Stay away from celebrity gift cards!

[fivehutch]

1) They reduce the commisionable fare by the amount of the gift card. This will cost you more in lost OBC from a travel agent than you save on the gift cards.

 

2) The cards are not considered travel expenses when bought from a reseller and will not qualify for point bonuses, such as triple points on Chase Sapphire Reserve.

 

3) The gift cards are not considered travel payments and will not be covered by travel insurance.

 

4) They may totally disqualify you from benefits associated with paying for a cruise with a premium card such as Chase Sapphire Reserve, such as free travel insurance.

[pascalburns]

thanks for the update.

[Cruise Raider]

Whoa ... thanks for letting us know! That's crazy. I purchased them for other lines and they worked out famously ... I would have thought they were all pretty much the same.

[Mr. Click]

I can vouch for them not always being considered as payment by travel insurers. I lost $525 when I had to cancel last minute once. Only cash, checks and credit card payments counted in my case. Thankfully I had gotten the gift cards in exchange for credit card points.