcome reward and 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus factors per suite.
By summer time 2026, members will be capable to earn and redeem Hilton factors on Explora Journeys throughout areas, from the Mediterranean to Alaska, though the redemption charges haven’t but been introduced.
Associated: Explora Journeys cruise ship evaluate: Setting a brand new bar for luxurious at sea
Backside line
It isn’t at all times simple to get nice worth on your factors and miles if you use them towards cruise redemptions — not less than, not the way in which you possibly can with premium cabin flights. Nevertheless, redeeming your factors and miles without spending a dime or discounted cruise journey is doable.
That mentioned, if you wish to redeem your rewards for max worth, it’s best to keep away from utilizing airline miles or resort factors for cruises. These are higher used on flights and in a single day stays.
It’s an identical story for bank card currencies. Capital One provides essentially the most flexibility of all the key issuers as a result of you possibly can e-book your cruise straight or by way of a journey agent. With a number of reserving choices, you possibly can reap the benefits of further perks and entry promotional charges from journey brokers and on-line retailers that aren’t accessible by way of bank card portals. You could possibly even stack these offers for extra financial savings by reserving by way of an airline portal to earn miles.
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