American Express offer

[texasweather]

I have the $125 off $500 on my AU’s Platinum. I just read all the fine print and can’t figure out if “cruise bookings” would include excursions. 
 

It does say it excludes onboard purchases so who knows. 

[molly361]

Well I guess they are onto me.  Tried putting several, okay lots of ,offers on my card and it's been 2 days and the offers are not replenishing back to 100 of them.  I never use this card so will put a reminder on my calendar to check for this offer again in a few months.  

[MisterBill99]

On 6/17/2022 at 9:22 AM, molly361 said:

Buy yourself some OBC

 

Is there a way to do this in the Cruse Planner, or do I need to call?  On another board, someone had posted "I called the gifts number 1-800-722-5443 and purchased OBC of $900 to go over $1000 for my cruise. " I still owe $300 on a November cruise and have the $250/1000 on one more card. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. I have free gratuities and a bunch of OBC already, so I will get most of it refunded (but not to the same AMEX card obviously, and likely to a debit card so I don't get dinged points on the refund)

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

Is there a way to do this in the Cruse Planner, or do I need to call?  On another board, someone had posted "I called the gifts number 1-800-722-5443 and purchased OBC of $900 to go over $1000 for my cruise. " I still owe $300 on a November cruise and have the $250/1000 on one more card. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. I have free gratuities and a bunch of OBC already, so I will get most of it refunded (but not to the same AMEX card obviously, and likely to a debit card so I don't get dinged points on the refund)

You have to call.

 

I have the $125/$500 offer on two cards.  Still need to book a cruise to use the offer.

[mpk]

On 6/29/2022 at 9:47 AM, molly361 said:

Well I guess they are onto me.  Tried putting several, okay lots of ,offers on my card and it's been 2 days and the offers are not replenishing back to 100 of them.  I never use this card so will put a reminder on my calendar to check for this offer again in a few months.  

 

I hate the 100 display limit for Amex deals.  I also used to add a bunch of offers to get more to show up, but it I quickly got burned out.

[MisterBill99]

3 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

You have to call.

 

I have the $125/$500 offer on two cards.  Still need to book a cruise to use the offer.

 

I guess that I got lucky having the $250/1000 this time. I used it on my card to pay the deposit.  The cruise is in November, so I'll have to pay it by late August, anyway (this TA does final payment 90 days before sailing but not a big deal).

[jp2746]

I know this is off topic a little, but AARP has gift cards that you can buy at 10% off.  Has anyone ever done this to use for on board spending?

 

[Jerseygirl1416]

31 minutes ago, jp2746 said:

I know this is off topic a little, but AARP has gift cards that you can buy at 10% off.  Has anyone ever done this to use for on board spending?

 

Read the fine print for the Royal ones. They’re very restrictive unlike the Carnival ones.

[ORV]

On 7/13/2022 at 7:52 PM, MisterBill99 said:

 

I guess that I got lucky having the $250/1000 this time. I used it on my card to pay the deposit.  The cruise is in November, so I'll have to pay it by late August, anyway (this TA does final payment 90 days before sailing but not a big deal).

I also have the $250 off with $1000 spend. Mine is on an Everyday Card with no yearly fee. 

 

From what I've read that others have posted, it seems the travel co-branded cards such as Delta, Hilton, or Marriott generally won't have other travel related offers. I find this to be mostly true, but I have noticed some Marriott offers on my Delta from time to time. 

[publicpersona]

Need to spend about $150 by mid-August to satisfy this offer. Cruise is in September. I'm odd, but I'd rather not have to call to buy the OBC. Strange that you can buy arcade credits, but not OBC online.

 

Are there some creative ways to spend the $150 to result in OBC? We're already set for gratuities, specialty restaurants, excursions. Thinking of perhaps booking excursions near end of cruise, and then cancelling onboard.

Edited July 24, 2022 by publicpersona

[GCS2000]

15 hours ago, publicpersona said:

Need to spend about $150 by mid-August to satisfy this offer. Cruise is in September. I'm odd, but I'd rather not have to call to buy the OBC. Strange that you can buy arcade credits, but not OBC online.

 

Are there some creative ways to spend the $150 to result in OBC? We're already set for gratuities, specialty restaurants, excursions. Thinking of perhaps booking excursions near end of cruise, and then cancelling onboard.

 

I don't believe that will work.  If you cancel and excursion it will credit back to the credit card it was charged to automatically.  If that happens AMEX will claw back the offer credit from you as well (this is part is well known about AMEX).

 

I would suggest just making the call to purchase OBC its the easiest method.

[BobNoxious]

I have an AMEX Bonvoy Brilliant card... no offer.  Dang.

[Jerseygirl1416]

16 hours ago, publicpersona said:

Need to spend about $150 by mid-August to satisfy this offer. Cruise is in September. I'm odd, but I'd rather not have to call to buy the OBC. Strange that you can buy arcade credits, but not OBC online.

 

Are there some creative ways to spend the $150 to result in OBC? We're already set for gratuities, specialty restaurants, excursions. Thinking of perhaps booking excursions near end of cruise, and then cancelling onboard.

You have to spend the whole offer amount in one billing cycle to trigger the statement credit. So if you have spend $500 get $150 statement credit it has to be $500 in RC charges during one billing statement.

 

You could cancel gratuities and other items in the planner and then repurchase using your Amex 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Jerseygirl1416

[publicpersona]

47 minutes ago, GCS2000 said:

If you cancel and excursion it will credit back to the credit card it was charged to automatically. 

Even if you cancel onboard, and you’ve registered a different card for the cruise? I would think the amount would go back to onboard account once cruise starts. 

[Biker19]

15 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

I would think the amount would go back to onboard account once cruise starts. 

It does.

[publicpersona]

49 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

You have to spend the whole offer amount in one billing cycle to trigger the statement credit. So if you have spend $500 get $150 statement credit it has to be $500 in RC charges during one billing statement.

 

You could cancel gratuities and other items in the planner and then repurchase using your Amex 

 

Second thing first .. I actually did that with shore excursions, but didn't quite make the $500. This is for a Canada/NE cruise and they are not selling excursions for all ports.

 

Regarding single billing cycle .. I see no such requirement in the terms and conditions (below). If you've had first hand experience with this, I'll take your word for it.

 

OFFER TERMS

Enrollment limited. Must first add offer to Card and then use same Card to redeem. Only U.S.-issued American Express® Cards are eligible. Limit 1 enrolled Card per Card Member across all American Express offer channels. Your enrollment of an eligible American Express Card for this offer extends only to that Card. Offer valid on cruise bookings made online at https://www.royalcaribbean.com, by calling 1-866-562-7625 or booked through your Travel Professional. Reservations must be booked on US website only. Valid only on purchases made in US dollars. Excludes onboard purchases, e-gift card and physical gift card purchases made online, transfers/transportation to the ship, MGM Resort International Joint Vacation and Royal Wedding Packages. Excludes Celebrity Cruise, TUI Cruises and Silversea brands. Please note that hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines do not accept prepaid cards for charges authorized in advance, although prepaid cards may be used to settle the final bill. Check to make sure prepaid cards are accepted before attempting to use your prepaid card to take advantage of offers for these merchants. ©2022 Royal Caribbean International. Ships’ registry: Bahamas. Offer is non-transferable. Limit of 1 statement credit per Card Member. You may not receive the statement credit if we receive inaccurate information or are otherwise unable to identify your purchase as qualifying for the offer. For example, you may not receive the statement credit if (a) the merchant uses a third-party to sell their products or services; or (b) the merchant uses a third-party to process or submit your transaction to us (e.g., using mobile or wireless card readers); or (c) you choose to make a purchase using a third-party payment account or make a purchase using a mobile or digital wallet. Purchases may fall outside of the offer period in some cases due to a delay in merchants submitting transactions to us or if the purchase date differs from the date you made the transaction (for example, the purchase date for online orders may be the shipping date). Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 8/15/2022, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. Note that American Express may not receive information about your qualifying purchase from merchant until all items/services from your qualifying purchase have been shipped/provided by merchant. Statement credit may be reversed if qualifying purchase is returned/cancelled. If American Express does not receive information that identifies your purchase as qualifying for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit. Limit 1 enrolled Card per American Express Card online account. The enrolled Card account must be active, not past due, canceled, or have a returned payment outstanding to receive the statement credit. Any benefit earned from this offer is in addition to the rewards (i.e. Membership Rewards or cash back) earned as part of your existing Card benefits, but your ability to earn spend-based rewards for the purchase will be based on the amount after any statement credit or other discount is applied. Amex Offers are dynamic and personalized, so the offers you see may change. For questions regarding your Card Account, please call the number on the back of your Card. By adding an offer to a Card, you agree that American Express may send you communications about the offer.

[GCS2000]

You have to spend the whole offer amount in one billing cycle to trigger the statement credit. So if you have spend $500 get $150 statement credit it has to be $500 in RC charges during one billing statement.

 

 

This part I can tell you was not the case for me.  Last year when Amex had the $500 credit for RC I had it on both cards.  On one card I made the initial $500 deposit then before the offer expired like which was like 2 months later I made $1000 payment on our cruise.  It triggered the offer just fine.  It took another billing cycle for it to show up as a credit though but I did not spend the entire $1500 required in one billing cycle.  Terms may have changed so who knows.

 

[exm]

Do you believe this? I got Celebrity Cruise now. They are giving me all cruise lines except Royal. Frustrating.

[truffles2]

I’ve got that one too.  I am still not believing that I got the $500 one last year for Royal.  Would love another one of those!

[dwp10mm]

21 minutes ago, exm said:

Do you believe this? I got Celebrity Cruise now. They are giving me all cruise lines except Royal. Frustrating.

LOL.  I know the feeling.  Did you use the offer late last year?  I did and am wondering if that is preventing a new offer from the same company.  I have 4 cruises booked and could certainly buy something in the planner or pay off some additional balance to satisfy any offer they throw at me.  

[robmtx]

43 minutes ago, exm said:

Do you believe this? I got Celebrity Cruise now. They are giving me all cruise lines except Royal. Frustrating.

 

Same.. They are taunting us. I also have an NCL offer. And then they just loaded a bunch of hotel brands I've never heard of.

[exm]

29 minutes ago, dwp10mm said:

LOL.  I know the feeling.  Did you use the offer late last year?  I did and am wondering if that is preventing a new offer from the same company.  I have 4 cruises booked and could certainly buy something in the planner or pay off some additional balance to satisfy any offer they throw at me.  

 

No, I never had a Royal offer or actually use my AMEX to pay Royal (I'm using my Chase Sapphire Reserve for cruise payments - 3% CB). So it seems to be random.

[truffles2]

I had never even looked at the offers until someone posted about it.  The only one I have used is the $500 Royal.  I do look at them now (lol). 

[molly361]

5 minutes ago, truffles2 said:

I had never even looked at the offers until someone posted about it.  The only one I have used is the $500 Royal.  I do look at them now (lol). 

I don't either.  I put a note on my calendar to look again at the end of the year.  I never use my Amx card.  Now I have loaded so many on the card it's no longer updates back to 100

[publicpersona]

Circling back to report my experience on this offer.

 

• Though the wording calls out a cruise "booking", pre-cruise expenses such as shore excursions work just fine.
• The spend can be in multiple transactions.
• The spend does NOT have to be within a single billing cycle.

Edited July 27, 2022 by publicpersona