Quick, Help! Carnival gift cards to buy Cheers!

[Hoping4Remission]

Hi! We leave for our first cruise Monday morning. We want to buy the Cheers program but need to save as much money as We can. I was reading how You could save 10% if You buy and use gift cards. What stores can You buy the 10% off gift cards at? I would need to go physically buy the gift card today so I can load it in our account today and buy the Cheers program today. Is this possible or am I out of luck?  Please let me know which stores offer the gift cards for 10% off. Thank You so much in advance

Edited May 11, 2019 by Hoping4Remission
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[joepeka]

I am not aware of any retail outlets that offer the cards with the 10% discount (If I'm incorrect, I'm sure I will be corrected). Some stores (Kroger/Fry's, etc.) sell them and offer bonus rewards points for fuel. Please wait for others to respond before giving up on this.  

[Bookbug53]

10 minutes ago, Hoping4Remission said:

Hi! We leave for our first cruise Monday morning. We want to buy the Cheers program but need to save as much money as We can. I was reading how You could save 10% if You buy and use gift cards. What stores can You buy the 10% off gift cards at? I would need to go physically buy the gift card today so I can load it in our account today and buy the Cheers program today. Is this possible or am I out of luck?  Please let me know which stores offer the gift cards for 10% off. Thank You so much in advance

I personally do not know of any stores that sell  10% off cards. However you can simply purchase Cheers at 10% off as long as you buy it prior to 10pm Sunday night. It does not have to be done with gift cards. Log in to Carnival and purchase with credit card. I get my 10%off GCs through AARP rewards. You earn 'points'  and then can buy at a discount. Occasionally ebay has a deal and other credit cards may offer discounts combined with points as does Allstate. None of these are 'get them today' deals.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Bookbug53

[Hoping4Remission]

1 minute ago, joepeka said:

I am not aware of any retail outlets that offer the cards with the 10% discount (If I'm incorrect, I'm sure I will be corrected). Some stores (Kroger/Fry's, etc.) sell them and offer bonus rewards points for fuel. Please wait for others to respond before giving up on this.  

Thank You Joepeka. I was reading how some people got a 10% discount when they purchased their cards. Just so I know in the future, where are they purchasing them? 

[Hoping4Remission]

15 minutes ago, Bookbug53 said:

I personally do not know of any stores that sell  10% off cards. However you can simply purchase Cheers at 10% off as long as you buy it prior to 10pm Sunday night. It does not have to be done with gift cards. Log in to Carnival and purchase with credit card. I get my 10%off GCs through AARP rewards. You earn 'points'  and then can buy at a discount. Occasionally ebay has a deal and other credit cards may offer discounts combined with points as does Allstate. None of these are 'get them today' deals.

Thank You Bookbug53 , I’ll have to do some research for our next trip about AARP and buying gift cards through them. I do realize that We can buy it cheaper online before We go. I was hoping to do the gift cards for 10% off and then buy it online for another 10% off LOL! This is a Medical trip that ends in a cruise so We’re just trying to save money anywhere We can. We should’ve been more prepared but had testing etc to do and just ran out of time. I’ll be more prepared if We ever go on another cruise. Lol 😂 

[naxer]

To muddy the waters a bit, AARP used to offer Carnival email gift cards, which were very helpful in these instances.  But I haven't seen them for a while now.  This summer I will buy some gift cards to have on hand, for when an excursion discount is offered in the fall, for my cruises in the winter.   Last year we saved 25% on our excursions doing this.  (Note though that Alaska and Hawaii are usually excluded from these.)

[joepeka]

1 hour ago, Hoping4Remission said:

Thank You Joepeka. I was reading how some people got a 10% discount when they purchased their cards. Just so I know in the future, where are they purchasing them? 

AARP is where I have purchased the GC's from their "Rewards for Good" program and from Verizon back when their rewards program offered them (they don't any longer). Also, as mentioned above, AARP used to offer e-gift cards that you could get via email within an hour of purchase but they don't any longer, only the the physical cards which are mailed. I know that Newegg has Carnival e-gift cards but they aren't currently offering any discount. 

[horzangle]

Allstate insurance offer discounted gift cards with their Drivewise Program.  To receive these, you must have your auto insurance through them.

[Sparky2]

19 minutes ago, horzangle said:

Allstate insurance offer discounted gift cards with their Drivewise Program.  To receive these, you must have your auto insurance through them.

 

I do not have my auto insurance with Allstate & I've been buying through Allstate Rewards for a few years now.  Is that a new rule?  If so, I probably was "grandfathered in" since I just bought 4  $500 GCs a week ago.

[horzangle]

That is my understanding when I switched home/auto insurance a couple of years ago.  When you bought the 4 $500 gift cards, did you pay $2000 or $1800 for them?  When I buy a $500 gift card, I pay $450 plus my points that I receive when I drive safe.

[teknoge3k]

39 minutes ago, horzangle said:

Allstate insurance offer discounted gift cards with their Drivewise Program.  To receive these, you must have your auto insurance through them.

 

This is incorrect information.

 

Anyone can get discounted gift cards through Allstate with their Drivewise app. Just like anyone of any age can get the discounted gift cards through AARP Rewards for Good program. You do not have to be a member of AARP.

 

 

[dcjb]

I don't understand the significance of using gift cards. Sorry but am confused.

[teknoge3k]

9 minutes ago, dcjb said:

I don't understand the significance of using gift cards. Sorry but am confused.

 

When you save 10%, it helps save money. When you save an average of $500 per cruise simply by using gift cards, it's a big significance. 

[TigerGalCruiser]

Hi! We leave for our first cruise Monday morning. We want to buy the Cheers program but need to save as much money as We can. I was reading how You could save 10% if You buy and use gift cards. What stores can You buy the 10% off gift cards at? I would need to go physically buy the gift card today so I can load it in our account today and buy the Cheers program today. Is this possible or am I out of luck?  Please let me know which stores offer the gift cards for 10% off. Thank You so much in advance

Hi! I've gotten 10% off a $100 Carnival Gift Card at Kroger. But, you have to wait for whenever Kroger runs the promotion. I've been looking for one since I have a cruise coming up in August.

Just watch your Kroger app for it to pop up.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Bookbug53]

3 hours ago, naxer said:

To muddy the waters a bit, AARP used to offer Carnival email gift cards, which were very helpful in these instances.  But I haven't seen them for a while now.  This summer I will buy some gift cards to have on hand, for when an excursion discount is offered in the fall, for my cruises in the winter.   Last year we saved 25% on our excursions doing this.  (Note though that Alaska and Hawaii are usually excluded from these.)

I bought one 3 days ago from AARP and applied it to my balance. ☺️

Edited May 11, 2019 by Bookbug53

[Bookbug53]

1 hour ago, dcjb said:

I don't understand the significance of using gift cards. Sorry but am confused.

Needing to pay off a cruise and gaining $50 for each $500 card purchased at $450 can be significant. This is through AARP and their rewards benefit. Do not have to be a member and there is no age requirement. You need 5000 points to buy a gift card of this value and you earn them in various ways. Taking quizzes is the simplest.

[sailingStade]

Does anyone know how long it usually takes the AARP gift cards to arrive?

[Sparky2]

4 hours ago, horzangle said:

That is my understanding when I switched home/auto insurance a couple of years ago.  When you bought the 4 $500 gift cards, did you pay $2000 or $1800 for them?  When I buy a $500 gift card, I pay $450 plus my points that I receive when I drive safe.

 

$1800 + 2.56 S&H.  They also deducted 20,000 points.  I had over 70,000 points so still have over 50,000 points.

[Sparky2]

27 minutes ago, sailingStade said:

Does anyone know how long it usually takes the AARP gift cards to arrive?

 

I don't remember exactly how long it took, but I do remember if it's only 1 or 2 $100 cards, they send them regular USPS vs. $500 cards are sent via UPS.

 

I bought 4 $500 cards through Allstate Rewards and Monday, March 6th, and they were delivered by UPS on Wednesday, March 8th.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Sparky2

[Bookbug53]

21 minutes ago, sailingStade said:

Does anyone know how long it usually takes the AARP gift cards to arrive?

I have always gotten mine in less than a week. 

[sailingStade]

Just now, Bookbug53 said:

I have always gotten mine in less than a week. 

Awesome, I would hate to tie up a bunch of money in gc’s and not get them before our scheduled cruise in a little over a month. 

[Sparky2]

4 hours ago, dcjb said:

I don't understand the significance of using gift cards. Sorry but am confused.

 

When you use GCs that you've bought for 10% off to pay for your cruise, you're getting the whole cruise for 10% off.  Also, I can use the GCs to pay off balance on S & S card while on the ship.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, dcjb said:

I don't understand the significance of using gift cards. Sorry but am confused.

You earn points through the AARP or Allstate programs.  You redeem 5000 points and pay 450.00 for a 500.00 card.  If your cruise for two with Cheers costs 3500, you just saved 350.00 by using these cards.  They can be used for deposit, balance, gratuities and sail & sign purchases.

[RumpunchGirl]

2 hours ago, sailingStade said:

Does anyone know how long it usually takes the AARP gift cards to arrive?

Last Month I purchased two $100 GC and one $500 from AARP on a Monday night and received them by UPS 2 days later on  Wednesday.  I was so surprised they came so quick.

[ocbrody]

Newegg has $200 Carnival gift cards that are e-mail delivered. They have a limit of 2.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832979004&ignorebbr=1

 

Using code EMCTATC44, you can save $15 off each. It's not as good of a deal as AARP, but if you need them quickly this is the best way