AARP Rewards eGift Cards

[Bgwest]

I'm an AARP member and just got the following when attempting a purchase:

Item(s) in your cart are unavailable

The following item(s) are no longer available:

 

1. $500 Princess® gift card

Edited June 4, 2023 by Bgwest

[PacnGoNow]

30 minutes ago, JerrySueW said:

Yes, I did after a couple of attempts at applying the card to my balance. It shows the face value initially, then when I clicked on "Verify balance" it went to $0.

 

I added these cards to my booking myself. If you use a TA to book your cruise you cannot make payments directly.

Right.  I use a TA and they enter the cards for FP.  They are able to enter them without a problem.

 

[PacnGoNow]

13 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

I'm an AARP member and just got the following when attempting a purchase:

Item(s) in your cart are unavailable

The following item(s) are no longer available:

 

1. $500 Princess® gift card

How did you get them in your cart?

 

Been saving them in there since May 31st?

 

They are not offered right now. Hoping they come back soon.

[PacnGoNow]

28 minutes ago, Jadn13 said:

Chase  credit cards often have a discount on AARP for new members, if it comes to that. (It’s online in your card discount section) 

I wouldn’t sign up just yet.  Wait to see if it’s necessary.  

[Bgwest]

7 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

How did you get them in your cart?

 

Been saving them in there since May 31st?

 

They are not offered right now. Hoping they come back soon.

You be are correct. As I think about it, I put a $500 gift card in my cart some weeks ago. 
Seems I missed my window!!

[wrongwaywatson]

I am currently on the Grand and I applied $500 in gift cards in early May and another $200 on Thursday, June 1, that I purchased on Wednesday, May 31st.  Sounds like I just made the deadline with those last $200!

[Calnev1]

9 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

I am currently on the Grand and I applied $500 in gift cards in early May and another $200 on Thursday, June 1, that I purchased on Wednesday, May 31st.  Sounds like I just made the deadline with those last $200!

Cruise line gift cards come and go on AARP.  Usually they are only gone for only a short while.  Odds are the Princess cards will be back.  Impossible to say whether that is a matter of days or weeks.

[poohbear8]

I stumbled on this looking for discounted GC for Celebrity and Royal. I didn't see it mentioned here, but if you plan to buy them from anywhere, be sure to read all of the fine print. I am finding limits on how many can be used (Celebrity $500 each /$1,000 max per cabin) and Royal requires a new reservation.

 

On a side note, if you need Princess GCs now, I found them through a rewards program that starts with "my". (not sure if can share it here) They offer points for surveys, reading emails, and purchases and the points can be cashed out for GC, though not cruise GC. Currently, they are offer 5% back in points on Princess. They also have Celebrity and Royal, but again read the fine print of those.

[Calnev1]

On 6/5/2023 at 8:26 AM, Calnev1 said:

Cruise line gift cards come and go on AARP.  Usually they are only gone for only a short while.  Odds are the Princess cards will be back.  Impossible to say whether that is a matter of days or weeks.

Well, it was only a matter of days.  Princess gift cards are back on AARP now after a five day hiatus.

[Ken the cruiser]

Yay!!

 

AARP Rewards: Explore Ways to Reward Yourself

 

[theloo]

Thanks for the update!  Just bought my first one.  Will buy more in July to cover my upcoming cruise payment.  

[Calnev1]

1 minute ago, theloo said:

Thanks for the update!  Just bought my first one.  Will buy more in July to cover my upcoming cruise payment.  

Just bought two GCs.  email delivery took about five minutes.

[Cruise Raider]

Just got 5 more .. we are set through the end of the year now for the current cruises we have planned.  
So glad they are back!  We have a lot of expenses coming due .. so was going to hold off.  But, not taking the chance of them going missing again when I need them.  
that may actually have been an ingenious marketing ploy!  😂 

[floinnc]

Glad they are back. When I called AARP this morning they told me there had been a glitch but to check back periodically. Happened sooner than expected and I bought 5. Final payment due next month and I'll get more in early July!

[Ellipooh]

I’ll get on board with this offer, I still have a few grand owed on my 2024 cruise. Ten percent is 10 percent!

 

But reading over the T&C, I don’t see what happens to gift card funds that are applied to an existing booking, when that booking is subsequently cancelled prior to Final Payment. Does anyone know for sure?

[dreams_of_travel]

41 minutes ago, Ellipooh said:

I’ll get on board with this offer, I still have a few grand owed on my 2024 cruise. Ten percent is 10 percent!

 

But reading over the T&C, I don’t see what happens to gift card funds that are applied to an existing booking, when that booking is subsequently cancelled prior to Final Payment. Does anyone know for sure?

 

In the past, with a canceled cruise, they send the funds back to the gift card/s.  It is annoying to have to go back to check they refunded to the correct card.  I had an issue when both my friend and I used gift cards to pay for a cruise.  Now I keep track of card numbers used to pay for what part of which cruise.  Princess did eventually get things sorted after I pressed for someone to dig deeper.

[Calnev1]

2 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said:

 

In the past, with a canceled cruise, they send the funds back to the gift card/s.  It is annoying to have to go back to check they refunded to the correct card.  I had an issue when both my friend and I used gift cards to pay for a cruise.  Now I keep track of card numbers used to pay for what part of which cruise.  Princess did eventually get things sorted after I pressed for someone to dig deeper.

I have no experience with Princess, but this happened to me with Carnival and they sent me a new gift card as a refund.  I actually used several gift cards to make my cruise deposit, and Carnival sent me one new gift card in the total amount of the deposit refund.

[Nightowl11]

If you buy the $500 at $450 and add it to your onboard account, what happens if you don't spend it all?  Is it put back on the gift card?  Can you cash it out at the casino? Can you apply it to a future cruise? And what happens if you cancel that future cruise? 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Nightowl11
added more questions

[justafem]

25 minutes ago, Nightowl11 said:

If you buy the $500 at $450 and add it to your onboard account, what happens if you don't spend it all?  Is it put back on the gift card?  Can you cash it out at the casino? Can you apply it to a future cruise? And what happens if you cancel that future cruise? 

I had that issue.  I didn't spend as much as I thought I would, or ended up with more onboard than I had planned.  

 

I cashed it out in the casino along with my 'winnings' (got $450 back on my $1200 investment, grins)

[dreaminofcruisin]

9 hours ago, Ellipooh said:

I’ll get on board with this offer, I still have a few grand owed on my 2024 cruise. Ten percent is 10 percent!

 

But reading over the T&C, I don’t see what happens to gift card funds that are applied to an existing booking, when that booking is subsequently cancelled prior to Final Payment. Does anyone know for sure?

 

8 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said:

 

In the past, with a canceled cruise, they send the funds back to the gift card/s.  It is annoying to have to go back to check they refunded to the correct card.  I had an issue when both my friend and I used gift cards to pay for a cruise.  Now I keep track of card numbers used to pay for what part of which cruise.  Princess did eventually get things sorted after I pressed for someone to dig deeper.

 

I had to cancel a cruise in January that I had partially paid with gift cards. I used 5 - $500 gift cards. Each gift card ended up with $500 again, except one that ended up with MORE than $500....which was weird. The balance had been paid by credit card and that also got a credit. The Math all worked, so it was fine. I had printed off paper copies of the gift card numbers/pins when I got them which turned out to be a good idea as it helped me keep track of them until I then applied them to another cruise. It's good to be aware that this will happen since one would need to take another Princess cruise to use the gift cards and if you don't cruise often, you have to keep track of them until the next time you cruise.

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

I make sure that I keep every email with the GC links as well as hardcopies of the GCs as well...just in case there are issues down the road.  Luckily, I've not had any issues (so far) after having bought around 25 of the $500 cards.  You just can't beat getting a straight 10% discount off the top!

[Nightowl11]

Can you use these to gamble with in the casino?

[Calnev1]

57 minutes ago, Nightowl11 said:

Can you use these to gamble with in the casino?

Yes.  Load the GCs to your sign and sail account at guest services, and then charge your room on the slot machines or buy chips at the tables by telling the dealer you want to charge your room.  

[CruizinSusan70]

On 6/4/2023 at 11:19 AM, voljeep said:

our AARP renewal

1 yr - $16

3 yrs - $43

5 yrs - $63  Best Deal! 

 

"Plus receive a 4-Piece Luggage Organizer Set - absolutely FREE with your renewal"

Got a 5 year deal for $45.00. With free gift as well.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 6/6/2023 at 10:47 AM, Cruise Raider said:

Just got 5 more .. we are set through the end of the year now for the current cruises we have planned.  
So glad they are back!  We have a lot of expenses coming due .. so was going to hold off.  But, not taking the chance of them going missing again when I need them.  
that may actually have been an ingenious marketing ploy!  😂 

Glad to hear.  Have a few thousand at home right now, but currently have three different 14 day cruises booked, so need about another 10 K in cards bought to cover things.  Bought 10 FCD's on our current cruise (1000), used 6 of them so have another 4 to redeem once the Caribbean sailings on the Star open up in 6+ months.