Amex offer

[Cruise Raider]

On 6/5/2019 at 1:20 PM, sfaaa said:

Yeah disappointing. Looks like hardly anyone is getting this deal so far. 

 

Yes ... I just checked my account again and nothing for any cruises.  Too bad ... I'd really love to save a little money on the cruises I have booked.  

[rmats]

Offer is showing up for my Blue Cash Preferred

card.  Is is true that I can buy $500 OBC prior to cruise and get a refund on any unused portion of it?

[sambamama]

Yes, you can buy shipboard credit. Not sure about refunding the unused portion, though. I bought shipboard credit before. The offer is not on either my Platinum, Biz Platinum, personal Bonvoy or personal free AMEX. I've called before and was told they release over different time frames, so hopefully, we will get this later. Otherwise, I will get mad as AMEX seems to give me stuff I have no interest in and omit the offers I really want. 

[MisterBill99]

3 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

I just called Amex. I explained that I am reading online about this offer and that I can not locate In my account. Her first response was ‘you have the Gold Travel Card, if you upgrade to Platinum it is available to you’. I shared that blue cards were receiving this. She put me on hold. Came back with a points offer for HAL booking - couldn’t locate a money back offer.  I read to her the wording that taba posted. Placed on hold again. Response was ‘these come from the back office’. Responded - Can I speak with the back office?  No, they don’t speak with customers. So how do I get offers that are relevant to me to entice me to use Amex more (although I already use it too much!) since I have been with Amex over 20 years. She said she would send a note to the back office, but ‘it could take a very long time’.  🤦‍♀️🤬. 

 

AMEX is no longer able to add offers on request. They used to do this many years ago but stopped. Sorry you wasted your time calling. You should have asked first.

 

BTW, iIf you have a card that has Membership Rewards and they actually offered you an equivalent points offer on that you should have taken it and been very happy.

Edited June 7, 2019 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

1 hour ago, rmats said:

Offer is showing up for my Blue Cash Preferred

card.  Is is true that I can buy $500 OBC prior to cruise and get a refund on any unused portion of it?

 

Yes but make sure not to use the AMEX card for your onboard charges or the refund will come back to it and the $150 will be cancelled out. Personally, if I am expecting to have a credit balance at the end of a cruise, I register a debit card instead of credit since I lose points if money goes back to the credit card (I know the general rule is not to use a debit card for that but if you have available OBC they don't seem to place a hold and I do not have any non-rewards credit cards to use). Or get it in cash from Guest Services before the end of the cruise (I think typically you can do that the last night of the cruise).

Edited June 7, 2019 by MisterBill99

[ontheweb]

I have the everyday blue card. and it is not lised in my offers.

[palolake]

9 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I have the everyday blue card. and it is not lised in my offers.

 

Wow, that it just not right!!  How do they decide who gets the offer and who doesn't?  Everyone with the same card should get the same offer.  This will be the fourth or fifth time we've done a cruise offer.  We've had it available every time I've read about it on CC.  I guess we've just been lucky?

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, palolake said:

 

Wow, that it just not right!!  How do they decide who gets the offer and who doesn't?  Everyone with the same card should get the same offer.  This will be the fourth or fifth time we've done a cruise offer.  We've had it available every time I've read about it on CC.  I guess we've just been lucky?

I've had and used their offers several times, but it is just not there now.

[rmats]

10 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Yes but make sure not to use the AMEX card for your onboard charges or the refund will come back to it and the $150 will be cancelled out. Personally, if I am expecting to have a credit balance at the end of a cruise, I register a debit card instead of credit since I lose points if money goes back to the credit card (I know the general rule is not to use a debit card for that but if you have available OBC they don't seem to place a hold and I do not have any non-rewards credit cards to use). Or get it in cash from Guest Services before the end of the cruise (I think typically you can do that the last night of the cruise).

 

 

Good info, thanks!

 

So what is the best way to purchase OBC to ensure I will redeem AMEX offer?

[MisterBill99]

3 hours ago, palolake said:

 

Wow, that it just not right!!  How do they decide who gets the offer and who doesn't?  Everyone with the same card should get the same offer.  This will be the fourth or fifth time we've done a cruise offer.  We've had it available every time I've read about it on CC.  I guess we've just been lucky?

 

The previous offers have been for all Carnival lines (World's Leading Cruise Lines) and everyone had it (on non-travel company cards) PLUS it was available to load on other cards via a website. It was obviously heavily funded by Carnival since it was so easy to load. This one is more like a normal AMEX Offer, given to some people but not others for unknown reasons but presumably something based on your purchase history.  Same as the recent Princes offer did not show up for everyone. They're presumably trying to get new customers to book, not reward people who have had HAL charges on their cards in the past.

[MisterBill99]

2 hours ago, rmats said:

 

 

Good info, thanks!

 

So what is the best way to purchase OBC to ensure I will redeem AMEX offer?

 

I found that calling HAL worked best. Don't purchase it online, that hasn't worked for me in the past.

[Vineyard View]

13 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

AMEX is no longer able to add offers on request. They used to do this many years ago but stopped. Sorry you wasted your time calling. You should have asked first.

 

BTW, iIf you have a card that has Membership Rewards and they actually offered you an equivalent points offer on that you should have taken it and been very happy.

I had to think about your post before responding here.  I have to say that wether intended to or not, it feels a bit condescending MisterBill. I would have asked had I known an expert here knew all the answers. My call to Amex was clearly for my personal benefit - but reporting it back here was intended to assist others, not to get smacked down. You are clearly providing valuable information on this thread, so I thank you for that. 

Enjoy your day. 

Edited June 7, 2019 by Vineyard View

[MisterBill99]

4 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I had to think about your post before responding here.  I have to say that wether intended to or not, it feels a bit condescending MisterBill. I would have asked had I known an expert here knew all the answers. My call to Amex was clearly for my personal benefit - but reporting it back here was intended to assist others, not to get smacked down. You are clearly providing valuable information on this thread, so I thank you for that. 

Enjoy your day. 

 

I wouldn't have responded that way if your story hadn't descended into your telling them that you were entitled to this offer and to let you talk to the back office people.

 

And I'm sure many others here are also very knowledgeable about the AMEX Offers program and would have told you not to bother calling.

 

Have a nice day.

[Vineyard View]

15 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

I wouldn't have responded that way if your story hadn't descended into your telling them that you were entitled to this offer and to let you talk to the back office people.

 

And I'm sure many others here are also very knowledgeable about the AMEX Offers program and would have told you not to bother calling.

 

Have a nice day.

I never told them that I was entitled to this offer. I was asking how I could start getting these offers. I was asking if there was a way to communicate to the back office for future offers, which is why I asked if there was someone to speak to. That is not entitlement. 

As I said in posting about my call, I was only trying to assist others who also do not know all the answers and are asking questions on this thread. In essence, the answer is always no unless you ask the question. I asked the question, and it likely won’t change anything for anyone if they call as I did. That was my Intent, and if others misinterpreted as you did, then I am trying to restate it here. 

I Hope everyone here has some success with this offer and I thank you for bringing it to our attention. 

Edited June 7, 2019 by Vineyard View

[palolake]

6 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

The previous offers have been for all Carnival lines (World's Leading Cruise Lines) and everyone had it (on non-travel company cards) PLUS it was available to load on other cards via a website. It was obviously heavily funded by Carnival since it was so easy to load. This one is more like a normal AMEX Offer, given to some people but not others for unknown reasons but presumably something based on your purchase history.  Same as the recent Princes offer did not show up for everyone. They're presumably trying to get new customers to book, not reward people who have had HAL charges on their cards in the past.

 

Hmm, we're Elite on Princess and this will be our first HAL cruise.  Maybe you're onto something.  Hopefully they keep offering the one for any Carnival line.

[roger75]

I just got an offer on my classic Amex (green card) for 15,000 Membership Rewards for spending $500 with HAL. Have never sailed them but may look into it for the points. Something not Caribbean.

[*Miss G*]

I still don’t have the HAL offer on my AMEX but they now have a Marriott Promo if that’s any help to anyone.

[rmats]

On 6/7/2019 at 10:54 AM, MisterBill99 said:

 

I found that calling HAL worked best. Don't purchase it online, that hasn't worked for me in the past.

Called today and got the redemption confirmation email from AMEX before I even hung up with the HAL rep.  Sweet!!  Free money!

 

Before I made the purchase, I asked what happens to any unused OBC.  They said it gets refunded back to the card it was purchased with (NOT the card tied to my onboard account).  Needless to say, I will use up all of the prepaid credit.  Not going to take any chances with a refund and losing the $150 credit.  I already have the credit earmarked for unlimited laundry and some happy hour drinks!

Edited June 18, 2019 by rmats

[LF23]

I never get this offer on my Hilton Amex; however we used the code posted here last time it was offered, with 2 different Amex, and got the immediate credits on both  cards as soon as we purchased onboard credit from HAL site. 

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, rmats said:

Called today and got the redemption confirmation email from AMEX before I even hung up with the HAL rep.  Sweet!!  Free money!

 

Before I made the purchase, I asked what happens to any unused OBC.  They said it gets refunded back to the card it was purchased with (NOT the card tied to my onboard account).  Needless to say, I will use up all of the prepaid credit.  Not going to take any chances with a refund and losing the $150 credit.  I already have the credit earmarked for unlimited laundry and some happy hour drinks!

Did you get the offer directly from Am Ex?  Not showing up on either of my 2 Am Ex cards.

 

[rmats]

1 minute ago, DaveOKC said:

Did you get the offer directly from Am Ex?  Not showing up on either of my 2 Am Ex cards.

 

 

 

Yes.  It appears under "Amex Offers & Benfits" when I sign into my account.  You need to click "Add to Card" before you can redeem offer.

[rmats]

On 6/18/2019 at 4:40 PM, rmats said:

Called today and got the redemption confirmation email from AMEX before I even hung up with the HAL rep.  Sweet!!  Free money!

 

Before I made the purchase, I asked what happens to any unused OBC.  They said it gets refunded back to the card it was purchased with (NOT the card tied to my onboard account).  Needless to say, I will use up all of the prepaid credit.  Not going to take any chances with a refund and losing the $150 credit.  I already have the credit earmarked for unlimited laundry and some happy hour drinks!

 

Can confirm that $150 credit posted to my account today. 

[cknic]

The offer appeared this weekend on our Blue Preferred Amex.  Spend $500 or more, get $150 back.  The offer terms do state for reservations booked between 6/13/19 and 8/4/19.  I booked 4/29/19 with my TA. 

Has anyone used the promo successfully for a cruise booked outside the term stated dates?  

Thanks.

[DaveOKC]

16 hours ago, cknic said:

The offer appeared this weekend on our Blue Preferred Amex.  Spend $500 or more, get $150 back.  The offer terms do state for reservations booked between 6/13/19 and 8/4/19.  I booked 4/29/19 with my TA. 

Has anyone used the promo successfully for a cruise booked outside the term stated dates?  

Thanks.

We used it on our last cruise i March by purchasing OBC credit for our cabin  on the HAL website.  Worked great!  Of course, you nevere know if Am Ex will change this (by enforcing the new bookings only rule). 

[cknic]

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

We used it on our last cruise i March by purchasing OBC credit for our cabin  on the HAL website.  Worked great!  Of course, you nevere know if Am Ex will change this (by enforcing the new bookings only rule). 

Thanks.  I want to use it to make a payment on the cruise which isn't until 5/20...I have used offers like this before but never had to contend with the booking date.  Will check further.