Marlissa

My daughter still has one certificate left, and needs to use it. I'm sure she'd appreciate the simplicity of it. Did this mail-in offer apply to everyone? Are there special circumstances?

Yep, we got a letter. Not sure if everyone did or not. We were in the group that had incorrect value certs sent out originally and BoA had to recompute/reissue. Maybe that's part of the difference? The letter mentions that certs ending in FC can be applied via email.

Hi All,

I've just booked the last 'free' cruise :mad:. I've emailed NCL, and they've applied the BoA Final Certs. Question is, do I still need to mail the certs to NCL? The most recent BoA letter, that said to email NCL the info, left me slightly confused as to if I need to mail them or not.

Hi JTCruiser1,

 

I am having the same problem - perhaps even worse! I used ************* to find a good price for a Mexican Riviera cruise in October. I ended up purchasing from BestPriceCruises.com - I guess I should have dug through their pages and pages of terms and conditions to find out that they will only credit my $500 certificates at 80%, and not only that, they are going to charge me a $25 late processing fee because I didn't get the certificates to them by 10 days after booking. They say to get credit for the certs I have to send them directly to them, and if I send them to NCL, they will charge me full fare for the cruise. Anyway, I think it's important that everyone here know not to book with this company if you plan to use any certificates!

[snip...]

I wonder if that's new...We purchased thru BPC in Dec '07 and redeemed BoA Compass Rewards $. We send the certs to NCL and most of the value was applied towards the balance. The remaining cert value was refunded, via check, from BPC. When ask why it was done this way, BPC tried to explain but wasn't making much sense to me. I didn't really press as to the 'why' because in the end, I received the full value of the certs.

OK, so here's how a data error caused us so much grief. Someone at Bank of America wrote a computer program that needed two pieces of data for each cardholder: (1) the number of Compass Rewards points on the December 2008 statement; and (2) the charges incurred from the December closing date until December 31, 2008.

 

So, this computer program would then take the points from the December statement, calculate the points received during the late December period, and add the two together to get the final point tally.

 

So, what likely happened to us unfortunate 6,000 cardholders is that when our info went through the program, someone neglected to include the first data file for us, i.e., the total points earned as of the December statement date.

 

That is why so many of us got certificates based SOLELY on the points earned in the late December period. In my case, I earned zero points during that time, so I haven't gotten a thing - not even a letter.

 

You know, mistakes happen in life, and clearly, someone made an error here. So, I hold no ill will toward Bank of America and am encouraged that they moved so quickly to rectify things when they learned of the error. We are all fortunate to be able to go on such wonderful cruise vacations (and to get significant dollars off to boot!!!)

There must have been multiple errors...

I only received certs based upon NCL charges made during Dec. BoA totally 'dropped' my points accumulated upto and including Dec statement and points that should have been credited between Dec closing date and Jan 1 (besides NCL charges).

Others have said they received certs based upon points on Dec statement only. While others received correct certs. I believe the problem was/is larger than your one scenario.

:o I'm not sure if you are speculating on what happened w/BoA or you are repeating info gained elsewhere.

Also, I'm not as encouraged about BoA's handling of the problem. They started receiving notification in JANUARY that there was a problem (I notified them ~1/5/09). At that time, we were promised follow-up info via email or call back. As of now, haven't heard from them...BoA then continued on the same path and sent certs based upon what they knew was incorrect info. Again, no communication from them to us about the latest fiasco.

Did you have to give NCL Latitudes your MC #?????

Nope only the last 4 digits.

I am unclear on how NCL can resolve this, since they don't have access to our credit card info.. Can you clarify? Also what time zone are the hours 8 AM to 8 PM?

I just spoke w/Latitudes dept. They took info and said someone would investigate and call me back within 5 business days. Not sure if it will work or not, but I spent way less time on the phone than calling BoA.

I think NCL's call center is in Arizona, not sure if that's Mtn or Pacific time zone though. :o

Received our certs today:

One acct had a Dec closing balance of 484 and additional charges were posted before Dec 31 that would give an Jan 1 balance of 520. The correct certs were received (1 - $500 cert and 1 - priceless upgrade cert. :D

The second acct had a Dec closing balance of 544. The ONLY thing received for this acct was the ugrade cert. The letter said there were 2 points as of 12/31/08. I did call NCL and speak w/the latitudes dept. A very nice guy took my name, phone number, points missing info and said someone would investigate the problem. They would call back within 5 business days. Let the countdown begin...:D

Just as an FYI, these certs look different than the other ones. Also, there is space for 4 certs per page, not the usual one per page.

[snip...] I'm sure many people won't bother since the NCL website specifically states:

No exceptions will be made to the number of certificates received outside of what is outlined above.

:mad::mad::mad:

I think most people are looking for and expecting certs issued based upon is outlined. The biggest problem is that the partial month of Dec (after the acct's closing date) charges aren't being accurately reflected. Thus, 'upgrade' certs are being received because the closing statement for Dec showed points below the 500 mark. If BoA would have correctly counted those transactions between Dec closing statement and Jan 1, a $500 is due.

Basically, I only want what is due according to their *revised* statement (which includes days between December's statement and Jan 1).

Did you get a name of the CSR at BOA that you spoke with? We do not do credit card accounts online (use paper bill and use automated phone number to check things periodically). Does this mean we won't get notified? At least they are working on it, and hopefully everyone will get what they deserve! Maybe they will have things straightened out before the end of the month. Thanks for the update!

We did get the CSR's name, prefer not publish it at the moment though...Yeah, not real confident about the notification email since I have yet to be notified (from B0A) that the program is ending :rolleyes:.

I think this is going to be a pain.....I just DH's online statement (closing date of 1/5/09). The ONLY points that were earned were from NCL ($500 onboard charges for Dec cruise) and the points got the bonus rate of 1% only. There are no points calculated/received at the 3%, from NCL or any other charges.

 

December's statement had 481 points, January's has 486 points. No credit for the $1000 in December charges...:mad:

 

Ugg, will have to call BoA, but think DH is going to have to do that since it's his account.

Follow-up to the above post...

DH spoke w/BoA last night. According to CSR he spoke with, B0A is aware that 'some' of the accounts did not get point credits for December and they are working on the issue...CSR is sending email (on our behalf) to someone to get the points added and they should show within 72 hours. She also said that BoA was planning on email notifications to the accounts that were affected by the 'no point received' issue.

Where have people who have recently redeemed certificates mailed them to? I see the address on the first page of this thread, and I have a completely different address on the back of my certificates. My travel agent also gave me a third, completely different address. I want to make sure these get processed as quickly as possible as my final payment is due next week!

 

Thanks!

I was wondering the same thing, rccoble. I will send my Compass Rewards certificates by certified mail and since this requires a signature of receipt, the PO box on back of the certificates is not suitable. Last time I mailed in certificates (1/18/2008) I sent them to NCL/Acccounting Dept, 7665 Corporate Center Drive, Miami FL 33126. Can anybody verify that this is still a good address for this sort of thing?

 

Hopefully someone will have a quick answer, if you haven't already sent them.

Sent some in Dec and used the Corporate Center Dr address.

Can anyone who has a closing date early in the month let the rest of us know if your final Compass Rewards balance was on your January statement (paper or online) or if you were able to get it by phone? Thanks!

I think this is going to be a pain.....I just DH's online statement (closing date of 1/5/09). The ONLY points that were earned were from NCL ($500 onboard charges for Dec cruise) and the points got the bonus rate of 1% only. There are no points calculated/received at the 3%, from NCL or any other charges.

December's statement had 481 points, January's has 486 points. No credit for the $1000 in December charges...:mad:

Ugg, will have to call BoA, but think DH is going to have to do that since it's his account.

I'm about 6K short of getting a 500 voucher. Does anyone have any ideas how I can get to the 500 (approx. 16K charged) amount??

 

I read somewhere about coins? Can someone point me in that direction?

Here the coin site http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/?action=directShip, probably don't have enough time for that tho. You need for the charge to post to your account (not just show as pending). Might think about gift cards to grocery stores, gas stations, home improvement stores, etc. We did all those and also prepaid our auto insurance for the year.

Will my point balance on the 31st be what I have been awarded through my Dec statement or will it include the balance of what I spent through the 31st? I've read it several times and it could be taken either way.

From the link cbreeze provided:

What if my billing cycle ends mid-month?

You will continue accruing Compass Rewards points through December 31, 2008, regardless of when your December billing cycle ends.

and

How many certificates will I receive?

Based on your points balance as of December 31, 2008, you will receive certificates in usual increments of 100 and 500 points toward a stateroom upgrade and/or a discount on your cruise.

so I'd guess BoA will take your Dec statement point ending balance PLUS any additional Dec charges that were made after the Dec statement and send cert(s).

Do you or anyone know where I can get a list of the 400 participating merchants? I did search and can not find it anywhere. Thanks

Try here https://www.bonuscashcenter.citicards.com/ I finally found a reference to bonus cash center in one websites that mentioned the 400 mercants.

Was just reading thru the fine print. Looks like there is a varing %, not a flat 4% paid. Also looks like for the online merchants, you have to click thru Citi's bonuscashcenter site to earn the money. No different than other 'click-thru' sites that offer rebates.

I am a little confused, since I have not received any information from BOA to date, I thought are accounts were open to receive the 3% until Dec 31, 2008 no matter when are billing date ended in Dec. Can someone explain? Thanks.

I believe Magnolia Blossom is talking about receiving the new program info, which could possible come with the December statement.

Anyone who has ordered the coins:

 

How long between the order date and the shipping date? I am at 10 days now, and still waiting for shipment. I need them to ship within a week or two max, so that I get the points for this billing cycle.

My order took about 3-4 weeks to ship. I finally called and inquired. That's when they finally shipped.

I've only had the card since August and am charging away like mad to get the 1000 points before year-end. My billing date in December is the 10th, so if I understand this right, if I can charge $8334 between Dec. 10th and 31st, I'll still get the 250 points, right? And I know not to cut it too close to the 31st due to posting time.

 

So here's my question: if I use the NCL MC to purchase OBC for my February cruise (and get the 1% bonus points), does anyone know if that will post now, or not until February, in which case it's worth nothing to me as points?

 

And part II: I booked thru an online TA. Can I call NCL direct to purchase OBC, or do I have to go thru the TA?

 

Thanks in advance. :)

Can only answer part of your question: If you purchase OBC (thru NCL) the charge is done immediately. I'm not sure if you need to go thru your TA or if NCL will do it for you. There is a NCL fax form, from http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=BonVoyageGifts look on the right side of the page for the Download Gift Order Form.

Merchants are not allowed to add surcharges for payments by credit card, nor can they require minimum or maximum charge amounts. All cc companies have verbiage stating such in their Merchant Agreements. For MasterCard go to http://www.mastercard.com/us/merchant/support/rules.html click on MasterCard Rules pdf and see page 125.

 

I bet that if you send your cc payment along with a copy of this rule to your son's college billing dept AND legal dept, they will gladly take your cc payment. Maybe pre-pay the next semester too? :)

A lot of times, the merchants are allowed to offer a 'cash' discount, which just so happens to be the exact same % that is charged if a cc is used. Thus, they are not adding a surcharge.

[snip....]

I'm curious to hear what others think about Sea Hound's original question... Is he/she being reasonable to ask for another $500 certificate?

Oh, I think he/she is being reasonable and I also think BoA/NCL 'thinks' they are being reasonable. Unfortunately, they, not us, are the ones holding the certs. Probably doesn't really matter what I think... ;)

If it wasn't an eight hour drive each way, I might do that!

Remember when parent's would safety pin a note (or something) to $ bills and the kiddo would give it to the teacher/milk lady at school...can't you do something similiar, maybe a really heavy duty backpack or perhaps even a dump truck...guess it would depend on the tuition bill :D.

I'm officially ticked off! I just called to verify how many points I have and if I need to get my certificates before the end of the year. My current billing cycle ends on Dec 5th, they told me that is my last billing cycle of the year and the money I would spend after December 5th would go onto the new rewards program. If I do not call and ask for my rewards certificates before the end of December I will loose everything!!! I was planning on being able to accumulate enough points through the month of December to get up to the next $500, looks like that will not be happening!!! :mad: This card is never going to be used by our family again, this is horrible!

 

Edit: I have now read back posts on this thread and see that NCL says that no matter what date your billing cycle ends in December I still can get points until the end of December. This guy I was talking to put me on hold 3 different times for long waits to verify and he kept coming back and telling me that it will end for me on the 5th???? Should I call them back and get another person to make sure and verify that what this guy told me is incorrect or will NCL make sure that this is dealt with correctly? I have no idea what to do!!!!

Here's the NCL page that has been mentioned http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=Compassrewards.

I called my mastercard last friday to redeem my $1500 in credits. The customer service rep instantly knew what I was talking about and within 1 minute told me my 3 certificates were on their way. I received them 5 days later and am mailing them out today towards our 3/7/09 sailing. There's no problem using 3 $500 certificated for 2 people right?

Thanks!

No, as long as the 'owner' of the cert is one of the two people booked.

Capital One MC seems to be rated very highly for travel rewards or cash back. Anyone have any experience with this card (since acceptance of Discover and Amex is spotty abroad)?

We just got two because CapOne offered 0% interest till 2/2010 with no balance xfer fee. Needed someplace new to xfer the balance that seemed to skyrocket when I learned I was going to lose NCL BoA points (thus had to charge lots to get to the $500 points). :o

Anyway, I haven't even read about how the reward system works. Guess I should.

darlak8 - For my second order, I used DW's credit card and had the coins shipped to my work address. The first order was using my credit card and my home address. The billing addresses are the same, though. I think I'm going to try one more order using my card again and shipping to my work address and see what happens.

 

For what it's worth, I didn't call the CSRs. I submitted the orders online. It would seem that the more automation the better.;) That way, I don't have to worry about being told I can't! My guess would be that the online orders just go to the fulfillment center and the coins are shipped (as long as the credit card clears).

 

Good Luck!:)

 

Sea Hound:D

Uggg, I'm still waiting for my first order. I ordered online on 10/20, shipped to work. On 10/27, I got a letter via USPS requesting verification that I indeed ordered the coins. I filled out the form and mailed back on 10/21. As of yet, the coins haven't shipped. I'm not sure what the issue is/was but think it's that the billing address doesn't match the shipping address.