AMEX special offers (Royal Caribbean)

[MisterBill99]

What I need to figure out is if I can use the offer on both the primary and authorized user cards. It says one offer per online account, but technically they are different logins for each card.

You have to add it on each login but once you do that, you can use it on each card.

 

From what I can tell, it's only on the different varieties of Blue cards (Blue, Blue Cash, Blue Cash Everyday for me).

 

Over the years, I have accumulated a number of AMEX cards, which come in handy for deals like this. I've managed to load it onto 10 cards. I owe over $2000 on a final payment later this month.

[MisterBill99]

Hmm . . . I have the offer, but our cruise is already paid for. We sail in nine days. I wonder if I could just take a ton of cash out at the casino and get over the number and still have it work. Five percent of $350 is still less than $75. :)

 

Doubt it will work for on board purchases. You'd need to find a way to pre-pay for something on the cruise and have it count towards the offer. Could be worth buying $350 worth of excursions, then just cancel the once on board and get a refund as OBC. Or can you pre-purchase OBC?

Edited May 14, 2016 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

gdpups; You know the saying that if something sounds to good to be true it probley is. Sorry if didn't work like you thought.

What are you referring to? They just said that they added it to their card.

 

AMEX offers are not of the "too good to be true" variety. They are real. I have done a lot of them and gotten a LOT of money back!

[Mistizoom]

Here are the terms:

 

Terms

Offer valid for qualifying reservations between 5/12/16 and 6/28/16. Includes spend for booking directly via royalcaribbean.com, phone, or through travel agents. Excludes spend on board, gift cards/certificates, shore excursions, air/ground transportation, cruise insurance, group reservations and weddings and other occasions. Excludes Celebrity Cruise, Azamara Club Cruises and Pullmantur Cruises brands. Valid only on US website. Please note that hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines do not accept prepaid cards for charges authorized in advance, although prepaid cards may be used to settle the final bill. Check to make sure prepaid cards are accepted before attempting to use your prepaid card to take advantage of offers for these merchants. Enrollment limited. Offer is non-transferable. Must add offer to Card and use same Card to redeem. Limit 1 statement credit(s) per American Express® online account. Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 6/28/2016, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. Note that American Express may not receive information about your qualifying purchase from merchant until all items from your qualifying purchase have been provided/shipped by merchant. Statement credit may be reversed if qualifying purchase is returned/cancelled. If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as qualifying for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit. For example, your transaction will not qualify if it is not made directly with the merchant. In addition, in most cases, you will not receive the statement credit if your transaction is made with an electronic wallet or through a third party or if the merchant uses a mobile or wireless card reader to process it. By adding an offer to a Card, you agree that American Express may send you communications about the offer. POID: CAIX:0001

 

It should work for two cards on a single account, as long as they have separate logins and both add the offer.

[gaylemh]

Doubt it will work for on board purchases. You'd need to find a way to pre-pay for something on the cruise and have it count towards the offer. Could be worth buying $350 worth of excursions, then just cancel the once on board and get a refund as OBC. Or can you pre-purchase OBC?

 

Can only use it on reservations, and how I understand it, for new reservations, because it says you must purchase tickets between 5/12/16 and 6/28/16. I just made a reservation two days ago, so I cancelled it and rebooked. It was still the same price, and I got my original cabin back.

 

Get a 1X $75 statement credit by using your enrolled Card to spend a minimum of $350+ in one or more transactions at royalcaribbean.com by 6/28/2016. Valid on reservations only. Must purchase tickets between 5/12/16 - 6/28/16. See terms for exclusions. Excludes spend on board, gift cards/certificates, shore excursions, air/ground transportation, cruise insurance, group reservations and weddings and other occasions.

Edited May 14, 2016 by gaylemh

[MisterBill99]

Has anyone made a payment thru their travel agent and gotten the email saying that you redeemed the offer? It seems like it should work based on the wording in the offer, even though the details specifically say royalcaribbean.com. I figure I'll split my final payment over a bunch of cards to get the maximum amount back. My travel agent will love me :).

 

Update: confirmation on another board that it worked for payments made thru a TA.

Edited May 14, 2016 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

Can only use it on reservations, and how I understand it, for new reservations, because it says you must purchase tickets between 5/12/16 and 6/28/16. I just made a reservation two days ago, so I cancelled it and rebooked. It was still the same price, and I got my original cabin back.

I don't think that's true since someone already said that they made a payment on an existing reservation and got the email. The wording on AMEX offers isn't always the best. There's no way they would be able to tell when you made the reservation. Of course, in your case since you had just paid the deposit, there wasn't a lot of sense in putting more money on it, so cancelling and rebooking made sense.

Edited May 14, 2016 by MisterBill99

[just4kixx]

Thanks for posting this alert! I checked my card account, applied the offer and made payment on an upcoming cruise!

 

I already got the "thank you" email... hopefully my "purchase meets the offer terms"... otherwise, no harm, no foul!

 

:D

A~

[gaylemh]

I don't think that's true since someone already said that they made a payment on an existing reservation and got the email. The wording on AMEX offers isn't always the best. There's no way they would be able to tell when you made the reservation. Of course, in your case since you had just paid the deposit, there wasn't a lot of sense in putting more money on it, so cancelling and rebooking made sense.

 

The email is not a guarantee that you will get the credit. It states that if it meets the offer terms. The terms are to purchase a ticket between the dates. That is why I put it on a new reservation booked today.

[gaylemh]

I don't think that's true since someone already said that they made a payment on an existing reservation and got the email. The wording on AMEX offers isn't always the best. There's no way they would be able to tell when you made the reservation. Of course, in your case since you had just paid the deposit, there wasn't a lot of sense in putting more money on it, so cancelling and rebooking made sense.

 

It wasn't a matter of the money already paid. I often pay for cruises in full when I book. I just didn't want to take a chance of not getting the offer.

[MisterBill99]

The email is not a guarantee that you will get the credit. It states that if it meets the offer terms. The terms are to purchase a ticket between the dates. That is why I put it on a new reservation booked today.

As a veteran of many AMEX Offers, getting the email is close to a 100% guarantee that you will get the money unless the actual charge doesn't show up. Look for it to post a couple of days after the charge hits. You can check the status by looking at "My Offers" and it will show as redeemed the day before the credit shows up.

[gaylemh]

As a veteran of many AMEX Offers, getting the email is close to a 100% guarantee that you will get the money unless the actual charge doesn't show up. Look for it to post a couple of days after the charge hits. You can check the status by looking at "My Offers" and it will show as redeemed the day before the credit shows up.

 

The terms state that it will not be credited until after 6/28. Not when you are charged.

 

Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 6/28/2016, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.

[MisterBill99]

The terms state that it will not be credited until after 6/28. Not when you are charged.

 

Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 6/28/2016, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.

As I've said, I have done MANY AMEX Offers, and I am very familiar with how they work. And the fine print doesn't match how they actually work (check with people who have purchased gift cards on offers that say they exclude gift cards and gotten the offer).

 

In a week or less, it should be obvious whether it's working as it normally does or how you're reading in the fine print.

Edited May 14, 2016 by MisterBill99

[Mistizoom]

The email is not a guarantee that you will get the credit. It states that if it meets the offer terms. The terms are to purchase a ticket between the dates. That is why I put it on a new reservation booked today.

 

It doesn't say new bookings only. It will work for an existing reservation as long as it is a payment for the reservation and not a payment for shore excursions or another excluded item.

Edited May 14, 2016 by Mistizoom

[Mistizoom]

The terms state that it will not be credited until after 6/28. Not when you are charged.

 

Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 6/28/2016, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.

 

As I've said, I have done MANY AMEX Offers, and I am very familiar with how they work. And the fine print doesn't match how they actually work (check with people who have purchased gift cards on offers that say they exclude gift cards and gotten the offer).

 

In a week or less, it should be obvious whether it's working as it normally does or how you're reading in the fine print.

 

I agree, Amex reserves the right to not credit for 90 days but in my experience they have always credited immediately. As long as you are making a payment on a Royal Caribbean cruise by 6/28/16 this offer should work.

[MisterBill99]

I agree, Amex reserves the right to not credit for 90 days but in my experience they have always credited immediately. As long as you are making a payment on a Royal Caribbean cruise by 6/28/16 this offer should work.

The problem with the 90 day wording is that if for some reason it doesn't work (i.e., you don't get the email after the charge authorization), they can use that to avoid looking into it for a while.

[gaylemh]

I hope everyone comes back to let us know if they actually received the credit. I know I will.

[trevordentist]

Think this'll work for a drink package? Might be good that I have the premium 20% off deal at the wrong price of $363 instead of the correct $322.

[nativetexan]

My travel agent was able to locate and use in time for the final payment on our 8/7 cruise. Initially she said worked only with personal but I got an offer with my platinum business card.

 

Nice since the drink package is so convoluted!

 

Good luck!

[MisterBill99]

Think this'll work for a drink package? Might be good that I have the premium 20% off deal at the wrong price of $363 instead of the correct $322.

That's a good question. I went back and checked old charges in Quicken. The final payment for my last cruise as well as the deposit for my upcoming one posted under payee "Royal Caribbean Cruise 800-327-6", and presumably that will definitely work for the offer. A recent purchase of a dining package on their website got posted as "ROYAL CARIBBEAN MIAMI 069". So it's going to be YMMV on whether it triggers the AMEX offer. Worst case if it doesn't, you can cancel it, right?

Edited May 14, 2016 by MisterBill99

[kilpa482]

Look forward to your results.

 

It worked, got the credit today

[gaylemh]

It worked, got the credit today

 

The credit is already showing up on your account???

[kilpa482]

The credit is already showing up on your account???

 

Yes

[MisterBill99]

Yes

Nice! That's actually a day earlier than I would have expected it.

Edited May 14, 2016 by MisterBill99

[nolesrule]

I made a $350 payment on our next cruise on the AmEx today through the TA and received an email notification that we have used the offer. I'll update when I receive the credit.