The ultimate guide to redeeming your points for cruises

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Cruises may be popular for spring break travel and beyond, but they’re one of the worst ways to redeem your points.

While you can redeem all kinds of rewards for cruises, including airline miles and hotel points from some programs, most options won't give you a great per-point value. For instance, you can redeem Delta SkyMiles for cruises at a rate of around just 0.4 cents per mile, whereas they're generally worth around 1.25 cents per mile when you redeem for airfare.

If you want to cover all or part of a cruise with rewards, your best bet is redeeming points through a travel portal, cashing in for cruise gift cards, or paying outright and then redeeming rewards for travel credit. Not all cards and programs offer all these options, however, so you'll want to be strategic when it comes to using points for your next sailing.

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Most flexible rewards programs offer a way to redeem points for cruises directly, although you may not get the best possible value for doing so. For example, redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points for cruises will only get you around 0.7 cents per point in value, which is considerably less than you can get with premium airfare redemptions through a transfer partner (up to 2 cents per point in value or more in some cases).

That said, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are currently worth 1 cent apiece for cruise bookings, and they're redeemable with most major cruise lines. You can even book many cruises directly online through Chase Travel now, whereas you used to have to call in and book over the phone.

Some flexible rewards programs don't let you book cruises directly but let you redeem rewards for cruise gift cards instead. For example, you can redeem Citi ThankYou points for gift cards from major cruise lines like Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America, and Princess Cruises. You can also redeem Capital One miles for gift cards from Carnival Cruise Lines.

Chase Ultimate Rewards also has quite a few gift card options from cruise lines to choose from if you prefer to go that route, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America, and Princess Cruises.

The value isn’t amazing, though: Gift card redemptions typically hover around 1 cent per point, max.

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Some flexible rewards currencies (like Chase Ultimate Rewards) let members redeem their points for statement credits at a rate of 1 cent per point. This won’t deliver premium-cabin value, but it’s simple and flexible.

Capital One miles are also useful when it comes to paying for a cruise and reimbursing yourself later. You can redeem them for statement credits toward travel purchases at a rate of 1 cent per mile within 90 days of purchase. This means you can redeem 50,000 Capital One miles for $500 off your cruise after the fact, 75,000 Capital One miles for $750 off, and so on.

If you want to stretch your rewards as far as possible, a better strategy might be to avoid redeeming points for the cruise itself. Instead, transfer your flexible points to airline and hotel programs to pay for flights to your departure port and pre- or post-cruise stays. One-night hotel stays can be a great way to maximize certain card benefits like annual statement credits, too.

Not only do you have a better chance at getting outsized value out of your points this way, but this strategy also gives you more flexibility. You can shop around for the best cruise fare with cash — potentially stacking discounts, onboard credits, and promotions — while still significantly reducing your overall trip cost by covering flights and hotels with points.

If simplicity matters most, use a portal or statement credit to pay for cruises with points. If maximizing value is the goal, use points for your flights and hotels instead.

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