Gift Card promo is back!!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

13 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

Cash Flow.  They want/need money coming in.

Restaurants / retail do the same thing.

[Daniel A]

48 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

Cash Flow.  They want/need money coming in.

 

33 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Restaurants / retail do the same thing.

It's kind of like lay-away in reverse.  😄 

 

Last year, when everything was shut down, there were three businesses that we frequent, (2 inns and a cleaning service) who offered gift certificates with a bonus in order to keep afloat.  (No pun intended.)

Edited April 20, 2021 by Daniel A

[MTAK]

Same as the Early Pay bonus promotion from a few months ago.  Pay-now-buy-later instead of buy-now-pay-later. 

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, MTAK said:

Same as the Early Pay bonus promotion from a few months ago.  Pay-now-buy-later instead of buy-now-pay-later. 

That was restricted to cruise fares and further to cruises that were more than 6 days and less than 21.  Many of us could not participate in that.  I wasn't so interested in paying off my cruise as paying $750 for a $250 OBC, sounded like a pretty sweet deal.  

[MTAK]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

That was restricted to cruise fares and further to cruises that were more than 6 days and less than 21.  Many of us could not participate in that.  I wasn't so interested in paying off my cruise as paying $750 for a $250 OBC, sounded like a pretty sweet deal.  

I took advantage of it and the gift cards.  Hopefully everything works out as this turned out to be the cheapest cruise we've booked so far.

 

But yeah, both are basically a loan program for HAL.

[Mary229]

Just now, MTAK said:

I took advantage of it and the gift cards.  Hopefully everything works out as this turned out to be the cheapest cruise we've booked so far.

 

But yeah, both are basically a loan program for HAL.

How I managed it since all of my cruises are longer than 21 days was I bought the gift card then there was a 20% off shore excursions where I applied the gift cards.  Unfortunately all of that was cancelled.  I use the credit card insurance which is quite a savings and precludes me from using the gift cards.  (Yes, I have done the math and I will probably run the numbers again before this promo is over)

[mcrcruiser]

A fly in the ointment so to speak is   ,at this time , Arnold Donald ,CEO of Carnival  Corp. is saying vaccines for passengers & crew not required  .Thus ,it is really taking a risk  to use the  gift cards & bonus   because no one knows  what  will happen  .  Many cruisers will not go on ships where all passengers & crew have been vaccinated  . 

 

 Then  there is the  financial  risk fact that cruises have not started from any US ports  & there is no date yet set when this will happen 

 

 

[Daniel A]

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

A fly in the ointment so to speak is   ,at this time , Arnold Donald ,CEO of Carnival  Corp. is saying vaccines for passengers & crew not required  .Thus ,it is really taking a risk  to use the  gift cards & bonus   because no one knows  what  will happen  .  Many cruisers will not go on ships where all passengers & crew have been vaccinated  . 

 

 Then  there is the  financial  risk fact that cruises have not started from any US ports  & there is no date yet set when this will happen 

I'm curious about why you keep making negative posts about this offer.  I get that it's not in your comfort zone and you won't be buying any of the gift cards, but why are you so dead set against others buying them?

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

A fly in the ointment so to speak is   ,at this time , Arnold Donald ,CEO of Carnival  Corp. is saying vaccines for passengers & crew not required  .Thus ,it is really taking a risk  to use the  gift cards & bonus   because no one knows  what  will happen  .  Many cruisers will not go on ships where all passengers & crew have been vaccinated  . 

 

 Then  there is the  financial  risk fact that cruises have not started from any US ports  & there is no date yet set when this will happen 

 

 

The card is good indefinitely and the bonus is good until the end of 2022 and you only need spend it by 2022 even though you may not cruise until whenever.  

[mcrcruiser]

6 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

The card is good indefinitely and the bonus is good until the end of 2022 and you only need spend it by 2022 even though you may not cruise until whenever.  

We understood the terms . The downside to this whole promotion is that  there have been zero cruises from US ports   . When Arnold Donald was asked ,a while back,how long could CCL support  the business with out cruises he said until the end of 2021  .Well here we are going to the end of April  & so cruises fron any IS ports in sight 

 

 Any one can  see the bright side   of the deal  but it takes one to see the downside first .All the cards are in the cruise lines hands when any one shells over their money to buy   non guaranteed returns 

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We understood the terms . The downside to this whole promotion is that  there have been zero cruises from US ports   . When Arnold Donald was asked ,a while back,how long could CCL support  the business with out cruises he said until the end of 2021  .Well here we are going to the end of April  & so cruises fron any IS ports in sight 

 

 Any one can  see the bright side   of the deal  but it takes one to see the downside first .All the cards are in the cruise lines hands when any one shells over their money to buy   non guaranteed returns 

 I have said it before and I guess I will say it again that the vast, vast, vast majority of people on the HAL forum are mature adults who have demonstrated over a lifetime their ability to manage their finances.  They certainly don't need us to tell them how to gauge financial risk

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

 I have said it before and I guess I will say it again that the vast, vast, vast majority of people on the HAL forum are mature adults who have demonstrated over a lifetime their ability to manage their finances.  They certainly don't need us to tell them how to gauge financial risk

 All I am doing is pointing out the down side rather than hype this thing to kingdom come   .Let people draw their own conclusions  from all posts 

[Daniel A]

21 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

 All I am doing is pointing out the down side rather than hype this thing to kingdom come   .Let people draw their own conclusions  from all posts 

But you aren't even acknowledging any up side at all.  You're deliberately trying to scare people away from this offer for whatever real reasons you have.

 

Posting this point of view once or twice is pointing something out.  What you're doing with multiple posts saying the same thing is no longer pointing something out.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Daniel A

[RuthC]

3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

The downside to this whole promotion is that  there have been zero cruises from US ports

The US isn't the only country with ports. 
YOU may not be willing to fly overseas to board a cruise, but that is not the case for all others. 

[mcrcruiser]

Heck have it your way  but this is one person that is not going after the  bated hook 

7 hours ago, Daniel A said:

But you aren't even acknowledging any up side at all.  You're deliberately trying to scare people away from this offer for whatever real reasons you have.

 

Posting this point of view once or twice is pointing something out.  What you're doing with multiple posts saying the same thing is no longer pointing something out.

Heck have it your way  but this is one person that is not going after the  bated hook   .It has nothing to do with upside   on my part because I don;t see any upside

Edited April 21, 2021 by mcrcruiser

[mcrcruiser]

3 hours ago, RuthC said:

The US isn't the only country with ports. 
YOU may not be willing to fly overseas to board a cruise, but that is not the case for all others. 

  True then how many cruise from the USA vs how many cruise from  Europe .Add air fares ,hotels ,meals  onto increased cruise prices & just maybe  they could be out of the reach of many people    BTW ,Europe is still in a lot of trouble with Covid  cases   . They are far behind the USA in vaccinations  

[cruiserchuck]

If you buy the gift cards with a MasterCard, you would appear to have some protection in the event HAL goes out of business.

 

The MasterCard chargeback guide provides the following regarding chargebacks on the purchase of gift cards:

 

"In cases involving the purchase of a merchant-branded prepaid gift card without an expiration date printed on the card and that merchant subsequently goes out of business, within 540-calendar days from the Central Site Business Date of the first presentment.

 

In cases involving the purchase of a merchant-branded prepaid gift card with an expiration date printed on the card and that merchant subsequently goes out of business, within 120-calendar days from the expiration date printed on the card."

 

I assume that Visa has similar provisions, but I did not check, since I was planning to use a MasterCard for any purchase.

[RuthC]

13 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

True then how many cruise from the USA vs how many cruise from  Europe .Add air fares ,hotels ,meals  onto increased cruise prices & just maybe  they could be out of the reach of many people 

All the (many) cruises I have taken in Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia, and South America have sailed full. 
Not everyone is enamoured of sailing out of a US port as you are. 

Covid is still enough of a problem in the US that I wouldn't be sailing from here right now, either. 

[FlaMariner]

Thanks to the OP for letting us know about this bonus........

 

Our plan for the 10% return (which is what I consider the gift cards).....

 

We owe $5,000 in December (final payment) for a March cruise.....We plan to buy $4,000 in gift cards and receive $4,400 (or if they limit the amount we can buy, take what I can)

 

I asked TA to reach out to HAL and ask if there was an incentive for me to pay off the balance ($5,000) now rather than wait until December.....The answer back was something like "no early payment promo now but keep an eye out for possible future early promo offer"

 

So we will hold our $4,400 in gift cards and see if an early payoff promo offers comes forth and if not, use the cards to pay off the cruise later in the year.

 

Here is where I see it....

 

if HAL/Carnival goes busted prior to March 2022, we loose our $4,000 (credit card may provide coverage but not banking on it)

if HAL offers an incentive later in the year for early payoff, we will have our 10% bonus ($400) and whatever the other incentive may be

if HAL offers no incentive, we will earn a 10% return on our $4,000 and that beats the .50% in my online savings account

 

"you pays your money and you takes your chances"

 

I'm fine with the risk and appreciate the opportunity.....Isn't freedom to choose wonderful?  And of course, YMMV.

 

Smooth sailing to all......

 

 

[rodndonna]

11 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

Thanks to the OP for letting us know about this bonus........

 

Our plan for the 10% return (which is what I consider the gift cards).....

 

We owe $5,000 in December (final payment) for a March cruise.....We plan to buy $4,000 in gift cards and receive $4,400 (or if they limit the amount we can buy, take what I can)

 

I asked TA to reach out to HAL and ask if there was an incentive for me to pay off the balance ($5,000) now rather than wait until December.....The answer back was something like "no early payment promo now but keep an eye out for possible future early promo offer"

 

So we will hold our $4,400 in gift cards and see if an early payoff promo offers comes forth and if not, use the cards to pay off the cruise later in the year.

 

Here is where I see it....

 

if HAL/Carnival goes busted prior to March 2022, we loose our $4,000 (credit card may provide coverage but not banking on it)

if HAL offers an incentive later in the year for early payoff, we will have our 10% bonus ($400) and whatever the other incentive may be

if HAL offers no incentive, we will earn a 10% return on our $4,000 and that beats the .50% in my online savings account

 

"you pays your money and you takes your chances"

 

I'm fine with the risk and appreciate the opportunity.....Isn't freedom to choose wonderful?  And of course, YMMV.

 

Smooth sailing to all......

 

 

 

We are using the same approach - we just purchased cards to pay for our sailing in May 2022 but will hold on to them in case there is a pay early promo. The last time the pay early promo was out, that cruise (Norway Fjords) was not eligible so hopes are slim, but at least we have the gift card discount!

[Daniel A]

4 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

We plan to buy $4,000 in gift cards and receive $4,400 (or if they limit the amount we can buy, take what I can)

When I bought cards this week, I called into the 800 (855) number and spoke with live individuals.  I didn't trust that I would do it correctly directly on line.

 

When I bought my cards this is what I discovered:  There is no limit to how many cards you can buy, but you cannot buy more than $10,000 in a single day, so if anyone wants more than $10,000 you need to make your purchases over multiple days.  The most that can be placed on any single card is $2,000, so if you wanted to buy $10,000 in one day, they will sell you five $2000 cards.  In order to buy $5,000 it would be spit up into two $2,000 cards plus one $1,000 card.

 

You can find the 800 number (actually it is an 855 number) at the following link near the bottom in the paragraph labeled "Purchasing Gift Cards"

 

Gift Card Terms and Conditions (hollandamerica.com)

 

I hope this helps.

[mcrcruiser]

We were on the phone for  quite some time  with both  CITI double Cash back Master Card & Chase Sapphire  Preferred Visa  card  .  Both companies  benefits departments stated that a purchase of GiFT Cards  from A Cruise line who could wind up into bankruptcy  ,would Definitely  NOT be Covered under any benefits   of those credit cards 

 

 Our  purpose for  phoning these  credit card companies  was to inquire  that if we purchased  $5000 in Holland america gift Cards & if Holland  America /Carnival Corp  filed for bankruptcy protection would we be covered by the credit cards to replace our $5000  .

 

 The answer from Both  The Citi Master Card & The Chase Visa Card Benefits is NO coverage to recoup that loss .We were actually hoping that there would be  coverage for a loss of $5000 so that we too could buy those Gift Cards .

 

 We are not against gift  cards from most companies ;however ,in this case the real & still present danger is that the Carnival corp could file bankruptcy  ,if they can not get their cruising act    together before they run out of money & other finance assist options

[mcrcruiser]

5 hours ago, RuthC said:

All the (many) cruises I have taken in Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia, and South America have sailed full. 
Not everyone is enamoured of sailing out of a US port as you are. 

Covid is still enough of a problem in the US that I wouldn't be sailing from here right now, either. 

Frankly the covid virus is far worse in other parts of the world than here in the USA where more vaccine has already been administered   .Even  Europe with the exception of the UK is  far behind Vaccine injections   . As far as the rest of the world is concerned   it most likely worse than Europe 

[YXU AC*SE]

4 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We were on the phone for  quite some time  with both  CITI double Cash back Master Card & Chase Sapphire  Preferred Visa  card  .  Both companies  benefits departments stated that a purchase of GiFT Cards  from A Cruise line who could wind up into bankruptcy  ,would Definitely  NOT be Covered under any benefits   of those credit cards 

 

Unfortunately, you were asking the incorrect question.   

 

This is not a perquisite, indemnification, or insurance offered by your branded cards. @cruiserchuckis referencing the chargeback rules for MasterCard. 

https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/global/documents/chargeback-guide.pdf

 

For a chargeback initiated on/after 17 July 2020, for pre-paid gift cards w/o out an expiration date, one has 540 days from the time of first presentment to dispute.  For pre-paid cards w/ an expiration date, one has 120 days after that date to initiate a chargeback.  Steps required of MasterCard are set out below.   

 

 

 

Shall I do the same for VISA and American Express, or may we dispense?    Scott. 

Edited April 22, 2021 by YXU AC*SE

[mcrcruiser]

6 hours ago, YXU AC*SE said:

 

Unfortunately, you were asking the incorrect question.   

 

This is not a perquisite, indemnification, or insurance offered by your branded cards. @cruiserchuckis referencing the chargeback rules for MasterCard. 

https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/global/documents/chargeback-guide.pdf

 

For a chargeback initiated on/after 17 July 2020, for pre-paid gift cards w/o out an expiration date, one has 540 days from the time of first presentment to dispute.  For pre-paid cards w/ an expiration date, one has 120 days after that date to initiate a chargeback.  Steps required of MasterCard are set out below.   

 

 

 

Shall I do the same for VISA and American Express, or may we dispense?    Scott. 

Legally when we buy any item or service using either our Master Card with Citi or our Chase Sapphire Preferred   CC from Visa  ,our contract  terms are with those 2 bank credit card companies .We are not contracting the purchase with with Master  Card or Visa  . since we are making a ourchase with those credit cards  how could we legally make claim to the  Master Card Co or visa card co  .We  made no direct contract with either if those 2  companies  

 

 We did not see any in writing benefits from either  Citi  or Chase  .Although I am not an attorney   I can not   understand what legal position we would have  in a default  of a vendor with whom we have no legal ties to 

 

  To risk $5000  on what is said on  any  internet board  is  far too great a risk  .I rather pay in full than  endeavor to gain a paltry 10%   .We  can easily make far more  than 10%  in the stock   ,crypto  or even precious metals  markets with more safety  of ownership   with in  days 

 

 What ever others do with their money is no concern  of ours  .However ,  I will never hype any thing  that could end up in  disaster  .In fact I won;t even discuss  ways to make more in the financial markets because always there is a element of risk  based on  how much knowledge a person has who makes the trades   & when they make the  trades   

 

 I am just being very honest with cruise critic members  here