AAPR gift cards

[Shaver John]

Please help with any information. I have seen on cruise critic folks getting AARP gift cards at 10% discount and since our cruise is over $25,000 including e-z air we are thinking that these may be a good thing. We are AARP members but can not locate anyplace to get the cards. Any help will be appreciated.

[Ken the cruiser]

Try this link about half the way down.

 

https://www.aarp.org/rewards/redeem/#sort-by=default&type=filter_travel

 

[cruzsnooze]

Like all other perks when people post about them it disappears due to it's own success. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s what they look like on the AARP Rewards link I posted above

 

[JerrySueW]

You can get them by signing up for an AARP Rewards account. You don't have to be a member of AARP. When you log in to the rewards site, look for the Redeem drop down menu and you'll find the cards. You are limited to 5 per month. They come as ecards in your email. Be careful to check the balance on the cards right away and keep all the records. I recently bought 5 cards and one had a $0 balance. AARP was able to resolve the issue with Princess but it took several weeks.

[Buckeye10640]

17 hours ago, Shaver John said:

Please help with any information. I have seen on cruise critic folks getting AARP gift cards at 10% discount and since our cruise is over $25,000 including e-z air we are thinking that these may be a good thing. We are AARP members but can not locate anyplace to get the cards. Any help will be appreciated.

Saving 10% on that 25k is alot. But be aware, once you have paid on the gift card,  refunds for cancellations will be returned to the gift card. My cruises tend to not be quite that expensive, and I usually buy and apply the gift cards close to final payment. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Make sure you keep hardcopy printouts of EACH gift card link you receive.  Not the initial email...the actual "gift card" that you see when you click on the link in the email.  I always number them and track them in a spreadsheet so that I will have at least an inkling of a chance should I need to refer back for any reason.  Thankfully...that has yet to happen.

[Mercruiser]

Also be aware that AARP is very particular about where you buy them. I tried buying some while on  a Panama canal cruise. My purchase was refused by AARP because I had a foreign IP address. So then I had the brilliant idea to use my VPN with a USA IP address. Also blocked by AARP - they don't allow purchases through known VPN IP addresses. I was finally able to buy them on the cruise using my cellphone data as a hotspot - it has a USA IP address regardless of your location.

 

Lesson learned - buy these while in the USA or Canada. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

50 minutes ago, Mercruiser said:

Also be aware that AARP is very particular about where you buy them. I tried buying some while on  a Panama canal cruise. My purchase was refused by AARP because I had a foreign IP address. So then I had the brilliant idea to use my VPN with a USA IP address. Also blocked by AARP - they don't allow purchases through known VPN IP addresses. I was finally able to buy them on the cruise using my cellphone data as a hotspot - it has a USA IP address regardless of your location.

 

Lesson learned - buy these while in the USA or Canada. 

I don't *think* I would ever try to purchase in that manner...but good to know!  Thanks for that info.

[ExploringTheGlobe]

I bought some gift cards a couple weeks ago.  I had the hardest time trying to find them, even went through a link like the one above.  Turns out, the site didn't like the browser I was using (firefox).  I had no issues with Edge or Chrome. 

 

Also note, you can only buy 5 gift cards per month. 

[G-forced]

Make sure you can pay E-Z air with the gift cards. For our Alaska cruise next month I was NOT able to pay the E-Z air portion with the gift card. YMMV

[Thrak]

33 minutes ago, G-forced said:

Make sure you can pay E-Z air with the gift cards. For our Alaska cruise next month I was NOT able to pay the E-Z air portion with the gift card. YMMV

 

If you have a booking from a TA that lists both the cruise and the flights it works fine. I paid off the first two segments of our fall cruises and the first one included flights to Melbourne. Since it was all on one booking nobody batted an eye when my TA used our gift cards to pay. I also did this for an Alaska cruise before the shutdown and it was not a problem then either. I think the issue likely happens if you try to pay the EZ Air booking as a stand-alone thing. I will also use gift cards (through my TA) to pay off the rest of our third segment this fall. When that is paid for I will start buying gift cards to cover our cruise (and flights) next April for the eclipse cruise.

[that]

Have not experienced any difficulty with gift cards.  Had no problem paying online for EZair for September Alaska with gift cards just this past Friday.

Edited June 20, 2023 by that

[Thrak]

5 hours ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

I bought some gift cards a couple weeks ago.  I had the hardest time trying to find them, even went through a link like the one above.  Turns out, the site didn't like the browser I was using (firefox).  I had no issues with Edge or Chrome. 

 

Also note, you can only buy 5 gift cards per month. 

 

I always use Firefox and don't have a problem getting the gift cards from AARP. As for being limited to 5 per month that is only true for a single person. I can get 5 a month and my wife can also get 5 a month.

[Mercruiser]

10 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I don't *think* I would ever try to purchase in that manner...but good to know!  Thanks for that info.

I travel extensively, so I'm used to doing my financial business on the road. Right now I'm on a 60 day trip. I cannot delay until I get home to pay my bills.

[Jadn13]

Had browser issues in the past upon calling AARP they recommend Microsoft Edge.  I have been using edge with no issues for my last few batches of cards 

[paradiselivin1]

I've never bought this but may give it a try. Do they have an expiration date? TIA.

[Jadn13]

5 minutes ago, paradiselivin1 said:

I've never bought this but may give it a try. Do they have an expiration date? TIA.

Nope,  it’s a regular princess gift card 

[cruzsnooze]

Now that everyone has posted and will buy these gift cards AARP or Princess will reduce the benefit  or severely limit the number you can buy.  Sometimes it pays to not advertise a perk because it gets taken away.

[ExploringTheGlobe]

On 6/19/2023 at 9:03 PM, Thrak said:

 

I always use Firefox and don't have a problem getting the gift cards from AARP. As for being limited to 5 per month that is only true for a single person. I can get 5 a month and my wife can also get 5 a month.

Weird that firefox works for you but not me. 

 

Well, I'm a single person so I can only get 5.  But even for you and your wife, it is still a limit of 5 per person. 

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

Weird that firefox works for you but not me. 

 

Well, I'm a single person so I can only get 5.  But even for you and your wife, it is still a limit of 5 per person. 

 

5 per person is quite enough. 5 cards cost me $2,250 on my credit card.and 5 each doubles that. I do have to pay that money each month. and my income is not vast. (I absolutely hate having to pay interest so I pay off my card each month and about 95% - or more - of everything we pay for goes on that card.)

[ExploringTheGlobe]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

5 per person is quite enough. 5 cards cost me $2,250 on my credit card.and 5 each doubles that. I do have to pay that money each month. and my income is not vast. (I absolutely hate having to pay interest so I pay off my card each month and about 95% - or more - of everything we pay for goes on that card.)

Same!  And I like saving at least 10%!  But it is good for people to know if they plan to pay off their balance with the gift cards and owe more than the $2,250 because they will need to plan ahead. I need to have my October cruise PIF next month.  I bought all 5 GC but still have a balance so hopefully they are still available next month. 

Last year, I bought Princess gift cards through Rakuten when they had a 6% rebate.  That also worked out well.