AMEX Offer...It's Back!

[scottee]

I used my Amex to buy $300 OBC and an excursion directly through HAL's website. I got the email immediately and the $100 credit posted in 2 days.

[Tom O.]

On 12/7/2018 at 9:21 AM, Tom O. said:

After waiting several days the $100 never showed up on my AMEX account, so I started a chat session with AMEX.

So, AMEX is going to contact HAL and try to solve this problem for me, because this was indeed a payment for a new booking. 

If AMEX can't resolve the problem, than I will see what my TA can do.

 

Update: After not hearing from Amex, I called them and I found out what the problem is. Apparently HAL has more than one Amex merchant number. The charge for our cruise deposit was on a merchant number that was not registered with Amex as qualifying for this offer - this was an oversight on HALs part.

I called HAL, and nobody there knew how to resolve this. Amex and my TA didn't have a solution either.

I also made some purchases online for excursions. Amex told me that the charges for the shore excursions were on a merchant number that qualified for this offer. But, since I purchased them on separate days, each purchase was less than $500, and therefore didn't qualify.

So, here is what I did. I cancelled my shore excursions, and as soon as they disappeared from my itinerary, I booked them again. I added them to my shopping cart, made sure they totaled $500 or more, and charged them to my Amex card. 

And success! I immediately received an email saying that I had taken advantage of the offer.

None of this should of been necessary, but it was the easiest solution I could come up with. A $100 credit is worth the trouble.  I could have added other items to my cart to equal $500 if I had to, but our excursions were enough to reach that goal.

Thank you to the OP and others who posted. I would not have known about this offer if i had not seen it here.

[the_woodman]

Is it possible for me to pay for half of the cruise on my card and my traveling partner to pay the other half on his and we BOTH  get the $100 credit?

 

Also, do you get the credit if you pay $300 now and $400 later? (down payment and final payment)

 

I apologize if these questions have been previously asked.

[ChinaShrek]

17 minutes ago, the_woodman said:

Is it possible for me to pay for half of the cruise on my card and my traveling partner to pay the other half on his and we BOTH  get the $100 credit?

 

Also, do you get the credit if you pay $300 now and $400 later? (down payment and final payment)

 

Yes, yes, and yes.

[Tom O.]

I believe your partner would get the credit too, as long as his card is his own and you are not on that account.

I also believe that the charge has to be a single $500 charge. Be sure to add the offer to your card(s) before making that $500 charge. There are various things you can purchase to total $500. Just be sure to add them to your online cart and pay for them as a single charge. You can purchase excursions, beverage packages, premium dinners, on-board credit, etc. It is pretty easy to find things to spend $500 on.

I had a problem when I tried to use the charge I made on the cruise deposit to satisfy the offer. This was a glitch caused by HAL, and may not happen to you.

[the_woodman]

6 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

Yes, yes, and yes.

Thanks.

[jb008]

Added the offer to my amex card, shortly thereafter I bought $500 obc ($100x5) through the HAL online system on 12/25 and received a confirmation email from HAL on the purchase and an email from AmEx congratulating me on using an Offer within about 1 minute of the HAL purchase receipt email.  Credit card statement records the $500 purchase on 12/26 and the $100 credit back on 12/27.  

 

On a totally unrelated note, I received a sizable refund to the credit card I had registered for onboard purchases a few days after I disembarked... this was the same card I paid the cruise fare on (but not the card I had registered for the AmEx Offer and did the obc purchase on).

 

Added in edit: On my onboard statement the $500 OBC I bought as well as the 2x$$ obc from my TA showed up as something like "departure manifest", in contrast the 2x$$$ obc from HAL had a parenthetical note indicated that those credits were not eligible for casino or cash out.

Edited January 8, 2019 by jb008
More details

[BaltimoreCruise]

All,

I am a little confused about what happens to any left over AMEX credit at the end of the cruise.  If we don't use the entire $500 obc ( I plan to purchase today directly from HAL on its website) will the balance be refunded to my AMEX card (the card we register for onboard purchases) with an understanding that we could lose the $100 AMEX credit if we don't use the entire $500 obc?  I was successful with adding the promotion to my AMEX card but with already having Explore 4 on the reservation, and OBC from HAL and the Big Box travel agent, I'm not certain we will spend the additional $500.  A rough calculation looks like I may have $222 at the end of the cruise.  

Thank you for any insight you can offer.

BaltimoreCruise

[Wishing on a star]

I do not know with HAL,  but with Princess. (also CCL) , they will send a check for any partial refund.

Our OBC posted as five separate $100.00 OBC amounts.

We had a similar amount left to be refunded,   as we had to cancel cabana rentals due to weather, etc...

We received a check for the refund.  No affect on the statement credit.

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Wishing on a star

[BaltimoreCruise]

Thank you for the information.  I'm going to attempt to purchase on the HAL website now.

BaltimoreCruise

[POA1]

3 hours ago, BaltimoreCruise said:

All,

I am a little confused about what happens to any left over AMEX credit at the end of the cruise.  If we don't use the entire $500 obc ( I plan to purchase today directly from HAL on its website) will the balance be refunded to my AMEX card (the card we register for onboard purchases) with an understanding that we could lose the $100 AMEX credit if we don't use the entire $500 obc?  I was successful with adding the promotion to my AMEX card but with already having Explore 4 on the reservation, and OBC from HAL and the Big Box travel agent, I'm not certain we will spend the additional $500.  A rough calculation looks like I may have $222 at the end of the cruise.  

Thank you for any insight you can offer.

BaltimoreCruise

 

Once you've made the purchase, you should receive the notice from Amex within a short time. The credit will show on your next statement. After that, Amex is out of the loop for the most part.

[BaltimoreCruise]

I received an email from AMEX that I used an offer.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that I will meet the requirements and receive the credit.  No worries on my end if I don't spend $500 and don't receive the credit, as long as HAL returns the remaining OBC to me.  

 

BaltimoreCruise

[jb008]

My stateroom balance was negative at the end of the cruise and that posted back to the credit card I registered at check in for use during the cruise.

 

@BaltimoreCruiseIf you want to be super safe, you could register a Master Card/Visa for the onboard purchases which would then make sure there's zero risk of AmEx clawing back the $100 statement credit for the Offer.  I've been issued refunds by Celebrity, Princess, and HAL back to the credit card registered... so I wouldn't count on it being refunded by check.  

I registered the AmEx I paid for the cruise fare with (which was not the card that the offer was on) for my onboard spending, so the credit back could be attributed as a partial refund of my cruise fare... in the event I ever needed to "explain" the situation.  

Edited January 9, 2019 by jb008

[Stateroom_Sailor]

For those that are getting this offer, is it through your personal credit card?  I have a personal charge card, and a business credit card, maybe that's why I'm not targeted.  I'm going to get the personal SPG card soon, so maybe that will help with future offers.

[ChinaShrek]

1 hour ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

For those that are getting this offer, is it through your personal credit card?  I have a personal charge card, and a business credit card, maybe that's why I'm not targeted.  I'm going to get the personal SPG card soon, so maybe that will help with future offers. 

 

You need to try to use the link someone posted above.  This will add the offer to almost any Amex card.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

30 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

 

You need to try to use the link someone posted above.  This will add the offer to almost any Amex card.

 

Excellent, thanks!  We've only got a 5 night cruise booked, but I'll use the credit for an excurison and/or tips.   

[SFO Peter]

5 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

For those that are getting this offer, is it through your personal credit card?  I have a personal charge card, and a business credit card, maybe that's why I'm not targeted.  I'm going to get the personal SPG card soon, so maybe that will help with future offers.

 

I have had SPG for years and never get this offer.   I even called Amex a couple months ago and they said if it is not there you ain't got it.  Still love the card because stay in Luxury Hotels using points!

 

Peter

Edited January 9, 2019 by SFO PETER

[Tom O.]

10 minutes ago, SFO PETER said:

 

I have had SPG for years and never get this offer.   I even called Amex a couple months ago and they said if it is not there you ain't got it.  Still love the card because stay in Luxury Hotels using points!

 

Peter

 

It looked like I didn't have the offer available either, it was not listed anywhere on the website. But when I used the link that someone posted here I was able to add it to my card. This is the link that I copied here:

 

 

http://americanexpress.com/wlcl

[scrustyrock]

On 11/20/2018 at 9:36 AM, AryMay said:

The American Express offer is back...spend $500 for any Carnival Corporation branded cruise and get a $100 statement credit. Offer is good until March 31, 2019.

 

 

You have to go to your online account and add the offer. So far the offer is only showing up on our Blue Cash Everyday card but I will keep checking in case it is offered on either our Delta or Hilton AMEX cards. 

 

This offer (or one similar) seems to show up a couple of times a year. We were able to save $900 on our upcoming South America cruise by making payments with different cards.

Thank you so much!  It worked for Me!

 

Sharon Campbell

 

[Wishing on a star]

'Stateroom Balance' sounds different than OBC.

I wonder why nobody has posted on this forum about how any OBC was refunded.

(again,  on PRINCESS,  it is sent by check.)

 

If one uses a different credit card to have 'on file' onboard, not the AMEX that was used to get the offer,  then if it was refunded to that on-file credit card, the AMEX would be unaffected.

[tamsno]

As it states this is "STATEMENT CREDIT" not "stateroom."  That's $100 off your Amex billing statement not the ship statement.  Amex sent confirmation of use of the $500 right away.   If you buy OBC with the $500 it's just like any other OBC.  I have used the $500 toward final payment.  Simpler that way. 

[jb008]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

'Stateroom Balance' sounds different than OBC.

I wonder why nobody has posted on this forum about how any OBC was refunded.

(again,  on PRINCESS,  it is sent by check.)

 

If one uses a different credit card to have 'on file' onboard, not the AMEX that was used to get the offer,  then if it was refunded to that on-file credit card, the AMEX would be unaffected.

 

Just to clarify for @Wishing on a star YES - Stateroom balance is different than the OBC.  The OBCs are credited to your stateroom (account) and then your have the running total on said account. On the cruise I finished this past weekend, $xxx of our OBC was in the form of "Promo Credits (Not Valid For Casino Or Cash) as part of my booking promotion while we received 2 line items of $xx from our TA that was marked as "Gift Orders - Preliminary Manifest" and I had 5x$100 that were marked as "Gift Orders - Preliminary Manifest" from the OBC I bought separately as a single $500 transaction via hollandamerica.com as a purchase of 5x$100 OBC.  At the end of the cruise though, the negative stateroom balance was "charged" back to the card I registered at the port during check-in.  I debarked HAL Oosterdam on 1/5/19 and the credit showed as pending on 1/6 and when it actually posted to my credit card statement backdated to the 5th.

 

And yes, this AmEx Offer is a statement credit to your credit card statement! 

 

I hope this helps clarify everything since I've already used the Offer and finished my sailing.

[Wishing on a star]

Great!   Thank you so much.

I will def. remember this.

If we use an AMEX offer, like we have on Princess, I will know how it works and what to expect.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 hours ago, SFO PETER said:

 

I have had SPG for years and never get this offer.   I even called Amex a couple months ago and they said if it is not there you ain't got it.  Still love the card because stay in Luxury Hotels using points!

 

Peter

 

I tried a Sheraton in Baltimore 2 years ago after a 14 Night "cruise from hell" on the Carnival Pride, and couldn't have been happier to collapse on their bed.  Not to mention, they pulled some strings and got us in at 9 am, and in the clubhouse floor.  That employee got a shipboard bottle of champaign, we became customers!

 

My only complaint is the new Marriott point system, going form 3,500 and 7,000 point redemptions to, what, 25,000+?  The 1:3 ratio doesn't work out for us usually.  We've now got the Amex Gold for personal and business now, so I don't need the SPG business card for postage charges anymore.  We're going to switch to the SPG Luxury card later this year, which benefits seem well worth the annual fee!

 

 

[POA1]

Just as a hint: You could purchase $500 in casino chips in advance, on your Amex and redeem the offer.