Canadians, buy $1000. get $50.

[seachelt]

I bought a $1000. gift card using my Amex. It was emailed to me promptly along with my $50. bonus card.

Today I checked my Amex bill and the $1000. had been converted to US $ for a cost to me of $1364.68.

My husband had a bit better luck, his Visa charged him $1359.42 for his $1000. gift card.

Other Canadians who took advantage of this offer experienced the same thing? Princess will automatically 

credit us with $US1000. when we use these gift cards?

Thank you!

[ceilidh1]

Make sure to check the T&C carefully. My understanding is that you can only use the gift cards to pay for cruises booked in USD, not in CAD. That may have changed, but previously that was the case. The gift card will be for $1000 USD and you can use them on the ship to apply to your onboard account.

[ceilidh1]

Here you go:

Digital gift cards redeemed by Canadian residents can only be used towards cruise passage for bookings made in US Dollars or onboard all Princess vessels at the passenger services desk.  Princess Cruises Gift Cards cannot be applied towards cruise passage for bookings made in Canadian Dollars.

 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, seachelt said:

I bought a $1000. gift card using my Amex. It was emailed to me promptly along with my $50. bonus card.

Today I checked my Amex bill and the $1000. had been converted to US $ for a cost to me of $1364.68.

My husband had a bit better luck, his Visa charged him $1359.42 for his $1000. gift card.

Other Canadians who took advantage of this offer experienced the same thing? Princess will automatically 

credit us with $US1000. when we use these gift cards?

Thank you!

It depends if you use a CAD credit card or a USD credit card.  Did you not realize these were in USD which is Princess' currency of business?  As others have posted, you cannot apply these to cruise balance outstanding if you booked in CAD.  It is unfortunate as I suppose they could have accepted them and converted at some exchange rate.  What you were charged in CAD is not a-typical.  There are also CAD credit cards that do not assess an up-charge on the exchange rate - great for international travel. 

 

The CAD has been down since this promotion started due to falling price of oil related to the Coronavirus situation.  The CAD had been close to 1.305 and is now around 1.33.

 

You can book cruises with Princess in USD or CAD.  Nothing special about the CAD fares - they are all based on the USD fares, times a set exchange rate that Princess periodically updates.  Currently it is 1.30 and has been that for some time now.

 

I book with a US-based TA that gives a discount off the cruise fare - something you won't find in Canada.  Hope you can use the gift cards.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Steelers36

[seachelt]

Thanks for your replies. Luckily we are leaving on Feb.22 on a Royal Princess Mexican Riviera cruise. We have another cruise booked (in $CAD with a Canadian travel agent) to New Zealand for Jan 2021. I'll be talking to the future cruise booking department on the Royal and try to cancel our present booking and rebook in $US....if we can still get the Best Sale Ever plus an equivalent cabin. If not, oh well we will use the US $2000. at some later date.

Thanks again, and happy trails.

[Steelers36]

17 minutes ago, seachelt said:

Thanks for your replies. Luckily we are leaving on Feb.22 on a Royal Princess Mexican Riviera cruise. We have another cruise booked (in $CAD with a Canadian travel agent) to New Zealand for Jan 2021. I'll be talking to the future cruise booking department on the Royal and try to cancel our present booking and rebook in $US....if we can still get the Best Sale Ever plus an equivalent cabin. If not, oh well we will use the US $2000. at some later date.

Thanks again, and happy trails.

The good thing is that the $1000 cards never expire.  It is much easier to use the $50 bonus cards on board.  Bring the codes and PIN with you and you can deposit them on account.  The B.S.E. runs to end of Feb.  As long as you made the original booking with a refundable deposit, no problem and no loss.  You can cancel that booking anytime.  If you are going to book with Princess, just ask for a sales rep on the phone and ask them to book you in USD.  Better yet, see if you can get a referral to a good discount TA when on board.  You have 60 days from booking with Princess to transfer to a TA.

[seachelt]

Thanks for that Steelers! We will do just that. Yes the original booking is with a refundable deposit. I appreciate you taking time to post that helpful information.🛳️

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, seachelt said:

Thanks for your replies. Luckily we are leaving on Feb.22 on a Royal Princess Mexican Riviera cruise. We have another cruise booked (in $CAD with a Canadian travel agent) to New Zealand for Jan 2021. I'll be talking to the future cruise booking department on the Royal and try to cancel our present booking and rebook in $US....if we can still get the Best Sale Ever plus an equivalent cabin. If not, oh well we will use the US $2000. at some later date.

Thanks again, and happy trails.

Canadian travel agents are able to book Princess cruises in USD - you could ask to switch if you like your agent and then apply the gift card to the booking since it would be in USD....

[hobbyfarmer2]

22 hours ago, seachelt said:

I bought a $1000. gift card using my Amex. It was emailed to me promptly along with my $50. bonus card.

Today I checked my Amex bill and the $1000. had been converted to US $ for a cost to me of $1364.68.

My husband had a bit better luck, his Visa charged him $1359.42 for his $1000. gift card.

Other Canadians who took advantage of this offer experienced the same thing? Princess will automatically 

credit us with $US1000. when we use these gift cards?

Thank you!

Looks like AMEX may have charged 2.5% additional currency conversion fee on top of exchange.  You only gain $25, not $50 if this is the case. Still not bad.