AARP Carnival Gift Cards

[tw67]

21 hours ago, tw67 said:

Update...I went on and bought a Lands End card.  I at first tried adding it onto the order with the Carnival card.  It only went through when I took the Carnival ecards off it.  So it is just a problem with the ecards.  

 

I reached out to Allstate rewards.  They are aware there is a problem with the Carnival ecards.  They are working on it and have no idea when it will be fixed.  They told me to try again tonight and/or tomorrow morning.  

[sunshower9]

53 minutes ago, tw67 said:

 

I reached out to Allstate rewards.  They are aware there is a problem with the Carnival ecards.  They are working on it and have no idea when it will be fixed.  They told me to try again tonight and/or tomorrow morning.  

Thanks for the update.  I'll try it again later.

[Calnev1]

On 9/22/2021 at 10:08 AM, tw67 said:

football2021

Thanks TW67.

 

Also, fyi, for those with Citi credit cards, the offer of a $250 statement credit on a $1,000 Carnival purchase is back again on my wife's Citi premier.  This time it is good through October 31.  That is a nice chunk of change.

[Organized Chaos]

Long time no post, everyone. Glad to see the thread is still active and it's great to see several new discount card hunters. 🙂

 

I haven't really been using Cruise Critic much this past year & a half. Conversations about actual cruising were few & far between and things were pretty hostile for a time, so I steered clear. I do miss participating though. I was trying to keep up on this thread and the codes, but it completely slipped my mind. Haven't been here since June. Missed out on a ton of points. 😞 They didn't start working until the Sept. 15 posts.

 

So let's see, what's new? They're back to 10% off again, I see. Looks like business has picked up enough that they've ditched the 12% discount. And eGift cards have made their triumphant return. 👍 It's been years since we've seen them on Allstate. Those come in handy sometimes when you need to make a quick purchase and don't have to wait for shipping.

 

FYI, AARP only sells the eCards ($100 & $500), but you have to be an AARP member to buy them and they limit you to 5/month. Good news is, you don't have to be 50 yrs. old anymore to become a member, the annual fee is fairly cheap, and if you use some of the other benefits, like discounts on hotels, rental cars, etc., the savings pay for the membership.

 

Someone a few pages back asked if they were ever sold for more than 12% off. Not on Allstate, but once upon a time, a few years ago, we got some at 15% off. There's a division of PayPal that sells gift cards on eBay (or at least there used to be), and they were selling 15% off Carnival cards a couple times. Then there was a promotion put on by the U.S. Travel Association. They had the same deal, but that only happened once. Those were the best deals on cards I've seen. But hey, 10% off can add up to some pretty good savings.

 

So welcome to anyone who's new, or new since I've logged on last. LOL Joe, I see you out there. Hope you're doing well, my friend.

[Organized Chaos]

On 8/18/2021 at 6:39 PM, hayesktrm said:

Thank you!!  I just bought a $500 e-gift card for $450, plus I get 1.5% cash back so it's like 11.5% off!!!  If we don't spend all of it (we already have $725 OBC), what happens?  Can we cash it out or just use it for another cruise?

 

If you don't use the entire amount, Carnival will refund the remainder in the form of a new gift card after your cruise. The only way you can cash out a gift card is by using the casino "trick." Go to a slot machine, insert your S&S card and add the funds to your player's bank. Play once or twice, then cash out.

[Joe817]

6 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

So welcome to anyone who's new, or new since I've logged on last. LOL Joe, I see you out there. Hope you're doing well, my friend.

O.C.!! You're back! So good to see you on here, buddy! Hope you and yours are well, also. We're still alive & kicking. Took a cruise on the Vista and debarked Aug.28. Had a great time. Took lots of pics. I'll get around to downloading them off my phone someday, and will post some of them.

[canes20]

23 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

If you don't use the entire amount, Carnival will refund the remainder in the form of a new gift card after your cruise. The only way you can cash out a gift card is by using the casino "trick." Go to a slot machine, insert your S&S card and add the funds to your player's bank. Play once or twice, then cash out.

 

Have you been on a cruise since the restart? Some are saying the cash out trick does not work any longer in the casino because of so much OBC, are you 100% it does work? Maybe it will work with a gift card deposit.

[tw67]

1 hour ago, Organized Chaos said:

Long time no post, everyone. Glad to see the thread is still active and it's great to see several new discount card hunters. 🙂

 

I haven't really been using Cruise Critic much this past year & a half. Conversations about actual cruising were few & far between and things were pretty hostile for a time, so I steered clear. I do miss participating though. I was trying to keep up on this thread and the codes, but it completely slipped my mind. Haven't been here since June. Missed out on a ton of points. 😞 They didn't start working until the Sept. 15 posts.

 

So let's see, what's new? They're back to 10% off again, I see. Looks like business has picked up enough that they've ditched the 12% discount. And eGift cards have made their triumphant return. 👍 It's been years since we've seen them on Allstate. Those come in handy sometimes when you need to make a quick purchase and don't have to wait for shipping.

 

FYI, AARP only sells the eCards ($100 & $500), but you have to be an AARP member to buy them and they limit you to 5/month. Good news is, you don't have to be 50 yrs. old anymore to become a member, the annual fee is fairly cheap, and if you use some of the other benefits, like discounts on hotels, rental cars, etc., the savings pay for the membership.

 

Someone a few pages back asked if they were ever sold for more than 12% off. Not on Allstate, but once upon a time, a few years ago, we got some at 15% off. There's a division of PayPal that sells gift cards on eBay (or at least there used to be), and they were selling 15% off Carnival cards a couple times. Then there was a promotion put on by the U.S. Travel Association. They had the same deal, but that only happened once. Those were the best deals on cards I've seen. But hey, 10% off can add up to some pretty good savings.

 

So welcome to anyone who's new, or new since I've logged on last. LOL Joe, I see you out there. Hope you're doing well, my friend.

Welcome back!  Thanks for the AARP reminder.  I haven't been playing the quizzes recently so I did a few to get a $500 card so that I can pay off the cabin for my son, and I don't have to wait for Allstate to fix their website!

 

I remember the US Travel Association promotion, that was great!  

 

 

[Calnev1]

2 hours ago, tw67 said:

Welcome back!  Thanks for the AARP reminder.  I haven't been playing the quizzes recently so I did a few to get a $500 card so that I can pay off the cabin for my son, and I don't have to wait for Allstate to fix their website!

 

TW -- Are you sure you needed to take AARP quizzes to buy your $500 Carnival card?   I am pretty sure that AARP members can buy the Carnival cards at 10% off without using any AARP points . . .  and thus without taking the quizzes that earn one the AARP points.    

[tw67]

1 minute ago, Calnev1 said:

TW -- Are you sure you needed to take AARP quizzes to buy your $500 Carnival card?   I am pretty sure that AARP members can buy the Carnival cards at 10% off without using any AARP points . . .  and thus without taking the quizzes that earn one the AARP points.    

You are correct!  I didn't have to!  I hadn't done much on it since it was overhauled.   I went in and answered some questions and got points,  but didn't need them to buy the Carnival Card.  

[Calnev1]

3 minutes ago, tw67 said:

You are correct!  I didn't have to!  I hadn't done much on it since it was overhauled.   I went in and answered some questions and got points,  but didn't need them to buy the Carnival Card.  

I am glad i remembered this correctly.  There are some purchases on AARP, however, where you do need to take one or more quizzes and/or watch a video.  And that can be a surprising hassle, as the AARP website  sometimes forgets what you are doing and will not give you credit for the quizzes/videos.

[luv2travel32]

Hi Everyone, 

I'm new at using the Carnival Gift Cards.  A silly question.... if I want to pay off my cruise balance of $725 with $800 worth of gift cards, will Carnival leave $75 on one of the gift cards, like retail stores do, or is the $75 put on my Carnival cruise account as OBC?  TIA

[ULCajunCruiser]

9 hours ago, luv2travel32 said:

Hi Everyone, 

I'm new at using the Carnival Gift Cards.  A silly question.... if I want to pay off my cruise balance of $725 with $800 worth of gift cards, will Carnival leave $75 on one of the gift cards, like retail stores do, or is the $75 put on my Carnival cruise account as OBC?  TIA

It will leave the balance on the card.

[luv2travel32]

5 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

It will leave the balance on the card.

That's what I was hoping for.  Thanks ULCajunCruiser.

[Organized Chaos]

On 9/23/2021 at 4:47 PM, Joe817 said:

O.C.!! You're back! So good to see you on here, buddy! Hope you and yours are well, also. We're still alive & kicking. Took a cruise on the Vista and debarked Aug.28. Had a great time. Took lots of pics. I'll get around to downloading them off my phone someday, and will post some of them.

 

Thank you, kind sir. We're still kickin'. Glad you had fun. We're booked on one of the Sailabration cruises in March, but we're one of "those" who aren't allowed on cruise ships right now, so I doubt they'll change anything by then.

 

We made up for lack of cruising by taking a trip to the Smoky Mountains earlier this month. Love it down there, had a great time. This was the view from the deck of our rental house.

 

[Organized Chaos]

On 9/23/2021 at 5:08 PM, canes20 said:

Have you been on a cruise since the restart? Some are saying the cash out trick does not work any longer in the casino because of so much OBC, are you 100% it does work? Maybe it will work with a gift card deposit.

 

Nope, we're not allowed on the ships. We're one of "those." 😈 Dang, that stinks. I figured it was only a matter of time before they plugged that leak. I always debated on telling people about it. I like giving people helpful hints, but I knew the more people who did it, the more likely Carnival would put an end to it. I guess I can see why they stopped it with all the OBC. I doubt they bring it back.

 

 

On 9/23/2021 at 5:56 PM, tw67 said:

Welcome back!  Thanks for the AARP reminder.  I haven't been playing the quizzes recently so I did a few to get a $500 card so that I can pay off the cabin for my son, and I don't have to wait for Allstate to fix their website!

 

I remember the US Travel Association promotion, that was great! 

 

Thank you. We no longer have to do the quizzes and earn points to buy them on AARP. Just be a member. (Nevermind, Calnev already said it.)

 

I looked up that U.S. Travel Association thing not too long ago. They're not doing it anymore. I remember the second year they did it, it still said Carnival was a partner, so I kept waiting & waiting for the cards, but they never appeared. 😟

Edited September 25, 2021 by Organized Chaos

[ski_mom]

On 9/23/2021 at 1:55 PM, Calnev1 said:

Thanks TW67.

 

Also, fyi, for those with Citi credit cards, the offer of a $250 statement credit on a $1,000 Carnival purchase is back again on my wife's Citi premier.  This time it is good through October 31.  That is a nice chunk of change.

Thank you - I had it on my account and on my husband's account.  I used one of them to pay almost all of the remaining balance on our February cruise.  I messaged our PVP to see if there's a way I can buy a gift card through the website (or through her) so that I could use it on the next cruise that we book.  That's a great discount!

[Calnev1]

1 hour ago, ski_mom said:

  I messaged our PVP to see if there's a way I can buy a gift card through the website (or through her) so that I could use it on the next cruise that we book.  That's a great discount!

Wow, I didn't even think of that!  Please post what you find out.  Would love to trigger the statement credit with a gift card purchase.

[Calnev1]

3 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I figured it was only a matter of time before they plugged that leak. I always debated on telling people about it. I like giving people helpful hints, but I knew the more people who did it, the more likely Carnival would put an end to it. I guess I can see why they stopped it with all the OBC. I doubt they bring it back.

I am hopeful that even if Carnival killed using OBC to fund the casino trick one can still use gift cards for that purpose.  I sure as heck am going to try it again on our December cruise.

[Calnev1]

9 hours ago, Calnev1 said:

Wow, I didn't even think of that!  Please post what you find out.  Would love to trigger the statement credit with a gift card purchase.

OK, I am going to address my own question.  Bottom line:  It is highly unlikely that a purchase of Carnival gift cards directly from Carnival will trigger the $250 Citi statement credit.  The fine print on the Citi offer. indicates that the triggering $1000 purchase must be made on "Carnival.com."  Unfortunately, carnival sells its gift cards through a different website:   "Carnival.ourgiftcards.com."

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, Calnev1 said:

OK, I am going to address my own question.  Bottom line:  It is highly unlikely that a purchase of Carnival gift cards directly from Carnival will trigger the $250 Citi statement credit.  The fine print on the Citi offer. indicates that the triggering $1000 purchase must be made on "Carnival.com."  Unfortunately, carnival sells its gift cards through a different website:   "Carnival.ourgiftcards.com."

 

I was going to mention their gift cards site, you beat me to it. It'd be a gamble, that's for sure. Buy $1,000 worth in hopes it triggers the Citi credit, but if not, you just bought 'em at full price. Not the end of the world, but not as good as 10% off. I don't have a Citi card, so don't have skin in this game, but maybe it's possible they could tell you whether or not Carnival's gift card site qualifies.

[villagenut]

$500 e gift cards are available again however when i click "Place your order" the screen blinks but nothing happens.  Cart still shows card.  No confirmation email.  It just goes back to the purchase screen. Anyone else having issues?

 

[tw67]

4 minutes ago, villagenut said:

$500 e gift cards are available again however when i click "Place your order" the screen blinks but nothing happens.  Cart still shows card.  No confirmation email.  It just goes back to the purchase screen. Anyone else having issues?

 

Same problem I had last week.   I gave up on it and bought through AARP.

[sunshower9]

41 minutes ago, villagenut said:

$500 e gift cards are available again however when i click "Place your order" the screen blinks but nothing happens.  Cart still shows card.  No confirmation email.  It just goes back to the purchase screen. Anyone else having issues?

 

Yep, this has been going on for at least the last few days.  I just ordered the physical gift cards instead.

[tw67]

UPDATE ON ALLSTATE REWARDS

 

I went ahead and tried again to pay for my $500 ecard and this morning it went through!  I know I could still go in and order the AARP ones, but when I realized my drink package wasn't going to pay for itself I went ahead and tried it.