AMEX bonus offer is back

[Stateroom_Sailor]

16 minutes ago, HappiestWhenCruising said:

This Cruise Critic website and its members are the best!  I have a gold AMEX card that I do auto pay on, so I barely ever look at the bills.  Thanks to some great people on this thread, I was able to go in using the link provided here, load this on my card, then go to HAL and buy $500 worth of casino credit for our cruise.  I didn't even know offers like this existed, but thanks to you guys, I was able to get it. Like others have said I can take the cash and either deposit it directly into the slot machines I play, or keep some of it for souvenier shopping and I am saving $100!

My name is HappiestWhenCrusing, but I'm even happier when I'm saving money!!!$$$  Thanks again everyone!

 

Did you get cash or points with your Gold card?  I was offered 10,000 on my Gold business, which could be worth an easy $150 - $200 in travel credit.  Happier indeed!

[HappiestWhenCruising]

$100 credit on my AMEX account

[*Miss G*]

10 hours ago, Bengalfang said:

Anybody know if casino chips or OBC are refundable before I board. I know I would lose the $100 Amex credit but just wondering in case I change my mind.

 

When you cash out at the casino on the last night they will give you whatever is in your bank back in cash.  It will not go back as a credit on your account so you won’t lose the credit.  The purchased OBC, however, will.

[thqu60]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

When you cash out at the casino on the last night they will give you whatever is in your bank back in cash.  It will not go back as a credit on your account so you won’t lose the credit.  The purchased OBC, however, will.

Can you go to the casino and buy the casino chips with your purchased OBC?

[DaveOKC]

1 minute ago, thqu60 said:

Can you go to the casino and buy the casino chips with your purchased OBC?

 

Yes, with PURCHASED OBC.  If the OBC is from HAL (promotions, etc.) casino charges cannot be used.

 

How it works - you go to the casino and purchase casino chips and charge them to your cabin (for slot machines it is even easier as the machine walks you though it after you set up a password).  The chips/slot credits can be redeemed at the cashier cage at anytime during your cruise (but do not wait until departure day as the casino will be closed and you could lose credits).

 

These charges go onto your onboard account, which you can check at anytime at the front desk (ask for a printout) OR on some ships on your TV.  When you look at this account, normally the first line(s) will be the OBC you received.  During the cruise, charges will reduce this amount as you incur items.  

 

Now, here is where it gets tricky, as some HAL ships do this one way and others another.  The way I would use for your purpose is that if you have a positive balance (i.e. HAL owes you money), HAL will determine if you are due a refund of it.  HAL uses up the OBC that they provided to you first and then uses the OBC you purchased.  If your charges have not used up HAL's OBC, you will lose the balance of that, but you should get the OBC you purchased refunded back to the credit card they have on file.  If your charges have used up all of HAL's OBC and some of the OBC you purchased, you again will get a refund, of the difference only this time (naturally).

 

I hope this helps and that I have not just confused the situation.

[thqu60]

32 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

 

Yes, with PURCHASED OBC.  If the OBC is from HAL (promotions, etc.) casino charges cannot be used.

 

How it works - you go to the casino and purchase casino chips and charge them to your cabin (for slot machines it is even easier as the machine walks you though it after you set up a password).  The chips/slot credits can be redeemed at the cashier cage at anytime during your cruise (but do not wait until departure day as the casino will be closed and you could lose credits).

 

These charges go onto your onboard account, which you can check at anytime at the front desk (ask for a printout) OR on some ships on your TV.  When you look at this account, normally the first line(s) will be the OBC you received.  During the cruise, charges will reduce this amount as you incur items.  

 

Now, here is where it gets tricky, as some HAL ships do this one way and others another.  The way I would use for your purpose is that if you have a positive balance (i.e. HAL owes you money), HAL will determine if you are due a refund of it.  HAL uses up the OBC that they provided to you first and then uses the OBC you purchased.  If your charges have not used up HAL's OBC, you will lose the balance of that, but you should get the OBC you purchased refunded back to the credit card they have on file.  If your charges have used up all of HAL's OBC and some of the OBC you purchased, you again will get a refund, of the difference only this time (naturally).

 

I hope this helps and that I have not just confused the situation.

Thanks DaveOKC for the detailed explanation!

[SFO Peter]

Good rule of thumb is to use up

 

>>>100% of HAL given OBC and 100% HAL given Beverage Cards<<<

 

then it is smooth sailing for refunds from outstanding balances.  Example below is from Beverage Card.

 

Peter

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by SFO PETER
added

[SFO Peter]

Beverage card was bought (charged to my account) on the ship.  The image shows a refund of unused Beverage Card balance.

[UWCorry]

Question: I assume this will work if I book some shore excursions on HAL's website with the Amex. Is there any reason NOT to do it this way? I know everyone likes the casino method but I would rather just have the discount off the super expensive Alaska shore excursions. 

[msmayor]

12 minutes ago, UWCorry said:

Question: I assume this will work if I book some shore excursions on HAL's website with the Amex. Is there any reason NOT to do it this way? I know everyone likes the casino method but I would rather just have the discount off the super expensive Alaska shore excursions. 

 

I purchased excursions for my fall Eurodam cruise and had notification of the Amex Credit almost instantly...so yes, as long as you charge at least $500 on the Amex for anything and the charge is for Holland (or any of the other cruise lines this promo is for), you'll get the credit.

[jm485]

Thanks to the OP for posting this. I paid part of my cruise this summer early amd the 10k points showed up right away!

[UWCorry]

10 hours ago, msmayor said:

 

I purchased excursions for my fall Eurodam cruise and had notification of the Amex Credit almost instantly...so yes, as long as you charge at least $500 on the Amex for anything and the charge is for Holland (or any of the other cruise lines this promo is for), you'll get the credit.

 

Thanks! I just booked some Alaska Shore Excursions and sure enough it already worked. Awesome!

[Moriah]

I had a note in my calendar to pay $500 of my next cruise in March in order to take advantage of the offer. Final payment for my cruise is in May, so I told my TA to just put $500 now on my AMEX.  I expected to see a $100 credit, but when I checked, it turned out to be a POINT bonus, not an actual $ credit.  Even though the wording of the offer specified "$100 statement credit".  I'm not really complaining, since the 10,000 points will probably buy me $100 worth of stuff on Amazon, but it's strange that it wasn't what was stated on the offer.  I phoned AMEX and they told me that the offer I had on my card was actually for the points credit, but I had copied the offer and it clearly said "Statement credit"... hmmmm

[DaveOKC]

2 hours ago, Moriah said:

I had a note in my calendar to pay $500 of my next cruise in March in order to take advantage of the offer. Final payment for my cruise is in May, so I told my TA to just put $500 now on my AMEX.  I expected to see a $100 credit, but when I checked, it turned out to be a POINT bonus, not an actual $ credit.  Even though the wording of the offer specified "$100 statement credit".  I'm not really complaining, since the 10,000 points will probably buy me $100 worth of stuff on Amazon, but it's strange that it wasn't what was stated on the offer.  I phoned AMEX and they told me that the offer I had on my card was actually for the points credit, but I had copied the offer and it clearly said "Statement credit"... hmmmm

Was the 10,000 point offer already on your card before you copied over the $100 credit?  Maybe that caused the issue.

 

I did not have either offer, so the $100 worked for me. 

[PigsCanFly]

My gold card had the $100 and my Blue card had the 10000 pt offer.  Tried each of them recently.  I am awaiting results from one or both.

[msmayor]

I saw the 10,000 point offer, but already had the $100 offer loaded on the card.  Was just waiting to decide on the excursions before using it.

 

This is the second time I've been able to take advantage of this offer.  First was about 18 months ago.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

3 hours ago, msmayor said:

I saw the 10,000 point offer, but already had the $100 offer loaded on the card.  Was just waiting to decide on the excursions before using it.

 

This is the second time I've been able to take advantage of this offer.  First was about 18 months ago.

 

We've did the $100 offer a few months back, and the 10,000 point offer recently.  For our Transpacific, I might load another $500 if the offer pops up again.

 

I'm going to at least use the funds for onboard expenses, planned excursions, or filter it through the casino.  If we all cash out the money and walk, Carnival could pull this type of opportunity.

[dundeene]

25 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

We've did the $100 offer a few months back, and the 10,000 point offer recently.  For our Transpacific, I might load another $500 if the offer pops up again.

 

I'm going to at least use the funds for onboard expenses, planned excursions, or filter it through the casino.  If we all cash out the money and walk, Carnival could pull this type of opportunity.

I may seem like a Debbie-Downer but I agree. This is a good deal and the $$$ is free even if you use it correctly to buy excursions or book a cruise.  If people try to "game the system" and abuse the intent of the offer, it will likely be pulled. Carnival/HAL have social media personnel who keep up on CC. It would seem pretty obvious to me what people are doing if they choose to buy $500 worth of chips and pull them back out on day one!

Good luck everyone and happy cruising.

[DaveOKC]

26 minutes ago, dundeene said:

I may seem like a Debbie-Downer but I agree. This is a good deal and the $$$ is free even if you use it correctly to buy excursions or book a cruise.  If people try to "game the system" and abuse the intent of the offer, it will likely be pulled. Carnival/HAL have social media personnel who keep up on CC. It would seem pretty obvious to me what people are doing if they choose to buy $500 worth of chips and pull them back out on day one!

Good luck everyone and happy cruising.

 

I agree.  All too often I have seen good deals discontinued due to people abusing the system.  I am sure that the $500 we charged in OBC will be used up, at least the bulk of it for sure (unless we hit a jackpot on the slots!).

 

[*Miss G*]

Sorry but I don’t get the logic.  Whether I have used my Amex to pay for my booking or my shore excursion or my HSC, it is still a charge to the line.  If I have pulled some cash into my bank in the casino and cash out at the end, what does it matter to Amex?  I have still used that card to spend $500 or more, which is all they require.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

10 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Sorry but I don’t get the logic.  Whether I have used my Amex to pay for my booking or my shore excursion or my HSC, it is still a charge to the line.  If I have pulled some cash into my bank in the casino and cash out at the end, what does it matter to Amex?  I have still used that card to spend $500 or more, which is all they require.

 

Amex likely couldn't care less.  These promos are not majority funded by Amex, but the company they're partnering with to offer the incentive.

[SFO Peter]

I played the Casino.  Won an additional $100.   The Casino encourages you to play of course!  That is one reason it is being offered.  If you spend thousands on one cruise and HAL wants to give you a $100 encouragement that is o.k. by me.

 

 

[DaveOKC]

57 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Sorry but I don’t get the logic.  Whether I have used my Amex to pay for my booking or my shore excursion or my HSC, it is still a charge to the line.  If I have pulled some cash into my bank in the casino and cash out at the end, what does it matter to Amex?  I have still used that card to spend $500 or more, which is all they require.

 

I THINK that Am Ex wants you to BOOK the cruise using your Am Ex card, which likely will be much more than $500 in total.  Plus they assume that you will put your onboard charges on their card.   So they really want more than $500 in charges (only way to justify the $100 I think).

[caribill]

On 3/1/2019 at 7:57 PM, Andi Land said:

FYI: Just paid my AMEX bill and there was an offer for Worlds Leading Cruiselines spend $500 and get 10,000 bonus points. I prefer the spend $$ get $$ back but I’ll take bonus points too. 

 

Although this thread was started on March 1, the offer actually existed since November 20, 2018 with an expiration date of March 31, 2019.

[Sue from Canada]

On 3/1/2019 at 8:57 PM, Andi Land said:

FYI: Just paid my AMEX bill and there was an offer for Worlds Leading Cruiselines spend $500 and get 10,000 bonus points. I prefer the spend $$ get $$ back but I’ll take bonus points too. 

I presume this only applies to US residents???