AARP Carnival Gift Cards

[Esmerelda]

Ok so I finally was just able to apply 2 more gift cards to our account.  For some reason, the box that was too populate AFTER the cards were entered, never populated before for me. I was able to add $1k to our balance and save $100.  I would like to thank the posters that mentioned that extra box where you type in the amount you are applying. This was so much easier than the last time I tried. Have a great day all! ☺️

[ski_mom]

Question on the limits - I see Carnival is limit of 25 per month.  We have 2 Carnival booked alon with 1 Princess.  Princess has a limit of 5 per month. 

 

Are those separate limits?  If I start with buying 5 Carnival, will it then not allow we to purchase any Princess?  Or, I could buy all 25 Carnival and all 5 Princess in the same month?

[nascartim]

33 minutes ago, ski_mom said:

Question on the limits - I see Carnival is limit of 25 per month.  We have 2 Carnival booked alon with 1 Princess.  Princess has a limit of 5 per month. 

 

Are those separate limits?  If I start with buying 5 Carnival, will it then not allow we to purchase any Princess?  Or, I could buy all 25 Carnival and all 5 Princess in the same month?

Are you talking about $100 gift cards? You can buy $500 cards also. Do you need more then 25 of the $500 cards?

[ski_mom]

13 minutes ago, nascartim said:

Are you talking about $100 gift cards? You can buy $500 cards also. Do you need more then 25 of the $500 cards?

 

Good question - the issue is that I have some $100 visa gift cards that I'd love to mostly drain on buying some $100 gift cards if I can.  Our Princess cruise is this month, but Carnival cruises aren't until later.  I'd like to still get all of the $500 princess that I can, but it just hit me that I can just buy the Princess first and then use my $100 visa cards on Carnival after purchasing princess.  

 

Not sure why I didn't think of that sooner!  Thanks for the mind jolt!

 

[n6uqqq]

52 minutes ago, ski_mom said:

Question on the limits - I see Carnival is limit of 25 per month.  We have 2 Carnival booked alon with 1 Princess.  Princess has a limit of 5 per month. 

 

Are those separate limits?  If I start with buying 5 Carnival, will it then not allow we to purchase any Princess?  Or, I could buy all 25 Carnival and all 5 Princess in the same month?

They are separate limits. The Princess gift cards aren't considered premium so they count against your general limit of 5 gift cards per month which includes all the different types restaurant etc. The Carnival ones are premium and don't affect the 5 count on regular cards.

[ski_mom]

25 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

They are separate limits. The Princess gift cards aren't considered premium so they count against your general limit of 5 gift cards per month which includes all the different types restaurant etc. The Carnival ones are premium and don't affect the 5 count on regular cards.

 

Good to know - thank you!

[sasandy]

On 4/18/2024 at 3:56 PM, ninjacat123 said:

Same thing happened to me. I inputted the amount I wanted to pay in Other Amount (the amount on the gift card) then inputted the gift card number and pin and click Apply. I click on Select in the Other Amount and a box appears indicating the amount of the gift card I am applying and how much is left to pay. I click on the box that shows I agree to the Terms and Conditions then click on Submit Payment. Try this and I bet you'll be good to go!

Thank you! This is the only way I could apply all my gift cards.

[patcruise1]

following.

[kapcruiser]

How long does it take to get gift card email once purchased and are the gift cards always available?

[canes20]

8 minutes ago, kapcruiser said:

How long does it take to get gift card email once purchased and are the gift cards always available?

I usually have my cards by the time I get to my email. They will be out on occasion.

[cmukid87]

Can confirm.  I purchased 2 $500 cards today and they were in my email and ready to use in 2 minutes.

[phoneman69]

8 hours ago, cmukid87 said:

Can confirm.  I purchased 2 $500 cards today and they were in my email and ready to use in 2 minutes.

We did the same but email ended up in junk folder. So double check your email folders if the purchased digital card does not show quickly

Edited August 2 by phoneman69
spelling

[pxydst]

Sorry but we are at page 240 something and can not find the answer…I have not bought a gift card for carnival but am interested.  Is getting a gift card better thru AARP?  If you buy a $500 gift card how much are you saving? Thank you

[ab19902]

3 minutes ago, pxydst said:

Sorry but we are at page 240 something and can not find the answer…I have not bought a gift card for carnival but am interested.  Is getting a gift card better thru AARP?  If you buy a $500 gift card how much are you saving? Thank you

With the AARP membership, you save 10% on Carnival gift cards. So the $500 gift card would cost you $450. And you can use the gift card to pay for bookings, excursions, add it to your portfolio onboard, pretty much anything. The savings really do add up. I saved over $500 my first year buying from AARP (I came over from Allstate rewards).

[bar1068]

5 minutes ago, pxydst said:

Sorry but we are at page 240 something and can not find the answer…I have not bought a gift card for carnival but am interested.  Is getting a gift card better thru AARP?  If you buy a $500 gift card how much are you saving? Thank you

$50 or 10%

[phoneman69]

6 hours ago, bar1068 said:

$50 or 10%

same same $100 card for$ 90 or $500 for $450 only denominations.

[SunsetCruizen]

7 hours ago, bar1068 said:

$50 or 10%

The Carnival gift cards come in two denominations, $100 and $500.  If you are an AARP member you get them at a 10% discount, so $90 for the $100 card and $450 for the $500 card.  There is also a limit of 25 cards per month.

[mfs2k]

I apologize for redundancy but I'm not sure how to search this question which certainly has been asked before:

 

I have about a $90 balance on the last of my $500 Carnival Gift Cards which I used for payments and to purchase stuff.

Can I apply the gift card to my folio when I board the ship in a few weeks for onboard purchases?

Can I get slot credits with the on board account?

If I plan to play slots a lot, can I buy more gift cards in advance from AARP, apply them to my account when I get on board and effectively play slots at a 10% discount? 

[daveo6313]

14 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

I apologize for redundancy but I'm not sure how to search this question which certainly has been asked before:

 

I have about a $90 balance on the last of my $500 Carnival Gift Cards which I used for payments and to purchase stuff.

Can I apply the gift card to my folio when I board the ship in a few weeks for onboard purchases?

Can I get slot credits with the on board account?

If I plan to play slots a lot, can I buy more gift cards in advance from AARP, apply them to my account when I get on board and effectively play slots at a 10% discount? 

 

 

Yes to all of the above.  I think they will only let you apply $2000 worth of cards at the kiosk per day.  I have read that guest services can apply more if needed but YMMV.

[livingis2me]

I have 2 $500 e-gift cards ($1000) from AARP that I plan to use for my onboard expenses on the Mardi Gras. If I put these on my portfolio when I get onboard, will I also have to put down a credit card or cash? Will this pay for gratuities, specialty dining, drinks and shops? How do I put them into my portfolio? Do the kiosks accept e-gift cards or will I need to visit guest services? My apologies if these questions have been answered many times over. 

Thanks! 
Ron

[ab19902]

1 minute ago, livingis2me said:

I have 2 $500 e-gift cards ($1000) from AARP that I plan to use for my onboard expenses on the Mardi Gras. If I put these on my portfolio when I get onboard, will I also have to put down a credit card or cash? Will this pay for gratuities, specialty dining, drinks and shops? How do I put them into my portfolio? Do the kiosks accept e-gift cards or will I need to visit guest services? My apologies if these questions have been answered many times over. 

Thanks! 
Ron

I’ve not tried to upload cards, but guest services will be able to help with ecards if the kiosk doesn’t take them.

 

As for the use, yes, they will go to anything you charge to your account. You may still need to put down a card or a bit of money (again, haven’t been in this situation, so I don’t know), but the money from the gift card in the OB account will be used first.

[livingis2me]

22 minutes ago, ab19902 said:

I’ve not tried to upload cards, but guest services will be able to help with ecards if the kiosk doesn’t take them.

 

As for the use, yes, they will go to anything you charge to your account. You may still need to put down a card or a bit of money (again, haven’t been in this situation, so I don’t know), but the money from the gift card in the OB account will be used first.

Thank you for the insight!

 

If anybody does have experience adding them at a kiosk or if they had to add another form of payment, please let me know. Thanks!

[n6uqqq]

34 minutes ago, livingis2me said:

Thank you for the insight!

 

If anybody does have experience adding them at a kiosk or if they had to add another form of payment, please let me know. Thanks!

If you have a cash account the gift cards are more than enough, no cash required. In fact you don't have to add cash at all even without the gift cards if you don't want to. Carnival only has recommended amounts based on cruise length. The downside is you may not be able to buy anything like drinks, etc onboard until you add some money. I add my gift cards at the kiosks but you can do so at guest services also.

Edited August 23 by n6uqqq

[livingis2me]

47 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

If you have a cash account the gift cards are more than enough, no cash required. In fact you don't have to add cash at all even without the gift cards if you don't want to. Carnival only has recommended amounts based on cruise length. The downside is you may not be able to buy anything like drinks, etc onboard until you add some money. I add my gift cards at the kiosks but you can do so at guest services also.

Thank you! Just to clarify, when you say gift card, are you talking about the e-gift card on your phone that you are adding at the kiosks or a physical plastic gift card?

 

[n6uqqq]

4 minutes ago, livingis2me said:

Thank you! Just to clarify, when you say gift card, are you talking about the e-gift card on your phone that you are adding at the kiosks or a physical plastic gift card?

 

I use the eGift cards from AARP and two 500 cards is exactly what I add. You just have to punch in the number and the pin. I prefer the kiosk and I do it shortly after boarding to get it out of the way.