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Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card Review: Lackluster Cobranded Card With Few Perks

Review Updated
Brittney Myers
Brittney Myers
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Nathan Alderman
Fact Checked: Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
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Nathan Alderman has been a full-time Motley Fool employee since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As Motley Fool Money's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.

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The best cobranded cards offer unique benefits that make your brand experience better. Unfortunately, that's not the case with the Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card. While you get a small boost in rewards on Princess purchases, it doesn't stand out from other rewards cards. Here's a look at all the pros and cons in our complete Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card review.

Ratings Methodology

Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card

Rates & Fees External Link Icon
Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card
Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
3.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
3.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Credit Score: Circle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good (670-850)
Rates & Fees External Link Icon
Credit Score Circle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.

Good (670-850)

Intro APR Circle with letter I in it. 0% introductory APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening.

Purchases: N/A

Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months

Regular APR

20.24%, 26.24% or 29.99% (Variable)

Rewards Circle with letter I in it. Earn 2X points per $1 spent on all Princess purchases including onboard purchases. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

1X-2X points

Annual Fee

$0

Welcome Offer Circle with letter I in it. Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $500 within the first 90 days - that’s enough to redeem for a $200 statement credit toward your next cruise purchase

20,000 bonus points

  • A lackluster cobranded card that doesn't stand out from the rewards card crowd. No annual fee option if you need a card with no foreign transaction fees.

    • Welcome bonus
    • Extra rewards on Princess cruises
    • No foreign transaction fees
    • Balance transfer offer
    • No annual fee
    • Rewards aren't competitive
    • No brand benefits
    • Balance transfer fee
    • Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $500 within the first 90 days - that’s enough to redeem for a $200 statement credit toward your next cruise purchase
    • Earn 2X points per $1 spent on all Princess purchases including onboard purchases
    • Redeem points for statement credits toward purchases on Princess, eligible airfare purchases, onboard credits and amenities, gift cards and more!
    • 0% introductory APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will apply, 20.24%, 26.24%, or 29.99%, based on your creditworthiness. There is a fee for balance transfers.

Credit card comparison

We recommend comparing options to ensure the card you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of standout credit cards.

Offer Our Rating Welcome Offer Rewards Program APR Learn More
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
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Best for cash back on rotating categories 		Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. 1% - 5% Cashback Circle with letter I in it. Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Intro:

Purchases: 0%, 15 months

Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months

Regular: 18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR

Apply Now for Discover it® Cash Back

On Discover's Secure Website.

Rates & Fees External Link Icon

Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Best for cash rewards on everyday spending 		$200 cash rewards Circle with letter I in it. Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. 2% cash rewards Circle with letter I in it. Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

Intro: Circle with letter I in it. 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers

Purchases: 0% intro APR, 12 months from account opening

Balance Transfers: 0% intro APR, 12 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers

Regular: 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable APR

Apply Now for Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

On Wells Fargo's Secure Website.

Rates & Fees External Link Icon

Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
= Good
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Best for unlimited rewards on purchases 		25,000 points Circle with letter I in it. 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases 1.5-3 points per dollar Circle with letter I in it. Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on travel purchases booked through the Bank of America Travel Center.

Intro: Circle with letter I in it. 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases. 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers will apply. A 3% fee for 60 days from account opening, then 4% fee applies to all balance transfers. Balance transfers may not be used to pay any account provided by Bank of America.

Purchases: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases

Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days

Regular: 18.24% - 28.24% (Variable)

Apply Now for Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

On Bank of America's Secure Website.

Full Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card review

This credit card is a good fit for: Regular Princess Cruises travelers who need a no annual fee card without foreign transaction fees.

Top perks

This card has a variety of perks, though most of them aren't particularly special.

Welcome bonus worth $200

A nice perk of this card is that new cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus points after spending $500 on their new card within the first 90 days. Points are worth $0.01 each, so this bonus is worth $200 in statement credit.

While an extra $200 is certainly nice, as a bonus, this one isn't very competitive. You can find no annual fee cards with bonuses twice this size. And some travel rewards cards offer bonuses worth 5 times as much.

Extra rewards on Princess cruises

The only real Princess Cruises perk this card offers is bonus purchase rewards on Princess cruises. More specifically, cardholders earn:

  • 2X points per dollar on all Princess purchases including onboard purchases
  • 1X points per dollar on all other purchases

As noted above, points are worth $0.01 each when redeemed for statement credit. You need at least 5,000 points to make a redemption. They can be redeemed for statement credit toward a variety of purchases:

  • World's Leading Cruise Line brands
  • Eligible airfare
  • Onboard amenities

You can actually get the best value from your points by stockpiling them for a while, then redeeming all at once towards eligible Princess Cruise purchases. For example, if you redeem at least $500 in rewards, you could earn $0.0125 per point. It maxes out at $0.02 per point, however, and you'd need to redeem more than 400,000 points to earn that rate.

No foreign transaction fees

Oddly enough, the best perk of this card may be the fact that it has no foreign transaction fees. (These are extra fees tacked onto purchases made in foreign currencies or that route through foreign banks.) While you can certainly find a good number of cards with 0% foreign transaction fees, it's less common to find ones that also charge no annual fee. It's still not the best choice even in this category -- but it's also not the worst.

Intro 0% APR balance transfer offer

This card makes little sense as a balance transfer card, but here it is. New cardholders can enjoy up to 15 months of 0% intro APR on balance transfers. You need to transfer your balance within the first 45 days for it to be eligible for the intro APR, and there is a balance transfer fee (more on that below). Once the intro period ends, your standard APR will apply.

No annual card fee

Although you won't get a ton of perks out of your Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card, at least you won't be paying for the ones you get. This card has no annual fee, so you won't need to pay an extra fee just to keep your account open.

What could be improved

There are multiple areas where this card could see big improvements.

Rewards rates could be much higher

Even for a cobranded card, the Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card has some lackluster rewards. Unless you're stockpiling rewards for a long time, 2x points per dollar is only an effective 2% back. You can get that from a good flat-rate cash back card, let alone what a real travel card can earn.

Moreover, that's the only bonus category. A lot of hotel or airline credit cards offer bonus rewards for branded purchases, plus other bonus categories like dining or gas.

No extra Princess cruise benefits

You could arguably excuse low rewards rates if your cobranded card offered other perks. Maybe free upgrades, discounts for onboard activities, or other special cruise perks that you can't get with other cards. Nope, this card doesn't offer any of that. Other than the big ship on the front of the card, there's very little to distinguish the Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card from any other basic, ho-hum rewards card.

High balance transfer fee

Although the balance transfer intro APR offer is a nice surprise feature on this card, you really need to watch out for the high balance transfer fee. Every transfer will have an extra fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. This is definitely on the high end, as fees tend to range from 3% to 5%. If you really need a balance transfer, stick with intro APR balance transfer cards better suited to the purpose.

Suggested credit score

The Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card is issued by Barclays, which doesn't publish its specific credit requirements. That said, cobranded cards are often a bit easier to qualify for than regular rewards credit cards. A good credit score of 670 or higher will give you the best chance of approval, but the bank will look at your entire credit history before making a decision.

The Princess Cruises® Rewards Visa® Card is right for you if:

If you spend thousands of dollars a year on Princess Cruises and really want a dedicated cruise rewards card, then this card is it. Folks who can save up the points to get the highest rate will see a fairly good return on their purchases when all is said and done. However, the majority of people will likely be much better off with a more flexible travel rewards card, or even just a flat-rate cash back card with unlimited 2% back.

Our credit card methodology

At Motley Fool Money, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how Motley Fool Money rates credit cards.

FAQs

  • No, in most cases a regular travel rewards credit card will offer better rewards rates and more flexible redemption options.

  • In general, your rewards points are worth $0.01 per point for statement credit. You can get a slightly higher redemption rate if you can save up and redeem hundreds of thousands of points at once on eligible Princess Cruise purchases, but this is probably not worth the hassle for most cardholders.

  • Not really. While the card has a decent intro APR offer for transfers, it has a very high balance transfer fee.