AARP HAL Gift Cards

[Mary229]

Each member can buy 5 so we are able to buy 10 each month as needed

[sandiego1]

11 hours ago, Mary229 said:

You can buy OBC in the amount of the gratuities and it will be used daily once onboard 

I wanted to PREPAY as the daily gratuity fee went up recently. If one prepays and the rate goes up, you are still locked into the prior rate. I purchase gift cards for all of our onboard expenses.

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, sandiego1 said:

I wanted to PREPAY as the daily gratuity fee went up recently. If one prepays and the rate goes up, you are still locked into the prior rate. I purchase gift cards for all of our onboard expenses.

It went up around 1.5%, the cards save you 8%.  When is your cruise? They simply do not raise the rates that often and when they do the announcement is usually given a few weeks prior and the change is usually in the first quarter of the year 

[Dancing Shoes]

What...only 8%.  Last year when I bought it was 10%.  Oh brother.  Better than nothing. 

[a.madruga]

Gail and Marty do you know if those cards can be used for air fare through HAL?

 

[Mary229]

6 minutes ago, a.madruga said:

Gail and Marty do you know if those cards can be used for air fare through HAL?

 

If they are added to your general invoice, yes you can. If you try to pay for them separately then no.  

[sandiego1]

22 hours ago, Mary229 said:

It went up around 1.5%, the cards save you 8%.  When is your cruise? They simply do not raise the rates that often and when they do the announcement is usually given a few weeks prior and the change is usually in the first quarter of the year 

I wanted to prepurchase before the price went up the last time. We're on the Pole to Pole in Jan. Since it's 133 days, the gratuities add up with the small increase.

[Mary229]

Just now, sandiego1 said:

I wanted to prepurchase before the price went up the last time. We're on the Pole to Pole in Jan. Since it's 133 days, the gratuities add up with the small increase.

What I would do is watch carefully for an announcement and make the decision when you have to.  I had the same issue last year as my first embarkation was January 4. It was the first increase in quite a few years , HAL is not known for increasing the tips every year.  Pay attention starting in late October, they give notice and you will have a few weeks to decide.  

[a.madruga]

also military too

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 7/7/2024 at 5:34 PM, Mary229 said:

If they are added to your general invoice, yes you can. If you try to pay for them separately then no.  

 Correct ....

[iflyrc5]

On 7/6/2024 at 1:10 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

got it.... you meant that you can save $2,400 per year.  

 

I missed that detail. Thanks for clarifying. 

My wife and I are both AARP members so we can each purchase them so can save $4,800 per year.

[BermudaBound2014]

17 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

My wife and I are both AARP members so we can each purchase them so can save $4,800 per year.

 

Nice! With gift card purchases totaling 60,000 a year (5K x 12)...... I would hope you would save $4,800 :).

 

Just feel the need to remind everyone that gift cards do come with risk. Obvious biggest risk is insolvency in which case you'd be out the full 60K with no recourse from the cc company you purchased the cards on. That maybe unlikely, but it's still a risk.

 

There are risks relate to cancellation also. The cards state they can not be reloaded. HAL has been reloading in the past (putting refunded money from cancelled trips back onto the cards), but the terms clearly state they don't have to continue to do that.

 

I use the cards, but I only purchase very close to final payment. I would not be caught dead stockpiling these things. While I'm fairly risk tolerant, that's just too much money for me to leave unprotected.

 

 Before people max out the amount you can purchase in any given year, it's best to be informed of all the risks (and gift cards always come with risk.)  . As they say, buyer beware.

 

Edited July 9 by BermudaBound2014

[boze9999]

And don't forget the double dip benefit of using your HAL CC, getting all those extra point which can be used for future HAL cruises! 

 

[Ggrun5673]

On 7/3/2024 at 6:18 AM, pmjnh said:

Yes, we buy them monthly as well. You need to go to the rewards page and just keep on scrolling. They have changed from 10% to 8% but still a savings. You do need to be a member of AARP now..for a long time you did not. I receive the cards via email within 20 minutes. I then have my TA apply them to my HAL booking  and have no issue, except that we just saved a good bit of money. 

I Purchased 5 cards tonight at 5:30 pm from AARP and still no emails received, although the money has come out of my bank account. Does it sometimes take overnight to show up in your email, since I ordered them after 5:00? I’m hoping that is why I haven’t received them yet. First timer getting these, and thought they’d show up right away. 

[pmjnh]

38 minutes ago, Ggrun5673 said:

I Purchased 5 cards tonight at 5:30 pm from AARP and still no emails received, although the money has come out of my bank account. Does it sometimes take overnight to show up in your email, since I ordered them after 5:00? I’m hoping that is why I haven’t received them yet. First timer getting these, and thought they’d show up right away. 

I would say if they dont arrive in your email tomorrow call them . There is a phone number for rewards. I had to do this the first time ai ordered, also look in your spam folder incase they landed there.

good luck

[pengu1n]

1 hour ago, Ggrun5673 said:

I Purchased 5 cards tonight at 5:30 pm from AARP and still no emails received, although the money has come out of my bank account. Does it sometimes take overnight to show up in your email, since I ordered them after 5:00? I’m hoping that is why I haven’t received them yet. First timer getting these, and thought they’d show up right away. 

When we purchased earlier this month, they showed up almost immediately. If you haven't received yet, I would call. (And, as suggested above, check spam).

[tutumomickey]

aarp gift cards are Mon- fri 9-5. They will show up though

[EChamp66]

We used the AARP gift cards to pay for our Alaskan Cruise that we leave on next week.  I purchased them online with AARP and they emailed me the digital gift cards immediately.  We are now thinking to purchase some cards for our OBC.  I called HA yesterday to ask how this credit would be refunded if we did not use all of it, and they said it was un-refundable.  I then asked if this credit can be used in the casino, and they said yes.  If that is the case, I can just use that unused OBC in the casino and/or just cash it out at the cashier.  Does anyone have any experience with using AARP gift cards as OBC and is the information I received correct?  

[Big Dawg CC]

I have used AARP gift cards for OBC.  Based on my past cruises, unlike promotional OBCs, which show up on your folio as nonrefundable, these were on my folio as refundable.  HAL will draw on the nonrefundable OBCs first and, when those are exhausted, they start to draw down on the refundable OBCs.  Any unused OBCs purchased with AARP gift cards were refunded at the end of the cruise to the credit card on file.

[Haljo1935]

On 7/16/2024 at 8:30 PM, Ggrun5673 said:

I Purchased 5 cards tonight at 5:30 pm from AARP and still no emails received, although the money has come out of my bank account. Does it sometimes take overnight to show up in your email, since I ordered them after 5:00? I’m hoping that is why I haven’t received them yet. First timer getting these, and thought they’d show up right away. 

I've not had it take more than a few minutes for the emails to arrive; you'll get one email for each card purchased. I'd check your spam folder then give 'em a call if you don't find them.