AARP OBC info

[chisoxfan]

Hello. I know AARP offers an OBC with HAL and also understand that it can be combined with CCL stockholder OBC.

We have three HAL cruises booked (one week, 15 days, 14 days) and am asking if it is a simple matter to add AARP to our bookings?

Not an AARP member yet so wanted some feedback before possibly joining. We booked balcony cabins using CO and otherwise have no 'special' pricing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Nodakboiler]

Think you had to be a member before booking.

[Fouremco]

The official line from HAL is that you have to be a member and provide the confirmation prior to booking a cruise in order to receive the OBC.

 

That said, I am but one of many posters on CC that became members after a booking and had the OBC added to the cruise account. 

 

Given the low cost of membership, it's probably worth giving it a try, especially if you may be booking another HAL cruise within the next year. The worse case scenario is that you are out <$20 with a chance to win up to $250 per cruise.

 

 

Edited August 17 by Fouremco

[chisoxfan]

Thanks for comments.  Always hate the you should do it this way but sometimes it will work that way. Kind of like what I found with AMEX offers.

[farjar]

3 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

Hello. I know AARP offers an OBC with HAL and also understand that it can be combined with CCL stockholder OBC.

We have three HAL cruises booked (one week, 15 days, 14 days) and am asking if it is a simple matter to add AARP to our bookings?

Not an AARP member yet so wanted some feedback before possibly joining. We booked balcony cabins using CO and otherwise have no 'special' pricing.

Thanks in advance.

 

A year's membership at AARP is $12 if you agree to automatic renewal which is easily cancellable.  I joined in my name as main enrollee with my husband as additional family member because I read somewhere on CC that otherwise it would not have been combinable with either his Military, First Responders or Shareholders.  I can't remember which one but they are in his name.  This was all done after the cruise was booked.  

[POA1]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

The official line from HAL is that you have to be a member and provide the confirmation prior to booking a cruise in order to receive the OBC.

 

That said, I am but one of many posters on CC that became members after a booking and had the OBC added to the cruise account. 

 

Given the low cost of membership, it's probably worth giving it a try, especially if you may be booking another HAL cruise within the next year. The worse case scenario is that you are out <$20 with a chance to win up to $250 per cruise.

 

 

Don't forget those sweet AARP packing cubes that you can get as a bonus.

 

They're not in the same league as the Club Orange tote bag, but they are made of synthetic fibers and they have zippers.

 

 

Edited August 17 by POA1

[MaisonRose]

For the third day in a row my request via the Stockperks app has failed (because our security code is being sent to my US cell & I change SIMS to my French phone # when I arrive hear in the Spring.

HAL told me to email hello@stockperks.com with my request…BUT I’m not accessing my brokerage account for the same (security code) reason.

The site (stock statement) is additionally down for technical reasons…this is typical when you live abroad.

 

If sooner or later I can print my statement:

DOES ANYONE HAVE THE FAX NUMBER WHERE I CAN SEND MY CCL STATEMENT? I’d really like to do this ahead of time.

Susan

 Oosterdam 31 Oct. BCN  FLL

[chisoxfan]

Good info. Assuming one should first do the link/verification on HAL site and then follow up with a call? For a transfered booking thinking it is best for the agent to follow up with HAL? Good tip on the combining with shareholder benefit...ie. wouldn't hurt to put AARP in my wife's name (I am sure she will be excited when I inform her of her membership).

[carolinesmom]

Our TA is taking care of getting the AARP credit applied to our booking.  If you have Rakuten, you get $6 of the $12/annual remember back, which is what I did.  Seemed like a no-brainer for $6.  

[Shalandara]

On 8/17/2024 at 3:26 PM, POA1 said:

Don't forget those sweet AARP packing cubes that you can get as a bonus.

 

They're not in the same league as the Club Orange tote bag, but they are made of synthetic fibers and they have zippers.

 

 

Ha!  We found that one of them (forget which size, does it matter?) is really nice for coralling all the cables we need for iphones, ipads, iwatches, etc.

[SUESEABE]

@carolinesmom What is rakuten?

[boze9999]

I questioned why I didn't receive my AARP OBC and just learned from my PCC that you need to annually RENEW your AARP qualification on the HAL site. (My initial qualification last year the end of July and my newly booked August bookings for future sailing didn't show it.) Don't know if my PCC was correct or not, but nonetheless, I went onto HAL and re-applied. 

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, boze9999 said:

I questioned why I didn't receive my AARP OBC and just learned from my PCC that you need to annually RENEW your AARP qualification on the HAL site. (My initial qualification last year the end of July and my newly booked August bookings for future sailing didn't show it.) Don't know if my PCC was correct or not, but nonetheless, I went onto HAL and re-applied. 

Yes, membership does have to be re-verified each year.

[Sea42]

8 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes, membership does have to be re-verified each year.

Do you know if you're sent a notice? Otherwise I'm going to have to look up when I verified.

Also, I wonder if I don't re-verify, will they remove OBC already granted for 2026?

[carolinesmom]

12 hours ago, SUESEABE said:

@carolinesmom What is rakuten?

Rakuten dot com is a coupon site.  If you buy things through them you get cash back.  In the case of AARP it is $6 back for a $12 annual membership.  They send you a check quarterly for the cash you have accumulated.  

[StLouisCruisers]

57 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Do you know if you're sent a notice? Otherwise I'm going to have to look up when I verified.

Also, I wonder if I don't re-verify, will they remove OBC already granted for 2026?

 

You're not sent a notice ahead of your renewal date.  I happened to think about it because we had some new bookings, and went into the website to renew on the exact first anniversary of applying.  Then the AARP credit was applied as soon as our agent requested it.  I need to put the date on my calendar for next year.  

 

I'm not sure if they would removed OBC you've already applied for and been granted.  Perhaps someone else would know?

[0bnxshs]

1 hour ago, Sea42 said:

Also, I wonder if I don't re-verify, will they remove OBC already granted for 2026?

I wouldn't think they would do this, once granted they OBC should remain.  Otherwise they would be requiring you to keep a membership up.

 

Of course, anything is possible with this stuff, somewhere in the finest of fine print it might say something to the effect of "keep your membership active and verified or lose the OBC." 🤨

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I wish you can see it your self on your booking.

[CNSJ]

Don't forget to "double/triple dip" your AARP website visits.  Buy AARP sold HAL Gift cards at 8% off (used to be 10%) , and lastly pay for them with a credit card that offers 2% or more back.  If you are trying to meet the minimum spend for a credit card sign up bonus, $2,000+ of spend on AARP HAL Gift Cards is a great way to do it and save a few bucks.  

 

Another option:

 

My local grocer offers HAL gift cards at face value, but has specials like 4X Gas points on gift cards every now and then.  Spending $250 on a gift card during this special results in 1,000 gas points which saves $1.00 a gallon on up to 35 gallons.  Truck takes 25 or more gallons which is a 10% return (saves $25).  Now, since buy those gift cards at a grocery store...with Amex Gold you get 4 AMEX Membership rewards points per dollar.  Each point is worth 1.5 to 2 cents a point (various travel site calculations) so thats another 6-8%.  Total Return on Investment is about 16-18%.  Yup!

 

Even if final payment is not due for a while you can use the HAL gift cards to pay for Shorex, Specialty dining, or even the Club Orange fees....

 

Keep sharing travel info on this forum.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19 by CNSJ
typo

[boze9999]

We do the exact same thing @CNSJ - the additional part of this tip is: you can buy 5 gift cards (we do the $500 GC) per AARP membership every calendar month. We both have our individual membership numbers, so do this every month - with our HAL CC - so we save $400 each month toward future cruise payments! Loving HAL's relationship with AARP & Barclay!

[CNSJ]

20 minutes ago, boze9999 said:

HAL's relationship with AARP & Barclay!

If you are referring to the HAL Visa Card from Barclay, you can do much better in terms of rewards on travel purchases.

[boze9999]

I have other cards for a variety of preferred travel loyalty cards and use them very purposely with each sector of the travel industry @CNSJ We use the HAL card strictly for the HAL benes and don't need it for any other travel related benefits. 

[chisoxfan]

21 hours ago, CNSJ said:

Don't forget to "double/triple dip" your AARP website visits.  Buy AARP sold HAL Gift cards at 8% off (used to be 10%) , and lastly pay for them with a credit card that offers 2% or more back.  If you are trying to meet the minimum spend for a credit card sign up bonus, $2,000+ of spend on AARP HAL Gift Cards is a great way to do it and save a few bucks.  

 

Another option:

 

My local grocer offers HAL gift cards at face value, but has specials like 4X Gas points on gift cards every now and then.  Spending $250 on a gift card during this special results in 1,000 gas points which saves $1.00 a gallon on up to 35 gallons.  Truck takes 25 or more gallons which is a 10% return (saves $25).  Now, since buy those gift cards at a grocery store...with Amex Gold you get 4 AMEX Membership rewards points per dollar.  Each point is worth 1.5 to 2 cents a point (various travel site calculations) so thats another 6-8%.  Total Return on Investment is about 16-18%.  Yup!

 

Even if final payment is not due for a while you can use the HAL gift cards to pay for Shorex, Specialty dining, or even the Club Orange fees....

 

Keep sharing travel info on this forum.

 

 

 

 

 

For me the math still slightly favors using 'free' travel cancellation insurance from CC although I certainly laud your efforts and having just joined AARP was not aware of the gift cards. For a one week HAL the lowest comprehensive plan was 280.  So if I  bought 3000k of gift cards I would 'save' 240. I need to add 20 bucks for evac so the net diff is around 20 bucks. One might argue that the comprehensive insurance offers some additional coverage and also the comparison may swing to cards once the price of cruise increases so I will look into this further for future cruises.

 

 

[CNSJ]

11 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

For me the math still slightly favors using 'free' travel cancellation insurance from CC

Depends on the credit card.  I always pay at least ten percent direct on my Chase Sapphire Reserve to get their good travel insurance as you must pay for "part" of the trip to get the benefit.  I have been buying MedJet Assist for return to the US if hospitalized (also through AARP discount). 

[kluv2cruz]

On 8/17/2024 at 12:26 PM, POA1 said:

Don't forget those sweet AARP packing cubes that you can get as a bonus.

How do I get these?