Best Credit Cards For Cruises Of April 2024

Also our pick for best mid-tier travel rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers excellent perks for the price. Travel purchases, including cruises, earn elevated rewards when booked through the Chase Travel℠ portal. Alternatively, if you’ve saved up a stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, you can use them to pay for all or part of your cruise. Points earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase so you’re effectively getting a 25% discount on your cruise.

Rewards: Earn 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Annual fee: $95

Other benefits and drawbacks: Among the Sapphire Preferred’s major benefits are its primary auto rental collision damage coverage, baggage delay insurance, trip delay insurance, purchase protection and extended warranty protection.

The card’s flexible Ultimate Rewards points transfer to a bevy of air and hotel loyalty programs, which could be helpful in getting you to your cruise’s point of embarkation.

Capital One’s premium card product, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees), comes with a wide array of travel benefits, lounge access and a very compelling rewards program, all at a lower annual fee than other top-tier competitor cards.

It’s easy to collect points quickly since you’ll earn at least two points on all eligible purchases. If you book travel through the Capital One Travel portal, you can earn five points per dollar on your flight purchases to get you to your departure port. If you need an overnight stay beforehand, then earn 10 points per dollar by snagging your hotel through the Capital One travel portal.

Plus, you’ve got flexible reward redemption options since Capital One partners with over 15 travel partners. On top of that, you can redeem your points for hotels, flights and even cruises.

Rewards: Earn 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25 and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel.

Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Annual fee: $395 (rates & fees)

Other benefits and drawbacks: Every year that you hold the card, you’ll receive a $300 annual credit to offset purchases made via the Capital One travel portal. You’ll also get 10,000 Capital One miles as an anniversary bonus after paying the annual fee.

Having a fair credit score doesn’t mean missing out on earning rewards. The Citi Custom Cash® Card is an option for those with less-than-stellar credit. It earns 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category up to the first $500 spent each billing cycle, 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025 and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Categories include grocery, gas, travel and dining. Since travel is an eligible category, you could use the card to pay for your cruise and get 5% back on the first $500.

Alternatively, use the card for an everyday high spend category, such as groceries and save your cash back for a future cruise purchase.

Rewards: Earn 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category up to the first $500 spent each billing cycle, 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025 and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn $200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. The bonus points come in the form of 20,000 ThankYou® Points that can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: The card offers a 0% introductory APR for 15 months from date of account opening on purchases and from date of first transfer for balance transfers completed within 4 months of account opening. After that, the variable APR will be 19.24% - 29.24%, based on creditworthiness. There is also a balance transfer fee of 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum. So if you need an extra bit of time to pay for your cruise, this could be a good option for you. However, be sure that you have a plan in place to pay off your balance before the 0% APR period ends and high interest rates kick in.

The ultra premium The Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply, see rates & fees) offers extra onboard amenities on cruises booked through American Express Travel’s Cruise Privileges Program. Similar to the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program, Cruise Privileges provides additional perks such as onboard ship credit. By holding an Amex card, you’ll get access to the Amex Offers program which regularly features discounts or extra points for various cruise lines. The card earns 5 points per dollar on airfare and hotels booked through American Express travel. Though the card comes with a hefty annual fee, its list of benefits is extensive and if you use enough of them, the card might be worth the high-tide price tag.

Rewards: Earn 5 Membership Rewards Points per dollar for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year, 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $8,000 on purchases on the card in the first 6 months of card membership.

Annual fee: $695

Other benefits and drawbacks: The Platinum Card® from American Express has some of the most generous additional credits of any card available. With this card, you can get up to a $200 statement credit for selected hotels booked with American Express Travel, up to a $200 airline incidental fee statement credit, a $189 CLEAR® Plus credit and up to a $200 Uber Cash credit. In addition, the card also comes with robust travel benefits including premium lounge access, secondary car rental loss and damage insurance¹, trip delay² and cancellation coverages² and complimentary Gold elite status with both Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy (enrollment is required for select benefits).

If you’re interested in getting access to cruise discounts through Amex Offers, but don’t want the lofty annual fee of the Amex Platinum card, the American Express® Green Card* is a worthy alternative. The card earns extra Membership Rewards on travel, which includes cruises. Alternatively, you can use Membership Rewards to pay for your cruise, if booked through American Express Travel.

Rewards: Earn 3 points per dollar on travel and transit including flights, hotels, taxis, rideshare services, trains, parking and more, 3 points per dollar on eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 40,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.

Annual fee: $150

Other benefits and drawbacks: Membership Rewards can be transferred to a multitude of air and hotel partners which can help defray your travel costs to or from your cruise. An annual $189 CLEAR® Plus credit, up to a $100 LoungeBuddy credit plus trip delay insurance, baggage insurance plan, purchase protection and car rental loss and damage insurance combine to provide a solid package of benefits given the annual fee.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers a simple flat rate earning structure, no annual fee and a relatively long 0% introductory period for purchases and balance transfers. Assuming you have the credit line available, making your cruise purchase on this card gives you time to make payments with no interest. The easy-to-earn welcome bonus can help offset your cruise expenses.

Rewards: Earn 2% cash rewards on purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: The card has a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers, then a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR applies. Balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a fee of up to 5%, with a minimum of $5 applies. This can be quite tempting, considering that with a 0% APR, you could book your cruise and not worry about interest, for well over a year with on time payments. This offers you the ability to earn cash rewards and pay the balance off over time. However, be certain that you can pay off your cruise before the introductory period ends to avoid interest fees.

Also be aware that the 3% foreign transaction fee can add up quickly. So if you plan to make sizable purchases at your ports of call, it may be wiser to choose a card with no foreign transaction fees.

Cruises are an affordable, fun option for students looking for a spring break getaway. The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students offers a welcome bonus with a modest spending requirement while earning 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases. The card’s introductory APR makes it possible to pay for your cruise over time without incurring interest.

Rewards: Earn 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases everywhere, every time with no expiration on points as long as your account remains open.

Welcome bonus: Earn 25,000 online bonus points after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: There’s no foreign transaction fees charged when using the card outside of the U.S. Points can be easily redeemed for a statement credit to pay for travel (including cruises) and dining.

The innovative Bilt World Elite Mastercard® lets you earn rewards on your monthly rent with no additional fees for the transaction. The card offers elevated rewards on dining and travel purchases, including cruises. Rewards points are transferable to a number of air and hotel programs. Like our other flexible card recommendations, you can either earn points by paying for your cruise with the card or redeem points by purchasing your cruise through Bilt’s travel portal.

The Bilt card has no annual fee (rates & fees) making it a great value for the benefits it provides. However, without a welcome bonus your points will add up slower than with other cards.

Rewards: Earn 1 point per dollar on rent payments without the transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each calendar year), 3 points per dollar on dining, 2 points per dollar on travel (when booked through the Bilt Travel Portal or directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company), and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

Welcome offer: This card does not offer a welcome bonus.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: On the first day of each month, Bilt offers a “Rent Day” promotion where rewards on all purchases excluding rent are doubled up to $10,000 in spend, though you must use the card five times each statement period to earn points (rewards & benefits). If your cruise happens to be sailing on the first of the month, you can head to Guest Services and ask them to make a charge for all that you’ve accumulated onboard so far, thus taking advantage of the double promotion, earning you 4x points.

The card comes with a variety of insurance coverages such as travel cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay reimbursement, auto damage collision waiver and cellphone protection.