Expired Princess Gift Cards

[Jadn13]

My family had been saving gift cards to pay for our on board expenses but when presented some of them to guest services on board were told they expired.The Princess site says they don't expire but we were told they had.

We were then instructed to follow up and that the money would be refunded to the card they were purchased with even if they were gifts.

 

 

I've sent an email to Princess to start trying to get the credit cards refunded.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Jadn13

[JF - retired RRT]

Ow. That's not good.

Be sure to get a copy of the info that says they never expire (just in case it "disappears" from the web site). And keep notes of everyone that you talk to.

Did you try more than one person while on the ship? Maybe he/she/they were misinformed.

[fishywood]

Did you contact the Gift Card Services Department directly as soon as you returned home?

 

Q: What if I have questions that are not listed here?

A: To speak to a live agent, please call Princess Cruises Gift Card Customer Service at 1-855-426-0168. Agents are available Monday through Friday from 5am to 9pm and Saturday through Sunday from 6am to 5pm (Pacific Standard Time). You can also e-mail Princess with your question at giftcardsupport@princesscruises.com and a Gift Card customer service specialist will respond within 72 hours.

 

 

The online information about Gift Cards is borderline contradictory; some sections saying they must be used for specific purchases on board, but later saying they can also be used to pay down your folio.

 

One thing that caught my eye (as best I could understand all the legalese) is that you still must initially use a credit card or cash deposit to open your shipboard account; then only once you have made sufficient charges you can then use the gift card to pay them down. Perhaps the issue onboard related to this, with the purser's staff not understanding how to explain or correct so just using the "expired" excuse.

[-Lew-]

Regardless of any expiration date, there are federal and state laws regarding the expiration of gift cards. From the National Conference of State Legislatures website:

 

In 2009, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which set consumer protections for gift cards based on many state laws. The law provides that gift cards cannot expire within five years from the date they were activated and generally limits inactivity fee on gift cards except in certain circumstances, such as if there has been no transaction for at least 12 months. The federal law creates a floor for regulation and leaves room for state regulation on redeeming gift cards for cash and unclaimed property provisions.

Click here to be brought to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility And Disclosure Act Of 2009...

 

[likeadisguise]

Were they purchased gift cards, or part of a promotion? They've had a few sales where you could receive promotional gift cards, and those definitely had an expiration date.

[Jadn13]

Thanks for the help!

I just returned Saturday and sent emails out this morning directly to the gift card help address and to Princess directly. We were on a back to back total 25 days and didn't try to apply them till midway through the first cruise.

 

I'll post what they response is from Princess once received

 

Thanks Again Everyone!

[Jadn13]

Nope, they were purchased directly from the Princess gift card site.

Were they purchased gift cards, or part of a promotion? They've had a few sales where you could receive promotional gift cards, and those definitely had an expiration date.

[Bill B]

Nope, they were purchased directly from the Princess gift card site.

 

I purchased gift cards directly from Princess during a promo. While the 'regular' cards do not expire, the 'bonus' card had an expiry date.

[Thrak]

There is a link on THIS PAGE that lets one check the balance on a Princess Gift Card.

[Cruise Raider]

I purchased gift cards directly from Princess during a promo. While the 'regular' cards do not expire, the 'bonus' card had an expiry date.

 

 

That was my thought, too! I knew I had to use those promotional ones by a certain date or they would lose their value. I was actually able to apply them towards payment on an upcoming cruise.

However, I purchased $1000 gift card in order to get those promotional gift cards. When I went to apply my $1000 gift card to my balance a few months later, they stated it was expired. YIKES!! I was more than a little miffed. Anyhow, after an hour or so on the phone and many emails back and forth proving that this was valid, they finally applied the $1000 to the cruise. So, they do make mistakes on the IT end ... funny thing is, the ones with the expiry were taken without trouble whereas the one that I paid for seemed to have lost all its value. I am just thankful it was straightened out or I may have been too mad to sail on Princess after that.