AARP gift cards

[jlawrence01]

5 hours ago, zSec said:

How are gift cards applied to OBC? Do you bring them with you and go to Guest Services once onboard?

 

On the last cruise, I had $200 in HAL gift cards that I purchased from Krogers.  I went up during the middle of the night when there were no customers at Guest Services.  The clerk took the cards and immediately applied them to my account.  At the end of the cruise, I had only spent $125 and they applied the credit balance to the CREDIT CARD that was associated with the account.

[Haljo1935]

10 minutes ago, jlawrence01 said:

 

On the last cruise, I had $200 in HAL gift cards that I purchased from Krogers.  I went up during the middle of the night when there were no customers at Guest Services.  The clerk took the cards and immediately applied them to my account.  At the end of the cruise, I had only spent $125 and they applied the credit balance to the CREDIT CARD that was associated with the account.

Correct - if you have $$ coming back once onboard, it goes to the CC on file for the cruise or you can cash it out.

If you have $$ coming back before the cruise (ex: cancel something you paid for w/the gift card) the refund goes back onto the gift card.

[Haljo1935]

6 hours ago, zSec said:

How are gift cards applied to OBC? Do you bring them with you and go to Guest Services once onboard?

If you have physical cards, you can take them to Guest Services. If you have virtual cards (ex: emailed to you from AARP) you can give the card number and pin to Guest Services. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It's up and running we had to reset our password.

[acctgtogo]

I was using the gift cards for excursions and found out that if the gift card did not cover the entire amount due - none was applied - I had to pay the entire amount by credit card.  I couldn't partially pay with the gift card and just the balance with my credit card.  If you are buying an excursion for two and have enough to pay for one in full it will let you use the gift card for the first person but the second ticket again goes on the credit card - no partial payments.

  

[Roz]

@acctgtogo, that's been my experience.  Very annoying.  There should be a way to split the payment between a gift card and credit card.  

[Ileneilene123]

How do you purchase the AARP gift cards? Is there a direct link? Thanks. 

[CNSJ]

6 hours ago, Ileneilene123 said:

How do you purchase the AARP gift cards? Is there a direct link? Thanks. 

You need to (1) Join AARP - Its cheap. (2) Log into ARRP website.  (3) Go to AARP Rewards section of their site. (3) Scroll down to the gift card area, select "See all rewards"

[Ileneilene123]

1 hour ago, CNSJ said:

You need to (1) Join AARP - Its cheap. (2) Log into ARRP website.  (3) Go to AARP Rewards section of their site. (3) Scroll down to the gift card area, select "See all rewards"

Thanks. I am a new AARP member but I wasn’t sure if I also had to register through the Rewards site in order to get to the gift card. I did that & now I’m in. Thx. 

[Ileneilene123]

Slightly off topic but this is related to the AARP OBC promo. Through the promo,  I have $100 AARP OBC for our upcoming cruise. It shows up in our booking confirmation — but it was applied in full under my name. The remaining OBC credit that we got when we booked is split evenly between myself and my husband. Will this matter when it comes to spending the AARP OBC on board? Will it just be applied to our stateroom no matter who uses it, me or my husband? Thx.  (First time cruiser, just learning the ropes). 

Edited April 9 by Ileneilene123

[jlawrence01]

On 4/7/2024 at 6:04 AM, Ileneilene123 said:

Thanks. I am a new AARP member but I wasn’t sure if I also had to register through the Rewards site in order to get to the gift card. I did that & now I’m in. Thx. 

 

And you do not have to be age 50+ to join AARP at $12 per year.

[crystalspin]

45 minutes ago, Ileneilene123 said:

Will this matter when it comes to spending the AARP OBC on board? Will it just be applied to our stateroom no matter who uses it, me or my husband? Thx.

It will be applied to the stateroom UNLESS you are registering two credit cards. Then it might get tricky.

[Ileneilene123]

4 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

It will be applied to the stateroom UNLESS you are registering two credit cards. Then it might get tricky.

Great. We plan to use one card. 

[champagne-77]

Does anyone know if you can use the HAL gift cards on the land tour portion for food,etc.? (Train, McKinley Chalet, Westmark) Thanks!

[a.madruga]

BTW just noticed down to 8% discount

[ChinaShrek]

10 hours ago, a.madruga said:

BTW just noticed down to 8% discount

It's almost not worth buying now.

[pghflyer]

14 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

It's almost not worth buying now.

Perhaps this was a joke (hard to tell online sometimes) but I actually kind of agree with this. I get 4-5% back on Travel category purchases on my credit card....and with 5% interest rates right now for my free cash.....tying that free cash up in Gift Cards that takes a little effort to redeem (I use a travel agent) and keep track of (in case of cancellations)....does start making me scratch my head on the effort for an extra 3% discount.  Plus there is the whole thing of how much I trust my travel credit card to honor my travel insurance when I make partial payment with a gift card (I have not seen anyone that has actually needed to use their credit card travel insurance in this circumstance yet with multiple payment methods).

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Just now, pghflyer said:

Perhaps this was a joke (hard to tell online sometimes) but I actually kind of agree with this. I get 4-5% back on Travel category purchases on my credit card....and with 5% interest rates right now for my free cash.....tying that free cash up in Gift Cards that takes a little effort to redeem (I use a travel agent) and keep track of (in case of cancellations)....does start making me scratch my head on the effort for an extra 3% discount.  Plus there is the whole thing of how much I trust my travel credit card to honor my travel insurance when I make partial payment with a gift card (I have not seen anyone that has actually needed to use their credit card travel insurance in this circumstance yet with multiple payment methods).

Good points.

[ChinaShrek]

1 hour ago, pghflyer said:

Perhaps this was a joke (hard to tell online sometimes) but I actually kind of agree with this. I get 4-5% back on Travel category purchases on my credit card....and with 5% interest rates right now for my free cash.....tying that free cash up in Gift Cards that takes a little effort to redeem (I use a travel agent) and keep track of (in case of cancellations)....does start making me scratch my head on the effort for an extra 3% discount.  Plus there is the whole thing of how much I trust my travel credit card to honor my travel insurance when I make partial payment with a gift card (I have not seen anyone that has actually needed to use their credit card travel insurance in this circumstance yet with multiple payment methods).

I actually wasn't joking. I think if it goes to only a 5% discount then I will not bother to buy them. I keep track of the gift cards and how I use them in case I need a refund on anything. That takes effort. Emailing my TA with gift card numbers takes effort. What if I cancel a Carnival Cruise but have no plans for another Carnival cruise for years to come? Now I have thousands of dollars tied up in gift cards. 

[Hogladyrider]

57 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

I actually wasn't joking. I think if it goes to only a 5% discount then I will not bother to buy them. I keep track of the gift cards and how I use them in case I need a refund on anything. That takes effort. Emailing my TA with gift card numbers takes effort. What if I cancel a Carnival Cruise but have no plans for another Carnival cruise for years to come? Now I have thousands of dollars tied up in gift cards. 

Excellent points and let me share my current situation with HAL and gift cards.

 

We had 4 cruises booked and we decided to cancel one.  It was a 14 day Mexican holiday cruise that I had paid $3500 on CC and $3500 on HAL gift cards on.  I only owed $1600 before final payment.

We contacted our TA to  request the cancel and transfer of funds to the other 3 cruises we have booked for 2025.

HAL would only transfer the funds to ONE cruise and refund the balance.  Problem for me arises as the cruise they transferred the funds to  only had a balance due of $2900.  That leaves me a $4k credit.

HAL had no problems making the transfer but here it is a week later and I still have not received any of my credits due.

It just does not make sense to me even from an accounting standpoint because all I am going to do is call my TA and have the HAL gift card credits applied to the other 3 cruises booked with HAL.  In the mean time it is MY responsibility to track all this.....stressful to  say the least.

I will be second thinking gift cards in the future for sure.

[ChinaShrek]

1 minute ago, Hogladyrider said:

Excellent points and let me share my current situation with HAL and gift cards.

 

We had 4 cruises booked and we decided to cancel one.  It was a 14 day Mexican holiday cruise that I had paid $3500 on CC and $3500 on HAL gift cards on.  I only owed $1600 before final payment.

We contacted our TA to  request the cancel and transfer of funds to the other 3 cruises we have booked for 2025.

HAL would only transfer the funds to ONE cruise and refund the balance.  Problem for me arises as the cruise they transferred the funds to  only had a balance due of $2900.  That leaves me a $4k credit.

HAL had no problems making the transfer but here it is a week later and I still have not received any of my credits due.

It just does not make sense to me even from an accounting standpoint because all I am going to do is call my TA and have the HAL gift card credits applied to the other 3 cruises booked with HAL.  In the mean time it is MY responsibility to track all this.....stressful to  say the least.

I will be second thinking gift cards in the future for sure.

And now you have to keep checking for gift cards. They might be emailed to you. Some people have also reported physical gift cards being sent to them. 

[Hogladyrider]

9 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

And now you have to keep checking for gift cards. They might be emailed to you. Some people have also reported physical gift cards being sent to them. 

Yes and typing in all those numbers and pin is time consuming and each time the answer is $0 balance!

[HUNKY]

PGH…. What credit card offers 5% back on travel?

Edited Thursday at 06:26 PM by HUNKY

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Just now, HUNKY said:

PGH…. What credit card offers 5% back on travel?

Please share, and is there a limit? 5% back in Cash? Points?

Edited Thursday at 06:45 PM by Gail & Marty sailing away

[pghflyer]

@HUNKY and @Gail & Marty sailing away  I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) which gives 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points for Travel / Restaurants. Depending on what you value their transfer options as (ex. 1 point to any airline mile minimum, often 20-40% bonus to select rotating partners every quarter)....it could be worth anywhere from 3-6+% in "value". For example, a few years ago I got 30% transfer for British Airways last year. See the whole history of past bonuses:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/credit-cards/complete-history-credit-card-transfer-bonuses/

 

For simplicity, I didn't factor in that you can get 5-10 points (they often do promotions) per $ if you book in the Chase Travel Portal.

 

Of course the decision to get a CSR card is a big calculation on your spending habits and value since it has a $550 annual fee. It works for me as I instantly use the $300 annual travel credit, the Global Entry membership credit, the $5 a month DoorDash credits, the Priority Pass Lounge Membership, and the enhanced Travel Insurance. Not to mention I got a big chunk of points as a sign-up bonus.  Obviously, my math and use case may not work the same for others.

Edited Thursday at 07:07 PM by pghflyer