AMEX FR American Express Financial Review - Suspension (resolved)

[Shooting-For-800]

Probably because I have been on a dozen cruises nicer than Carnival and never spend more than $5k in 10 days.  Considering that the cruises are paid for in advance, I am baffled how someone can spend $20k in misc expenses on a carnival cruise.  Sorry to be brash.  

[coldworld]

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@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

Probably because I have been on a dozen cruises nicer than Carnival and never spend more than $5k in 10 days.  Considering that the cruises are paid for in advance, I am baffled how someone can spend $20k in misc expenses on a carnival cruise.  Sorry to be brash.  

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Thank you for this lol. I've never been on a cruise and was considering, but starting rethinking it after I saw $20k in EXTRA spend.

[brk1971]

Not all sailing experiences are supposed to be the same. People spend on different things. That said... It's easy to sail without spending much if anything on board.

It can be advantageous cost wise to buy your expensive watch (or your designer handbag, jewelry, etc.) in the duty free shop on board. Or if you like expensive-ish art, there is an auction on board. Renting space for a wedding or special event on board is no different than at a land hotel, with meeting room + catering + staff + bar + decor all coming with their own costs. Gaming, specialty dining, chef's table experiences, room upgrades, bottle service, are all examples of things you CAN (but don't have to) spend on. Renting a cabana, villa, or private catamaran on a port stop can easily cost $1000-2500, and booking your next cruise at Guest Services costs what it costs. People vacation all the time for a price they find valuable, including the purchases or activities they find worthwhile. The sticker shock is not remarkable if you sail without such activities or purchases... it prolly does look strange. It's also not remarkable to spend onboard and both are ok. 

In any event, the Carnival data point was provided simply as a data point rather than as a "what do you spend money on when traveling" discussion topic... 

[RickNATL]

Did they say what triggered it?

[GreatLife]

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@brk1971 wrote:

In any event, the Carnival data point was provided simply as a data point rather than as a "what do you spend money on when traveling" discussion topic... 

The original post was rather general and open to interpretation. What other data points are you expecting forum members to show interest in a further discussion?

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[brk1971]

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@GreatLife wrote:

The original post was rather general and open to interpretation. What other data points are you expecting forum members to show interest in a further discussion?

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The data point I referred to, that generated a debate about how my vacation dollar is spent, was this:

"typically my bill at the end of the cruise is >$10-20k but hits as one charge. In this case, every individual charge hit seperatey"

The data point was that a single charge wouldn't appear to be MS the way that same total broken up until two dozen individual charges (many for the same amount) would.  

Happy MyFico'ing! 

[7774x]

Surprised Amex would hassle  a big spender/ big earner ...Ever think of getting the Black  Master Card?    For Me ...don't need the hassle spending money .. as long as accounts are promptly paid ..up to date..

[gbert]

did they call your bank to verfy your account?

[sjt]

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@gbert wrote:

did they call your bank to verfy your account?

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They usually ask for copies of bank statements. If they need verification of bank information, then they would have you sign a consent form.