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20 cards ranked

Best credit card to use at Carnival Cruise Line.

Travel

Carnival Cruise Line is the largest U.S. cruise operator by passenger volume, owned by Carnival Corporation (which also owns Princess, Holland America, and Cunard). Cruise bookings code as travel on every card we track. Pre-booked shore excursions, drink packages, and gratuities purchased through the cruise line generally code as travel as well. Onboard charges (folio purchases) often code as travel but sometimes as cruise-specific — worth confirming on a small charge before relying on a 3x travel multiplier.

  1. #1
    U.S. Bank
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  2. #2
    Barclays
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  3. #3
    Barclays
    4x points on travel
    4.0%4x points
  4. #4
    American Express
    3x points on travel
    3.6%3x points
  5. #5
    Comenity Capital Bank
    3% on travel
    Includes AAA purchases
    3%
  6. #6
    Bilt
    2x points on travel
    3.0%2x points
  7. #7
    Bilt
    2x points on travel
    3.0%2x points
  8. #8
    Citi
    3% on travel
    Includes Costco Travel
    3%
  9. #9
    Citi
    3% on travel
    Includes Costco Travel
    3%
  10. #10
    Chase
    3x points on travel (up to $150,000/year, then 1%)
    Travel, shipping, internet/cable/phone, advertising on search engines and social media (combined)
    3.0%3x points
  11. #11
    Navy Federal
    3x points on travel
    Includes airlines, hotels, car rentals, ride-sharing, parking, tolls, museums, amusement parks, and golf courses
    3.0%3x points
  12. #12
    USAA
    3x points on travel
    3.0%3x points
  13. #13
    Venmo Credit Cardif it’s your top category
    Synchrony
    3% on travel if it's your top eligible spend category that cycle
    Automatically on your highest-spend eligible category each statement period (8 eligible: transportation, travel, groceries, entertainment, dining & nightlife, bills & utilities, health & beauty, gas). Drugstores here represents health & beauty; bills & utilities maps to utilities.
    3%
  14. #14
    Wells Fargo
    3x points on travel
    3.0%3x points
  15. #15
    Wells Fargo
    3x points on travel
    3.0%3x points
  16. #16
    Chase
    2x points on travel
    2.5%2x points
  17. #17
    Chase
    5x points on travel
    2.5%5x points
  18. #18
    Chase
    5x points on travel
    Travel, gas stations, select advertising, and restaurants
    2.5%5x points
  19. #19
    Chase
    2x points on travel
    2.4%2x points
  20. #20
    Chase
    2x points on travel
    2.4%2x points

Last updated May 17, 2026