Question about Chase Freedom Ultimate Rewards Carnival Giftcard

[raetrosclair]

I have a cruise booked and paid in full on the Triumph in Jan 2011.

 

I have a Chase Freedom card that is under the Ultimate Rewards program. I can cash in 20,000 points for a $200 Carnival gift card. The site doesn't give any more information other than that it is a "gift card."

 

Has anyone ever used these points to get a gift card, and then have the gift card applied as a room credit - in a way prepaying for drinks I know we will charge? If so, what is the procedure for having it applied? I have searched the forum and found information on the Capital One travel vouchers, but since this is a "gift card" I am not sure if it is the same thing.

 

I would hate to cash in the points to find out it can not be used towards room charges.

 

Thanks,

Melissa

[kwbound]

I cashed in rewards points and ordered this same Chase gift card on Tuesday. I should have it in a day or two. I could find no restrictions on the Chase web site, so I am hoping that is the case. I am not going to be happy if I receive it and find out it can only be used for future cruises, as ours is already booked and paid for.

 

I will post and let you know if there is any fine print when I receive it.

[raetrosclair]

I cashed in rewards points and ordered this same Chase gift card on Tuesday. I should have it in a day or two. I could find no restrictions on the Chase web site, so I am hoping that is the case. I am not going to be happy if I receive it and find out it can only be used for future cruises, as ours is already booked and paid for.

 

I will post and let you know if there is any fine print when I receive it.

 

That would be great - thanks!

[hockey97]

i called carnival about this gift card: it can only be used for excursions as it states on the chase website as well. I did want to use it as we are booked on a cruise, carnival did state that it was probably best to use if for a future cruise, not the one i have booked already. Good Luck! I got a bunch of gift cards instead to use for my new home in FL!!!

[kwbound]

i called carnival about this gift card: it can only be used for excursions as it states on the chase website as well. I did want to use it as we are booked on a cruise, carnival did state that it was probably best to use if for a future cruise, not the one i have booked already. Good Luck! I got a bunch of gift cards instead to use for my new home in FL!!!

 

I went back to the website, but I don't see where it says that. This is the item description on the Chase website:

 

Carnival Cruise Lines' "Fun Ships" visit a wide array of exciting destinations featuring hundreds of shore excursion opportunities. Guests can snorkel or scuba dive in the crystal clear waters of locales such as Cozumel and Grand Cayman or explore more adventurous alternatives like cave tubing in Belize, or kayaking and white water rafting in Alaska. Carnival's 20 ships operate voyages to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, New England, Canada and Bermuda. You may receive multiple certificates to complete your total order. "Certificates can only be used if cruise is booked directly through Carnival Cruise. Certificates can not be used if booking through a travel agency."

 

The paragraph does say "featuring hundreds of shore excursion opportunities", but it doesn't specify that the certificate can only be used for that. The last two sentences are the only restrictions I see on the website.

 

So I called Chase and the spoke to a Flexible Rewards rep to verify that it did not have to be used for excursions only and her exact words were "Oh, definitely not. As long as you booked directly with Carnival you can apply the certificates towards whatever purpose you choose including the cruise fare or other purchases."

 

Mail has already delivered today, and it didn't come. Hopefully it will come tomorrow. I'll post again once I receive it and try and apply it.

[MargaritaPlease]

At the risk of pointing out the obvious... You DO realize you could take you 20,000 points as $200 cash and then spend it on anything you darn well please: excursions, drinks, gambling, wine, women, or song, right?

[kwbound]

At the risk of pointing out the obvious... You DO realize you could take you 20,000 points as $200 cash and then spend it on anything you darn well please: excursions, drinks, gambling, wine, women, or song, right?

 

Thanks for that information Margarita. At the risk of sounding ungrateful... you DO realize you could have worded your advice in such a way that it sounded a little more helpful and a little less condescending, right? For example: "You can also take your 20,000 points as $200 cash and apply it as you wish." Fewer words, less typing, straight to the point and actually makes you seem helpful, as opposed to someone who's just trying to sound superior rather than actually help. But whatever....thanks for the input anyway, regardless of how it sounded.

[MargaritaPlease]

But whatever....thanks for the input anyway...

 

You're welcome.

[disneygirl74]

I've been having a heck of a time finding the answer to this question. Chase & Carnival just didn't really seem to know. Finally after speaking to people who said yes, then others that said no, I spoke to the promotions dept. at Carnival and they said through the credit card it is generally for the price of the cruise ONLY. It looks like I'm just not going to take the chance. My cruises are paid in full and even if they credited back 200 to my account, it just wouldn't do me any good to have it sitting on a card I rarely use. I hope you guys can make use of your certificates somehow!

 

Please let me know how that goes.

[raetrosclair]

Thanks for the info!

 

kwbound, have you received the gift certificates yet? Very interested to see what they say. If anything, I can just get the check reward, but there is something fun about getting the carnival gift certificate, even though it all works out the same.

 

Thanks again!

[disneygirl74]

I agree with you, although I think I will not opt for the reward this time for the reasons I mentioned above. Maybe at some point when I'm booking a new cruise, because let's face it, we just know that's gonna happen. lol

 

In my rewards list (I have the "Signature" Card) I have 18,500 for the $200 Carnival Certificate, but 20,000 for the cash check (gotta love a good oxymoron lol). That's why I would have gone for the cert. if it was more clear that it could be used for an OBC to not throw away those extra 1,500 points. I also like gift certificates sometimes though because it makes sure it doesn't end up going to other things and sometimes it's just nice to spend money that's meant to be spent for a change. No guilt there, really. No...well I really should just save it.... My two cents anyway.

 

Atm I'm just livid anyway because I found out my "fixed" rate just got hiked way up and I have a perfect record with them for years. (they also weren't in financial trouble like other banks) Unfortunately, I also have a balance. The new laws should force them to fix some of this but they're sure going to get us as long as they can get away with it. Too bad one of the new laws doesn't make them have to pay the account back for any gouging they do from t he time the law changed to when they have to start changing it. I bet then they wouldn't be so quick to play these games now.

[kwbound]

I was able to send in my certificates and have them applied to my upcoming cruise. I had not made my final payment yet, so they applied it. I worked through my PVP. Let her know they were coming, sent the certificates with a tracking number and let her know when they were delivered to Carnival. She followed up and let me know when they had been sent to accounting. They received them last week and when I checked today the $200 had been applied. So I was able to use them on a cruise that had already been booked. Hope this info helps. Sorry it took me so long to post an update, but I was waiting to make sure they would accept them.

[mikeerdas]

I see Chase has recently upped its sign-on bonus for the Chase Freedom card from 10K points after a $500 spend in 3 months to 20K points.

 

1) Are the $200 Carnival gift cards still available?

2) Can they be redeemed for OBC on an already booked cruise?

3) If not OBC, could it be used to purchase a pass to the Cloud 9 spa general facilities on the Carnival Breeze? On the Dream, I seem to recall a week-long spa pass was somewhere between $200 and $250 per couple. Anyone know the current price?

 

Also, noticed that the Carnival credit card is a Barclays Card (seems to have been Bank of America in the past) and has a measly 5K point sign-up bonus on first purchase--you only get another 5K if you do a large balance transfer. Are there any better offers out there for this card, e.g. a 10K bonus on first purchase?

Edited November 30, 2013 by mikeerdas

[mikeerdas]

From the Chase Freedom UR site:

 

"The Cruise Dollars Certificate is valid in U.S. Dollars for face value towards the purchase of a Carnival Cruise Vacation of 3-16 days in length. MAY NOT BE USED AS ONBOARD CREDIT."

 

But as another pointed out, can redeem 20K points for $200 cash back and therefore used for anything.

[gtonda]

Wondering if these GC's differ from the Carnival ones I got from the Citibank Thank You Rewards program? Those specifically state they can only be used for new bookings. They don't really specify if you have to use them within a certain amount of time of the booking to be considered a new booking still.

 

We had to book online due to booking the ES rate, then called in to have the gift certs applied. We then had to mail in the GC's to have the amount actually deducted from our balance due.