Carnival World Mastercard Review

Full Review of Carnival World Mastercard

Pros Explained

• Bonus Requires only a Modest Spending Requirement: To earn the 20,000 FunPoints bonus, you only have to make a single purchase or transfer a balance to the card. The bonus is worth $200 toward a Carnival Cruise.
• 10% Statement Credit for Select Carnival Shore Excursion Purchases: Purchases of shore excursions on Carnival.com prior to your cruise qualify for a 10% discount on the shore excursion package before taxes and fees. The 10% discount shows up on the same statement as your shore excursion purchase. Shore excursions booked elsewhere or through third-party companies do not qualify.
• Introductory 0% APR for Balance Transfers, with the Ability to Earn Points: This card offers an introductory 0% APR on balance transfers for 15 months as long as the transfers are made within 45 days of account opening. In addition, you earn 1 FunPoint per dollar transferred within the first 30 days, for up to 5,000 FunPoints. You do have to pay a balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the amount transferred, whichever is greater.
• Promotional 0% APR for Six Months on Carnival Cruise Bookings: The Carnival World Mastercard offers a 0% promotional APR on Carnival cruise bookings for six months. This can help you pay for your cruise interest-free as long as you pay the balance off before the introductory period expires.

Cons Explained

• Must Redeem Points on Large Carnival Purchases to Get Higher Redemption Value: In order to get the most value out of your FunPoints, you must redeem them for a statement credit on Carnival purchases of $1,500 to $5,000. This results in a 1.5 cents per FunPoint value. While it isn't difficult to spend at least $1,500 on a cruise, many people make payments on their cruise over time. If your payment isn’t at least $1,500, you won’t qualify for the higher redemption rate.
• Points Earning Rates Are Low: This card's points earning rates are low when you consider that you only earn 2 FunPoints per dollar spent on purchases with select cruise lines. All other purchases earn just 1 FunPoint per dollar spent. A 2% cash back credit card or a credit card that earns bonus points in the categories where you spend the most money would likely provide more rewards.
• Redeeming FunPoints for Non-cruise-related Expenses Results in a Lower Value: If you don’t redeem your FunPoints for a cruise on Carnival Cruise Line or World’s Leading Cruise Lines, your FunPoints will likely be worth less than a penny each. Combine this with the low points earning rates on this card and it isn’t hard to see how other credit cards can provide more value. 

This card is for Carnival Cruise Line fans who have to have a Carnival credit card in their wallet. The card’s points earning rates are low and it offers bonus points only on cruise-related purchases. A simple 2% cash back credit card could provide an equal or greater value, while offering more flexibility in redeeming your rewards. The exception is if you redeem the points you earn from qualifying cruise purchases for a Carnival cruise purchase of $1,500 or more. In this rare case, you’d get a 3% value from your purchases. 

Carnival World Mastercard's Bonus

You can earn 20,000 bonus FunPoints after making a single purchase or transferring a balance. The bonus will show up on the statement in which you earn the bonus. Additionally, you can earn 1 FunPoint for each dollar of balance transfers made within the first 30 days after your account is opened, up to a maximum of 5,000 FunPoints. 

The bonuses are intended for people who don’t currently have and have not previously had a Carnival Mastercard. If you receive a bonus you aren’t eligible for, Barclays U.S. may revoke the bonus or charge your account for the fair value of the bonus.

Rewards Earning Details

You earn 2 FunPoints per dollar spent on Carnival Cruise Line purchases as well as purchases with the brands of World’s Leading Cruise Lines. You’ll also earn 1 FunPoint per dollar spent on all other purchases.

There aren’t any limits to the number of FunPoints you can earn and they don’t expire. However, the program must continue and your credit card account must be open, active, and in good standing. To maintain eligibility for the program, your account can’t have been inactive for six billing cycles in a row. You cannot earn or redeem FunPoints during billing cycles where you fail to make the minimum payment due by the due date, your account becomes delinquent, or you are otherwise in default. You may forfeit your points if your account becomes seriously delinquent, you are in default, or your account is closed for any reason.

Rewards Redemption Details

You can redeem your FunPoints in many ways, but the highest value option is redeeming them for a statement credit for Carnival transactions of $1,500 up to $5,000. This option values your points at 1.5 cents per point. You can also redeem your FunPoints for a statement credit on Carnival purchases of $50 up to $1,499.99 as well as World’s Leading Cruise Line transactions at a 1 cent per point value. The minimum redemption option for statement credits is $50 and the maximum is $5,000 with $50 increments in between.

Other options include airline or hotel statement credits at a value of 0.9 cents per point, onboard amenities, gift certificates starting at a value of roughly 0.76 cents per point, and merchandise and travel redemptions through Loyalty Edge at varying rates.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

To maximize your rewards, make sure you put all your Carnival Cruise Line and World’s Leading Cruise Lines purchases on the card to earn 2 FunPoints per dollar. You will qualify for the bonus of 20,000 FunPoints after making your first purchase, as well. Once you have enough points to redeem for at least a $50 statement credit, redeem your points on a Carnival Cruise Line purchase of $1,500 to $5,000 to receive the higher 1.5 cents per FunPoint redemption rate.

Standard Benefits

• Discount on some shore excursions, via a 10% statement credit 
• No foreign transaction fee on international purchases

Cardholder Experience

Barclays US, which issues the Carnival World Mastercard, received a score of 796 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. This score is below average and they ranked ninth out of 11 issuers.

Barclays US offers FICO score access for accounts that have had activity in the last 150 days, are open and in good standing. If you have questions about your account, you can call 877-523-0478 or the number on the back of your card. Barclays U.S. also has a mobile app. Once logged in to your online banking account, you can also send a secure message.

Security Features

The Carnival World Mastercard has the standard security features you’d expect from a credit card. Additionally, it offers chip-and-PIN functionality, which can be useful in cruise ports that have unattended terminals that only accept such transactions. You can also temporarily lock or unlock your card for any reason.

Fees to Watch Out For

The fees on this credit card are fairly standard. On the plus side, it has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. However, it does charge for balance transfers—$5 or 3% of the amount, whichever is greater. Some other cards have introductory offers with no balance transfer fees.

Our Verdict

The Carnival World Mastercard can provide a little bit of value to loyal Carnival Cruise Line customers who put their cruise purchases on the card and then redeem their FunPoints for Carnival Cruise Line purchases of $1,500 to $5,000. Otherwise, you could earn more flexible rewards with a 2% cash back credit card or one with higher bonus levels in particular spending categories.