Amex spend 500 get 100 is back

[MisterBill99]

4 minutes ago, Crew News said:

I did not receive an email announcing the offer from AMEX but the OP's link to the offer on the AMEX website.  It took about five days to credit my account.

 

AMEX does not send out emails telling customers about new offers. You have to login occasionally (or regularly) to look for them.

[MisterBill99]

40 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I booked $700 worth of excursions.  It split up into two charges of about $350.  I have not seen the $100 yet.  I would expect that I won't see it.  Normally the credits post in about 3 days.

 

FYI dszrew posted above that they had two charges totaling $500 and got the credit. When did the charge actually post to your card?

[NMTraveller]

7 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

FYI dszrew posted above that they had two charges totaling $500 and got the credit. When did the charge actually post to your card?

The charges posted on 11/23.  I suppose that I have several more days to wait?  Thanks.

[*Miss G*]

28 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

AMEX does not send out emails telling customers about new offers. You have to login occasionally (or regularly) to look for them.

 

I get new offers emails from AMEX.

[MisterBill99]

3 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I get new offers emails from AMEX.

 

I get those and it doesn't actually list them, it tells you to go to the website to find them. And they certainly do not send emails every time they post a new offer.

[*Miss G*]

4 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

I get those and it doesn't actually list them, it tells you to go to the website to find them. And they certainly do not send emails every time they post a new offer.

 

You don’t get emails like these?

 

 

[Andi Land]

1 hour ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

What did you charge? It's unusual not to get the credit if you have the offer loaded and make the correct purchase (or a purchase that posts as what the offer is looking for).

The charge was for OBC. The offer was posted and I to the email confirmation. I called on day 5 and they told me that they could see the offer qualified and it could take up to 90 days for the credit to post. It posted to my account on day 6. 

[comcox]

If I buy the $500 of OBC can that be used for my gratuities, which will total slightly over $500?  I know my stockholder's benefit credit cannot be.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, comcox said:

If I buy the $500 of OBC can that be used for my gratuities, which will total slightly over $500?  I know my stockholder's benefit credit cannot be.

Yes, you can use OBC that you have bought for gratuities. And even though it says you cannot use stockholder's OBC for gratuities, you actually can. 

[Kfrech]

I received this offer but didn’t do anything with it. I booked directly with HAL in late October. This offer says it’s only for new bookings after Nov 15. As someone above said, how does Amex know when you booked?
 

After booking with HAL however, I transferred the booking to a big box TA who offered a sizable amount of additional OBC. Any future payments I make are made directly to the TA.

 

Is there any way at all for me to take advantage advantage of this offer?
 

 

[Kfrech]

I think I just answered my own question; I apologize for not reading back further. 
 

Seems that as long as the payment I made through the TA says “HAL reservation” on my credit card statement, I’m good to go. 

[DaveOKC]

13 minutes ago, Kfrech said:

I received this offer but didn’t do anything with it. I booked directly with HAL in late October. This offer says it’s only for new bookings after Nov 15. As someone above said, how does Amex know when you booked?
After booking with HAL however, I transferred the booking to a big box TA who offered a sizable amount of additional OBC. Any future payments I make are made directly to the TA.

Is there any way at all for me to take advantage advantage of this offer?
 

If you go back a bit on this page (and previous ones) you will see how several of us have done this.  I used the offer by perchasing $500 in onboard credits for my upcoming cruise.  Three days later a $100 credit posted to my account.  Very quick and easy - great deal IMO.

[MisterBill99]

1 hour ago, Kfrech said:

After booking with HAL however, I transferred the booking to a big box TA who offered a sizable amount of additional OBC. Any future payments I make are made directly to the TA.

 

Is there any way at all for me to take advantage advantage of this offer?

 

Your biggest problem using it is going to be that the big box TA does not accept AMEX. If you find that not to be the case, please post since I'd be interested in learning whether it works or not.

 

Update -- you could buy OBC directly from HAL and that would work. 

Edited November 28, 2019 by MisterBill99

[Kfrech]

You’re exactly right. Just tried it and Amex is not accepted. 
 

However, I might buy $500 worth of OBC a from HAL, since the $355 OBC from the TA is refundable if not used. 
 

I booked our trip under the Explorer 4 promotion which included $400 in OBC. Internet was also included with a balcony room. 

[awhcruiser]

I can charge more than $500 in one transaction and still get the $100 credit?  Im thinking of buying 2 quench packages for a 17 day cruise.

[MisterBill99]

2 minutes ago, awhcruiser said:

I can charge more than $500 in one transaction and still get the $100 credit?  Im thinking of buying 2 quench packages for a 17 day cruise.

 

Yes, $500 is only the minimum. I'm sure they will be thrilled if you charge more.

[MisterBill99]

10 minutes ago, Kfrech said:

You’re exactly right. Just tried it and Amex is not accepted. 
 

However, I might buy $500 worth of OBC a from HAL, since the $355 OBC from the TA is refundable if not used. 
 

I booked our trip under the Explorer 4 promotion which included $400 in OBC. Internet was also included with a balcony room. 

 

And the OBC you purchase will also be refundable. Just make sure you do not get a refund to the same card you're using the AMEX offer on or they may reverse the credit. Personally, I give them a debit card as my onboard card when I a expecting a refund because otherwise I lose whatever percentage rebate my card would normally pay. I know it's not a "best practice" in terms of card security but it's better than losing 2-3% of the refund value.

Edited November 28, 2019 by MisterBill99

[NMTraveller]

My credit showed up.  It does take about 6 days.

[Kfrech]

29 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

And the OBC you purchase will also be refundable. Just make sure you do not get a refund to the same card you're using the AMEX offer on or they may reverse the credit. Personally, I give them a debit card as my onboard card when I a expecting a refund because otherwise I lose whatever percentage rebate my card would normally pay. I know it's not a "best practice" in terms of card security but it's better than losing 2-3% of the refund value.

What if I just gave them a different credit card once onboard? I never use the Amex for travel (it's just a personal card with no real travel benefits) because the card attached to the big box TA gives 3% back on travel.

 

Another question: is OBC used in a particular order? In another words, I have $400 from HAL, $355 from TA (which would be refundable) and than another $500 that I would purchase (which is also refundable if not used fully). How do I make sure the $400 from HAL is used first (since it's not refundable) or is that something that just automatically happens?

 

Thank you for taking time to answer this questions; I'm relatively new to cruising and have never sailed HAL before.

[awhcruiser]

45 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Yes, $500 is only the minimum. I'm sure they will be thrilled if you charge more.

Thank you.  I will proceed once I receive my Blue Cash card.

[MisterBill99]

16 minutes ago, Kfrech said:

What if I just gave them a different credit card once onboard? I never use the Amex for travel (it's just a personal card with no real travel benefits) because the card attached to the big box TA gives 3% back on travel.

 

Another question: is OBC used in a particular order? In another words, I have $400 from HAL, $355 from TA (which would be refundable) and than another $500 that I would purchase (which is also refundable if not used fully). How do I make sure the $400 from HAL is used first (since it's not refundable) or is that something that just automatically happens?

 

Thank you for taking time to answer this questions; I'm relatively new to cruising and have never sailed HAL before.

 

Giving them a different card onboard is fine. But be sure that you don't use the big box card because if something gets refunded to it, you'll lose the 3% rebate on that money. One time I had used one card when registering, then changed it a week before the cruise. I made the mistake of not verifying onboard (and HAL does not ask to see the card when checking in at the pier) and it turns out it went back to the original card I had used. I was NOT happy since I had a large amount of OBC refunded to a 3% card.

 

Non-refundable OBC is always used first.

Edited November 28, 2019 by MisterBill99

[Kfrech]

Great advice. Thank you. My understanding also is that I can’t use HAL’s non-refundable credit to book shore excursions in advance. Correct? I will be able to book a shore excursion ahead of time if I purchase OBC. Is that right? I could also just use the Amex promo to book the shore excursions directly. 
 

Thanks again.

[DaveOKC]

49 minutes ago, Kfrech said:

Great advice. Thank you. My understanding also is that I can’t use HAL’s non-refundable credit to book shore excursions in advance. Correct? I will be able to book a shore excursion ahead of time if I purchase OBC. Is that right? I could also just use the Amex promo to book the shore excursions directly. 
 

Thanks again.

You cannot use OBC (of any kind as I understand it) to book shore excursions ahead of time (I sure wish HAL would change this!!!).  I guess you could purchase excursion using Am Ex and that would work (but not CERTAIN of it).  Just to be safe, if your purchase is under $500, also buy OBC at the same time so your Cart charge on Am Ex is over $500.

[victory2020]

Does HAL offer gift cards on their website? I've bought Princess cards & they have triggered offer in the past.

[MisterBill99]

28 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

Does HAL offer gift cards on their website? I've bought Princess cards & they have triggered offer in the past.

 

That's an interesting question. I found them discussed here:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/giftcard.html

 

and available for sale here:

 

https://merchant.sgiftcard.com/responsive/personalize_responsive/chooseDesign/hollandamerica/1?XID=HECEZ37

 

Given that the website selling them is not a Holland America domain and it specifically says "* BY CLICKING ABOVE, YOU WILL BE RE-DIRECTED TO OUR THIRD-PARTY VENDOR SITE", I would not expect it to work. Someone could try  buying a $50 card as an experiment to see how it posts. Interestingly, it is redeemable thru your PCC, travel agent or even onboard.