Gift cards can not be used to purchase??

[Mary229]

Insurance companies never refund back to the original payment, that would not be possible.  They were not the original merchant and can’t reverse an action by another merchant.  They would simply send a check for any successful claim.  

[klsd]

On 7/29/2023 at 11:16 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

PS: I know I must sound like a broken record, but I was surprised when I uncovered that gift cards are not covered under my trip insurance policy and don't want others to make the same assumptions I almost did. 

Do you have any idea if Visa/ Mastercard debit cards are also treated the same - no refund?  That would be the Visa/MC cards you see at Staples, grocery stores, CVS, etc. and are frequently given as gifts. Would insurance companies reimburse those payments? TIA

Edited September 27, 2023 by klsd
added info

[thetaxlady]

quick question to unconfuse me, I am retiring, and my co-workers are getting me a HAL giftcard, if I use that for any portion of the final payment, and I have insurance thru HAL and I have to cancel, I will NOT receive credit for that amount......I.E.  final payment is 4k and I have a 1k gift card, I lose the 1k?

Edited September 27, 2023 by thetaxlady
spelling

[Mary229]

5 minutes ago, thetaxlady said:

quick question to unconfuse me, I am retiring, and my co-workers are getting me a HAL giftcard, if I use that for any portion of the final payment, and I have insurance thru HAL and I have to cancel, I will NOT receive credit for that amount......I.E.  final payment is 4k and I have a 1k gift card, I lose the 1k?

No.   You should call the insurance company.  I called mine.  Insurance companies pay claims by check.  When you buy insurance you buy for the full value of the travel, if you did your claims can be made up to that value.  Be sure the value of your flights is covered also. 

[BermudaBound2014]

16 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I can't locate it easily but perhaps @BermudaBound2014 who contributed much to the discussion can find the link for you.

 

 

This issue is complicated by situation. Are you asking for a refund to a gift card before final payment (ie, before trip insurance kicks in)? Are you insured thru a third party (not all policies read the same)? Are you trying to get insurance coverage thru your credit card (example Chase Sapphire)? Did you buy HAL insurance (which reads different)? Were the gift cards purchased thru AARP or HAL direct? Lots of scenarios. 

 

Here are the terms and conditions of the gift card itself. Clearly states no refunds and no reloading (although lots of data sets show that HAL does reload). The gift cards are Non-refundable and not redeemable for cash. In addition, the terms clearly state that gift cards do not come with the same implied warranties as credit cards:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/legal-privacy/gift-card-terms-and-conditions.html

 

But that's just a starting point. The best advice I can give anyone is to call your specific travel insurer and ask lots of questions. And then ask to see the actual policy before purchase. I had a person on the phone directly contradict the actual language in a policy 🤷‍♀️ She had to get a supervisor and low-and-behold the person selling the insurance policy was incorrect about the actual coverage so I no longer trust phone reps. Most often, the actual policy is sent after purchasing the insurance with a grace period to cancel if you don't like the terms; but they will send it prior with a request. Reading the actual policy is no fun. At all.

 

Gift cards are always buyer beware and come with some level of risk. I'm fairly risk tolerant, but those who are risk adverse really need to do their homework. 

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[cakewalk73]

On 7/28/2023 at 12:54 PM, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Yes, they can be used toward HIA when it is included with your cruise price, Yes they can be used toward Crew Appreciation and Yes they can be used for Shore Excursions.

I am witness to all of the above being done just this week. I myself pre paid my Crew Appreciation using HAL gift cards purchased through AARP, Now was it an easy task...No but you have to get to the correct department that has the ability for the little pull down box that allows payment by Gift Cards. U have of several people that recently aid off cruises that had the HIA with the cruise price and no porblem paying the cruise in full with HAL Gift cards, Unless something changed since yesterday afternoon there is definitely no roblem in using them.

I thought I read the T&C's, and that the gift cards was good for everything on HAL, but I did run into the issue of using it for HIA.  Could anyone elaborate on how you used your gift cards for HIA?  Which would be the correct department to contact with the ability for allowing payments by gift cards in their little pull down box?  Please help.  Thanks so much.

[Mary229]

8 hours ago, cakewalk73 said:

I thought I read the T&C's, and that the gift cards was good for everything on HAL, but I did run into the issue of using it for HIA.  Could anyone elaborate on how you used your gift cards for HIA?  Which would be the correct department to contact with the ability for allowing payments by gift cards in their little pull down box?  Please help.  Thanks so much.

You cannot pay a single transaction with a combination of gift cards and credit cards.  Anything included on your fare invoice can be purchased with gift cards.  
 

For individual purchases off of the invoice you cannot buy crew gratuities and hotels and flights.  If the hotels and flights are on the fare invoice they can be bought with cards.  I have never tried buying HIA separately with gift cards so I cannot tell you if it can be done or not.  For crew gratuities you can buy OBC with gift cards and the gratuities will be deducted daily from that OBC once onboard.  
 

Remember you can buy supplemental gift cards on HAL.  The ones on HAL are not discounted but can be bought in any amount and can even be bought in fractional dollars, I bought one for $13.19 to complete an order 

Edited April 12 by Mary229