Blue Chip Club Explained
Last reviewed: October 2026
Blue Chip Club is Celebrity Cruises’ casino program. Slots earn one point per $5 of coin-in, video poker one point per $15. There are six tiers, the qualification year runs August 1 to July 31, and the catch that matters most is that Reward Points expire at the end of each sailing if you do not redeem them.
That expiry rule is the single most important thing to understand about Blue Chip Club, and it is the difference that trips up players coming over from Royal Caribbean.
The earn rates
Both rates are official and published by Celebrity. Video poker moved from $10 per point to $15 per point in late July 2026, which cut video poker earning by a third on identical play. If you read an older guide quoting $10, it is out of date.
| Play | Rate | Coin-in for 5,000 points |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | 1 pt per $5 | $25,000 |
| Video poker | 1 pt per $15 | $75,000 |
The rates match Royal Caribbean’s exactly, which makes Blue Chip Club and Club Royale genuinely comparable point for point. Neither is comparable to Carnival, where a slot point costs $2. That conversion trap is covered in points are not a common currency.
The six tiers
| Tier | Points |
|---|---|
| Pearl | 1 |
| Onyx | 500 |
| Amethyst | 5,000 |
| Sapphire | 15,000 |
| Sapphire Plus | 75,000 |
| Ruby | 150,000 |
Pearl at one point means the entry rung is essentially a single rated wager. At the other end, Ruby at 150,000 points is $750,000 of slot coin-in inside one August to July year. Our Blue Chip tier calculator uses those same thresholds.
Two different point counters
This is where Blue Chip Club needs careful reading. Tier credit accumulates across the qualification year. Reward Points, the balance you actually redeem for things, expire at the end of each individual sailing.
So a player who banks 3,000 Reward Points on a seven-night sailing and disembarks without redeeming them has 3,000 points of nothing. Tier progress survives. Redeemable value does not.
Practical rule: redeem before you get off the ship. Ask at the casino desk on the last full day, not at the gangway.
Redemption options and what is unpublished
You can credit Reward Points to your onboard expense account, but there is a floor: 10,000 points minimum for that route. Below that, redemption is toward FreePlay and casino offers.
The FreePlay conversion rate is not published by Celebrity. One secondary source suggests 50 points equals $1, and we report that as secondary rather than official because we have not seen it in a Celebrity document. Do not build a plan around it. If you want to know your rate, ask the casino desk onboard and get the number for your sailing.
Note also that FreePlay is not cash. It has to be wagered, and some of it comes back to the house before you can cash out anything. Comp dollars vs FreePlay explains why the two are valued differently.
The certificate ladder exists and is published
Celebrity publishes a 12-rung certificate ladder as monthly PDFs on its own domain, running from 600 points for a comped interior for one guest up to 40,000 points for a Sky Suite for two with $2,500 of FreePlay attached. Same-stateroom guests may not combine their points toward a single certificate, which is a real constraint for couples who split play across two cards.
The honest framing
Blue Chip Club is the second most transparent cruise casino program we track. It still rates table play by estimate with no published formula, still does not publish a FreePlay rate, and still charges you the house edge on every point you earn. Reaching Sapphire is $75,000 of slot wagering, and no tier benefit is worth what that volume costs.
Educational explanation only. No real-money gambling happens on LearnTheOdds.
Play for entertainment, not income. The math favors the house over time. Set limits, never chase losses, and if it stops being fun, take a break. 21+. Need help? Call 1-800-MY-RESET (1800myreset.org).