How to book a cruise using points and miles

If you’re eager to embark on a cruise and have accumulated points or miles over time, you might not have to pay for your next trip.Here, we’ll explore strategies to optimize your points and miles, leverage loyalty programs and score a discount on your cruise fare. Leveraging these strategies can help you unlock significant savings on your next cruise.Here are the top ways to use your points and miles to book a cruise.Related: A beginners guide to picking a cruise lineShould you book a cruise with points and miles?ROYAL CARIBBEANWhile various options are available for redeeming your points and miles toward a cruise, it is important to note that the value you receive may not always be optimal (i.e., below TPG’s monthly valuations). In the realm of travel rewards, there are often more lucrative opportunities to leverage your points and miles for flights or hotel stays, with higher value and more flexibility.If you have American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles or Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you’ll often receive a redemption value of 1 per point or mile for cruises. In this case, you’d get $100 off your cruise fare by redeeming 10,000 points or miles. While this might seem high, it falls short compared to the value some travelers get when redeeming points and miles for luxury hotels or business-class flights.Some cruise lines offer their own credit cards, while others have formed partnerships with established brands. For example, Marriott Bonvoy members can redeem 180,000 points for a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise, resulting in $1,000 in savings. However, these partner options are often limited and might require loyalty to a specific travel brand.You can always use points or miles to reduce travel expenses for any cruise vacation. For example, you can use Amex Membership Rewards points, Bilt Points, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Citi ThankYou Rewards points and Wells Fargo Rewards points to cover costs associated with airfare or hotels you may need to book in conjunction with your cruise. This often proves to be a better use of your rewards.However, if you want to use your accumulated points or miles to reduce your cruise costs, here are several ways to book a cruise with them.Book a cruise with credit card points and milesYou can use certain credit card points and miles to book a cruise. Typically, you’re required to make the reservation through the portal provided by your credit card issuer; however, some issuers may require you to call a booking center. You might also be able to charge the cruise to your card and then redeem your rewards for a statement credit against some (or all) of that purchase.Here’s how to book a cruise on points and miles with several major credit card companies.American Express Membership RewardsNorwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Viva. NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINEIf you have an eligible American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points, you can use those points to cover the cost of your cruise through the Pay with Points program. With this program, you can redeem Membership Rewards points at a value of 0.5 to 0.7 cents per point for most travel purchases.However, TPG values Membership Rewards points at 2 cents each (per our April 2026 valuations) when you maximize the program’s transfer partners. So, you would use them at a lower value if you use Pay with Points.The American Express Travel portal has a user-friendly search feature that allows you to explore different cruises based on specific filters such as date, destination, cruise line and trip duration, even before you log in.AMERICAN EXPRESSTo book a cruise using Pay with Points, log into the travel portal and do the following:Select your preferred cruise itinerary and cabin.Enter your passenger information.When it’s time to check out, enter your Membership Rewards-enrolled American Express card information and select “Yes” to determine how many Membership Rewards points your account has.Pay for the entire cruise using Pay with Points, or pay a portion of the cost with points and the rest with cash.Alternatively, you can look up the cruise you want and call 800-297-5627 to book directly with the Amex Travel team over the phone.Related: The best credit cards for booking cruisesChase Ultimate RewardsThe Chase Travel℠ portal is similar to Amex Travel, but the redemption value may be higher, depending on which card you earned the Ultimate Rewards points from:Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) and Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (see rates and fees): For cardholders who applied before June 23, 2025, redeem for 1.5 cents on all non-Points-Boost Chase Travel purchases (on points earned prior to Oct. 26, 2025, and redeemed until Oct. 26, 2027, then 1 cent thereafter). For cardholders who applied on or after June 23, 2025, redeem for 1 cent apiece on all non-Points-Boost Chase Travel purchases.Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees): For cardholders who applied before June 23, 2025, redeem for 1.25 cents on all non-Points-Boost Chase Travel purchases (on points earned prior to Oct. 26, 2025, and redeemed until Oct. 26, 2027, then 1 cent apiece thereafter). For cardholders who applied on or after June 23, 2025, redeem for 1 cent per point on all non-Points-Boost Chase Travel purchases.Eligible cardmembers can now book cruises online through Chase Travel and apply their Ultimate Rewards points to pay for the cruise, usually at a rate of one cent per point, though this may be higher depending on when and through which card the points were earned, as noted above.CHASEIf you have any difficulties doing this, or if you’re looking for a more unusual itinerary than the search results initially show, you may wish to call a Chase cruise specialist directly at 866-331-0773. Cruise advisers are available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.Your cruise adviser can set up an itinerary for you, and, upon checkout, they will ask you how many points you want to apply against your final balance.Citi ThankYou RewardsWhile you cannot redeem your Citi ThankYou Rewards points through the Citi Travel portal to book a cruise, you can redeem your points to purchase gift cards with select cruise lines such as Carnival, Holland America, Princess Cruises and Virgin Experiences. Note that redemption rates may vary by brand, but you can find up to 1 cent per point for some gift card redemptions, such as Carnival.Capital One milesCapital One offers more flexibility and a more straightforward redemption process than Amex and Chase. Unless you transfer your miles to an airline or hotel partner, each mile is worth a flat 1 cent toward travel.Redeeming miles doesn’t require booking through a portal, which frees you up to book your cruise directly with the company or via a travel agent to get extra perks. This option also allows you to pursue promotional package rates or discounts that may not be available through the Amex or Chase portals.The award redemption process is straightforward: Use the card when paying for your cruise package, then log into your account and select the “Cover your travel purchases” option to apply your mileage balance as a credit toward the total amount due on your credit card statement.You can earn Capital One miles with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Each has varying features, so do some research to decide which card is best for you.Related: Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Venture X: Worth the extra $300 in annual fees?Book a cruise with airline milesYou can also book cruises using some airline loyalty programs, such as United MileagePlus and American Airlines AAdvantage. However, you’re only likely to receive around 0.7 cents per mile or 1 cent per mile, respectively, in value this way — well below our valuation of these airline miles.Use points from cruise line cobranded credit cards to bookWith cruise line cobranded credit cards, you can earn points for purchases that you can then use to offset the cost of your cruise booking. However, this might not be your best option for earning and redeeming points.Here, you’ll want to be sure you can use your points toward the cruise fare instead of only for onboard purchases. For instance, with the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature® Credit Card (no longer available), you can redeem 25,000 points toward your companion’s cruise fare on a three- or four-night Royal Caribbean cruise, subject to certain conditions (like, for example, that the value does not exceed $500). Learn more about how to redeem MyCruise rewards points here.The information for the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.Redeem Marriott Bonvoy pointsCAMERON SPERANCE/THE POINTS GUYThe Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection participates in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. Members can redeem points on Ritz-Carlton cruises and enjoy elite status perks on voyages.You can redeem at least 180,000 points toward a flat $1,000 savings on the cruise fare. After that, you can redeem increments of 90,000 points toward $500 in savings, up to the entire cruise fare. This redemption rate is approximately 0.56 cents per Marriott point, which is below TPG’s April 2026 valuation of 0.75 cents per point.Related: Best ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy points: From hotel stays and credit card spending to travel partnersAdditionally, Marriott Bonvoy’s Cruise with Points program allows you to cash in Marriott points for credit toward any cruise that’s bookable on the Cruise with Points website.You can redeem points in the following denominations, all valued at 0.4 cents per point:63,000 points for $250 off your cruise fare125,000 points for $500 off250,000 points for $1,000 off625,000 points for $2,500 off1,250,000 points for $5,000 offTo redeem Marriott points for a cruise, call 800-596-0452.Redeem Hilton Honors pointsHilton and Explora Journeys just unveiled a luxury ocean‑travel partnership with the launch of Hilton Honors Adventures. Travelers will have to wait until summer 2026 to start earning and redeeming their Hilton Honors points on Explora trips. But, effective immediately and through June 7, Hilton Honors loyalty program members get a limited‑time preview of the partnership with a curated set of 16 Explora Journeys itineraries. These include up to $400 in Journey Experience Credits (and $200 on other voyages), an in‑suite welcome gift and 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points per suite.By summer 2026, members will be able to earn and redeem Hilton points on Explora Journeys across regions, from the Mediterranean to Alaska, although the redemption rates have not yet been announced.Related: Explora Journeys cruise ship review: Setting a new bar for luxury at seaBottom lineIt isn’t always easy to get great value for your points and miles when you use them toward cruise redemptions — at least, not the way you can with premium cabin flights. However, redeeming your points and miles for free or discounted cruise travel is possible.That said, if you want to redeem your rewards for maximum value, it is best to avoid using airline miles or hotel points for cruises. Those are better used on flights and overnight stays.It’s a similar story for credit card currencies. Capital One offers the most flexibility of all the major issuers because you can book your cruise directly or through a travel agent. With multiple booking options, you can take advantage of additional perks and access promotional rates from travel agents and online retailers that aren’t available through credit card portals. You could even stack those deals for additional savings by booking via an airline portal to earn miles.Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruiseA quick guide to the most popular cruise linesTop ways cruisers waste moneyThe ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabinEditorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.