AARP Online Community and Discussion Forums - Re: Can't redeem points

RebeccaM927656 · ‎12-26-2025

I'm a new member and haven't been able to redeem points for anything after trying numerous times. "Chats" don't and "rep" said I would be contacted in 7 -10 days - that never happened. Not at all impressed with AARP especially since I HAD to join to qualify for a medical plan.

EarlD887617 · ‎01-07-2026

I know the typical AARP member is a bit more tech savvy than in the past, yet the tech issues with this website are inexcusable for any constituency. As a former web developer / programmer / database manager, I know a bad system when I encounter it. I even had a chat support person admit they cen't help with website bugs - I wondered why they were wasting my time when my error was well-explained, to wit:

When I try to redeem some "Reward" points for a sweepstakes, I get the following error message when I click "Confirm"

"Oops! An error occurred. Please refresh your browser to get back on track."

Refreshing does no good. Repeat. Crash.

Often, the website makes me log in again, even though I appeared to be logged in.
When it makes me re-enter my password, I get the following error:

"Your security is important to us.

Please log in below to manage your AARP membership and account information.
Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.

Additionally, a 503 Service Unavailable error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request."

My password is correct - I use the Bitwarden password manager.
I have used three different browsers, including a fresh copy of Firefox with no add-ins.

Until I saw these other folks having the same issue, I *suspected* it is because I have a plus sign "+" in my email address. Perfectly legit and supported by all the email address standards, yet the kind of situation that sloppy programmers trip up on.

My advice: Stop with all the "golly-wizz-bang-aren't-we-clever" pop-ups and other "spiffy" website features. Make a simple site that works. Your competition is? who? This or nothing. Make the search function work. Stop trying to impress with things that fly down and pop-up. Just make a simple site that works. Not. That. Hard. Fire any tech person who has any priority other than simple solid intuitive functionality. Fix the UX problems (like why does this text box I'm typing in *right now* have rounded corners that obscure the first letter of the first and current lines of text???) Contact me. I'll give you a ~10-page report filled with 30+ years of experience advice for free. Just fix it.

AngielynnC825238 · ‎01-07-2026

same thing happening to me!

s156380g · ‎01-03-2026

i haven't been able to redeem points since late November, I reported the issue on dec 1 and was told 10 days, nothing, been calling every few days to report problem and the answer is always the same, it's been escalated to the tech department and someone will call you back,,,meanwhile I've lost close to 55, 000 points while waiting. My error seems to be within my rewards account, says Oops refresh your browser so we can get you back on track....I've tried redeeming from many different electronic devices, all with same message...AARP if you are reading this, you have one extremely frustrated customer here!!!!

BtW751689 · ‎01-07-2026

Unfortunately this could be the end of a beautiful relationship. there are hundreds of posts about people being told they committed fraud and their accounts were suspended. Forever. Even though AARP will not say what the fraud was.