Gift Card Debacle - need help/advice please

[Daniel A]

13 hours ago, dobiemom said:

 

The special I took advantage of was buy $500 get a $50 bonus card. 🙂 I think it was unlimited but the bonus card may have had an expiration date?

According to HAL's web site:

"Standard Gift Cards have no expiration date. Promotional Gift Cards may carry an expiration date which will be printed on the Promotional Gift Card."

 

I just checked my bonus (Promotional) gift cards I got this past April, and they are digital and bear no expiration date.  As I recall, when I purchased the cards from HAL, I had a choice of getting a physical Gift Card or a digital.  The Promotional Gift Card was only available in digital format.

[Roz]

@kentuckycruiser, were you able to contact HAL?  What did they tell you?

[ontheweb]

54 minutes ago, Roz said:

@kentuckycruiser, were you able to contact HAL?  What did they tell you?

Yes, we are all waiting to find out.

[leafsnation]

You can check the gift card balance. Last year they had a deal Buy a $1,000 get a free $200 . Cant get 20% at the bank. I used mine as a deposit on the feb 2023 south pacific cruise.

Bob

[puppycanducruise]

Hoping you get it resolved to your satisfaction.🤞

[kentuckycruiser]

We are still waiting. Yesterday I was sent from department to department  and given various new numbers to call. Finally at 11:15  a.m. EST after being disconnected a dozen times by a recording I called my husband to have him start trying. At that moment we were both on hold - the man I finally got in the gift card department - which opens at 11 a.m. EST -  sent me to an off site company to look into it (ugh) but my husband got a woman who had access to a different screen and could see what happened.  Right now we are waiting for accounting to update.  We did feel more comfortable with her ability to resolve but I really hope it gets fixed today.

Edited September 14, 2021 by kentuckycruiser

[Roz]

Thanks for the update, but that's ridiculous.  It shouldn't be that hard.

[Daniel A]

46 minutes ago, kentuckycruiser said:

We are still waiting. Yesterday I was sent from department to department  and given various new numbers to call. Finally at 11:15  a.m. EST after being disconnected a dozen times by a recording I called my husband to have him start trying. At that moment we were both on hold - the man I finally got in the gift card department - which opens at 11 a.m. EST -  sent me to an off site company to look into it (ugh) but my husband got a woman who had access to a different screen and could see what happened.  Right now we are waiting for accounting to update.  We did feel more comfortable with her ability to resolve but I really hope it gets fixed today.

Did you get Arjean?  When I had some minor issues with the gift cards, I found Arjean to be on the ball and got things done.

[kentuckycruiser]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

Did you get Arjean?  When I had some minor issues with the gift cards, I found Arjean to be on the ball and got things done.

He did! Apparently there are 3 people in the department and she answered his call. Fingers crossed it an be resolved today!

[Daniel A]

29 minutes ago, kentuckycruiser said:

He did! Apparently there are 3 people in the department and she answered his call. Fingers crossed it an be resolved today!

Yes, Arjean has a higher level of access to make direct computer entries.  Others in that office need to send e-mail requests for others to get answers.  Good luck, I think you're in good hands.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, kentuckycruiser said:

He did! Apparently there are 3 people in the department and she answered his call. Fingers crossed it an be resolved today!

🤞 still crossed for you. And I agree with everyone who says it should not be that hard. It makes no sense that only one person in the department has access to computer screens.

[kentuckycruiser]

It is fixed and we have a zero balance!! Woo hoo. Thanks to everyone with their positive thoughts the last four days. So glad to have it resolved!

[Daniel A]

9 minutes ago, kentuckycruiser said:

It is fixed and we have a zero balance!! Woo hoo. Thanks to everyone with their positive thoughts the last four days. So glad to have it resolved!

Keep Arjean's phone number, she's the best.  Good for you!! 🥂  Enjoy your cruise...🚢

Edited September 14, 2021 by Daniel A

[puppycanducruise]

Hooray.  Glad you got it resolved!

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, kentuckycruiser said:

It is fixed and we have a zero balance!! Woo hoo. Thanks to everyone with their positive thoughts the last four days. So glad to have it resolved!

Yay. And see it was not worth losing your mind over the weekend.😉

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Yay. And see it was not worth losing your mind over the weekend.😉

Some people do get stressed over things, some do not.  I don’t love when people diminish how others feel.  I had lunch with a friend a couple days ago that constantly does this.  It’s going to be a long time until I go out with her again.  I don’t need people in my life like that.

[Tracey/Thom]

On 9/12/2021 at 6:14 PM, Daniel A said:

This past Winter, I bought a substantial amount of gift cards during a promotion from Holland America where you got a 10% bonus gift card for every gift card bought in denominations of $500 and $1,000.  For each $1,000 card I bought, I got a free bonus card worth $100.  That made a 10% discount on the price of my next HAL cruise.  

 

Be careful though, you would  need to buy the gift cards directly from Holland America and it is only done for a limited time during the promotion.  Buying a card at a store will not get one the bonus during the promotion.  I looked at it that I was lending Holland America money for a 10% return.  I found out about the promotion here on Cruise Critic, just keep checking the threads.

I did that too, and when HAL canceled our cruise (2020) it was an absolute nightmare to get that money back. They insisted it had to back onto a new gift card  - which didn't work when I tried to reschedule the cruise for 2021 and use those new gift cards. The gift card department tried to be helpful but were not, pretty sure I lost money on that deal, because I got tired of trying to get it sorted out. 

[zgscl]

8 hours ago, Tracey/Thom said:

I did that too, and when HAL canceled our cruise (2020) it was an absolute nightmare to get that money back. They insisted it had to back onto a new gift card  - which didn't work when I tried to reschedule the cruise for 2021 and use those new gift cards. The gift card department tried to be helpful but were not, pretty sure I lost money on that deal, because I got tired of trying to get it sorted out. 

I have been thinking about getting gift cards as an easy way to spread out the cost of upcoming cruises...this thread has made me reevaluate my strategy