Verizon Gift Card Amount Reduces?

[huskywa]

In January this year, I purchased a $500 egift card through Verizon for which I paid $450. I received it within a few minutes in my email. We intended to use it on board the ship as we had already paid for our cruise. Due to a family emergency, we had to cancel our cruise. I attempted to use the gift card this afternoon as part of the deposit on a cruise we are booking for February 2016. The gift card has a 14-digit number and a four-digit pin. The card clearly indicates "Expiration Date: None." Our PVP's computer would not accept the 14-digit number without an expiration date. There was a small circle and within the circle it said, "Tap to Redeem." I tapped the circle and was shocked when the $500 value suddenly changed to a value of $336.04 as today's current value rather than the $500 it had just been showing! No where in the small print does it say anything about the card reducing in value. As of now, we paid $450 for the card and it shows we have lost $113.96 from the $450 we paid and $163.96 from the expected $500 value. Our PVP is holding our room for 24 hours. I immediately attempted to call the Verizon Smart Rewards Department and, since we are in the Pacific Time Zone and they are located in the Central Time Zone, they were closed. An individual did give me a complaint reference number and said someone would call me back within two or three business days. When asked, she did say she has heard of this happening before, not often, and it got straightened out. Has anyone else heard of this or had it happen to you?

[volmoma]

In January this year, I purchased a $500 egift card through Verizon for which I paid $450. I received it within a few minutes in my email. We intended to use it on board the ship as we had already paid for our cruise. Due to a family emergency, we had to cancel our cruise. I attempted to use the gift card this afternoon as part of the deposit on a cruise we are booking for February 2016. The gift card has a 14-digit number and a four-digit pin. The card clearly indicates "Expiration Date: None." Our PVP's computer would not accept the 14-digit number without an expiration date. There was a small circle and within the circle it said, "Tap to Redeem." I tapped the circle and was shocked when the $500 value suddenly changed to a value of $336.04 as today's current value rather than the $500 it had just been showing! No where in the small print does it say anything about the card reducing in value. As of now, we paid $450 for the card and it shows we have lost $113.96 from the $450 we paid and $163.96 from the expected $500 value. Our PVP is holding our room for 24 hours. I immediately attempted to call the Verizon Smart Rewards Department and, since we are in the Pacific Time Zone and they are located in the Central Time Zone, they were closed. An individual did give me a complaint reference number and said someone would call me back within two or three business days. When asked, she did say she has heard of this happening before, not often, and it got straightened out. Has anyone else heard of this or had it happen to you?

 

 

I've purchased a bunch of the GC's and never had this problem. I do, however, have 3 $500 cards that I will defiantly check the balance on. What did Verizon say the problem was? Thanks for the heads up.

Edited September 15, 2015 by volmoma

[pbsteve]

I would ask carnival where the funds were spent. thats an odd amount to be reduced by, 20.495 a month. I'm thinking it somehow got used somewhere. They should have a record of where.

[zqvol]

I would ask carnival where the funds were spent. thats an odd amount to be reduced by, 20.495 a month. I'm thinking it somehow got used somewhere. They should have a record of where.

 

CCL is not the one to ask, the proper party is Verizon.

[GottaLuvCruising]

I thought that process (reduction of unused GC value over time) was deemed illegal a few years ago. I would contact Carnival (Verizon is only a vendor, Carnival sets the limits on their cards.)

Edited September 15, 2015 by GottaLuvCruising

[TerReuv]

When you first recevied the card did you check the balance? That was the first thing I did when I received mine from Verizon. I wanted to confirm the balance as soon as I got them.

[huskywa]

When I got the gift card, it said $500 on it. I didn't think to verify the amount with Carnival. I've not had a gift card reduce in many years from non-use. I too thought gradual gift card reduction became illegal a few years ago. I am going to call Verizon now and see if they can help before two to three days go by. I will post what I find out. I'm not very familiar with posting and hope this response shows up. Thank you.

[evandbob]

CCL is not the one to ask, the proper party is Verizon.

 

Not quite. The inquiry should be directed to the gift card issuer. Both Verizon and AARP use an independent vender who issues the cards. Check the website where you purchased the card for instructions on how to contact that company.

 

On the back of my cards it does state: " This card does not expire."

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

If the card issuer is illegally reducing the amount then I see a lawsuit coming and FTC complaint. Hopefully there's another explanation for the reduction.

Edited September 15, 2015 by ATL_Miami_Cruiser

[TrqoisWtrs]

it shows we have lost $113.96 from the $450 we paid

 

Did you possibly book excursions or anything from the Bon Voyage department for the cruise you had to cancel and maybe forgot about it? (Just a suggestion, been there, done that. :) :p)

[huskywa]

I found out what happened. Verizon worked quickly to resolve this matter. Since we had the cruise paid for, we could only use the gift card to pre-purchase tours and then use the remainder for OBC. I booked two tours for us which totaled the reduced amount. The next day, my mother entered a hospice facility. I did cancel all arrangements for the planned cruise, and with all that was going on right then, I forgot I booked the tours. Carnival is working with me to obtain the $163.96 that we used to book the tours. Thank you for the concerned responses and apparently it is fine to purchase and use the gift cards.

[TerReuv]

Glad you figured it out!

[pbsteve]

CCL is not the one to ask, the proper party is Verizon.

 

... seems Carnival was the proper place to check. Like I said, it seems like it got used. CARNIVAL can see what it was used for. Verizon cannot. Can walgreens tell you where the funds on a visa gift card went? That was the point. Seems a call to carnival was the right call, they figured out where the money went, and is working to get it back on their gift card.

[angelsbz]

Might be a stupid question...but what are these Verizon Gift Cards? [emoji3]

 

 

 

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[mitsugirly]

So glad you were able to get it figured out. I bought multiple $500 gift cards at the beginning of the year and had no problems (although not exactly what you were describing about purchasing and then not using until a much later date). So happy they (either Verizon or Carnival) wasn't trying to do something wrong. :)

[Pops, Esq.]

Might be a stupid question...but what are these Verizon Gift Cards? [emoji3]

 

 

 

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Carnival gift cards that can be purchased through Verizon Rewards program. They are sold at a 10% discount.

[angelsbz]

@kbanowsky thank you!

 

 

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[carni05]

I purchased 2- $500. Gift cards they Verizon on 9/19.. They arrived today. I called my agent to use them to pay off my balance. I've been on hold for over 20 min. They r telling me I can't use the entire amount of the cards to pay off my balance..there is a limit! They are hold $168. 50 on the gift card. Really..this is crap! Anyone else have this problem?

[firemanbobswife]

I purchased 2- $500. Gift cards they Verizon on 9/19.. They arrived today. I called my agent to use them to pay off my balance. I've been on hold for over 20 min. They r telling me I can't use the entire amount of the cards to pay off my balance..there is a limit! They are hold $168. 50 on the gift card. Really..this is crap! Anyone else have this problem?

 

 

That's baloney. Used nothing but gift cards to totally pay for one of my cruises including deposit and final payment. Then used some more on board for my S&S account which I had set up as cash. I booked direct with Carnival.

[GottaLuvCruising]

I purchased 2- $500. Gift cards they Verizon on 9/19.. They arrived today. I called my agent to use them to pay off my balance. I've been on hold for over 20 min. They r telling me I can't use the entire amount of the cards to pay off my balance..there is a limit! They are hold $168. 50 on the gift card. Really..this is crap! Anyone else have this problem?

 

I received $2,500 in Carnival gift cards today (three orders.) I used them to post final payments on two cruises and book a shore excursion. No problem.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

I purchased 2- $500. Gift cards they Verizon on 9/19.. They arrived today. I called my agent to use them to pay off my balance. I've been on hold for over 20 min. They r telling me I can't use the entire amount of the cards to pay off my balance..there is a limit! They are hold $168. 50 on the gift card. Really..this is crap! Anyone else have this problem?

 

If a TA told me that BS I'd take my business somewhere else. You CAN pay the entire final payment, excursions and use it for spending onboard. I have yet to run into a limit of any kind. Log into Carnival's site and pay it yourself using the gift cards and bypass your TA. Then get rid of them :)

[scgirlie]

I just used $2000 worth of GC to pay off my cruise. Only problem was you had to use them $500 at a time.

[kteachcruiser52]

I purchased 2- $500. Gift cards they Verizon on 9/19.. They arrived today. I called my agent to use them to pay off my balance. I've been on hold for over 20 min. They r telling me I can't use the entire amount of the cards to pay off my balance..there is a limit! They are hold $168. 50 on the gift card. Really..this is crap! Anyone else have this problem?

 

I have used the Verizon and AARP gift cards to pay for three cruises I have booked. The only amount I paid for with my credit card was the odd amount that equalled under $100. I do not like to use just a partial gift card and my gift cards are in $100 and $500 demolitions. I have around $3,000. Of gift cards I have yet to use. I am glad you figured out the problem.

[dioxide45]

I purchased 2- $500. Gift cards they Verizon on 9/19.. They arrived today. I called my agent to use them to pay off my balance. I've been on hold for over 20 min. They r telling me I can't use the entire amount of the cards to pay off my balance..there is a limit! They are hold $168. 50 on the gift card. Really..this is crap! Anyone else have this problem?

 

I had a similar issue with our TA for our next cruise. We coudln't pay the entire balance with gift cards. They couldn't give me a full explanation, but I think I figured it out. Our final payment actually gets paid to our travel agent and the TA forwards it to Carnival. I think however, that our TA holds their commission from the final payment. So the travel agent is making at least $168.50 in commission on your cruise. Ours was a short cruise and I think the amount we had to pay on a credit card for final payment was less than $75.

 

I don' know if this is the case or not, but it is the most logical explanation that I could think of.

 

Some travel agents have the final payment processed by the cruise line, others you pay the TA directly and they pay the cruise line. Ours is a reputable TA, so I had no concerns about this arrangement.

 

If a TA told me that BS I'd take my business somewhere else. You CAN pay the entire final payment, excursions and use it for spending onboard. I have yet to run into a limit of any kind. Log into Carnival's site and pay it yourself using the gift cards and bypass your TA. Then get rid of them :)

 

With a TA, you can't bypass them. You can't make payments on the Carnival website. You have to go through the TA to apply payments.

 

I won't bother with gift cards for paying cruise deposits or even for the cruise balance. Only for on board purchases. I say this because if you purchase travel insurance, there is a chance that amounts paid by gift card won't be covered if you have to cancel.