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Marriott Bonvoy just announced the earn and burn rates for their Ritz Carlton cruise collection. I’ve never really been THAT interested in a cruise aside from one to Antarctica, but these have definitely piqued my interest. But…does it make sense to use Marriott Bonvoy points on these cruises? Members will be able to start earning and redeeming points on cruises scheduled to being on May 6th, 2022. All of the details can be found here, as well as booking information, but let’s take a quick look.
Marriott Bonvoy Earn and Burn rates for Ritz Carlton Cruises: I’ll probably never use Marriott points on cruises
As you can see below you’ll earn at this rate:
- 5 Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 on cruise fare + hotel package
- Each night you’re on the cruise you’ll receive an elite night
You’ll then be able to use Marriott Bonvoy Points as follows
- 180k points is the minimum redemption to offset $1k cruise fare
- Then you can redeem in 90k multiples to offset $500
Effectively you’ll be able to cash out your Marriott points at $0.0056 a piece. Terrible value IMO – I’d say Marriott points are fairly valued at 7/10 to 8/10 of a penny. Any redemption over 1 cent is great, but less than that and it’s pretty poor.
Elite Benefits while onboard Ritz Carlton Cruises
Aside from extra excursions, laundry, etc – the food and beverage is all inclusions while on board, similar to many other cruises. Aside from the unlimited laundry benefit of the Marriott Ambassador Elite, I’m not sure many of these benefits are that valuable. These ships are relatively small with 149 suites, all featuring private balconies, so I’d imagine you’re receiving an exclusive experience regardless. Note that elites aren’t receiving upgrades, etc but rather priority boarding and some onboard amenities like elite reception, pressings, and laundry.
How much do Ritz Carlton Cruises cost?
I did a quick search and the cheapest are Caribbean cruises which start around $4k per person for the cheapest room. To put that in perspective point wise, you’d need to redeem 720k Marriott Points per person to offset the cost.
And here’s a list of the suites available…
Overall
It’s nice to see that you can earn Marriott points via Ritz Carlton cruises, but I can’t imagine ever redeeming. I do have to say that these ships look incredible; however, if I was to throw this kind of cash at a cruise, it’d likely be for Antartica 🙂
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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