Revolution at Costa Cruises, here are all the details of the new Costa Club
A revolution at Costa Cruises, the new Costa Club, the latest version of the loyalty program, kicks off on April 21 [...]
Recommended by TFC
Revolution at Costa Cruises., April 21 kicks off the new Costa Club, the latest version of the cruise line's loyalty program based in Genoa and home port in Savona.
What changes from April 21
Virtually everything changes: from the names of the levels, to the rules for accumulating points and, of course, those for obtaining and renewing status. The first big difference is that the tiles will drop from 6 to 5, we will also say goodbye to aquatic statuses and switch to classic colors.
- Blue: 0 points reserved for members who have not yet traveled therefore accumulated points, but have joined the program.
- Bronze: 1 - 5,000 points in the past three years
- Silver: 5,001 - 30,000 points in the past three years
- Gold: 30,001 to 140,000 points in the past three years
- Platinum: from 140,001 points in the past three years
A new member who has already taken one or more cruises at the time of C Club membership will be awarded the points associated with the last cruise taken with a departure date within the three years prior to the date of membership based on the Costa database. In doing so, current Costa Club members will automatically be awarded the new status based on cruise history.
It then changes the way points are accumulated; the accumulation table is greatly simplified by disappearing the variable that provided, based on how long before a cruise was booked, a different number of points depending on the type of cabin.
Now the number of points does not change whether you book a year in advance or last minute, it remains a count based on nights spent on board. This means that if before for a seven-night cruise in an inside cabin, booked a year in advance you would get a minimum of 2100 cruise points, now the points accumulated will be only 700.
Compared to the previous accumulation, however, bonuses are entered according to the fare chosen. Extra points not per night but for the entire cruise.
The benefits for club members
The benefits on a cruise are definitely more varied and numerous than those on a flight or in a hotel stay. They start with benefits at the booking stage that range from discounts that increase with level to the possibility of upgrades to better room categories than those booked. With, for Gold and Platinum levels, even the possibility of upgrading from an interior to a Suite.
Benefits also before boarding with fast track and, in the case of air travel, fast track route to the airport and even possible upgrade to business for long-haul charter/cruise flights.
Very long instead the list of benefits on board. Again, the benefits grow with the level and, as is also the case in MSC and its loyalty program, it is the highest levels that have the best benefits.
One of the best benefits is to have access to the dedicated restaurant for dinner for passengers traveling in Suites and is obviously reserved for Gold and Diamond passengers, while Silver passengers have to settle for free pizza. Ditto for free admission (one day) to the Spa or the onboard fast-tracks.
In conclusion
Moving up a tier will be more complicated, especially for all those loyal passengers who used to book a cruise very long in advance and then get even triple the points than under the new accumulation rules. The benefits for a Costa top tier seem to me to be much better than those that offers MSC at the same level of users.
I personally believe that the best loyalty program of a cruise line is the Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor, which is also my favorite company when it comes to cruises.
- 6,000 Mile Registration Bonus
- Collect miles WITH EACH PURCHASE
- Your miles with no expiration*
- No fees for ATM withdrawals and foreign purchases
- Without having to change banks
- Autonomous card activation
- Multi-function mobile application
- Free travel insurance
- Free credit for up to 7 weeks
- Contactless Payment
- Mastercard® SecureCode
- 20€ discount directly in your statement by spending €60 in one or more transactions with Carta on Italotreno.it
- Free fee the 1st year. From the 2nd €5.50 per month
- You can choose to pay in full or in installments
- Premium level of the Italo Più program
- 4 Vouchers per year for access to Italo Club Lounges
- Preferential Access to Italo's Fast Track at the station
- For every 5 purchases of Italo ticketing and/or onboard services made with Italo American Express Credit Card you will receive 1 voucher for room upgrade
- Welcome bonus of 100,000 Volare points upon reaching 6 thousand in spending in the first 3 months after card issuance
- Accumulate 1.5 qualifying Volare points for every euro spent, accumulate an additional 3 non-qualifying Volare points ( for a total of 4.5 Volare points) for every euro spent on ticketing purchases and other services offered by ITA Airways
- Access to the Premium Club of ITA Airways' Volare program.
- ITA Airways Lounge Access
- Free excess baggage
- Points Back