We earn commissions from featured brands, which impact the order and presentation of listings
Advertising Disclosure

This website is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).

This website does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace. This website may use other proprietary factors to impact card offer listings on the website such as consumer selection or the likelihood of the applicant’s credit approval.

This allows us to maintain a full-time, editorial staff and work with finance experts you know and trust. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides in our articles or otherwise impacts any of the editorial content on The Smart Investor.

While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, The Smart Investor does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof.

Learn more about how we review products and read our advertiser disclosure for how we make money. All products are presented without warranty.

Search
Credit Cards » Credit Card Reviews » Carnival World Mastercard Credit Card Review (2024)

Carnival World Mastercard Credit Card Review (2025)

The carnival MasterCard is good if you want a travel card with 0% intro APR. If you don't need a 0% intro - there are better alternatives
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Interest Rates Last Update: January 1, 2025
The banking product interest rates, including savings, CDs, and money market, are accurate as of this date.
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Interest Rates Last Update: January 1, 2025

The banking product interest rates, including savings, CDs, and money market, are accurate as of this date.

We earn a commission from our partner links on this page. It doesn't affect the integrity of our unbiased, independent editorial staff. Transparency is a core value for us, read our advertiser disclosure and how we make money.

Carnival World Mastercard

Carnival World Mastercard review

Rewards Plan

1x – 2x 2x FunPoints for every dollar spent with Carnival Cruises and World Leading Cruise Lines brands and 1x FunPoints on all other purchases

Welcome Bonus

25,000 FunPoints 25,000 FunPoints after spending $500 in the first 90 days

Credit Rating

Good – Excellent

0% Intro

15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening

Annual Fee

$0

APR

19.74% – 29.99%
Carnival World Mastercard

Carnival World Mastercard review

Rewards Plan

1x – 2x 2x FunPoints for every dollar spent with Carnival Cruises and World Leading Cruise Lines brands and 1x FunPoints on all other purchases

Welcome Bonus

25,000 FunPoints 25,000 FunPoints after spending $500 in the first 90 days

0% Intro

15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening

PROS

CONS

APR

19.74% - 29.99%

Annual Fee

$0

Balance Transfer Fee

5% or $5, whichever is greater

Credit Requirements

Good - Excellent

While the Carnival World Mastercard may not have the most generous rewards program, it can be a great option for those who frequently cruise with Carnival. To get the most value out of the card, you’ll want to be taking a few cruises each year. You can also redeem your rewards as statement credit for your cruise purchases. Plus, the card comes with an appealing 0% APR promotional offer.

Additionally, cardholders enjoy various perks such as a special financing promotion for Carnival cruise purchases, exclusive onboard offers, and faster boarding privileges.

However, if you don’t tend to cruise regularly or you want to maximize your reward potential, you may find that there are general travel credit cards that offer greater rewards. For example, the Discover It Miles card offers 1.5 miles for every dollar spent on all your purchases, which provides greater potential to earn rewards. What’s more, you can use your miles to book a cruise through the Discover travel platform.

  • 0% Introductory APR
  • Statement Credit
  • Zero Fraud Liability
  • Redeem For Statement Credits
  • Low Rewards
  • No Carnival Perks

What are card income requirements?

There are no official income requirements for this card, but Barclays will consider your income to assess whether you have sufficient disposable income to support a new card.

Can I get pre-approved?

Barclays does not offer pre approval on its website, but this card issuer is known to send out mailers and other promotional materials offering pre approval for select customers. So, keep an eye out for a promotional code that indicates that you’ve been pre approved.

Does the card provide car rental insurance?

Unfortunately, although this is a travel credit card, you’ll not receive any car rental insurance with the Carnival World Mastercard.

In this Review

Estimating Your Rewards: A Practical Simulation

Take a look at the table below to see how the Carnival World Mastercard could help you earn rewards. It’s a simulation that estimates the benefits based on your typical spending across different categories.

Keep in mind that these numbers are just estimates, and your actual rewards may vary depending on your spending habits and other factors. Still, it can give you a good idea of what the card has to offer.

Carnival World Mastercard review

Spend Per Category
Carnival World Mastercard
$10,000 – U.S Supermarkets
10,000 FunPoints
$3,000 – Restaurants
3,000 FunPoints
$5,000 – Cruise
10,000 FunPoints
$4,000 – Airline & Hotels
8,000 FunPoints
$4,000 – Gas
4,000 FunPoints
Estimated Annual Avios
35,000 FunPoints

Sign Up for

Our Newsletter

Join our community for the latest credit card comparison tips, expert insights,
and special member-only perks.

Sign Up for

Our Newsletter

Join our community for the latest credit card comparison tips, expert insights,
and special member-only perks.

Pros and Cons

Just like any other credit card, the Carnival World Mastercard has some advantages and disadvantages:

Pros
Cons
0% Introductory APR
Low Rewards
10% Statement Credit
No Carnival Perks
Zero Fraud Liability
Redeem For Statement Credits
No Foreign Transaction Fees

This card offers a 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. However, a balance transfer fee still applies. After the initial 15 months, the standard APR applies. This is not a common option when it comes to travel rewards cards.

There is also a 0% promotional APR for six months when you make a Carnival cruise booking.

You can receive 10% back as a statement credit when you book shore excursions on the Carnival website before your cruise.

You won't be charged any fees for making purchases abroad with the Iberia Visa Signature Card.

The card offers up to $200 in statement credit towards taxes, fees and charges when you redeem Avios for British Airways reward flights. This is available on up to three bookings per year, for a maximum statement credit of $600 each year.

You can use your FunPoints® towards any Carnival purchase, onboard experiences, and more. You can start redeeming your FunPoints® at just 5,000 points for a $50 statement credit towards a Carnival Cruise Line purchase made within the last 180 days.”

Unless you tend to go on Carnival cruises several times a year, there is a low reward potential with this card. 

When compared to other cards (see table below) the rewards seem particularly low.

One of the main advantages of a co-branded card is that they tend to offer special brand specific perks that you don’t get with a general travel card.

The Carnival World Mastercard does not offer elite status, or other brand specific perks other than statement credit for your excursions.

Who Should Consider The Carnival Credit Card?

Since this is a co-branded card, it is obviously best for those who are brand loyal to Carnival Cruises.

Since this card primarily offers rewards for Carnival purchases and rewards can only be redeemed for statement credit against Carnival Cruise Line purchases, those who don’t take several cruises a year are likely to find this card frustrating. If you like cruise cards, you cam also consider the Royal Caribbean credit card.

The card could also be a good choice for those who want to pay down a credit card balance and earn a few rewards for to the 0%  intro APR it offers. However, there are couple of alternatives that can be relevant if you would like to check other options:

Card
Rewards
Annual Fee

Holland America credit card

1x – 2x 2 points per dollar on all Holland America purchases, including any onboard purchases. 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
$0

Discover It miles card review

1.5X unlimited 1.5x miles for every dollar spent on all purchases
$0

Venture X Rewards

1X – 10X 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights and 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases
$395

Wells Fargo Autograph

1X – 3X 3X points on restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans. Also, earn 1X points on other purchases
$0

bank of america royal caribbean credit card

1x – 2x 2x on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises and 1x on all other purchases
$0

1X – 10X 5X total points on air travel and 10X total points on hotels, car rentals and dining when you purchase through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, immediately after earning your $300 annual travel credit. Also, earn 3x points on dining at restaurants and travel (after meeting the $300 travel credit), then 1x points per dollar spent on all other purchases.
$550

amex platinum

1X – 5X 5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare and flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases

Tips for Using the Carnival Card

While this card is quite straightforward, there are some tips to help you to get the most from it. These include:

As we just touched on, this card offers a generous 0% APR introductory period, but you need to act quickly. You need to ensure that all balance transfers are made within 45 days of opening your account.

Since you can claim a discount, in the form of a statement credit, when you book your excursions on the Carnival website before you sail, it is a good idea to plan your cruise well in advance.

Take a little time to think about the excursions you want to take while you’re still at home.

Don’t forget that this card does not have a foreign transaction fee, so make sure that you carry this card when you’re cruising.

Even a small 3% foreign transaction fee can quickly add up when you’re on vacation, so make sure that you avoid these expenses.

Top Offers

amex platinum

Rewards Plan:
1X – 5X 5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare and flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus:
80,000 points 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership

amex brilliant

Rewards Plan:
2X – 6X 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program, 3 points at Worldwide restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
95,000 points 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months of card membership.

Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum card

Rewards Plan:
1X – 3X 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
60,000 miles 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months
Advertiser Disclosure
The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation.
Top Offers From Our Partners

amex platinum

Rewards Plan:
1X – 5X 5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare and flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus:
80,000 points 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership

amex brilliant

Rewards Plan:
2X – 6X 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program, 3 points at Worldwide restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
95,000 points 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months of card membership.

Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum card

Rewards Plan:
Up to 3x miles 3 miles per $1 spent on United purchases immediately after earning your $125 annual United purchase credit, 2 miles on all other travel and select streaming services, 1 mile on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus:
60,000 miles Earn 70,000 bonus miles + 500 Premier qualifying points (PQP)
Advertiser Disclosure
The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation.
Top Offers

amex platinum

Rewards Plan:
1X – 5X 5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare and flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus:
80,000 points 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership

amex brilliant

Rewards Plan:
2X – 6X 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program, 3 points at Worldwide restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
95,000 points 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months of card membership.

Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum card

Rewards Plan:
1X – 3X 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
60,000 miles 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months
Advertiser Disclosure
The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation.

FAQs

If you want to redeem your rewards, you’ll need to log into your BarclaysUS account and then click on the “Rewards” tab. You should then see a link for “Redeem FunPoints.”

When you click on this link, you can review a list of your Carnival purchases and then choose ones you would like to apply a statement credit to, paying towards the cost of your purchase.

It can be a little tricky to get a Carnival World Mastercard, as you need to have good to excellent credit. However, if you have a credit score of 700 or higher, you should not have any great difficulties.

This card is not a good idea if you’re not a regular cruiser with Carnival. You need to take at least several Carnival cruises each year to be able to benefit from the card rewards and benefits. If you don’t, you would be better suited to a more general travel rewards credit card.

Picture of Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.
Search
Best Cards Per Category
Top Offers

amex platinum

Rewards Plan:
1X – 5X 5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare and flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus:
80,000 points 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership

amex brilliant

Rewards Plan:
2X – 6X 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program, 3 points at Worldwide restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
95,000 points 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months of card membership.

Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum card

Rewards Plan:
1X – 3X 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
60,000 miles 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months
Advertiser Disclosure
The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation.
Top Offers From Our Partners

amex platinum

Rewards Plan:
1X – 5X 5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare and flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus:
80,000 points 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership

amex brilliant

Rewards Plan:
2X – 6X 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program, 3 points at Worldwide restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus:
95,000 points 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months of card membership.

Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum card

Rewards Plan:
Up to 3x miles 3 miles per $1 spent on United purchases immediately after earning your $125 annual United purchase credit, 2 miles on all other travel and select streaming services, 1 mile on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus:
60,000 miles Earn 70,000 bonus miles + 500 Premier qualifying points (PQP)
Advertiser Disclosure
The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation.

#1 In credit Cards

Our Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter for secret credit card tips, insider advice, and exclusive deals straight to your inbox

Start saving smarter with

Our Credit Card Newsletter

Sign up for our newsletter and gain access to expert advice,
insider knowledge, and exclusive offers

Sign Up for

Our Newsletter

Join our community for the latest credit card comparison tips, expert insights,
and special member-only perks.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

Credit Card Reviews Methodology

In order to determine the best possible credit cards, we look at things like fees, interest rates and rewards. We do this with companies that are associated with us as partners as well as other offerings. From there, we make a decision about what the best card is related to different categories and needs. We focus on interest rate cost & fees, especially the cost of carrying a balance, rewards – cards accumulate rewards in different currencies—points, miles, cash back—and their values vary widely usability – cards that accept a wide range of credit profiles and offer simple solutions for things like checking your credit score or contacting. We also consider customer reviews.

We look at cards related to good or excellent credit ratings that will then provide a range of different benefits and improvements for someone who has these scores. We also look at low fees when it comes to those who have lower credit scores.

This website is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).

This website does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace. This website may use other proprietary factors to impact card offer listings on the website such as consumer selection or the likelihood of the applicant’s credit approval.

This allows us to maintain a full-time, editorial staff and work with finance experts you know and trust. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides in our articles or otherwise impacts any of the editorial content on The Smart Investor.

While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, The Smart Investor does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof.

Learn more about how we review products and read our advertiser disclosure for how we make money. All products are presented without warranty.