Celebrity Cruises: Blue Chip Club Rewards Program

Plenty of holidaymakers know that a cruise line will reward you for sailing with them time and again through a general loyalty scheme. What catches a lot of people out is that the casino often runs a completely separate scheme of its own, sitting alongside the main one for casino visitors.

With Celebrity Cruises, that casino scheme is the Blue Chip Club, and it works independently of the line’s Captain’s Club scheme. If you fancy spending a bit of time at the slots or tables on your next Celebrity sailing, it pays to understand how the Blue Chip Club rewards that play before you put any money down.

All About the Blue Chip Club

The Blue Chip Club is Celebrity’s loyalty programme for guests who gamble in the onboard casino. The principle is the one you would expect, which says the more that you play, the more you earn and the higher up the ranks you climb. Reaching each new level unlocks a longer list of perks, some of which apply inside the casino and some of which carry across to the rest of your holiday, from complimentary drinks whilst you game to spa discounts and even the offer of a free cruise.

One thing worth clearing up early is that the Blue Chip Club and Captain’s Club are not connected in any way. You will have a separate membership number for each and the only place you will ever see the two displayed together is on your printed SeaPass card. You do not need to fill in a form to join, either. The moment you scan your SeaPass at a machine or hand it to a dealer, you are enrolled and your account starts ticking over.

The Membership Levels

There are six tiers in total, and they run as follows:

• Pearl
• Onyx
• Amethyst
• Sapphire
• Sapphire Plus
• Ruby

How You Earn Points

To build up your account, you need to make sure your play is being tracked. On the slots and video poker machines, that means inserting or tapping your SeaPass before you spin. At the tables, you hand the card to the dealer, who records your play for you. The headline rates are straightforward:

• Slot Machines: 1 point for every $5 you wager on a reel machine
• Video Poker: 1 point for every $10 you wager

Table games are harder to find exact details for, since the points you pick up depend on the specific game, the size of your average bet and how long you stay at the table. It is also worth knowing that a handful of games earn you nothing at all towards the programme, namely Texas Hold’em Poker, Keymaster, Cash Crane and the Coin Pushers.

A quirk of the Blue Chip Club is that it actually runs two separate point types. Tier Credits are what move you up the ranks, whilst Reward Points (sometimes called Redeemable Points) are the ones you spend during your cruise on things like FreePlay, dining, excursions or the spa. They are earned in a similar way, but the rates differ slightly, and Reward Points are the ones that wipe at the end of each sailing if you leave them unused.

A Closer Look at the Tiers

Celebrity gave the programme a significant overhaul in 2025, resetting everyone’s balances and changing both the point thresholds and the benefits on offer. The figures below reflect that revamped structure, though it is worth mentioning that Celebrity does not publish these numbers prominently and the cost of earning a single point went up at the same time the thresholds came down. If precise figures matter to you, confirm them with the casino host onboard before you start chasing a tier.

Pearl

Everyone begins life as a Pearl member. At this entry level, you can put your Reward Points towards free casino play, you will receive invitations to casino-only events and you can enjoy complimentary drinks whilst you are actually gaming.

Onyx

Cross the first threshold, which is reported at around 2,500 points under the new system, and you move into Onyx. You keep everything Pearl offers and add a waived cash advance fee, so you can draw cash on a card for use in the casino without the usual surcharge.

Amethyst

Amethyst, coming in at roughly 5,000 points, is where the wider holiday perks start to appear. On top of the Onyx benefits, you pick up a $200 credit at the Effy Boutique, 10% off at the spa, 30% off Premium Wi-Fi, a digital photo download and, significantly, eligibility for the Annual Cruise Benefit, which can include a free cruise in an interior cabin.

Sapphire

At Sapphire, for those who have earned around 15,000 points, the package steps up again. The Effy credit rises to $250, the spa discount goes to 15% and, rather than a Wi-Fi discount, you receive a full internet package for the cruise. You also get a second photo download, exclusive rates for friends and family booking additional staterooms and your Annual Cruise Benefit cabin is bumped up to a Veranda.

Sapphire Plus

Sapphire Plus, triggering at about 75,000 points, does not introduce brand-new perks so much as upgrade a couple of existing ones. Your Effy credit climbs to $350 and your Annual Cruise Benefit improves again, this time to a Concierge Class stateroom.

Ruby

Ruby sits at the top and is reported to be at 150,000 points. This is where the most generous extras live. Alongside everything below it, you also get a $550 Effy credit, 20% off the spa, three photo downloads and complimentary Premium Wi-Fi for up to four devices. There is onboard credit too, scaled to the length of your sailing at $50 for 3 to 4 nights, $75 for 5 to 6 nights and $100 for 7 nights or more.

Ruby members also enjoy unlimited complimentary room service, a welcome lunch in the Main Dining Room, reserved theatre seating, priority embarkation, priority luggage delivery, priority tender and express luggage on disembarkation day. The Annual Cruise Benefit, meanwhile, rises to an Aqua Class cabin.

Things Worth Bearing in Mind

Before you get carried away picturing a balcony cabin paid for in slot pulls, a few details deserve your attention. Your Reward Points expire at the end of every sailing, so anything you have not redeemed simply vanishes rather than rolling over to your next cruise. There is also a minimum of 10,000 Reward Points before they can be applied as a credit to your onboard account and that credit only covers compatible charges such as food and drink, shopping, excursions, certain spa treatments, photos, and internet. Guests sharing a stateroom can pool their Reward Points to reach that minimum, though the same pooling is not allowed for FreePlay.

The Effy Boutique credit carries its own small print as well. It is valid only on white-tag items priced above $2,000, cannot be combined with other discounts and does not apply to promotional pieces or Best Buys, so it is less of a free gift than it first sounds.

It is also worth keeping the bigger picture in mind. The whole reason a casino hands out drinks, credits and cabins is to keep you playing and the longer you play, the more likely the House Edge is to do its work. A complimentary Veranda is a lovely thing to be offered, but if reaching the tier that unlocks it costs you more than the cabin would have done at face value, the maths will have worked against you.

The Annual Cruise Benefit

The free cruise that comes with the higher tiers is a real perk, but it is not free in the literal sense. You will still need to cover taxes and port fees, the offer is based on double occupancy and there are booking windows you have to act within. Celebrity will typically contact you with a selection of eligible sailings and the value of what you are offered tracks how much you have been playing, so it is loosely tied to your activity rather than redeemed against a fixed points total. Treat it as a nice bonus for play you were going to do anyway, rather than a reason to keep feeding the machines.

A final practical note is that you must be 18 to play, or 21 on sailings in Alaska, and any slot win of $2,000 or more is subject to W2-G tax withholding, which is worth knowing if you do happen to strike it lucky.