How to Benefit from a Cruise Ship Casino

There are three easy ways that you can really benefit from a cruise ship casino, and they have absolutely nothing to do with gambling!

1.  Free ATM Machine

On the majority of cruise lines, passengers are able to use their on board charge card to purchase
chips to use in the casino. These chips can then be exchanged for cash at any time. If you need
some cash to spend while you are in port, you could always buy the amount you need in casino
chips and then change them over to cash in the casino. As a result, you will avoid any of the high
fees that you would have to pay at the ship’s ATM or at an ATM on land in a foreign country. (Just
remember that the casinos are only open when the ship is in international waters, so plan ahead
and get your cash the day before you arrive into port.)

2.  Free Loan

Now take a moment to think about the above scenario, but on a larger scale. What if you took out
$1500 (which is usually the maximum that cruise lines allow per day) worth of chips a few days in a
row? As you do not pay any fees for these transactions on most cruise lines, you could use this
cash as a ‘free mini-loan’ with 0% interest. You can then spend the money either during your
vacation or even when you get home and you will not have to pay anything back until you receive
your next credit card bill (with your cruise charges included. The amount you must pay will never
increase and you'll avoid the very high cash advance interest rates that most credit card companies
charge.

4.  Free Points & Miles

Even if you don’t need a mini-loan, there is still great benefit to doing the above in large amounts.
If you have a credit card that earns ‘points’ or ‘frequent flyer miles’, this method allows you to rack
up those points quite quickly, and some even offer double points if your card is affiliated with the cruise line. You can take out a large sum of money on board in the form of casino chips and the exchange it for cash as mentioned above. Once you get home, you then put the money into your bank account until your credit card bill arrives. Pay off your credit card bill using the same money you had borrowed and you will now have earned several thousand extra frequent flyer miles without spending a penny. You can earn a completely free round trip ticket by doing this once!

Please note: Although these are 3 great ways to get some extra benefits from a ship’s casino, check with the cruise line before attempting and make sure that there are no fees for any of the mentioned transactions. Rules can change quite often and cruise lines which currently do not charge any fees may do so in the future. Other than that, enjoy the benefits!

Contact us at Travel, Tours & Cruises to plan your next vacation getaway.