Other sources for gift cards?

Are there any other reputable sources to purchase discounted Carnival gift cards besides Verizon (they don't have any right now) or AARP (I'm not a member)?

Are there any other reputable sources to purchase discounted Carnival gift cards besides Verizon (they don't have any right now) or AARP (I'm not a member)?

First, you don't have to be an AARP member to purchase gift cards from them. You just have to register on their Rewards for Good website.

There are often gift cards available on Amazon, Gift Card Granny, and eBay (buy at your own risk, IMO).

Otherwise, you pay full price:

--They are available online directly from Carnival.

--Retail outlets carrying them include: Kroger, Giant Eagle, Hyvee, Price Chopper, Safeway, Meijer, Albertsons, Lowes, Winn Dixie, Office Max. and Publix.

If you have AMEX there is an offer you have to add to your card for a $25 bill credit for every $200 spent at Newegg.com . They have Carnival gift cards. I have done it on each of my two Amex cards. $200 for $175. I think it expires on 12/31 but I can't tell anymore since I have redeemed it.

Great! Thank you for the info. I'll check them both out.

eBay will sometimes have a promotion on Carnival cards - I think it was a $100 gift card for $90, or something along those lines, a few months ago.

Also - anyone know how often AARP & Verizon have gift cards available? I just started paying attention to those sites!

eBay will sometimes have a promotion on Carnival cards - I think it was a $100 gift card for $90, or something along those lines, a few months ago.

 

Also - anyone know how often AARP & Verizon have gift cards available? I just started paying attention to those sites!

There is no rhyme or reason to when they are available. They seem to come up at the same time on both sites (I believe that the rewards sites are run by the same company). Just keep checking :)

There is no rhyme or reason to when they are available. They seem to come up at the same time on both sites (I believe that the rewards sites are run by the same company). Just keep checking :)

Thank you - I figured that was the case, but wasn't 100% sure!

Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards program lets you buy Carnival cruise gift cards using only Rapid Reward points if you have their credit card. Right now I see a $100 Carnival gift card available for 10,000 points. I do all my online shopping through the Rapid Rewards shopping mall and rack up lots of extra points like that.

https://www.southwest.com/rapidrewards/redeem-more-rewards

One time last year Kroger had a deal where you could get a discount on the gift card. I think it was $10 off $50 if I remember correctly. I haven't seen that one again lately. However, they do often have deals where you get extra points for gift card purchases. Those points give you discounts on gas, so you are still saving money, just not directly on the gift card. Many people report saving more on their gas than they would have saved by buying the gift card at 10% off.

American Express also has a deal now where you get $100 back for $500 spent. I think its listed as worlds greatest cruise lines or something like that. If you're logged into Amex it's at the bottom of the page with the other deals. You have to click to activate it, then once you make the purchase, the $100 is credited back to your card very quickly, like usually immediately or within 24 hours. Not all Amex cards have the offer, mostly the branded cards don't have it, for example Delta Skymiles Amex doesn't have it and Costco Amex didn't have it.

Citi Rewards has Carnival gift cards I think. Chase used to have them, but i dont know if they still do. Also our local bank has them on the Visa, you can use the points to get the gift card for Free ! :)

I haven't found you can ever use Amex reward points for the gift cards, but I did send in a request to them to add it to their offerings. Hopefully Amex is listening !

The cards thru AARP and Verizon do appear to be the same company running both rewards sites ... the availability comes and goes in the same denominations at the same time. Also, I believe Allstate rewards use this same company as well. There very likely are other reward point programs that use them as well. When I have needed cards, I have never had a problem getting them if I'm diligent. Subscribe to these two threads and set it on immediate update, someone usually comes and posts when they are available. Read the last few pages of those threads to answer questions for pretty much everything you could want to know about the gift cards and how to use them.

-- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2081176

-- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2208976

I have also heard of someone using their Southwest Airlines points for Carnival gift cards.

Those are all the ways to get them that I know of, other than the options listed above.

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I bought one from Kroger 2 days ago.

--Retail outlets carrying them include: Kroger, Giant Eagle, Hyvee, Price Chopper, Safeway, Meijer, Albertsons, Lowes, Winn Dixie, Office Max. and Publix.

Neither one of those two in red carry them in our area. I've checked several times.

(snip)

Citi Rewards has Carnival gift cards I think. Chase used to have them, but i dont know if they still do. Also our local bank has them on the Visa, you can use the points to get the gift card for Free ! :)

I haven't found you can ever use Amex reward points for the gift cards, but I did send in a request to them to add it to their offerings. Hopefully Amex is listening !

(snip)

Wow, ask and ye shall receive. Has only been a couple months since I requested Carnival on Amex and now they have them !! You can use your American Express points now to get free Carnival gift cards !

Coincidence ? Or the power of me ?! :D :D

I picked up two at Lowes (Home Improvement not Grocery) last week. I'm in North Carolina. Southwest Rapid Rewards also has them.