Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Insider Strategies for First-Class Cruise Perks Without the Premium Price
Wed, 07 May 2025
Is a cruise actually cheaper than a land vacation? Learn how to sail smarter and save big on your next getaway. Are cruises really a budget-friendly alternative to land vacations? What’s the best credit card to use for travel and Costco expenses? Hosts Meghan Coyle and Sally French discuss cruise travel, pricing strategies, and credit card hacks to help you understand how to get the most value out of your next vacation. But first, they break down the latest travel headlines, including Southwest Airlines’ newly rebranded fare classes and upcoming assigned seating; United Club’s updated lounge access rules; transfer bonuses from Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards; and a limited-time Hyatt-American Airlines promo for national parks glamping. Then, Meghan and Sally talk about cruise travel in 2025 and why it might be your smartest trip yet. They explore two brand-new ships — MSC World America and Norwegian Aqua — and break down how cruise vacations can be surprisingly cost-effective, especially when factoring in bundled perks like entertainment and dining. Sally shares additional knowledge from recent interviews, including veteran cruise reporter Matt Roseboom giving his best money-saving tips for cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line CMO Adam Malone offering insights on the unique value of cruise elite status. Plus: how to save with cruise-friendly credit cards, when to use general travel rewards versus co-branded cards, and how solo travelers can benefit from cruise line perks designed just for them. Card benefits, terms and fees can change. For the most up-to-date information about cards mentioned in this episode, read our reviews: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/southwest-rapid-rewards-priority World of Hyatt credit card: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/world-of-hyatt Chase Sapphire Reserve: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve Citi Costco Anywhere Visa® Card: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/costco-anywhere-visa Wells Fargo Active Cash: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/wells-fargo-active-cash Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/bankofamerica-cash-rewards Norwegian Cruise Line® World Mastercard®: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/norwegian-cruise-line-card Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/capital-one-venture-x Chase Freedom Flex card: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/chase-freedom-flex Resources discussed in this episode: Current Credit Card Transfer Bonuses: May 2025 https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/credit-card-transfer-bonuses Hyatt’s Under Canvas Offer: https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/offers/under-canvas-american-airlines.html?icamp=woh_undercanvasamericanairlinesoffer_Q22025_offerspage_en A First Look at MSC World America: A Family-Friendly Cruise https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/msc-world-america-review Norwegian Aqua Review: ‘Slidecoaster’ Steals the Show https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/ncl-aqua-review Icon of the Seas: Floating Bliss or a Horror at Sea? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/icon-of-the-seas-floating-bliss-or-a-horror-at-sea Which Is Cheaper: Disney World or a Disney Cruise? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/disney-cruise-cheaper-than-disney-world Cash Back Credit Cards https://www.nerdwallet.com/h/category/cash-back-credit-cards In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: how to save money on cruises, best cruise credit cards, travel credit cards for cruises, Norwegian Aqua review, MSC World America review, Virgin Voyages Brilliant Lady, Disney cruise vs Disney World, cruise vacation budget tips, best solo cruise lines, and credit cards with travel insurance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the latest travel news updates?
We are going to be talking about cruises, but first, the news. Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools, and tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Megan Coyle.
And I'm Sally French. And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip. As always, we'll talk about a few credit card companies that are nerd wallet partners in this episode, but that doesn't influence how we discuss them. The benefits, terms, and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can change.
Chapter 2: How can credit cards enhance your travel experience?
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One of these days, I'm really hoping to start the news section off with something other than bad news about Southwest, Megan. That day is not today, unfortunately. Southwest fares used to have fun names like Wanna Get Away, but now all the fare classes have boring names. Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra. And don't forget, the basic fare they introduced previously is still there.
The cheaper the fare you buy, the fewer seats you have to choose from when the assigned seating goes into effect.
And it's like happening kind of soon. The assigned seating is supposed to be available to book starting in the third quarter of 2025. Southwest cardholders and elite members will have the ability to pick a standard or in some cases preferred seat assignment within 48 hours of departure.
So this is like kind of an extra perk if you have a Southwest card or if you have elite status is now you can kind of get a free upgrade to some of the better seats that you have to pick.
On the bright side, having one of these cards can really make it seem like you're getting a lot of value out of holding them, especially for a relatively low annual fee. So the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card has a $149 annual fee, but it comes with an annual $75 Southwest Travel Credit.
and 7,500 rapid rewards points, while also now allowing holders access to things like that priority seating, even on the lowest fare classes.
If you are a Southwest Flyer, it seems like having one of the co-branded credit cards is almost a requirement to make it just a little better. Also, some other changes happening to airlines and airline cards. The United Club access changes went into effect last week. So if you have a United credit card that gets you one-time United Club passes every year, this change affects you.
It used to be that you could just give those passes to anyone. But now the primary cardholder or the authorized user must be present when you go to the lounge. And you also can't go for as long. You have to enter within three hours of your flight's departure time.
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Chapter 3: What are the must-see features of the MSC World America and Norwegian Aqua?
Oh, yeah. But no cruise photos on my account. Yet. I need to add some. I've been on a bunch of cruises because my grandma loves them. My whole family did one just last year in the Mediterranean on Princess Cruises.
That is so sweet. All right. So cruises are the topic of today's episode. We are diving into why 2025 is shaping up to be the year of cruising and why it might just be your smartest vacation yet.
But first, I want to hear about those ships you just checked out.
Oh, Megan, I can tell you. So these ships... The MSC World America from MSC Cruises and Norwegian Aqua from Norwegian Cruise Line have so much to do. They are filled with all sorts of tech innovations, just general design improvements. Now, both of the sailings I did were for the inaugural voyages of both ships.
Wow, that really worked out timing-wise.
Oh, it was absolutely perfect. So I will say because it was the inaugural voyage, you cannot just book these on cash. These were invite-only trips reserved for people like crew staff, travel agents, people who work on the ship, and media like me. So just to be transparent, when I talk about my sailings on both of these ships, I did not pay for these as I was invited media.
Secondly, these ships were not nearly at full capacity. So my experience might also be different from future sailings on these ships. Good to know. So what were your highlights? On the MSC World America, I loved how much there was to do. And it makes sense. The ship is huge. It has capacity for nearly 7,000 guests. That is not even including the crew, which is more than 2,000 people.
That's absolutely giant. It's in the ranks of the largest cruise ships in the world. Definitely not the largest as... Royal Caribbean holds that title.
Ooh, who can forget Royal Caribbean's infamous Icon of the Seas, which has capacity for about 7,600 people. But clearly, MSC World America is not far behind.
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Chapter 4: Is a cruise cheaper than a land vacation?
To be fair, that's becoming more common in businesses on land too. Like that's happened to me at a hotel recently.
Absolutely. So these little charges can happen anywhere. I do like that unless you opt for those extra services like the spa that I did. You do, when booking a cruise, have a clear sense of the overall upfront costs at booking.
And to add on to that, with cruises, you typically pay once and you're done. So that means no awkward Venmo requests from your cousin who owes you for dinner.
Yeah, I hate that.
Oh, and also I kind of like the theme cruises. I'm very interested. I've seen cruises for themes like Star Trek, Comic-Con, Hallmark movies, Broadway. Like just anything you want, you can find it on a cruise.
Last year, I wrote about a Taylor Swift cruise.
Truly a cruise for every fandom.
For sure, and the experts agree. So while I was sailing, I met up with my friend Matt Roseboom. He is publisher of Attractions Magazine. They cover theme parks and all sorts of other family entertainment, including cruises. He's been reporting on this stuff for over a decade now, and I got some tips from him. All right, let's hear it. So you cover all sorts of entertainment and family attractions.
Why do people like cruising?
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Chapter 5: What new ships are launching in the cruise industry?
World points are worth one cent each, and you can redeem them for stateroom upgrades, travel discounts, onboard credits, last-minute cruises, car rentals, hotel stays, cashbacks. So this card is best for Norwegian cruise line fans. If you don't cruise with them, you probably won't have much to use those points on.
But if you do, you can earn quite a bit Even on non-Norwegian purchases, this card is part of Bank of America's Preferred Rewards Program. With that, cardholders can earn bonuses between 25% and 75% more on the base earning of one point per dollar. So basically, depending on how much money you have with the bank, you are grouped into a tier.
Of course, the more money you have in a Bank of America deposit or Merrill investment account, the bigger the bonus.
And just to give you an idea of the tiers, to get into that top tier with the 75% bonus, you need to have a minimum of $100,000 with the bank.
Definitely not attainable for many people, but it can make sense if you have, say, an investment account with Merrill. If you do and you pay for your cruise with this card, Megan, you are looking at a 5.25% return. That's if you are booking with Norwegian Cruise Line.
That's incredible to see on a no annual fee card. Bank of America has a bunch of cards that participate in this preferred rewards program, so I'd recommend checking those out.
Good tips. All right, moving on from credit cards, you can also save money by earning elite status on cruises. It's similar to hotel and airline elite status, but here is a benefit you will find on most cruise lines. Your elite status never expires.
So nice. It's always so stressful trying to re-up the status with airlines and hotels.
I know. So there are a few exceptions to the no expiration date on cruises like Disney Cruise Line. Actually, a couple of years ago, they changed their elite status policy for the worse. Now, status expires after five years of inactivity. So that's still better than what you'll see on most hotels or airlines.
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Chapter 6: How do cruise packages offer better value than expected?
So just know your vibe and especially like research the ship itself, not even the whole line, but each ship and see what's going on and what you vibe with.
Yeah, I think her advice is sound, no matter whether you're traveling solo or with a group. There are a ton of different cruise lines out there, so if you want the best experience, do your research and find one that fits the vacation vibe you're looking for.
Exactly right. All right, let's cruise on over to a listener question. This one comes from Colleen in Minnesota.
She says, we have the Amex card to get Delta points, but we shop at Costco a lot. What would be a good card for that since they don't take Amex?
Ooh, hitting us up with a Costco question, Colleen, just when I professed my love for Costco sheet cake last week.
I'm partial to the hot dog and drink for $1.50 personally, but this is a great question. Trying to maximize your savings by buying in bulk and earning travel rewards.
But this one is tricky since Delta cards are issued by Amex and Costco only accepts Visa if you want to pay with a credit card. I would say go with a cashback card and just use that money to either pay for a Delta flight in cash or just save that money to pay for any old everyday expense.
There's the Citi Costco Anywhere Visa card. It earns 2% back at Costco, which is surprisingly meh since the best co-branded cards offer 3% or more at the actual brand.
But hey, it earns 4% on gas on up to $7,000 per year, so it might be good if you're a big spender on gas.
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