Princess Gift Card Promotion - "Bonus25"

[Steelers36]

Just now, wkwthme said:

Newbie here...can a Princess giftcard be used to 'gift' yourself OBC?

 

Yes.  But the bonus only has value if you can use it by the expiry date.  Which is quite soon - JAN 31, 2020.

[wkwthme]

46 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Yes.  But the bonus only has value if you can use it by the expiry date.  Which is quite soon - JAN 31, 2020.

Thanks for the reply! My cruise is from 1/19-2/2 so it seems like that will work.

[Thrak]

18 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

not withstanding Kroger gift card purchases with 4x gas points. 

 

It's nice that Kroger offers that. Of course we don't have a Kroger... I really wish Safeway would make this offer. I'd buy them regularly to get the gas discount.

[OCruisers]

1 hour ago, steelers36 said:

Yes.  But the bonus only has value if you can use it by the expiry date.  Which is quite soon - JAN 31, 2020.

 

Thanks for pointing this out!  

[CruiseVA]

Thanks for the Bonus25, I used my Amex, which had the $100 offer loaded on it.

[2 cruises a year]

3 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

What is the return when using your Princess card?  I was under the impression that it is only a 1% return (charge $1,000, can get $10 off).  If that is the case, a pure 2% cash back card would double your savings if you just use that cash back for your cruise.

 

The Princess card is complicated, lots of choices and restrictions.  I use it ONLY for Princess Cruises charges.  Everything else I charge to another card with varying points, all less than 4%.  You get 2% on all charges to Princess Cruises.  This includes cruises, any charges on the cruise, Future Cruise Deposits bought on board, and any pre-cruise purchases through Princess Cruises, everything "Princess".  1% on anything else.  So far not so good.  There are several options to cash in your points.  The only option worth while, in my opinion is to get "Statement Credits" ( a credit to your Princess credit card).  This is where it gets weird, and you have to pay attention to your choices.  If you have a single charge for $4000 or more, you can get another 2% for your points, for a total of 4%.  Could be better, but not bad.  Also, you never lose your points, but the $4000 charge to cash your points in against goes away in 6 months.  So you have only 6 months to cash in your points, or make another $4000 charge.  We cruise twice a year, so we don't have too much trouble making the best of it.  One strange quirk caught me off guard recently.  I purchased a bunch of gift cards (to get the bonus cards) and applied the gift cards against a cruise.  I did get 2% on the card, but this brought the balance for the cruise charged to my Princess Credit Card below $4000, so I lost a $4000 opportunity when I wanted to use it.  Not a real problem, I just kept building points until my next cruise, so now I have a $4000 charge to use my points against.

Long story short, if you have a lot of charges with Princess cruises, I like the card.

[frugaltravel]

22 minutes ago, 2 cruises a year said:

The Princess card is complicated, lots of choices and restrictions.  I use it ONLY for Princess Cruises charges.  Everything else I charge to another card with varying points, all less than 4%.  You get 2% on all charges to Princess Cruises.  This includes cruises, any charges on the cruise, Future Cruise Deposits bought on board, and any pre-cruise purchases through Princess Cruises, everything "Princess".  1% on anything else.  So far not so good.  There are several options to cash in your points.  The only option worth while, in my opinion is to get "Statement Credits" ( a credit to your Princess credit card).  This is where it gets weird, and you have to pay attention to your choices.  If you have a single charge for $4000 or more, you can get another 2% for your points, for a total of 4%.  Could be better, but not bad.  Also, you never lose your points, but the $4000 charge to cash your points in against goes away in 6 months.  So you have only 6 months to cash in your points, or make another $4000 charge.  We cruise twice a year, so we don't have too much trouble making the best of it.  One strange quirk caught me off guard recently.  I purchased a bunch of gift cards (to get the bonus cards) and applied the gift cards against a cruise.  I did get 2% on the card, but this brought the balance for the cruise charged to my Princess Credit Card below $4000, so I lost a $4000 opportunity when I wanted to use it.  Not a real problem, I just kept building points until my next cruise, so now I have a $4000 charge to use my points against.

Long story short, if you have a lot of charges with Princess cruises, I like the card.

Thanks for the clarification. A pure 2% cash back card which I would use instead of a princess card if I had a choice seems like a better deal to me. But I generally do better with a points card that I can transfer to various Airlines or even Hotel programs to maximize my return. I get a minimum of 2.25% on anything I charge. Sometimes it goes up to over 15% depending on how I use my points and miles.

[bemis12]

21 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Allstate drivewise points will allow you 10% off Princess gift cards.

 

 

Is there a limit to how these can be used?  If I have enough points can I buy $10,000 of them for $9,000 and use them for a cruise?

[neverbeenhere]

The most I’ve purchased and used for one individual cruise is $8,000

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by neverbeenhere

[neverbeenhere]

They are gift cards. They appear not to be limited, as I call and add them towards my cruise balances owed. If you follow and back track the carnival thread, you can pick of a boat load of points fast. (Pun intended) Not all codes will work for you as they do expire, sign up two phones and pick up points twice as fast. 

[neverbeenhere]

I also add left over balances to OBC. 

[Yehootu]

7 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

What is the return when using your Princess card?  I was under the impression that it is only a 1% return (charge $1,000, can get $10 off).  If that is the case, a pure 2% cash back card would double your savings if you just use that cash back for your cruise.

 

Princess gives 2% on any dollars spent on them. The gift cards come from an outside vendor. So by buying the Allstate cards with my Princess card, I get 11%...10% + 1% instead of the 2% just from Princess. A lot better cards out there, but I've got a lot of points on my card.

[frugaltravel]

24 minutes ago, Yehootu said:

Princess gives 2% on any dollars spent on them. The gift cards come from an outside vendor. So by buying the Allstate cards with my Princess card, I get 11%...10% + 1% instead of the 2% just from Princess. A lot better cards out there, but I've got a lot of points on my card.

 

I guess i am puzzled why people prefer a lower return and must use the credit with Princess vs a higher return that is more flexible. I guess that is marketing for you!😀

[Yehootu]

1 hour ago, frugaltravel said:

 

I guess i am puzzled why people prefer a lower return and must use the credit with Princess vs a higher return that is more flexible. I guess that is marketing for you!😀

Exactly! I got this card through a balance transfer where I got points for the transfer, Had just made a big purchase on old card, and had just started doing cruises. Got lazy! I work for an airline, so last thing i need are airline points, but with all the new cards out there, I'm ready for a change. Just need to use up me 160,000 points on Princess. A lot of dining and drinks on our next 25 day B2B.

[caribill]

13 hours ago, steelers36 said:

Yes.  But the bonus only has value if you can use it by the expiry date.  Which is quite soon - JAN 31, 2020.

 

To be clear, you must apply the bonus by the expiry date. But if you apply it, for example, to be for OBC on a cruise, the cruise does not have to be by the expiry date.

[Musky Ike]

I noticed when I printed the bonus card that it shows $25 on the card graphic but the printed information shows $50 for the card amount? I guess I will find out when I apply it.

[frugaltravel]

16 hours ago, CruiseVA said:

Thanks for the Bonus25, I used my Amex, which had the $100 offer loaded on it.

Did buying gift cards trigger the $100 AmEx credit? The terms of the AmEx offer specifically state that gift card purchases are excluded.

 

[NCbmwmom]

17 hours ago, CruiseVA said:

Thanks for the Bonus25, I used my Amex, which had the $100 offer loaded on it.

Same here! Great deal. 

[geoherb]

4 hours ago, Musky Ike said:

I noticed when I printed the bonus card that it shows $25 on the card graphic but the printed information shows $50 for the card amount? I guess I will find out when I apply it.

 

Same for me. You can look up your gift card's balance (Balance Check) and see that it's just the $25 promised. I successfully applied my gift card to my onboard account for my cruise next month by calling 1-800-PRINCESS. It shows up on the travel summary and not the payments & credits page.

 

 

[geoherb]

2 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Did buying gift cards trigger the $100 AmEx credit? The terms of the AmEx offer specifically state that gift card purchases are excluded.

 

 

It worked for me. 

[Musky Ike]

8 hours ago, geoherb said:

Same for me. You can look up your gift card's balance (Balance Check) and see that it's just the $25 promised. I successfully applied my gift card to my onboard account for my cruise next month by calling 1-800-PRINCESS. It shows up on the travel summary and not the payments & credits page.

 

Yup, TA applied mine to our March cruise $25 each. I'm sure someone will try to call Princess out on the typo. I will hold off applying the $500 ones, as they don't have the expiration date.

[CruiseVA]

I'll apply mine onboard and ask about the $50, I won't press is, and most likely get it. Although I could ask my wife to press them, she's pretty forceful - LOL! I'm just happy to get $525 for $400!

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by CruiseVA

[Steelers36]

Has anyone had success buying >1 card per person?  We have emails back so far for the $25 bonus card number, but nothing for the main $500 card other than a receipt email.  (Both charges posted to my VISA).

[CruiseVA]

4 hours ago, steelers36 said:

Has anyone had success buying >1 card per person?  We have emails back so far for the $25 bonus card number, but nothing for the main $500 card other than a receipt email.  (Both charges posted to my VISA).

Yes - I ordered one on my AME & the other on my Chase points card. got 2 $25 bonus 'cards' emailed to me. Cruising next week, so we'll cash the bonus ones in then. I'll use the 2x$500 cards for a future cruise.

[Suncitycruiser1925]

Yes, we purchased a number of these $500 gift cards with $25 bonus cards promo during the Father's Day promo.  We received emails with each $500 gift card and $25 bonus card (separate pages for each card).  Applied all to cruise payments.  If you have a problem buying multiple cards, wait 24 hours and try to buy another one.  You can only buy one at a time/per transaction.