My AMEX card had a new offer, spend $500 on Celebrity and get $100 back…

[Stockjock]

I’m not sure if it’s only on the platinum or on other versions of the AMEX card.  
 

Too bad my upcoming cruise is already paid off. Not sure if I can figure out a way to spend $500.  I think we’ve already booked the amenities that we need.

Edited June 18 by Stockjock

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Too bad my upcoming cruise is already paid off. Not sure if I can figure out a way to spend $500.

Buy refundable OBC.

[sushraya]

Don't see the offer on my AMEX platinum 😞

[jenf22]

22 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Buy refundable OBC.

If I buy OBC will they put my gratuities against it?  That's the only thing left to buy for our cruise coming up.

[Mrs_Tiki]

Darn, I don't see on mine either. And I have a final payment coming up. Bummer.

[Stockjock]

17 minutes ago, sushraya said:

Don't see the offer on my AMEX platinum 😞

Double-check it.  It showed up below the permanent stuff (lending options, go paperless, save on live events, shop new & used cars, etc.)  It's probably not there, but the point being that the location of the offer was a bit different than usual.  Typically, those offers are shown before the permanent stuff described, but in this case, they're shown after (view all.)

[Stockjock]

1 minute ago, jenf22 said:

If I buy OBC will they put my gratuities against it?  That's the only thing left to buy for our cruise coming up.

That's what I was thinking.  Prepay my gratitudes and buy some presumably refundable OBC.

[jenf22]

1 minute ago, Stockjock said:

That's what I was thinking.  Prepay my gratitudes and buy some presumably refundable OBC.

I wish I could just prepay the grats but I used a TA so I would have to get them to add it and they are that big-box company that doesn't take AMEX 😞  So I think my only option is the OBC.

 

Side note - I had it on my Blue Cash Everyday card but it was not on my husband's card.  Typically, these offers show up on both.

[Tom and Ingrid]

Too funny - yesterday visited to see what the story was and had 4 travel options (no X, though).  Today, went back to check and add the Delta (why not?), and have 6.

 

As ever, no idea why they appear or disappear, but I guess it makes sense to pay attention.

 

[Stockjock]

15 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

That's what I was thinking.  Prepay my gratitudes and buy some presumably refundable OBC.

FWIW, I called Celebrity and while I could prepay gratuities, I could not buy refundable OBC.  Oh well.  I am booked via a TA, fwiw.

Edited June 18 by Stockjock

[RichYak]

20 minutes ago, jenf22 said:

If I buy OBC will they put my gratuities against it?  That's the only thing left to buy for our cruise coming up.

Yes

 

3 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

FWIW, I called Celebrity and while I could prepay gratuities, I could not buy refundable OBC.  Oh well.

I wonder when that changed. You used to be able to purchase OBC via the cruise planner or over the phone.

[markeb]

10 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

FWIW, I called Celebrity and while I could prepay gratuities, I could not buy refundable OBC.  Oh well.  I am booked via a TA, fwiw.

 

Check the T&C on the offer. Usually if there’s a return (OBC refund) they subtract it from your spend. It’s a net spend. You might not make the $500 if the refunded OBC you bought. 

[Stockjock]

I found a prior post here that makes it appear that you can buy onboard credit online. I’m assuming that it’s refundable if you don’t use it. Here’s a link to that discussion. I’m not sure why the Celebrity agent said that I couldn’t do it.

The thread does contain a direct link to buy OBC.  Based on the discussion, it appears that one may have to cash out any unused OBC on the last day of the cruise.

 

Edited June 18 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

8 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Check the T&C on the offer. Usually if there’s a return (OBC refund) they subtract it from your spend. It’s a net spend. You might not make the $500 if the refunded OBC you bought. 

In my experience, on these offers, sometimes they catch the refund and sometimes they don't.  If the refund is exactly the same value as the purchase, ex buy $500 and later refund $500, they are more likely to reverse the $100 credit.  If the numbers differ, ex buy $500 and later refund $260, they may still claw the credit back, but it's less likely.

This was not on Celebrity, but I booked a cruise pretty far out on another cruise line (more than a year.)  Later, we had to cancel it.  They did not claw back the credit that I had received.

But the point is well taken, in that a clawback is always a possibility if there is a refund.

Edited June 18 by Stockjock

[chadwickx16]

FYI...Amex Offers can only list 100 at a time.  If you don't see the offer you have to add other offers to your card and then logout and log back in for a new batch of offers. I had to add 90 other offers to my card before I was able to see the Celebrity one.

[Stockjock]

6 minutes ago, chadwickx16 said:

FYI...Amex Offers can only list 100 at a time.  If you don't see the offer you have to add other offers to your card and then logout and log back in for a new batch of offers. I had to add 90 other offers to my card before I was able to see the Celebrity one.

Excellent point. You can see how many that I have added and if I didn’t do that, I don’t think I would’ve seen the offer.  I add everything that shows up, regardless of whether or not I might actually use the offer. 
 

let me also add that by doing that, I have triggered a few offers that I didn’t even realize I added. I all suddenly just see a statement Credit, and wonder why, and then figure it out.
 

 

Edited June 18 by Stockjock

[RichYak]

15 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Check the T&C on the offer. Usually if there’s a return (OBC refund) they subtract it from your spend. It’s a net spend. You might not make the $500 if the refunded OBC you bought. 

 

12 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

The thread does contain a direct link to buy OBC.  Based on the discussion, it appears that one may have to cash out any unused OBC on the last day of the cruise.

DO NOT let any unused OBC refund to your Amex. They will almost certainly claw back the credit. Either cash out unused OBC on the last day of the cruise, OR purchase the OBC with your Amex, but use a different credit card for onboard expenses. Any unused OBC will be refunded to that card instead of your Amex.

[Stockjock]

FWIW, I followed the link in the discussion that I mentioned earlier.  The maximum number of OBC certificates I could add to the cart was 9 $25 certificates ($225), which isn't enough.  Not sure if one could call Celebrity to do it or not.  As I mentioned, the Celebrity agent I spoke with said it couldn't be done, but that may have been bad info.  Not sure about that one.

[Mrs_Tiki]

1 hour ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

Darn, I don't see on mine either. And I have a final payment coming up. Bummer.

I stand corrected. When I just checked back again, the offer is now showing up for my card.

 

Thanks to @Stockjock for the heads up! 

[jenf22]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

FWIW, I called Celebrity and while I could prepay gratuities, I could not buy refundable OBC.  Oh well.  I am booked via a TA, fwiw.

I called Celebrity to pre-pay gratuities.  The agent added them to my account but said I needed my TA on the line (since it was a group booking) in order for him to take payment.  He did say my account showed an over payment but he couldn't discuss it with me and to call my TA.  Called them and they showed a $680 over payment so they called Celebrity.  After 20 minutes conferenced in with my TA and Celebrity they discovered Celebrity had applied some person named Evan's $1330 payment to my booking!  So that covered my $648 in grats and still left an overpayment.  In the end they fixed that and they would only let me pay the gratuities with my AMEX if the TA gave approval.  TA called a supervisor who told her 'no'.  For the love of Pete!  So I had them remove the grats and I'm back where I started.

 

I think I will try the link to buy OBC and see if I can make a couple of transactions to get to the $500.

[soccermommy]

DH got the offer for $100 off $500 on our Platinum cards, I didn’t. But Amex probably knows how much we spend on Celebrity since the purchases go on my card! So, we will use it on final payment for our October cruise. Every little bit helps.

[hcat]

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

That's what I was thinking.  Prepay my gratitudes and buy some presumably refundable OBC.

buy a few specialty dinners and  pre paid excursions on the card..adds up quickly!

[DingoMom]

@Stockjock, if you had pre-purchased an amenity like a 3-night dining package or a Shorex, would you be able to cancel that and re-book to get the credit?

[Stockjock]

15 minutes ago, DingoMom said:

@Stockjock, if you had pre-purchased an amenity like a 3-night dining package or a Shorex, would you be able to cancel that and re-book to get the credit?

Not sure, but the only things we booked were shore excursions, wi-fi, and a premium drink package.  But, we bought them at 40% to 50% off during a sale, and current discounts are around 5%, so that wouldn't make sense to cancel and rebook.

Not a bad idea, but the economics don't make sense for us.

[ORV]

2 hours ago, jenf22 said:

I called Celebrity to pre-pay gratuities.  The agent added them to my account but said I needed my TA on the line (since it was a group booking) in order for him to take payment.  He did say my account showed an over payment but he couldn't discuss it with me and to call my TA.  Called them and they showed a $680 over payment so they called Celebrity.  After 20 minutes conferenced in with my TA and Celebrity they discovered Celebrity had applied some person named Evan's $1330 payment to my booking!  So that covered my $648 in grats and still left an overpayment.  In the end they fixed that and they would only let me pay the gratuities with my AMEX if the TA gave approval.  TA called a supervisor who told her 'no'.  For the love of Pete!  So I had them remove the grats and I'm back where I started.

 

I think I will try the link to buy OBC and see if I can make a couple of transactions to get to the $500.

That makes no sense at all. These offers are generated by the merchant, why would Celebrity put a stumbling block in the way of using the Amex if they're trying to entice people to use it?