Carnival gift cards

[juditha99205]

It looks to me like the Carnival gift cards are gone!

Am I looking in the wrong spot?

[aarchie]

Hi guys!

How do I go by to purchase the Carnival gift cards. This will br my first time.

Thank you

[OrganizedChaos75]

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@RussellP197074 wrote:

Because of the limit on buying more than one per month, I haven't been following.  But, if there is only the $100 card available, what makes AARP think that people aren't purchasing them now for a cruise well into the future, when the travel restrictions are lifted?

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Exactly. That's how most people buy Carnival cards. They build them up over time. Some do it even when they don't have a cruise booked, but know they will. What does the pandemic have to do with buying gift cards for future cruises? What does AARP have against people building up their own stockpile of cards?

[OrganizedChaos75]

What has happened to the Carnival gift cards now?

@AARPTeri?

[mi4090]

Hello @OrganizedChaos75 

They posted end of last week with the Changes to Catalog post that all travel and theatre cards were being removed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.  Hope this helps answer your question.

Have a Blessed & Safe Day

Marylin

[WilliamJ383974]

I asked my travel agent if Carnival egift cards could be used to load Sign & Sail card.  He told me NO, that only cash, credit cards, and debit cards can be used.  Has anyone recently been able to use these e-gift cards for that purpose?

[GeneK650799]

Your travel agent doesn't know what he is talking about, you can load gift cards on your account when you get to the ship. I do it all the time

[pp17339694]

Your travel agent is wrong.  Any carnival gift card (ecard or physical card) can be loaded to your sign and sail account.  With the physical card you just hand the card over to Guest Services sometime after you board the ship and they load it to your account.  With the ecard you just jot the number and pin on a piece of paper (or show them the email) and they will also load it to your account.  I have done both MANY TIMES on Carnival ships.  Now I do prefer the physical card, because on the very, very off chance they might say "this card has already been used," I can immediately show them that the pin number has not been exposed, so it is impossible for it to have been previously used.  But that has never happened to me on more than a half dozen cruises where I have used the gift cards!

[RussellP197074]

I was just looking at AARP Carnival gift cards in the Redeem area, and it makes no mention of them being e-cards.  Are they real cards now?  Has anyone purchased one recently?

[OrganizedChaos75]

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@RussellP197074 wrote:

I was just looking at AARP Carnival gift cards in the Redeem area, and it makes no mention of them being e-cards.  Are they real cards now?  Has anyone purchased one recently?

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When you click on the Carnival gift card to bring up the Add to Cart page, at the top it says "Digital Gift Card" and under Disclaimer, it says "Fulfilled as a digital gift code."

[LindaF69700]

How do I buy a Carnival gift card?

[OrganizedChaos75]

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@LindaF69700 wrote:

How do I buy a Carnival gift card?

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Go to your AARP Rewards homepage, click on Redeem, then the Members Only tab. The Carnival gift cards are the first one in the list for me. Keep in mind, you do need to be a paying member of AARP to buy one and now have to use PayPal or ApplePay to make the purchase.

[andrewtoo]

Are you really, really sure you want to?

😂😂😂

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@LindaF69700 wrote:

How do I buy a Carnival gift card?

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[WaltDittrich]

I'm here today to try to find where the Carnival Cruise Gift cards are located on the AARP website.

I bought a couple back in February, 2020 for our cruise late February-Early March 2020 (which was truly fantastic, as the ship was not very crowded). 
I can't seem to find the section to buy them now. 😢

[RussellP197074]

The site is currently not operating for some reason.  Keep coming back to check on it.

[AARPJanelleM]

@RussellP197074 The Rewards site was experiencing intermittent issues but all functionalities should be back to working as expected now.

[BonnieGo54]

Janelle,   I am new to this.  Can I purchase a Carnival gift card and then use it to pay toward my unpaid cruise balance?  If so, how?  OR can the cards only be added to my sail and sign when I get on the ship.  Any advice is appreciated.  

[AARPJanelleM]

@BonnieGo54  Hi Bonnie, thanks for your interest! Please be sure to read the official terms and conditions of the specific gift card you may be looking at for those details. The available travel gift cards for purchase can be found here: https://www.aarp.org/rewards/redeem/#currency=filter_purchase&sort-by=default&type=filter_travel

[MarthaP479184]

Carnival gift cards can be used to buy anything carnival sells . . . except for other gift cards.  So yes, you can use them for your cruise fare.   

If you have already made a deposit on a cruise that you booked directly through Carnival then log in to  your carnival.com account, navigate to your cruise, then go to make payment.   It will give you the option to pay all or part of your balance by gift card.

If you booked through a travel agent, call the TA and feed them the gift card number over the phone.

[shamit]

You can use it for both.  To pay towards your unpaid cruise balance you can do it online.  There is a choice of using a gift card and you enter the number.  If that doesn't work you can call and they will do it. 

It also be added to your sail and sign card either at the kiosk or at Guest Services once onboard not before.  It also can be used ahead of time to purchase drink packagess, excursions, internet packages, and gifts.

Now if you were buying the Celebrity or Royal Caribbean gift cards they can only be used when booking a new cruise. 

[OrganizedChaos75]

AARPTeri's reply indicates, to me, that AARP has no idea when the Carnival cards will return. I think the problem comes from outsourcing their rewards program to an outside company. There's a disconnect between AARP and HelloWorld, and AARP doesn't always know what's going on. Many people have experienced headaches dealing with the old Rewards For Good customer service and Allstate Reward's customer service. Those reps are often in the dark because an outside company handles the programs, leaving them with little knowledge of what's happening.

AARPTeri is advertising the other features of AARP Rewards, but what they don't understand is that many people used Rewards For Good, and are trying to use AARP Rewards, solely for the Carnival gift cards. That's why they are here, many don't care about those other features. And I believe AARP knows how valuable those Carnival gift cards are to them because they made them members-only. They're using those gift cards to gain new membership, but thanks to this new rewards service and the company that runs it, it's having the opposite effect.

[AARPTeri]

@OrganizedChaos75 , @juditha99205 , @LindaF69700 @KandyP234702 

The carnival $100 ecards are now back on our site.  To purchase you can find them offered in the Members Only section of the catalog - https://www.aarp.org/rewards/redeem/members/

Please remember that you may purchase 1 gift card from this retailer per month and up to a total of 3 gift cards, each from a different retailer, per month.

[n437089m]

When will they offer 500 carnival gift cards or are they gone? 

[WaltDittrich]

They're available now: https://www.aarp.org/rewards/redeem/members/

I had to scroll down a couple of pages, but they're there.

[OrganizedChaos75]

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@n437089m wrote:

When will they offer 500 carnival gift cards or are they gone? 

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The company AARP uses to distribute the gift cards doesn't seem interested in the $500 ones. If they haven't shown up by now, I doubt they ever will.

[AARPJessicaT]

@n437089m Only $100 egift card are available at this time. 

[TulaTula2]

I am an AARP member and see that the Carnival digital cards are available. I just want to make sure that there are actually digital codes being emailed and not the physical plastic card being mailed as the timeframe for delivery will take too long for my use. The last time I bought this was in 2018 and the digital method has been discontinued?

[jc50748700]

I am so sorely disappointed in AARP. Before their switch to their new fullfillment provider(the original one was Delux Rewards), there was never a hitch, hiccup, or burp. But with their new provider, who ONLY provides e-cards(not the plastic cards that come through the mail) plus the fact that when AARP rolled out their new 'Rewards' program, and they finally became available, people bought them, AND when they got the e-cards, they did not come with the PIN number! And only 1 purchase per monthh....AND you have to be an AARP member. I'm sorry, but those restraints do not appeal to me in the least.

AARP, ARE YOU LISTENING??? 

I'm sorry, but I have to move on.  In fact I have......to Allstate Rewards. They STILL use Delux Rewards as their gift card fullfillment provider....with PLASTIC cards sent through the mail.....or UPS. In fact, today(Jan.27, 2019) I ordered a $500.00 gift card from them(for that same 10% discount that we've all come to love). They have them all in stock.In fact, they offer a $1,000 Carnival Gift Card. PLUS..... you do not have to be an Allstate Insurance Company policy holder. BUT....you do have to jump through some hoops in order to garner points to accumulate enough to purchase a gift card from them if you are not an Allstate policy holder. Points are sooooo easy to come by. 

I'm almost convinced that the reason for AARP to change fullfillment companies who provide their gift cards to the millions of AARP members, was a business decision. But In my humble opinion, it was a poor business decision.....for what evert the reason. 

Sorry to make this longwinded. I'm off my soapbox now. Just know that there ARE alternatives out there. God bless.

[LauraB773202]

How do you get points if you are not an Allstate policy holder?

[nwbw10]

you recieve emails with codes. There are facebook groups that help by sharing codes also. I have paid for 3 cruises with Allstate rewards (I am not a policy holder). I cannot even pay for one cruise with the aarp rewards now that they are limited to one $100/month. I will NOT renew AARP for this reason.

[RussellP197074]

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@nwbw10 wrote:

you recieve emails with codes. There are facebook groups that help by sharing codes also. I have paid for 3 cruises with Allstate rewards (I am not a policy holder). I cannot even pay for one cruise with the aarp rewards now that they are limited to one $100/month. I will NOT renew AARP for this reason.

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I can understand your frustration, however membership only costs around or uner $20 per year.  You ca purchase $200 worth of cards and it pays for itself. And you don't need to use points.  I'm retired, and I have the Medigap through AARP, so the little bit of cards I can get are still better than nothing, as long as they are cards and not e-cards, which I don't trust. My next cruise isn't until next April right now so I can get one per month until January, before final payment is due.  In the meantime I can also use points to purchase cards at Allstate, and get as many as I need just before final payment is due, to make up the difference, while saving as many necessary points as I can in Allstate for the next one.  I can get better restaurant cards in Allstate as well, than what is offered now in AARP.  Allstate's program is the same one AARP used to have.  Those of us that have experience with AARP's old program can appreciate that.  Emphasis on appreciate!