The Non-Reward Behind the HAL Rewards Visa - JMO

[HeatherInFlorida]

First, this is not a slam on HAL because I'm confident they entered into this agreement with Barclay's Bank in good faith and with good intentions. But here's what happened to me and I post only as a warning to others who may be building up points toward rewards on their next HAL cruise.

 

We have no debt other than our mortgage, but I believe credit is safer than debit cards. We pay all our bills in full each month so reward cards are all gravy. When I got an offer for a HAL Visa card with the pretty picture of a beautiful HAL cruise ship on it, I wasted no time accepting it.

 

I have many reward cards .... cashback, Celebrity rewards, LLBean rewards, RCL rewards, Southwest rewards, even reward that dump money in my IRA. All have proved very easy to redeem.

 

Not so the HAL Visa rewards! I only gathered a little over 15K points because I don't use it exclusively, but that's about $150 in onboard credits so 3 days ago I began the process of redeeming. Early on I learned that even though it appears you can use your credits for shore excursions, you can only do this by redeeming the credits and using them onboard. You cannot book the excursion in advance so I ruled that out.

 

With that disappointment, I decided on casino chips ($50), beverage card ($50) and 2 dinners in the Pinnacle Grill ($50). I placed these neatly into my shopping basket and proceeded to "checkout". I was asked to provide all information regarding my booking number, sailing date, name, ship, etc. I filled that all in as directed and clicked "purchase". Big red "error" message from the site.

 

I did this in total 5 times over 2 days. I cleared my cookies, my temp internet files, my history, 3 times. I tried it in 3 browsers: AOL, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Each time I got the same little red error notice from the site taking me back to my basket where everything I had typed in had turned into gibberish.

 

In desperation I used the telephone. After much discussion with a poor girl who I abused unmercifully and then apologized several times over because it's certainly not her fault, she told me she a Leisure Specialist would have to call me to complete the transaction. She would call no later than last night.

 

Finally this morning I received the call from HAL Rewards (at least I sure hope it was ... my caller ID says "unknown name unknown number" which is more like a description of me about now!!!). I spoke with a very nice woman, clearly efficient. She had to enter each purchase separately and suggested possibly I should have tried that. I should have. What was I thinking? The website directed me to place everything in a shopping basket and purchase, but I should have known I needed 4 baskets.

 

So she placed the order telling me that in 10 days it would show up on my reservation (needless to say I will be following up on that:rolleyes:). I asked her to please email me a confirmation. She explained that she doesn't have the ability do that (what??? why not???), but I should be confident the order had gone through. Uuuuhhhhh, no ... I don't think I'm feeling all that confident right now.

 

She did give me 3 separate confirmation numbers which she told me would be more than enough onboard. Hmmmmm ... again, I don't think so.

 

Call me cynical, but I'm not having a whole lot of faith in the HAL Reward program right now. I really like my MasterCard cashback rewards where I can just click "send me a check" and it's in my mailbox within about 6 days, or L. L. Bean where I get free shipping, free monogramming and credits on purchases, or Celebrity where they simply issue an OBC however we wish to use it.

 

Next time I'll know better ... my HAL Visa card will be put away in a drawer. It really wasn't worth it for $150 when you consider I really wanted to use it for shore excursions in advance. I called the Shore Excursion Desk and they told me any excursion including a beach fills up quickly.

 

I'm posting because forewarned is forearmed and if you plan on using HAL Rewards, be sure to plan in advance when you have some extra time. I did report the kinks in the system and was told they would look into it. Hopefully it will be cleared up by the time one of you want you use it and all this will be moot.

 

I'm so fortunate to live in this country, I'm lucky to be able to cruise, so I really have no right to complain, but c'mon people!!!!:D

[canadianbear]

Yikes! Thanks for sharing that information....I don't have the card and probably now won't even apply for one....should not be that much of a hassle...sorry you had to go through it.:eek:

[Dodger Blue]

I can't say I'm surprised. Unfortunately, it appears that HAL is doing what so many other retailers rely on...frustration. If you've ever processed a rebate you'll know what I'm talking about. I believe they rely on a great percentage of people simply giving up in frustration and not using the rewards. They make it so difficult people won't persevere like you have done. I believe they will honor your rewards, but they lose credibility when they treat their patrons like they do.

[Regal Eagle]

First, this is not a slam on HAL because I'm confident they entered into this agreement with Barclay's Bank in good faith and with good intentions. But here's what happened to me and I post only as a warning to others who may be building up points toward rewards on their next HAL cruise.

 

We have no debt other than our mortgage, but I believe credit is safer than debit cards. We pay all our bills in full each month so reward cards are all gravy. When I got an offer for a HAL Visa card with the pretty picture of a beautiful HAL cruise ship on it, I wasted no time accepting it.

 

I have many reward cards .... cashback, Celebrity rewards, LLBean rewards, RCL rewards, Southwest rewards, even reward that dump money in my IRA. All have proved very easy to redeem.

 

Not so the HAL Visa rewards! I only gathered a little over 15K points because I don't use it exclusively, but that's about $150 in onboard credits so 3 days ago I began the process of redeeming. Early on I learned that even though it appears you can use your credits for shore excursions, you can only do this by redeeming the credits and using them onboard. You cannot book the excursion in advance so I ruled that out.

 

With that disappointment, I decided on casino chips ($50), beverage card ($50) and 2 dinners in the Pinnacle Grill ($50). I placed these neatly into my shopping basket and proceeded to "checkout". I was asked to provide all information regarding my booking number, sailing date, name, ship, etc. I filled that all in as directed and clicked "purchase". Big red "error" message from the site.

 

I did this in total 5 times over 2 days. I cleared my cookies, my temp internet files, my history, 3 times. I tried it in 3 browsers: AOL, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Each time I got the same little red error notice from the site taking me back to my basket where everything I had typed in had turned into gibberish.

 

In desperation I used the telephone. After much discussion with a poor girl who I abused unmercifully and then apologized several times over because it's certainly not her fault, she told me she a Leisure Specialist would have to call me to complete the transaction. She would call no later than last night.

 

Finally this morning I received the call from HAL Rewards (at least I sure hope it was ... my caller ID says "unknown name unknown number" which is more like a description of me about now!!!). I spoke with a very nice woman, clearly efficient. She had to enter each purchase separately and suggested possibly I should have tried that. I should have. What was I thinking? The website directed me to place everything in a shopping basket and purchase, but I should have known I needed 4 baskets.

 

So she placed the order telling me that in 10 days it would show up on my reservation (needless to say I will be following up on that:rolleyes:). I asked her to please email me a confirmation. She explained that she doesn't have the ability do that (what??? why not???), but I should be confident the order had gone through. Uuuuhhhhh, no ... I don't think I'm feeling all that confident right now.

 

She did give me 3 separate confirmation numbers which she told me would be more than enough onboard. Hmmmmm ... again, I don't think so.

 

Call me cynical, but I'm not having a whole lot of faith in the HAL Reward program right now. I really like my MasterCard cashback rewards where I can just click "send me a check" and it's in my mailbox within about 6 days, or L. L. Bean where I get free shipping, free monogramming and credits on purchases, or Celebrity where they simply issue an OBC however we wish to use it.

 

Next time I'll know better ... my HAL Visa card will be put away in a drawer. It really wasn't worth it for $150 when you consider I really wanted to use it for shore excursions in advance. I called the Shore Excursion Desk and they told me any excursion including a beach fills up quickly.

 

I'm posting because forewarned is forearmed and if you plan on using HAL Rewards, be sure to plan in advance when you have some extra time. I did report the kinks in the system and was told they would look into it. Hopefully it will be cleared up by the time one of you want you use it and all this will be moot.

 

I'm so fortunate to live in this country, I'm lucky to be able to cruise, so I really have no right to complain, but c'mon people!!!!:D

 

A few weeks ago, I had the same problems you did when redeeming multiple rewards. I finally stumbled on the solution of doing one at a time and it worked. I then got email confirmations of each reward which I then printed and took on the cruise to make sure I received what I ordered.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Regal Eagle, if I had known I wouldn't be getting a confirmation from her I would have just hung up and done it that way! And I was furious I hadn't thought of it myself. Usually I might have been a little more on the ball, but I've had a few other more important things going on and I just slipped this in. Just wish I'd had your smarts.

 

I'm sure when I call HAL to check on it in a week or so it will work out, but it shouldn't have to be this hard. I understand what others said here, but it's just not true with other reward cards.

 

What's the point? Word gets around and no one uses it more than once ... makes no sense.

[sunshine nana]

Thanks for the info. We are in the process of getting one new card. What Master Card do you like that pays easily? Thanks

[sail7seas]

Makes me happy I never sent in the "We accept" when we have gotten the mailings offering the rewards card.

 

[Cruising-along]

Heather, thank you!! We have the HAL Visa card, and have accumulated around 28,000 points on it.

 

I have redeemed it for rewards once so far. On our last cruise, I got 2 $50 beverage cards with no problem.....hmmm. I wonder if it's because I ordered only that, and not multiple items? Mine went through fine.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I will definitely be careful when I try to get rewards in the future, and always bring my "proof" along!

[onthegogirl]

My original experience mirrored yours, with the multiple items in my basket but I stumbled on the "one at a time solution". I have used the rewards and they appeared on my account as "on board credit" with no other notation.

 

I had the same uncertainty about the tour excursions but after talking with Barclays, the Reward Center, HAL, the Rewards Center, HAL, Reward Center,:eek:I was assured that the OBC could be used for anything, not just Tours, especially since they encourage you to purchase your tours in advance.

 

Makes no sense to have an OBC for a tour you have already paid for.

 

So from experience I know that the rewards appears on the account as a OBC. I have one port that I am ambivalent about so I am claiming a "Tour" reward and will use it for this port once I'm on board. Then I'll know for sure how it works.

 

Carole

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks Heather for the warning.

When I first saw that application to get HAL's credit card -- I passed on it.

Sure glad I did.

JMO -- but to spend $15000 to get only $150 worth of gifts on the ship doesn't cut it for me.

[ncgolferette]

I am looking to cash 60,000 points in the near future to get a $750 deduction off of our Alaskan cruise. I was told by Barclays that I could make final payment using the card which would get me to the 60,000 points needed and my credit card would be credited with $750

(no OBC). Do you think this is accurate? You get a little better break by applying large number of points to cruise credits.

[Regal Eagle]

Regal Eagle, if I had known I wouldn't be getting a confirmation from her I would have just hung up and done it that way! And I was furious I hadn't thought of it myself. Usually I might have been a little more on the ball, but I've had a few other more important things going on and I just slipped this in. Just wish I'd had your smarts.

 

I'm sure when I call HAL to check on it in a week or so it will work out, but it shouldn't have to be this hard. I understand what others said here, but it's just not true with other reward cards.

 

What's the point? Word gets around and no one uses it more than once ... makes no sense.

 

When I first got the card, the only way you could redeem points was the phone call, so I like the new on-line capability, when it works! :rolleyes: I hope you have a better experience if you redeem points again.

 

I have redeemed rewards for three cruises. When coupled with whatever OBC was available with the reservation and the Carnival stockholder benefit, I have been able to cover tips and more! :D

[Maryandi]

Thanks Heather for bringing this up. I have had not problem with my Marriott reward card but will hope they get these kinks out of the HAL card before I get one.

 

Please let us know what happens.

 

All the best,

MaryAnn

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thanks for the info. We are in the process of getting one new card. What Master Card do you like that pays easily? Thanks

 

I have the Citibank Master Card. It pays extra on gas, drugstore and grocery items. It only gives back up to $300/year although last year I'm sure they paid me over that amount.

 

There's also a Fidelity Amex (which happens to be where we have our IRA's) that has no limit to cashback and it goes directly into your IRA.

 

Shop around ... there are so many choices even within certain banks, etc.

 

....I have used the rewards and they appeared on my account as "on board credit" with no other notation.

 

This is great news! I hope that's what happens. When you read the rewards site they make it appear you can only use it for the specific items. If it's just OBC I would have just gotten the casino chips!!!:D Hope you're right!

 

.....

JMO -- but to spend $15000 to get only $150 worth of gifts on the ship doesn't cut it for me.

 

Yonnie, I didn't spend anywhere near $15K. I had 15,000 points. I'm not sure how much I spent. You get 1 point for every dollar you spend and you get double for HAL charges. I received a good portion of those points by charging the cruise balance on the card.

 

I am looking to cash 60,000 points in the near future to get a $750 deduction off of our Alaskan cruise. I was told by Barclays that I could make final payment using the card which would get me to the 60,000 points needed and my credit card would be credited with $750 (no OBC). Do you think this is accurate? You get a little better break by applying large number of points to cruise credits.

 

Yes, you can make final payment using the card and you'll get those points on your next bill. You can then use them as a discount on a cruise. I don't think (though I'm not sure) that you will get a credit of $750 on your credit card. I'm pretty sure you have to use the points on a different cruise, but I would call to confirm.

 

When I first got the card, the only way you could redeem points was the phone call, so I like the new on-line capability, when it works! :rolleyes: I hope you have a better experience if you redeem points again.

 

I have redeemed rewards for three cruises. When coupled with whatever OBC was available with the reservation and the Carnival stockholder benefit, I have been able to cover tips and more! :D

 

From what others have posted, it looks like the "trick" is to redeem each item separately. If my mind was not dealing with some other crises in my life, I might have thought of it! So now we know. And meantime, hopefully they will fix it.

 

You had the same experience as Onthegogirl and they just showed up as onboard credit? If that's what they end up doing then I'm all for it and just may continue to use it after all:D.

 

But next time I would just order one thing at a time!

 

Thanks so much for all this information .... I feel better!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks Heather for clearing that up for me..

It did sound like an awful lot to spend just for a few bucks.

Glad you were able to get double for your charge for your HAL cruise.

Now it all makes sense!!

Still -- glad I didn't sign up for the card.

[RuthC]

Excellent timing, Heather. I've been in the market for a new credit card, and the HAL promotion came the other day. Instead of putting it in the recycling bin (as I normally do with such offers), I kept it, with the idea of looking into getting the card.

Now, I think I'll look around some more before I decide.

Thanks.

[jena1]

I had no problem with the HAL card on our last trip. We got $100 off of our final bill and 2 $50.00 OBC. It was no hassle and it worked great. We are already saving our points for our next cruise!

[jhannah]

JMO -- but to spend $15000 to get only $150 worth of gifts on the ship doesn't cut it for me.

Me, either. Other cards give you 1% across the board plus 3% to 5% on your top-spending categories. Much more valuable. I had high hopes a few years ago that HAL would some day have an affinity card ... but when it came out I also said, "No, thanks."

[Regal Eagle]

Yes, I have redeemed awards for a spa credit, shore excursion and drink card and while the acknowledgement card(s) I received in the cabin detailed the award, it showed up on my statement as an OBC which was applied to my account and really could be used for any charge on the ship. The Visa is not my primary card, but I use it where AMEX is not accepted, and I do all my HAL charges on it to get the double points,