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The points “game” has changed a lot over time. One of the biggest changes for us frequent floaters is the death stroke of value from the Chase Sapphire Reserve® no longer offering you the chance to book a cruise yielding 1.5 cents per point value as you could in the past.
This has, for me, altered the way I value these points. I still use them for all kinds of travel but as a cruise fan they are not, shall we say, a focus as they were in the past.
(All information about the Chase cards referenced in this post was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.)
One of the cards (well, I have three of them) I really love is the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card . Why? It offers 5X at office supply stores. Office Depot (OD) often offers Visa and Mastercard debit gift cards at a discount i.e. $15 back if you spend at least $300. Well if you buy nine (9) $200 cards in a single transaction, during the current sale as DOC highlights on his blog, even with card fees, they end up costing you less than face value, AND you are earning 5X Chase points for FREEEEEEE – said as Summer Hull a.k.a. Mommy Points. Before someone asks, the math on nine cards is $90 back on the transaction and $71.55 in card fees, saving you net $2.05 per card.
Now, I get that not everyone has the time, patience, or ability to use or dispose of thousands of dollars of gift cards, so this is clearly not for everyone. But there is a way for Celebrity Cruisers to save real cash on a booking by making many small payments.
As mentioned this week, the Visa cards are on sale at OD, and one of the “flavors” of gift cards offered is a “5 back” card. Well, those cards, when spent on Celebrity, yield 5% back to the gift card that you can spend later on whatever. The result, when paying with the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card , is at least another 5% cash back (or more, depending on how you spend your Chase points).
That is a real solid value and an easy way to save on making payments on your cruise, and a relatively painless way to unload these gift cards you purchased at less than face value! 2026 has become a challenge year for us points enthusiasts, so finding deals to save us cold hard cash is a win-win in my book. – René
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
