Stop Wasting Princess Cruises Visa Points: Smarter Ways To Save

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The Princess Cruises Rewards Visa can look like a no-brainer for loyal Princess fans: no annual fee, a welcome bonus that turns into onboard credit, and points that promise cheaper sailings. But if you use this card the wrong way, you can easily give up hundreds of dollars in value every year without realizing it. Understanding where the Princess card shines, and where it falls badly behind general travel cards, is the key to making your future cruises genuinely cheaper instead of just feeling that way.

How Princess Cruises Rewards Visa Actually Works

The Princess Cruises Rewards Visa, issued by Barclays, typically earns 2 points per dollar on purchases with Princess and 1 point per dollar everywhere else. Recent public offers have dangled a sign-up bonus in the range of 10,000 to 20,000 points after a modest spend, enough for roughly 100 to 200 dollars in cruise credit or statement credit toward a Princess purchase. For a first-time cruiser who already has a sailing booked, that can feel like easy money.

Those points are most commonly worth about 1 cent each when you redeem them toward eligible Princess travel purchases, such as cruise fare, onboard credit, or certain onboard experiences. In practical terms, 10,000 points might offset about 100 dollars of your next Alaska cruise fare, or cover most of a couple’s specialty dining and cocktails on a 7-night Caribbean itinerary. If you live and breathe Princess and charge every onboard purchase to this card, the ecosystem is simple: earn points with Princess, use rewards with Princess.

The catch is that the card’s 1x base earning rate on non-Princess spending and narrow redemption focus can be a poor deal compared with modern travel rewards cards that earn flexible points. When you put everyday expenses like groceries, gas, and streaming services on the Princess Visa, you are effectively locking value into a single brand. For travelers who also fly frequently, stay in hotels, or occasionally sail other cruise lines, that tradeoff often makes little financial sense.

The card does have genuine strengths for very specific use cases, especially when you are paying for a large Princess trip and can immediately redeem rewards at a solid 1 cent per point. The problem starts when cardholders treat it as their default, “use it for everything” card and ignore alternatives that can double or triple the value on the same purchases.

Stop Using the Princess Visa for Everyday Non-Travel Spending

The single biggest mistake many cruisers make is using the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa for everyday non-travel purchases. The card earns just 1 point per dollar on things like supermarket runs, utilities, medical bills, and big-box shopping. If those points are worth about 1 cent each toward Princess travel, that is effectively a 1 percent return. By today’s standards, that is weak.

Consider a realistic example. Say your household charges 2,000 dollars a month on a credit card for everyday spending. Over a year, that is 24,000 dollars. On the Princess Visa at 1 point per dollar, you would earn 24,000 points, which might translate to around 240 dollars in cruise credit. That might cover gratuities on a 7-night Princess sailing for two or offset taxes and fees on a Caribbean itinerary. It is not nothing, but it is also not impressive.

Now compare that with a 2 percent cashback card available from many major banks. The same 24,000 dollars in annual spending would yield 480 dollars back in cash. You could then simply put that 480 dollars toward your Princess cruise fare or onboard bill. You have doubled your effective return without being tied to one brand, and you can still book the exact same ship and itinerary. Over five years of consistent cruising, that difference could easily top 1,000 dollars, enough to upgrade from an inside cabin to a balcony on an Alaska voyage or pay for a couple of premium shore excursions.

General travel cards can be even more powerful. A mid-range travel card that earns 2 points per dollar on all travel and dining and at least 1.5 points on everything else can often redeem those points at 1.25 to 1.5 cents each through a bank travel portal or airline transfer partners. That can effectively turn your non-travel spending into a 2 to 3 percent return when used smartly for flights to your departure port or pre-cruise hotel nights near Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, or Vancouver. The bottom line: using the Princess Visa for groceries, utilities, and everyday bills is one habit you should drop if you care about getting the highest possible value for travel.

Avoid Low-Value Redemptions When Better Options Exist

Another common pitfall is redeeming Princess Visa points for options that do not maximize their value. The card’s strongest redemptions are generally statement credits against Princess purchases or cruise-related credits that effectively give you about 1 cent per point. Some third-party analyses note that if you bundle large cruise purchases over 2,000 dollars, the per-point value can be slightly more favorable in specific tiers, but those are edge cases rather than everyday wins.

Where cardholders go wrong is treating points like a casual discount token for smaller or non-travel redemptions when a general travel or cashback card would treat the same purchase more generously. Using 25,000 Princess points to offset 250 dollars of cruise onboard spending is reasonable if you earned those points from a sign-up bonus and heavy Princess spend. But if those points came from a year of putting all your family bills on the card at 1 point per dollar, you have effectively accepted a 1 percent rebate in a world where 1.5 to 2 percent is easy to find with basic no-fee cards.

Imagine a couple booking a 1,600 dollar balcony cabin to Alaska and redeeming 20,000 points for 200 dollars in onboard credit. They feel like they “got a deal” because the specialty dinner, wine tastings, and Wi-Fi package now show as covered by points. In reality, they could have put their daily expenses on a 2 percent cashback card, pulled out 400 dollars in cash value by the time final payment was due, and covered not only those extras but also a private whale-watching excursion in Juneau or Skagway.

The situation is starker when you consider non-cruise travel costs. Flights to join a Princess cruise often cost 300 to 600 dollars per person from many U.S. cities, particularly for Alaska and Europe sailings. Flexible travel points from a bank card can often be used at 1.25 to 1.5 cents per point to offset those flights. Using 40,000 bank points might erase 500 to 600 dollars of airfare, while 40,000 Princess points may only shave 400 dollars off your cruise bill. In other words, unless you are already deep in the Princess ecosystem and carefully targeting your redemptions, many everyday redemptions on the Princess Visa are objectively poor value compared with basic alternatives.

Do Not Treat the Princess Visa as Your Only Travel Card

Some loyal cruisers make the mistake of thinking that if they mostly travel by ship, a cruise co-branded card is the right single card for everything. For frequent Princess guests, the branding feels reassuring: the card image matches the line, marketing materials talk about onboard credit and cruise discounts, and it is easy to imagine that no other card could possibly align better with their habits. Yet when you step back and look at your entire travel year, this is rarely true.

Most Princess itineraries begin and end in cities that are rich territory for general travel card benefits: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, and more. Before you step aboard, you are often paying for flights, airport transfers, pre-cruise hotels, and meals. A general travel card that earns bonuses on flights, hotels, and dining can outperform the Princess Visa in all of those categories. A traveler flying from Chicago to Seattle for a Alaska cruise might spend 700 dollars on airfare, 300 dollars on a hotel near the port, and 200 dollars on dining in the city. On a 2x or 3x travel-and-dining card, that is 2,400 to 3,000 travel points earned, often worth 30 to 45 dollars in high-value redemptions. On the Princess Visa, most of that would earn just 1x, or 1 cent per dollar.

It is also useful to remember that you may not always sail Princess. Some cruisers split their time between Princess and sister brands under the same corporate umbrella, like Carnival or Holland America, while others want to try premium competitors like Celebrity or Viking for certain destinations. A bank travel card with transferable points and broad travel protections will serve you well regardless of which line you sail. The Princess Visa is most sensible as a targeted, secondary card: you pull it out to hit a welcome bonus if the offer is appealing, or to pay for a large Princess booking when the redemption math clearly works in your favor.

In practice, a three-card setup works well for many cruise-focused travelers. You might use a strong 2 percent cashback card for everyday spending, a flexible travel card for flights and hotels, and keep the Princess Visa in a drawer specifically for Princess purchases that you know you will offset with points at 1 cent each. Treating the Princess card as one tool among several, rather than your default for everything, will usually deliver far better overall value.

Stop Ignoring Better Ways to Discount Your Princess Cruise

Trusting the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa to be your primary discount mechanism can also lead you to overlook other, often richer ways to save on the exact same cruises. Many experienced passengers combine multiple strategies: shareholder onboard credit if they own Carnival Corporation stock, travel agency group rates with extra onboard credit, casino offers, and discounted Princess gift cards purchased through associations or warehouse clubs. Compared with these, the modest earnings rate of the Princess Visa quickly looks underwhelming.

For example, some U.S. organizations and membership programs periodically sell Princess gift cards at a 5 to 10 percent discount. A cruiser who purchases 2,000 dollars in gift cards at an 8 percent discount effectively saves 160 dollars instantly, before any credit card rewards enter the picture. If they use a 2 percent cashback card to buy those discounted cards, the total savings rise to about 200 dollars. That is the same as redeeming 20,000 Princess points without needing to accumulate any cruise-specific rewards at all.

Similarly, booking through a cruise-focused travel agency can often produce extra onboard credit or lower fares that dwarf what you earn on the Princess Visa. Agencies sometimes receive group space rates or limited-time offers, such as an extra 100 to 300 dollars per cabin in onboard credit for sailings in shoulder seasons like late April in Alaska or early December in the Caribbean. Stack that with shareholder onboard credit and a general cashback card, and the incremental benefit from putting the cruise on the Princess Visa instead is often marginal.

Casino offers are another major blind spot. Princess, like many lines, regularly markets discounted or highly subsidized sailings to players who earn points in the onboard casino. While gambling solely for rewards is risky and never advisable as a “strategy,” the reality is that many regular casino players receive invitations for low-fare or even “free” stateroom offers, paying only taxes, fees, and a required onboard credit deposit. For someone who already gambles for entertainment, these offers can make a bigger dent in total cruise costs than a year’s worth of 1x earnings on the Princess Visa. The lesson is not to start gambling just for deals, but to recognize that the credit card is only one piece of a much broader discount landscape and often not the most powerful one.

A Better Strategy: When to Use the Card and When to Put It Away

Getting better value from the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa does not mean canceling it outright. Instead, the key is to be ruthlessly selective about when you use it. Think of the card as a limited-purpose tool rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. If you receive a strong sign-up bonus with a low spending requirement and you already have a planned Princess cruise, it can make sense to put your cruise deposit and final payment on the card to trigger that bonus. Turning, say, 1,000 dollars of planned spending into a 200-dollar cruise or onboard credit bonus is perfectly reasonable.

Beyond that, the card can be useful for targeted Princess purchases where you have already calculated that the 2x earnings on direct Princess spend will be redeemed quickly and at full value. For instance, if you have a 2,400 dollar family Mediterranean cruise booked and know you will redeem 24,000 existing points for 240 dollars off the fare, then charging a couple hundred dollars of shore excursions to the card to generate more points may be sensible. The important part is that you are consciously matching the points you earn with a clear, high-value use instead of vaguely “saving them for someday.”

For all other spending, the smarter move is to default to your highest-yielding general card. That might be a flat 2 percent cashback card for simplicity, or a flexible travel card if you are comfortable redeeming through a bank portal or airline partners. Use that general card for flights to the departure port, pre- and post-cruise hotels, rental cars, dining, and day-to-day living expenses back home. Over a full year, this mix will usually leave you with more total travel value, even if fewer of your rewards are formally labeled “Princess points.”

It is also wise to periodically re-evaluate the card’s role as your cruising patterns change. If you find yourself taking more land-based trips, switching lines, or cruising less frequently in retirement, the appeal of a tightly co-branded cruise card generally falls. In those seasons of life, keeping the Princess Visa only as a fee-free backup card and leaning on flexible rewards elsewhere is often the best compromise.

The Takeaway

The Princess Cruises Rewards Visa is not a bad product, but it is easily misused. Treating it as an all-purpose card for everyday spending, redeeming points casually at low effective value, or ignoring better discount tools in favor of its branding are all habits that quietly erode the financial benefit of your travels. Each year, that can mean the difference between another inside cabin and finally upgrading to a balcony or mini-suite on your favorite ship.

If you love Princess and sail regularly, the card can have a place in your wallet as a specialty tool: hit a good welcome offer, charge large Princess purchases where you can redeem points promptly at around 1 cent each, and then put it away. For everything else, from daily groceries to flights to your embarkation port, lean on a stronger general rewards or cashback card. By stopping these common missteps and being deliberate about when you swipe which card, you will turn your loyalty into real savings instead of just a stack of branded plastic.

FAQ

Q1. Is the Princess Cruises Rewards Visa worth getting if I only cruise once every few years?

If you cruise Princess infrequently, the card is usually not worth using for everyday spending. You might open it briefly for a strong sign-up bonus tied to a specific cruise, then rely on a general cashback or travel card for most purchases. Infrequent cruisers often get more value from flexible rewards that can be used for flights, hotels, or non-cruise trips.

Q2. How much are Princess Cruises Rewards Visa points usually worth?

Princess points are typically worth about 1 cent each when redeemed against eligible Princess purchases, such as cruise fare or onboard credit. That means 10,000 points are roughly equal to 100 dollars. In contrast, some bank travel points can be worth 1.25 to 1.5 cents each for flights or hotel stays when redeemed strategically, which is why general travel cards can deliver better value overall.

Q3. Should I use the Princess Visa to pay for flights and hotels before my cruise?

In most cases, it is better to use a general travel card that offers bonus points on airfare and hotels and potentially higher redemption value for those categories. Flights and pre-cruise hotels are major travel expenses, and many travel cards provide 2x or 3x points plus useful protections like trip delay coverage. The Princess Visa usually earns just 1 point per dollar on these purchases, which is comparatively weak.

Q4. Is it smart to use the Princess Visa for all my household expenses to build up cruise points?

This strategy rarely maximizes value. Because the card generally earns only 1 point per dollar on everyday spending, you are effectively getting about a 1 percent return toward Princess travel. A simple 2 percent cashback card would double that return and give you the freedom to spend the cash on any cruise line or even non-travel expenses.

Q5. When does it actually make sense to use the Princess Visa?

The card makes sense when you have a specific Princess cruise planned, a clear high-value redemption in mind, and possibly a welcome bonus to earn. Charging your deposit and final payment to the card to hit a bonus worth 150 to 200 dollars in cruise credit can be reasonable. It can also be useful for targeted Princess purchases you know you will quickly offset with points at full value.

Q6. Are there better alternatives if I mostly travel by cruise?

Yes. Many cruise-focused travelers get better overall value from a combination of a 2 percent cashback card and a flexible travel rewards card. These can be used for flights, hotels, and other cruise lines as well. You can still book Princess cruises, but your rewards will not be locked into one brand and can often be redeemed at higher effective rates.

Q7. Do I lose anything by booking my Princess cruise with a travel agency instead of directly with the Princess Visa?

Booking through a reputable cruise-focused agency can actually add value, because agencies often have access to group rates or extra onboard credit. You can usually still pay with whatever credit card offers the best rewards, including a general travel card. In many cases, the extra agency perks plus stronger card rewards will beat the modest advantage of using the Princess Visa alone.

Q8. Can I combine Princess Visa rewards with other discounts like shareholder benefits or casino offers?

Yes, Princess typically allows multiple types of value to stack, subject to their current rules. You can, for example, receive shareholder onboard credit, use a casino offer with reduced cruise fare, and still redeem Princess Visa points to offset remaining costs. However, you should still compare what you would earn using other high-earning cards, because the incremental value of the Princess Visa may be small once other discounts are factored in.

Q9. Do Princess Visa points expire if I do not cruise often?

Program terms can change, so you should always check the latest official documentation. Historically, co-branded cruise card points have sometimes had expiration rules tied to account activity or a set number of years. If you are not cruising regularly, there is a risk that slow-accumulating points could lose value over time, which is another reason flexible bank points and cashback can be safer for infrequent cruisers.

Q10. Should I cancel my Princess Visa if I decide to stop using it for everyday spending?

Not necessarily. Because the Princess Visa generally has no annual fee, you can keep it open as a backup card or for targeted Princess purchases without incurring ongoing costs. Before closing it, consider the potential impact on your overall credit history and available credit. Many travelers simply stop everyday use, switch to stronger cards for most spending, and reserve the Princess Visa for occasional, clearly beneficial situations.