use caution buying gift cards!

[tw67]

I am confused. Why won't they accept a credit card?

 

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[MandyMooToo]

I was told by the people at the trip insurance store that at least for the travel insurance I was buying payment with gift cards would not be covered. It has to do with the proof of purchase, which is different than the proof of payment. Your travel insurance may be different you have to read the policy.

 

We paid for part of our cruise, just a couple hundred dollars, with Carnival gift cards (purchased at Kroger). We were told that as long as we left the cards and the proof of purchase we were covered in case of a refund/claim issue. At least that is what Carnival said when I asked.

[oncruisecontrol]

So I also used that site. Basically what I 'think' it boils down to is this. People sell their unwanted gift cards on this site, with the promise of cash for selling them. This then resells these cards to the public. However, it seems like many of the gift cards they are selling either have already been used, or their gift card numbers have been written down beforehand, so that as soon as the sellers 'sell' them, they can go use the numbers while both getting the gift card cash, as well actual cash for the sell. That is why the site recommends using them shortly thereafter. I bought $1800 worth of gift cards through this site, and one of them came with a 0 balance. I immediately contacted the company and got the amount refunded to me.

 

In other words, this can work, but be very weary when dealing with them. The gift cards amount they send can quickly be erased.

 

By chance, did Carnival say they were fraudulent cards or did they say that they had a zero balance on them? Just curious.

Re: the bits in bold: These sentences alone are the reasons not to even consider for one nanosecond taking a single chance with a company like this. Just to save a measly 10%. When I first read another thread on this same topic and then this thread, my first thought was, "who would buy gift cards online from some fly-by-night-site to pay off their cruise?" There is no way to know they are legit. I'd never before heard of such a thing. I guess I just have always been extremely wary of buying online because the vendor is faceless. And only in certain cases can you really know for sure who you are buying from. And IMHO: purchasing a "zero balance card" would be the same as purchasing a "fraudulent card". Clearly if the person purchased a card that was supposed to have "X amount of dollars" on it, and it really had $0.00, then that misrepresentation itself is a fraud.

[bUU]

The representation itself is an important indicator: A site that promises to refund your money if the card turns out to be fraudulent isn't indemnifying you against the adverse impact of your having tried to pass off a fraudulent form of payment.

[grumplin]

Really by this point pointing out why one should not use the sites is rather redundant after 7 pages . Im sure everyone of us caught up in this ((thousands according to the rep) knows this now. I for one thought the fact they were guaranteed 45 days was a good thing. My gift cards had a full balance. The person that held the credit card that purchased them reported fraud.

 

Now a little info to the other victims of this fraud ring.

 

I am locked out of paying for my trip. The regular Carnival agents can not take a payment. I had to call the accounting Dept. She is working with her boss to unlock it so she can take my final payment. She will be calling back as soon as the lock is lifted. She confirmed as a victim of the fraudulent cards that :

 

1. I will never again be able to use a gift card on any booking

2. I will never again be able to make a payment or book online. I will have to call the accounting dept every single time

 

 

I will not elaborate on my feeling over this any more than to say I feel like a criminal and it has really changed my opinion of carnival with the restrictions placed. I showed proof I did everything legally. She confirmed this will be the case for everyone who was a victim in this scam.

[bnorris10]

 

1. I will never again be able to use a gift card on any booking

2. I will never again be able to make a payment or book online. I will have to call the accounting dept every single time

 

 

I will not elaborate on my feeling over this any more than to say I feel like a criminal and it has really changed my opinion of carnival with the restrictions placed. I showed proof I did everything legally. She confirmed this will be the case for everyone who was a victim in this scam.

 

This is a real shame I have to say I would probably quit cruising carnival if they blocked me from using gift cards ever again or from making payments or booking online - I mean I would chalk this one up to a lesson learned and then if it happened a second time then give the person a big ol block - I doubt most of these people will ever use giftcards again from an untrusted source so they really should rethink this and give some leniency for lesson learned

[bUU]

I wonder whether Carnival would treat passengers affected by this differently if they were Platinum.

[grumplin]

This is a real shame I have to say I would probably quit cruising carnival if they blocked me from using gift cards ever again or from making payments or booking online - I mean I would chalk this one up to a lesson learned and then if it happened a second time then give the person a big ol block - I doubt most of these people will ever use gift cards again from an untrusted source so they really should rethink this and give some leniency for lesson learned

 

I really cant see any of it for future bookings once I sent proof I purchased them legally.

 

I wonder whether Carnival would treat passengers affected by this differently if they were Platinum.

 

Im going to say no. It really upsets me that Im branded for life. The first cruise we booked a Junior suite. Every other one we booked 1 to 2 grand Suites depending on if our kids were going or not. We have cruise yearly the last 5 years and 1 year did it twice. That is a lot of money spent with a company to now be branded a criminal for life.. Im horrified now going on the cruise that I will have further problems because of this. Will I be banned from having my CC linked to my sign and sail etc? That is on my list of questions when she calls back.

[tw67]

I have been told that it is only for this booking that I can't use gift cards. If I was told that I couldn't use them again, ever, then I am pretty sure that I would be giving up on Carnival. But it wouldn't just be me giving up on Carnival, but my kids too. We always book 2 cabins on family cruises, my kids ask for gift cards from their Aunts for birthday and Christmas. My 19 year old uses it as his gambling money!

 

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[grumplin]

I have been told that it is only for this booking that I can't use gift cards. If I was told that I couldn't use them again, ever, then I am pretty sure that I would be giving up on Carnival. But it wouldn't just be me giving up on Carnival, but my kids too. We always book 2 cabins on family cruises, my kids ask for gift cards from their Aunts for birthday and Christmas. My 19 year old uses it as his gambling money!

 

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She put me on hold and confirmed with her manager this and the rule for future booking and payment could only be made through the accounting dept forever. You may want to call and ask this yourself. Also have you tried to pay your cruise off yet? Thats when I found out I had the block on my profile.

[tw67]

She put me on hold and confirmed with her manager this and the rule for future booking and payment could only be made through the accounting dept forever. You may want to call and ask this yourself. Also have you tried to pay your cruise off yet? Thats when I found out I had the block on my profile.

I have in writing that it is only for this booking number, and not future ones. I will let you know what happens next week when I pay it off.

 

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[Justcallmemom]

You do not have to be an AARP customer to get the gift cards from their AARP Rewards program. I am in my 30's so not close to AARP age. Sign up for an account, get the gift cards then move on. Some people here think you have to do these surveys and read crap on their site, when in fact you do not. You get enough points when you sign up for an account to get the gift cards without doing anything. Then if you want more, just create multiple accounts using bogus email addresses. No need to jump through hoops to get them. Also the Allstate app you can get them as well, you do not need to be an Allstate customer. You DO have to be a Verizon customer to get theirs, however they're going away at the end of October for Verizon rewards.

 

 

 

Ok. I just bought $200 in carnival ecards yesterday morning through AARP and have yet to have them emailed to me. As I usually buy them through Verizon and get them immediately. Am I missing something?

 

 

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[Justcallmemom]

Do you have to be an Allstate customer to buy them through them? I've looked on their site and don't see anything about rewards.

 

 

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[maryred]

Ok. I just bought $200 in carnival ecards yesterday morning through AARP and have yet to have them emailed to me. As I usually buy them through Verizon and get them immediately. Am I missing something?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

The e-cards from AARP are the same as through Verizon Wireless.

The problems stated here seem to be through gift card resellers not reward program fulfillment centers. If unfamiliar with GC resellers basically they are companies that allow any Tom, Rick, or Sally to take a gift card they don't need or have partially used and won't be using again and sell them for "cash".

 

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[quest2best]

"Ok. I just bought $200 in carnival ecards yesterday morning through AARP and have yet to have them emailed to me. As I usually buy them through Verizon and get them immediately. Am I missing something?"

 

Mine showed up under promotions a little while after I received the confirmation of purchase email

 

 

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[grumplin]

Well I have done all I can do about these restrictions short of cancel my cruise. I have emailed the manager in charge twice and left him voice mail. :( One of the accounting reps was able to process my final payment two days ago but now I wait.

[CeleBrat]

The e-cards work fabulously via AARP. I purchased them, and had them in my email account virtually a minute later. Then, I was able to pay off my cruise 5 minutes after that. Easy peasy!

 

CeleBrat

[grumplin]

The e-cards work fabulously via AARP. I purchased them, and had them in my email account virtually a minute later. Then, I was able to pay off my cruise 5 minutes after that. Easy peasy!

 

CeleBrat

 

As of this moment I am permanently banned from ever using a gift card. My profile ID has a complete block.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I tried to purchased $1,209 from this company a couple years ago, and got an error message. After trying 3 different credit cards, one through paypal, I realized that I had been triple charged, but no invoice had been created. The Carnival cards sold to someone else the next morning, even though I sent an e-mail explaining the situation. I was told that I would get no refund, unless I submitted all my financial documents to them. That seemed a bit strange, since $1,209 x 3 associated with no orders, should be easy to reverse. I filed chargebacks, 2 they granted immediately, and 1 they fought tooth and nail to keep.

 

5 years ago the company was so-so, but they've gotten really shady. It's not uncommon for them to suck the balances of sold gift cards back into their system, to sell again. I've also read reports of them dining on gift cards, before they calculate the balances due in a buyback.

[LuckyZ]

I don't get these deals. No one gives away $100 and only want $90 in return.

My motto in life "If something seems too good to be true, it usually is"

[firemanbobswife]

I don't get these deals. No one gives away $100 and only want $90 in return.

My motto in life "If something seems too good to be true, it usually is"

 

It's not. See the previous posts that list the "legit" sites. I have saved a TON of money this way.

[Shaded Lady]

I don't get these deals. No one gives away $100 and only want $90 in return.

My motto in life "If something seems too good to be true, it usually is"

It's just a supply & demand issue- the site was designed to allow people who have gift cards they don't want or can't use to sell them to others at a discount- they get something out of the gift card and the buyer gets a discount. In theory it's a sound model and can work well, but it's getting more and more risky as scammers get involved.

[martinchem]

I am so glad I never bought 3rd party gift cards, I check my existing ones, if I don't use them promptly every 2 months just to make sure that the card was not compromised.