How Royal Caribbean’s New $99 Credit Card Makes TSA PreCheck and Global Entry “Free”

Royal Caribbean just rolled out two new credit cards with major cruise perks.  One has no annual fee, and one costs $99/year but offers travel perks that easily pay for itself.

Most travelers looking for a credit card that offers Global Entry or TSA PreCheck have to settle for a card that costs at least $250 to $500 for the annual fee. 

Royal Caribbean Group just lowered that bar to entry.

Frequent cruising usually also means frequent flying.  And any opportunity you can skip those lines for a better experience (or to actually make it to your plane on time) should be taken.

I’ve stood in enough customs lines to know how Global Entry in itself can be worth every penny of that $120 fee.

The New Credit Cards: Royal One vs. Royal One Plus

Royal Caribbean and Bank of America have introduced two tiers of credit cards designed to offer perks and rewards for cruisers of Royal Caribbean Group’s three brands: Royal Caribbean. Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.

The Royal One Plus ($99 Annual Fee)

This is the premium version of the card, and for most travelers, the $99 fee pays for itself pretty easily.

Here’s what you get with Royal One Plus:

• TSA PreCheck/Global Entry Credit: You get a $120 statement credit every four years. Since the credit is higher than the annual fee, the card essentially pays for itself (plus a $21 bonus you can spend on something more fun and cruise ship related).
• $200 Anniversary Reward: Each year you hit the qualifying spend ($20,000), you get a $200 cruise discount, effectively doubling your “money back” on the annual fee.  If you cruise a lot you can use this card on Royal Caribbean cruises for a 4x on points and that $20k should be very reachable.
• Priority Everything: This card grants you Priority Suite Boarding and Priority Luggage Handling.  Getting a “skip the line” fast pass to get on the ship sooner just for having this card is a big perk for most cruisers.   
• Earning Power: You earn 4X points per $1 on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silversea, and 2X points on airfare, hotels, and dining.
• EV Charging Points: Since many major cruise ports like PortMiami, Port Canaveral, and Port of Galveston have their own EV charging stations in parking garages, you can effectively earn 2X points while on the cruise ship with your car still in port.

The Royal One (No Annual Fee)

For those who want a simple, no-cost way to earn rewards, the entry-level card still offers some solid “VIP” perks.

• $100 Anniversary Reward: You still get a $100 cruise discount after the qualifying annual spend of $10,000 in the year.
• Priority Boarding: Even without the annual fee, you get access to priority boarding for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity but not priority luggage.
• Earning Power: You’ll earn 3X points on cruise purchases and 2X points on everyday essentials like groceries, gas, and EV charging, just like the Royal One Plus card.

How it Compares to Carnival’s Card

Carnival Corp. has also updated its credit card perks recently.  But it’s different from what Royal Caribbean is offering in a few different ways.

The Carnival Rewards Mastercard remains a no-annual-fee card, which is great for budget-conscious travelers who want to avoid yearly costs entirely.

The big difference with this card from Carnival is that this year is the introduction of “Status Qualifying Stars.” This system allows you to earn actual cruise loyalty status, like Platinum or Diamond, through your everyday credit card spending rather than just nights at sea.

This causes a major uproar when it was first announced and some realized they would lose their status, but time will tell how loyal cruisers end up liking the program.

The Carnival card offers 3X points on Carnival purchases, 2X points at restaurants and groceries, and 1X on everything else.

Carnival also offers a perk of $200 onboard credit once you earn 20,000 Fun Points.

While it’s a great card for climbing the loyalty ladder without a fee, it doesn’t offer some of the travel perks that Royal Caribbean is offering like Global Entry/TSA Precheck or priority luggage and boarding.

Bottom Line

Overall, this is a pretty big deal for any cruise traveler who sails with Royal Caribbean often.  4X points on Royal Caribbean purchases alone make this a no-brainer as that $99 fee will easily be a net positive.

Both Royal Caribbean cards also promise onboard credit and cruise discounts on all three of the cruise company’s brands, in addition to Visa Signature Benefits like Trip Delay expense reimbursement, Lost Luggage reimbursement, and Trip Cancellation & interruption coverage.