Best shareholder perks of 2024
Rakuten’s year of mobile service, Carnival’s onboard credit and Swatch’s annual watch made three different promises: a smaller household bill, more spending money on a holiday and a gift made for shareholders. Cobram’s olive oil and Berkshire’s shopping events complete our five picks from 2024.
“Best” means a useful consumer benefit or an experience worth knowing about, with its main conditions explained. These are selections from the offers we could document, not a ranking of shares to buy. This is a retrospective: the 2024 dates below have passed.
Five picks, five different uses
| Benefit | Why it stands out | The decisive condition |
|---|---|---|
| Rakuten mobile | A year of voice and 30GB a month | Qualification came from the 2023 year-end register; activation took place in Japan |
| Carnival credit | Spending money on an eligible cruise | 100 shares, an eligible booking and a credit for the cabin |
| Swatch watch | A special edition for the annual meeting | Voting and a Swiss delivery address |
| Cobram olive oil | A useful product gift delivered home | Australian residence and consent to marketing emails |
| Omaha shopping | Discount events around the Omaha meeting | Retailer rules and short shopping windows |
Rakuten: a year of mobile service in Japan
Rakuten Group, which runs the Rakuten Mobile network, made its 2024 offer more generous after announcing it. The original benefit gave different lengths of data service according to the holding. On 2024-02-14, Rakuten replaced that offer with a year of voice service and 30GB of data a month for eligible shareholders.
The offer used the 2023-12-31 register and required at least 100 shares. Holders needed a compatible device and had to activate the SIM in Japan. Free eligible domestic calls and texts required Rakuten Link Office; some numbers and international calls were excluded.
Its appeal is everyday use: a qualifying holder could use the service month after month. It also shows why the offer year matters. Buying shares after the announcement could not recreate the previous December’s qualifying holding. Rakuten’s revised announcement records the change.
Carnival: credit for a holiday already booked
Carnival’s published offer for sailings through 2024-07-31 gave holders of at least 100 Carnival Corporation or Carnival plc shares onboard credit. The North American table offered US$50 for cruises of six days or fewer, US$100 for seven to thirteen days and US$250 for fourteen days or longer. Its UK table included £60 for a seven-to-thirteen-day sailing.
The credit belonged to the shareholder’s cabin. It could not be exchanged for cash or used for casino charges or gratuities, and reduced-rate and complimentary sailings were excluded. These terms also required reservations by 2024-02-28.
The appeal was the credit on an eligible trip, not a lower fare. A shareholder still had to pay for the cruise. The dated terms, on printed page 3, cover that part of 2024. The Carnival page gives the current terms.
Swatch: a watch made for shareholders
Swatch Group offered a special limited-edition AGM Swatch in 2024. Shareholders had to vote electronically at the meeting or instruct the independent proxy. Swatch posted the gift afterwards, to Swiss delivery addresses only.
The meeting took place on 2024-05-08. Registered shareholders needed voting rights on the register by 2024-04-17; bearer shareholders had a separate route through a bank declaration that blocked their shares. Owning shares without arranging the vote was not enough.
A watch made for that meeting is a more distinctive keepsake than a general shopping coupon. Its usefulness was narrower: the Swiss delivery condition mattered as much as the shares. The 2024 invitation sets the conditions, and Nayla Hayek’s speech identifies the gift as a watch.
Cobram: olive oil for an Australian kitchen
Cobram Estate Olives offered Australian-resident shareholders an Essentials Bundle: three 600ml pouches of extra virgin olive oil and a reusable ceramic bottle. The holder opted into marketing emails through a registry form, and Cobram delivered the bundle to the registered address.
The form asked for the registered holding’s name and shareholder reference number. It promised one free bundle, so it belongs here as a welcome gift rather than an annual supply of oil.
Cobram’s form from the period distinguishes the product gift from later discounts and offers sent by email.
Berkshire: shopping around the Omaha meeting
Berkshire Hathaway gave shareholders more to do than sit through its annual meeting. Its 2024 visitor guide scheduled discount shopping at the CHI Health Center on 2024-05-03, followed by shareholder shopping at Borsheims. The exhibit hall required a meeting credential; collecting one at Will Call required ownership evidence and photo identification.
The shopping extended beyond the weekend. NFM’s shareholder prices ran from 2024-04-24 to 2024-05-07, including online shopping for holders registered with NFM. Borsheims’ discount period ran from 2024-04-27 to 2024-05-12.
This pick suits someone who enjoys the gathering and already wants something the retailers sell. A trip to Omaha brings its own costs, and the guide does not promise one percentage off every purchase. The 2024 visitor guide gives the event and retailer details.
Can you use these benefits now?
The old meeting, booking and registration dates cannot qualify a new purchase. The linked company pages explain each programme’s latest position; use the 2026 selection to compare more recent offers. The 2025 selection shows the changes between them.
An issuer’s eligibility rules do not establish what your broker will arrange. Ask the broker separately about registration, voting, documents and delivery. Share-price losses and dealing, custody, tax and currency costs can exceed a perk’s value. Read the investment risks before making any investment decision.