I appreciate all the advice on AK cruises so far! Looks like we did identify one on NCL that works for us, so we are checking some details and may book today or.tomorrow for Aug 2020.
Someone mentioned you can book direct with the cruise line.and then transfer the booking to Chase to apply UR. Can anyone share details about how I would go about that? And tips or potential pitfalls?
So this was my rationale for using the approach of booking with RCCL and then transferring to Chase.
I have Arrival + points that I wanted to use to offset the cost of the cruise.
So...
step 1- booked with RCCL and put the deposit on my Arrival +
(Erased the $750 deposit with Arrival + points)
Step 2- called Chase Travel a couple of weeks later (RCCL allows you transfer until 60 days from booking) and said I wanted to transfer by RCCL booking to them. At this point, I was very clear with that I did NOT want to PIF until it was due. She said that they always require some sort of payment at time of transfer. I was again very clear that that was not the RCCL policy and that with previous reservations I did not need to do that. (This part I kind of made up about previous reservations but I do know that is how it works with other travel agencies.) She said she would need to check with her manager.
Step 3- Chase completed the transfer the next day and called to ask for payment. I reminded the TA that I wanted to pay when it was due in Dec and she work check with her supervisor.
step 4- TA called back to say that it was approved as a one-time courtesy.
If I had been denied the Dec payment, I would have just PIF at that time since I had the URs available. So be prepared to make payment, if needed. You only get one shot to pay with URs so you want to get the most bang for your URs. If I didn’t have the Arrival + points I wanted to use, it would have been cheaper to book directly via Chase and use URs for the full cost since I would have received 1.5x for using my CSR. So just something to keep in mind if you are planning to cover the deposit in another manner.
Any questions, please let me know.