Another sail and sign account question...

[Boats Aint Just 4F ishing]

Can you secure your account with a credit card and then add gift cards while onboard? Also if you can how do you make sure they use the credit you have on the account from the gift cards BEFORE they use the card?

[Kcruiser2014]

I do it all the time. They always use the gift cards before they charge the credit card. However, at the end of each day, they will put a hold on your cc if you do not have enough gift cards applied. Last cruise, I did not apply gift cards until near the end of the cruise, they did put hold on my cc. However, after I applied gift cards, the cc holds were eventually released and only the proper amount actually charged to my cc.

 

 

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[Boats Aint Just 4F ishing]

Thank you for the quick response! I dont mind the hold since they would have done that had i not used the gift cards anyway.

[Kcruiser2014]

Thank you for the quick response! I dont mind the hold since they would have done that had i not used the gift cards anyway.

 

 

Lol.... My thinking exactly. Gotta go pick mine up from UPS today. $2500 in gift cards should help keep that final charge down for next weeks cruise!

 

 

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[bETHb62]

what is the benefit of a gift card over credit card? Just wondering since I am new to this and have seen many comments about gift cards. Thanks!

[Sugaree5335]

what is the benefit of a gift card over credit card? Just wondering since I am new to this and have seen many comments about gift cards. Thanks!

 

There are a couple of places online that you can pick up discounted gift cards. $100 cost $90 and $500 cards cost $450. AARP and Verizon are the two that I know about. Some grocery stores also run deals where you get gas perks for buying gift cards.

[Life_Traveler]

can you apply the gift cards at the Kiosk or do you have to talk to someone at Guest Services. Even though I am Platinum and don't have to wait long in line i still hate talking with those people as most don't know whats going on themselves most of the time.

[bETHb62]

There are a couple of places online that you can pick up discounted gift cards. $100 cost $90 and $500 cards cost $450. AARP and Verizon are the two that I know about. Some grocery stores also run deals where you get gas perks for buying gift cards.

 

Thanks for that info I had no idea. Probably too late for me as I am leaving a week from this saturday. I'll have to keep that in mind.

[RecoveryDude]

Thanks for that info I had no idea. Probably too late for me as I am leaving a week from this saturday. I'll have to keep that in mind.

 

Yes ... this is one of the main reasons I sail Carnival ... not only are their fares typically less expensive than other lines ... but I buy these discounted gift cards, one or two at a time, and end up paying for my entire cruise, and my entire sail and sign account ... all 10% off.

 

FYI RCCL has "gift certificates" that are sold at a 10% discount from the same sites, but they are NOT the same... if you read the fine print, Royal Caribbean only lets you use ONE per cruise and only after you have booked.

[coevan]

We use credit cards for everything, it's all about the mileage. What is a "hold" I never noticed anything different on my account. I was not informed by Capital One about a hold.

[Boats Aint Just 4F ishing]

We use credit cards for everything, it's all about the mileage. What is a "hold" I never noticed anything different on my account. I was not informed by Capital One about a hold.

 

You may never notice since it doesn't show on a statement. When you back your account with a CC , carnival will put a soft hold on a certain amount of money to make sure your good for it. Even though it drops off it will count toward your CC limit at the time the hold is placed. This is why I think its such a bad idea to use debit cards for this purpose since its "real" money they are holding and not just "electronic" money.

 

This is not just a Carnival thing by the way , hotels do it as well.