Norwegian Cruise Line® World Mastercard® overview
The Norwegian Cruise Line® World Mastercard® is designed to reward frequent NCL cruisers with discounts, onboard credits and free cruises. The card is attractive because there are no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees, but it lacks other attractive benefits. Card rating*: ⭐⭐½
*The card rating is based on the opinion of the TPG editorial staff and is not influenced by the card issuer.
The NCL credit card, issued by Bank of America, has no annual fee and typically requires a good credit score of at least 670 for approval. Fans of Norwegian appreciate the cruise line for its “freestyle cruising” aspect, especially the lack of strict dining schedules, dress codes and formal evenings.
However, if your goal is to get a free cruise by signing up for the NCL credit card, it will cost a lot of money. This is because the bonus categories are not compelling enough to make it an everyday spending card.
Let’s take a closer look at the Norwegian Cruise Line credit card to see if it could make sense for you.
Norwegian Cruise Line credit card information is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been verified or provided by the card issuer.
Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard welcome offer
The Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard currently offers a 25,000 point sign-up bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. The 25,000 points are worth $250 in onboard credit.
This welcome bonus is in line with what you can generally expect on a no-annual-fee card that requires $1,000 or less in spending. However, you can normally get a much better value from the welcome bonus on most general travel credit cards, especially if you’re willing to pay an annual fee of around $100.
Related: Credit card sign up bonuses you can earn with a spend of $1,000 or less
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Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard Benefits
The NCL credit card has few advantages. The two big highlights are no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees. The lack of foreign transaction fees is useful for those who regularly make purchases outside the US, such as when traveling by Norwegian cruise ship. Many cards that offer this benefit have an annual fee, so that’s a point in favor of the World Mastercard.
However, the card lacks the travel and shopping protections that many other travel credit cards have; such protections include travel delay insurance, lost or delayed baggage protection, trip cancellation insurance, extended warranty or purchase protection. These protections can come in handy if you experience travel difficulties, although you can purchase standalone insurance policies if you don’t have a credit card that offers them.
Cardholders receive some benefits under the card’s World Mastercard label. This includes a free ShopRunner membership and cell phone protection with up to $1,000 in annual coverage (up to two claims per year, for up to $600 per claim, $50 deductible) if your phone is damaged or stolen.
Related: 6 valuable travel benefits you can get with a credit card
Earn points with the Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard
With the NCL credit card you earn WorldPoints, which are completely different from the Latitude Rewards points you can earn through Norwegian’s loyalty program.
The earning rates on the NCL credit card are slightly better than competing cruise cards, such as the Carnival World Mastercard and the Royal Caribbean Visa Signature Credit Card. NCL cardholders earn 3 WorldPoints for every dollar spent on Norwegian purchases, 2 WorldPoints per dollar spent on eligible airline tickets and hotel purchases and 1 WorldPoint per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Plus, if you’re a member of Bank of America Preferred Rewards, you can earn 25% to 75% more points on every purchase, applied to the base earning point of 1 point per dollar.
Both the Carnival Cruise Credit Card and the Royal Caribbean Credit Card offer only 2 points per dollar spent on their cruise lines and only 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases, with no bonus points on airline tickets and hotel purchases like the NCL Credit Card. The ability to earn more as a Preferred Rewards member means you can earn points just a little faster with the NCL Credit Card.
Still, there are many other credit cards that earn more bonus points when spending in specific categories, such as travel, dining, gas and groceries. This is probably not a card to use for everyday spending as it will take a long time to earn a substantial number of points.
Norwegian Cruise Line credit card points expire five years from the month in which they are earned, regardless of activity.
The data for the Carnival Cruise Credit Card and the Royal Caribbean Credit Card was collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been verified or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Should You Get a Cruise Line Credit Card? Here’s a closer look
Redeem points on the Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard
You can redeem your WorldPoints for onboard credit, cabin upgrades, cruise discounts, free cruises, car rentals, hotel stays, cash rewards and gift cards. Redemption starts at 2,500 points.
Redeeming for cruise discounts and onboard credit is easy with the NCL credit card, with rewards worth 1 cent per point. You can redeem just 5,000 WorldPoints for $50 onboard credit or 10,000 points for $100 off a cruise ($50 per person).
Free cruise redemptions are offered at a flat rate (rather than a dollar to points conversion). Currently, free cruise redemptions start at 80,000 points for an inside cabin on a three- or four-night Bahamas cruise for two people. Redemption of points includes all applicable government taxes, port charges and fees.
To redeem your points, you can log into your account on the Bank of America website and select the Rewards tab, or you can call Norwegian at 1-866-954-4077.
Which cards compete with the Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard?
Even if you’re a cruise enthusiast, you’ll likely get more value from a credit card with cash back or general travel rewards, such as one of the following three:
- If you want to earn more points on your travel purchases: View the American Express® Green Card. It earns 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar on travel purchases, including cruises. This means you earn bonus points for the cruise booking and for any airfare or hotel purchases you make to get to and from your cruise. The card has a $150 annual fee, but also includes several travel protections and has annual statement credits for Clear Plus and LoungeBuddy. For more information, read our full review of the Amex Green.
- To earn flexible rewards: Attempted Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It charges a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees) and has an earning rate of at least 2 miles per dollar on all purchases. Miles earned can be transferred to airlines and hotel programs, redeemed for airline tickets, hotels and rental cars through the Capital One travel portal, or redeemed as statement credit for travel purchases such as cruises. It also comes with a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. To learn more, read our full review of the Venture Rewards Card.
- If you want a fixed earning rate with no annual fees: The Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) earns 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay your bill (for a total of 2% cash back on all your purchases). The card does have a 3% foreign transaction fee, so you’ll want to use an alternative card for purchases outside the US. To learn more, read our full Double Cash review.
For additional options, see our lists of the best credit cards with cash back and general travel rewards.
Related: The best credit cards for booking cruises
The information for the American Express Green Card is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been verified or provided by the card issuer.
Is the Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard worth it?
If you only go on a Norwegian cruise once a year and charge your NCL credit card, the points won’t add up quickly. For example, a $5,000 cruise only earns 15,000 points. Major cruise publishers may find the card slightly more attractive.
In short
With the Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard, you can save money on your cruise purchases and even earn free cruises – if you can spend enough on the card before the points expire.
However, frequent cruise travelers may be better off signing up for a general travel card to earn a big welcome bonus, or using a card that offers more points per dollar for everyday spending. You will be on your way to a free cruise much faster.
Click here for Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card rates and fees.
