Carnival® World Mastercard®
Earn 20,000 Bonus FunPoints® After First Purchase or Balance Transfer
- Regular Purchase APR 13.99%, 18.99% or 23.99% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate
- Balance Transfer APR 13.99%, 18.99% or 23.99% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate
- Cash Advance APR 25.24% variable based on the Prime Rate
- Annual Fee None
- Credit Needed Excellent , Good
- Intro Purchase APR 0% for 6 months from account opening date for Carnival Cruise purchases
- Processing Network Mastercard
- Earn 20,000 Bonus FunPoints® after first purchase or balance transfer ($200 value)
- Earn 2X FunPoints® on purchases with Carnival
- Earn 1X FunPoints® on all other purchases
- 0% Promotional APR for 6 months on Carnival cruise bookings
- Receive 10% Statement Credit on a Carnival shore excursion when booking your cruise online
- Intro Purchase APR: 0% for 6 months from account opening date for Carnival Cruise purchases
- Regular Purchase APR: 13.99%, 18.99% or 23.99% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate
- Intro Balance Transfer APR: 0% for 15 months on transfers made 45 days from account opening date
- Balance Transfer APR: 13.99%, 18.99% or 23.99% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate
- Balance Transfer Transaction Fee: Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
- Cash Advance APR: 25.24% variable based on the Prime Rate
- Cash Advance Transaction Fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.
- Late Payment Penalty Fee: Up to $39
- Return Payment Penalty Fee: Up to $39
At A Glance
The Carnival® World Mastercard® is a handy co-branded card to keep in your pocket if you frequently vacation on cruise lines. It has no annual or foreign transaction fees and is a great balance transfer credit card for those who want to pay off debt while earning travel rewards.
Ideal for Those Who:
- Annually spend at least $2500 on Carnival or World’s Leading Cruise Lines ℠
- Plan on booking a cruise in the near future
- Want to earn FunPoints for a balance transfer
- Want a card with no annual fee
Carnival® World Mastercard® Review
To start, Carnival® World Mastercard® cardholders will immediately earn 20,000 FunPoints ($200 value) after making their first purchase or balance transfer. FunPoints can be redeemed for future cruise bookings, onboard experiences, for travel with partnered airlines and hotels, or gift cards. Purchases made with Carnival or partner cruise lines will earn 2X FunPoints, while all other purchases will have a return of 1X FunPoints.
Earning points can be challenging as Carnival purchases are the only reward category. This puts a bit of a damper on the card is redemption requires a minimum of 5,000 FunPoints and points expire after five years. But until you have enough points to redeem for freebies, the Carnival® World Mastercard® will put some money back into your pocket in the form of a 10% statement credit for booking Carnival shore excursion. A win-win considering that paying with your Carnival® World Mastercard® will also earn 2X FunPoints.
Carnival FunPoints
The value of FunPoints is about average with other retail rewards cards, but the individual will vary based on how you choose to redeem them. As expected, FunPoints hold the most value (between 1 and 1.5 cents) when used directly with Carnival Cruise Lines. Afterward, point value declines with gift card/certificate redemptions offering the lowest FunPoint value of 0.7 cents. Ultimately, while Carnival® World Mastercard® technically has other redemption options, the most lucrative use of earnings will be booking Carnival cruises.
0% Intro APR
The Carnival® World Mastercard® also offers two unique introductory APR offers which could greatly benefit the individual with intentions to book a cruise in the near future. For the first 6 months form the card’s opening date, cardholders can enjoy 0% APR on a Carnival cruise booking. That two-week luxury excursion becomes much more obtainable with this neat – albeit highly specific – introductory purchase APR. However, the truly remarkable intro offer lies with balance transfers.
New cardholders will have 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers – and while already a strong offering on its own – will also earn 1 FunPoint per dollar (up to $5000 max). It’s very rare to see actual rewards given for balance transfers and is easily one of the strongest selling points of the Carnival® World Mastercard®. If you begin your ownership of this card with a balance transfer, you could immediately find yourself with up to 25,000 FunPoints (a $250 value).
Should You Apply for the Carnival® World Mastercard®?
The Carnival® World Mastercard® doesn’t attempt to be a well-rounded credit card. Instead, it offers highly specific Carnival-related rewards that benefit the frequent cruiser. Unless the Carnival® World Mastercard® becomes your primary credit card, it could take a long while to accrue enough points to put a dent in your booking costs. Those who already utilize other rewards cards may find few opportunities to earn FunPoints through the Carnival® World Mastercard® if they are not booking cruises on a regular basis. As such, this card is a bad choice for those hoping to earn points to completely their cruise booking costs.
