Another AARP gift card question

[wannagonow123]

Let me see if I can word this properly. Is there a dollar amount limit that I can place on the on board  account  that I can use AARP gift cards to cover? 

 

For example, if I charge $3,000 from the casino to my room, can I apply $3,000 in Gift cards to cover the charge? I understand It will be a "use or loose" situation. Just trying to  figure out a dollar amount I should bring. 

 

Anyone know?

[starstruck05]

Yes you can. Make sure to have a credit ot debit card for back up that will cover that amount if you are going to add the gift cards after the fact. 

[teknoge3k]

I wouldn't waste money on the cruise cash. Just link a credit card as a backup, then use the gift cards to pay for your casino donations. The gift cards aren't "use it or lose it". If you donate $3,000 to the casino, then just go to guest services and pay that balance with your gift cards. You could also just preload them to your account at guest services or a kiosk (NOT by getting cruise cash). Then at the end you'll get a refund for any unused funds.

[cruisernh]

23 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

I wouldn't waste money on the cruise cash. Just link a credit card as a backup, then use the gift cards to pay for your casino donations. The gift cards aren't "use it or lose it". If you donate $3,000 to the casino, then just go to guest services and pay that balance with your gift cards. You could also just preload them to your account at guest services or a kiosk (NOT by getting cruise cash). Then at the end you'll get a refund for any unused funds.

Too funny

[Are.we.there.yet?]

We've been limited to $2K in gift cards the past.

[ninjacat123]

3 minutes ago, Are.we.there.yet? said:

We've been limited to $2K in gift cards the past.

For your Sign and Sail account?

[Are.we.there.yet?]

Yes.  We were limited on our on board account to $2K in gift cards.  We bought the $500 cards and after $2K, they said we had reached the maximum, even though we had 2 rooms.  I had used my credit card for both rooms so we were considered one account and we were given that limit.  They said they needed to call Corporate to see if they could accept more and we were denied.  It was an especially bad casino trip so we just stopped gambling.  Their loss AND MINE! 😞

[KarmaCruisers]

3 hours ago, Are.we.there.yet? said:

Yes.  We were limited on our on board account to $2K in gift cards.  We bought the $500 cards and after $2K, they said we had reached the maximum, even though we had 2 rooms.  I had used my credit card for both rooms so we were considered one account and we were given that limit.  They said they needed to call Corporate to see if they could accept more and we were denied.  It was an especially bad casino trip so we just stopped gambling.  Their loss AND MINE! 😞

I thought it was $2000 per DAY?

IE: you load up your sail and sign account on day1 with $2000 (so your folio shows you’re -$2000)

Go the casino and withdraw $2000. (Now you’re sail and sign is $0) 

Day2, do the same thing, load up $2000, withdraw $2000…

if that’s not right and it’s literally only $2000 worth of gift cards PER CRUISE; then you just saved me $12,500! Haha

[Are.we.there.yet?]

Maybe the trick is to do only $1K-$2K and then wait?  IDK.  I think we tried $3K that trip and we were denied.  I'm pretty sure we did more than that in the past but not sure.  We also have cash with us, too.  This could also be ship specific and how well they understand their own policies.  Maybe they just didn't like us!  LOL!

 

Has anyone else had this happen to them?

[amcankid]

My last cruise on Carnival I was repeatedly going to guest services to have my gift cards applied to my account. By about the third day they said they have to check with corporate because I was over my limit with the gift cards. But then another guy behind the desk told me to just use the kiosk by the casino and I’ll have no problems applying them. He even walked me over to show me how to use it.

 

[bar1068]

21 hours ago, wannagonow123 said:

Let me see if I can word this properly. Is there a dollar amount limit that I can place on the on board  account  that I can use AARP gift cards to cover? 

 

For example, if I charge $3,000 from the casino to my room, can I apply $3,000 in Gift cards to cover the charge? I understand It will be a "use or loose" situation. Just trying to  figure out a dollar amount I should bring. 

 

Anyone know?

I'm not sure of dollar limits with gift cards applied to onboard spending accounts, however gift cards are not use or lose, thats cruise cash. Gift cards are non-refundable of course, however if you do not spend the entire amount of a gift card, the balance will be returned to another gift card.

[jvteach77]

I used some gift cards on my last cruise.  I was asked if I had more than 2k in gift cards.  I was then told they had to send the cards to corporate if I had more than 2k to have them verified and applied to my sign and sail account.  Luckily for me I only had about $1100 in cards.  They never said there was a limit that I could or couldn't use. This was on the Horizon last week. 

[Are.we.there.yet?]

amcankid and jvteach77,

 

Thanks for your posts.  Now I know going to the desk multiple times doesn't change anything with the limits.  I haven't had much luck using the kiosks but I will definitely try again.  If that eliminates the limit problem, that would be great.  I'll try that next month on the Panorama. 

[CruzerDeb]

Is there a limit to how much of your cruise balance can be paid with gift cards? Like can I pay off an entire cruise using them?

[n6uqqq]

1 hour ago, CruzerDeb said:

Is there a limit to how much of your cruise balance can be paid with gift cards? Like can I pay off an entire cruise using them?

I do buy entire cruises with gift cards every time so the answer is yes! Only caveat is you are married to the gift cards and if you have to cancel the cruise you are only getting back your refund as gift cards. You can only use so many cards per transaction but you can go back and add more if you max out . I am not sure how many cards can be applied in one transaction, but it's a few at least. 

Edited April 11 by n6uqqq

[CruzerDeb]

4 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

I do buy entire cruises with gift cards every time so the answer is yes! Only caveat is you are married to the gift cards and if you have to cancel the cruise you are only getting back your refund as gift cards. You can only use so many cards per transaction but you can go back and add more if you max out . I am not sure how many cards can be applied in one transaction, but it's a few at least. 

Fantastic! Thanks!

[SailawayKC]

Last month on the Jubilee I was told once you use $2K in gift cards any more go to corp for fraud verification. So add your cards early in the trip because it will take a day or two to get the extras applied.

[Elaine5715]

I have applied more than $3000 in gift cards (March 2024) but these were charges done, not loading up my S&S account.

[KarmaCruisers]

4 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

I have applied more than $3000 in gift cards (March 2024) but these were charges done, not loading up my S&S account.

At guest services or at the kiosk?

[Petersonfcu]

On 4/9/2024 at 6:57 PM, jvteach77 said:

I used some gift cards on my last cruise.  I was asked if I had more than 2k in gift cards.  I was then told they had to send the cards to corporate if I had more than 2k to have them verified and applied to my sign and sail account.  Luckily for me I only had about $1100 in cards.  They never said there was a limit that I could or couldn't use. This was on the Horizon last week. 

This exact same thing happened to me a couple of years ago, but the trigger was $3k instead of $2k.  And the ship was not able to "verify" the additional cards so I had to bring them home for next time.  I don't know how the specific dollar limit might vary, either from ship to ship or for the entire Carnival universe over time.  I think one way to increase the limit is to set up your account and your spouse's account as totally separate (e.g, not backed by the same credit card and not cross-chargeable).  Since we have done that we have been able to put up to $2k in GCs on each account.  Perhaps we could have done more, but we didn't need to do more so we didn't try. 

[Elaine5715]

11 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

At guest services or at the kiosk?

Guest Services

[dacsmom]

On 4/11/2024 at 1:04 AM, CruzerDeb said:

Is there a limit to how much of your cruise balance can be paid with gift cards? Like can I pay off an entire cruise using them?

No limit. You can only apply nine gift cards at one time. If you want to do more than that, you have to call. 

[n6uqqq]

24 minutes ago, dacsmom said:

No limit. You can only apply nine gift cards at one time. If you want to do more than that, you have to call. 

Or go back after and do it again. I have never called to apply gift cards. Now if you are booking after final payment then yes you will need to call.

Edited April 17 by n6uqqq

[dacsmom]

5 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

Or go back after and do it again. I have never called to apply gift cards. Now if you are booking after final payment then yes you will need to call.

Yes, I, the last time I upgraded after final payment and needed more than 9 gift cards. It was really easy and fast to call.