Stocks With Travel Perks for Shareholders
by Charles Rotblut | September 05, 2019
Depending on the stock you own, there may be more benefits than just the potential for price appreciation, a possible dividend and the ability to vote on shareholder issues. You could get discounts, special access or other goodies. A good example is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A), whose portfolio companies offer shareholder-only discounts. (I wrote about my experience at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting weekend earlier this year.)
A much lesser known shareholder benefit is offered by the major cruise line companies. Carnival Corp. (CCL), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) all offer onboard credits to investors who own at least 100 shares. The credit varies by the length of the cruise. For a seven-day cruise, the onboard credit is $100 on each cruise line. (Carnival is held in the Stock Superstars Report portfolio, though not because of the onboard credit.)
Here’s where you can find details about the perks:
• Carnival (includes Carnival, Princess, Holland America and Cunard, among others)
• Norwegian (includes Norwegian, Oceania and Regent)
• Royal Caribbean (includes Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara)
The topic came up while my wife and I were discussing vacation plans over the weekend. When one of our friends said he thought such a perk existed, I searched online and quickly found the information. It also prompted me to wonder if other companies offer shareholder travel perks. So, I did some additional searching.
None of the publicly traded U.S. airlines offer shareholder benefits (not even waiving baggage fees or priority boarding). Neither do travel website companies such as Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) or theme park companies. Walt Disney Co. (DIS) evidently used to offer discounts to its theme parks, but no longer. My wife is a Disney shareholder (I bought her a share just before the company stopped issuing paper certificates of its stock) and we’ve never been notified of any perks.
The only exchange-listed hotel company offering its shareholders perks is InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). The company offers shareholders discounted stays at all of its hotels, including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental. You will need to hold your shares in certified form, in your sole name and be registered as such with the InterContinental Hotels Group’s registrar.
On the destination front, Oregon’s Willamette Valley Vineyards Inc. (WVVI) offers its shareholders admissions to special events and use of its tasting and hospitality facilities. As a shareholder, it’s on my list to take advantage of these perks as well as the shareholder discount on wine.
While shareholder perks are nice, the decision to purchase a stock should always be predicated on whether it is a good investment or not. One hundred shares of Norwegian Cruise Line will cost you approximately $5,100 to purchase based on yesterday’s close. A very modest 2% decline in the stock’s price will completely offset the onboard credit for a seven-day cruise you received for being a shareholder. Thus, any shareholder perk should be viewed as a bonus and not the reason for owning a stock.
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Analyzing a Stock by Its Dividend and Shareholder Yield – Shareholder travel perks are nice, but dividends and buybacks are even better. Here’s how to analyze a company by its yield.
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Proxy Voting for Individual Investors – Another shareholder benefit is being able to vote your shares. This AAII Journal article lists four pillars of good governance to seek out and support.
Optimism among individual investors about the short-term direction of the stock market rebounded but remains below 30% for the fifth consecutive week. The latest AAII Sentiment Survey also shows pessimism remaining at an unusually high level.
Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, rebounded by 2.5 percentage points to 28.6%. Optimism was last higher on July 31, 2019 (38.4%). Optimism is below its historical average of 38.0% for the 28th time this year and the 16th time in 17 weeks.
Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices will stay essentially unchanged over the next six months, is 0.2 percentage points higher at 31.9%. The small increase keeps neutral sentiment above its historical average of 31.5% for the 15th time in 16 weeks.
Bearish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months, pulled back by 2.7 percentage points to 39.5%. Pessimism remains above its historical average of 30.5% for the 14th time in 17 weeks.
Bullish sentiment is back within its typical range, though barely so. The breakpoint between typical and unusually low readings is 28.0%. Pessimism, meanwhile, continues to be at an unusually high level. Historically, the S&P 500 index has experienced above-median returns during the six- and 12-month periods following unusually high levels of pessimism.
Many individual investors have been monitoring trade negotiations, particularly between the U.S. and China. Additionally, many AAII members expect a recession to start within the next 12 to 24 months. Also having an influence on sentiment are Washington politics, geopolitics, valuations, corporate earnings, monetary policy and interest rates.
This week’s special question asked AAII members what industries or sectors they like right now. Technology received the most votes, listed by nearly 23% of respondents. Health care came in second followed by utilities at 19% and 18%, respectively. Tied for fourth were real estate [especially real estate investment trusts (REITs)] and staples, each named by 14% of respondents. Slightly more than 11% of respondents named financials while 9% listed energy. Many respondents listed more than one sector or industry.
Here’s a sampling of the responses:
- “Energy: good companies at bargain prices.”
- “Health care. With the graying of America, more folks are living longer and have more medical needs.”
- “I like utilities, as they are always in demand.”
- “Semiconductors as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) explode on the scene.”
Bullish: 28.6%, up 2.5 points
Neutral: 31.9%, up 0.2 points
Bearish: 39.5%, down 2.7 points
Bullish: 38.5%
Neutral: 31.0%
Bearish: 30.5%
AAII Asset Allocation Survey
Individual investors’ exposure to fixed-income investments rose to their highest level in more than six years last month. The August AAII Asset Allocation Survey also shows an increase in cash holdings and a decline in equity exposure.
Stock and stock fund allocations pulled back by 2.2 percentage points to 64.3%. Equity allocations were last lower in January 2019 (63.2%). Nonetheless, equity allocations remain above their historical average of 61.0% for the 77th consecutive month.
Bond and bond fund allocations rose 1.0 percentage points to 19.4%. Fixed-income allocations were last higher in April 2013 (19.7%). The increase keeps bond and bond fund allocations above their historical average of 16.0% for the sixth consecutive month and the seventh time in eight months.
Cash allocations rebounded by 1.2 percentage points to 16.3%. Cash allocations remain below their historical average of 23.0% for the 93rd consecutive month.
The six-year high in fixed-income allocations occurred as yields continue to fall. Declining yields boost the prices of bonds. At the same time, optimism about the short-term direction of the stock market was at an unusually low level during much of August.
August AAII Asset Allocation Survey results:
- Stocks and stock funds: 64.3%, down 2.2 percentage points
- Bonds and bond funds: 19.4%, up 1.0 percentage points
- Cash: 16.3%, up 1.2 percentage points
August AAII Asset Allocation Survey details:
- Stocks: 26.0%, down 2.7 percentage points
- Stock Funds: 38.2%, up 0.5 percentage points
- Bond Funds: 15.4%, up 1.2 percentage points
- Bonds: 4.0%, down 0.2 percentage points
Historical Averages:
- Stocks/Stock Funds: 61.0%
- Bonds/Bond Funds: 16.0%
- Cash: 23.0%
The numbers are rounded and may not add up to 100%.
The AAII Asset Allocation Survey has been conducted monthly since November 1987 and asks AAII members what percentage of their portfolios are allocated to stocks, stock funds, bonds, bond funds and cash. The survey and its results are available online at: www.aaii.com/investor-surveys.
Want to weigh in? Take the survey yourself and see results online at www.aaii.com/assetallocationsurvey.
- Stocks and Stock Funds: 64.3%, down 2.3 percentage points
- Bonds and Bond Funds: 19.4%, up 1.0 percentage points
- Cash: 16.3%, up 1.3 percentage points
- Stocks: 26.0%, down 2.7 percentage points
- Stocks Funds: 38.2%, up 0.5 percentage points
- Bonds: 4.0%, down 0.2 percentage points
- Bond Funds: 15.4%, up 1.2 percentage points
- Stocks/Stock Funds: 61.5%
- Bonds/Bond Funds: 16.0%
- Cash: 22.5%
Take the Asset Allocation Survey.
August 29, 2019 Stocks Look Cheap Relative to Bonds
August 22, 2019 Dollar-Cost Averaging Works Well for Retirement Contributions
August 15, 2019 To Be Different Than an Index Fund, Diversify by Strategy
August 8, 2019 Two Shorter-Term Strategies for Sector ETFs
Discussion
Claude from GA posted over 6 years ago:
Charles, you ought to cruise more often. I have so far received $3,200 from Carnival (CCL) as onboard credits for an original investment of $2,161 now worth $4,511. I got $1,150 from Royal Caribbean (RCL) for an investment of $2,415 (200 sh.) now worth $21,388. They both have paid dividends too. Add to your list ONVC which refunded me more on my first cruise than the $207.95 I paid for the stock, now worth $1,242.05. You have to look for Shareholder Benefit in the Investor Relations section of their websites to learn about that, and they don't make it too obvious.
andrewb from WA posted over 6 years ago:
Charles - Great reminder article. AAII is the best lifetime subscription I ever made - many sincere thanks! . But on benefits why not go one further - not only cruise more often but consider diversifying into countries that you visit.! (and if you ever visit UK let us know !) We live in the UK at present and I was reinspired by your article to check our shareholder benefits. I knew about Young and Co's brewery (discounts on staying at their generally fun pubs) but had not realized that there was a (very good) discount on our current holding of Bloomsbury Books (think Harry Potter for the grandchildren plus academic texts), Carnival, Chapel Down , Greene King (if not too late - what with attractive exchange rates British Pubs are being bought up at a great rate by foreign companies). See https://www.barclays.co.uk/smart-investor/investments/shareholder-benefits/ for a reasonably helpful list. AAII . As Claude from GA said the companies don't make the benefits too obvious but still worthwhile looking into them.
Charles Rotblut from IL posted over 6 years ago:
Claude - Glad to hear that your investments in CCL and RCL have paid off so well. We recently booked a cruise on Norwegian, which is how the whole topic of shareholder benefits came up. As far as ONVC, I missed that one but avoided OTC stocks overall, including Accor, Louis Vuitton and Air France. Andre--We visited London and Paris about four years ago and enjoyed both. Hope to make it back at some point. Ireland is high on our "to go" list. Will check out Barclays' website. Glad to hear that you found additional discounts. -Charles
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