AARP Carnival Gift Cards

[Saint Greg]

41 minutes ago, vacationpam said:

I give up guess it’s not meant for me to solve it I have tried ugh 

copy the blank space at the end of organized chaos’ post and paste it into a text document...also already made its way to a popular social media page.

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Saint Greg

[vacationpam]

9 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

copy the blank space at the end of organized chaos’ post and paste it into a text document...also already made its way to a popular social media page.

 

Thank you I was way off with this 

 

[Organized Chaos]

45 minutes ago, vacationpam said:

I give up guess it’s not meant for me to solve it I have tried ugh 

 

5 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

copy the blank space at the end of organized chaos’ post and paste it into a text document...also already made its way to a popular social media page.

 

You shouldn't even have to copy/paste it. Just highlighting the "invisible" text should work. If you're on a mobile device, highlighting is done a little differently than with a mouse.

 

Someone takes the codes from here and puts them on social media? What, facebook? Dang, I didn't know they do that. No wonder they keep selling out. This is why we can't have nice things. 🤨

[Saint Greg]

Just now, Organized Chaos said:

 

 

You shouldn't even have to copy/paste it. Just highlighting the "invisible" text should work. If you're on a mobile device, highlighting is done a little differently than with a mouse.

 

Someone takes the codes from here and puts them on social media? What, facebook? Dang, I didn't know they do that. No wonder they keep selling out. This is why we can't have nice things. 🤨

Yeah there’s a group for it and those codes were posted an hour ago.

[Organized Chaos]

8 minutes ago, vacationpam said:

Thank you I was way off with this

 

No worries. Cabo's been doing the clue game for several months now, so some of us just have more practice, that's all.

[jbethel11]

Thanks @Organized Chaos, I was able to figure it out thanks to you.

[Organized Chaos]

15 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Yeah there’s a group for it and those codes were posted an hour ago.

 

That's disappointing. I get it, sharing the love like we do here, but this thread is on a much smaller scale. Groups over there have a much bigger user base, which means there's that many more people to suck the inventory dry.

[teknoge3k]

Thanks @Organized Chaos. You da man!

[Saint Greg]

7 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

That's disappointing. I get it, sharing the love like we do here, but this thread is on a much smaller scale. Groups over there have a much bigger user base, which means there's that many more people to suck the inventory dry.

Over 10k people in that group.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

Over 10k people in that group.

I wonder if or how much Allstate profits from selling these gift cards? I know all retailers buy them for below face value, but I don't know how much. Even if they get them for 10.5% off face value, at the rate they sell, that's a big profit! 

 

Plus, the goodwill may convince some to buy Allstate insurance. 

[Petersonfcu]

9 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

That's disappointing. I get it, sharing the love like we do here, but this thread is on a much smaller scale. Groups over there have a much bigger user base, which means there's that many more people to suck the inventory dry.

As a self-proclaimed "travel hacker" and an avid collector of points and miles of all different stripes,  I can say that this is an issue that repeats over and over in all different travel contexts.   There is no way to really control the spread of "good news" like this on the internet -- basically, you just have to hope that Allstate gets enough value out of this program to continue it/expand it even when there are hundred or thousands of new folks taking advantage of it.

[Petersonfcu]

2 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I wonder if or how much Allstate profits from selling these gift cards? I know all retailers buy them for below face value, but I don't know how much. Even if they get them for 10.5% off face value, at the rate they sell, that's a big profit! 

 

Plus, the goodwill may convince some to buy Allstate insurance. 

Yes, this is what we hope.   Surely, the equivalent AARP program was quite large and ran for a long time  . . . but then, we don't know what drove AARP to make the changes that we all hate.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

11 minutes ago, Petersonfcu said:

Yes, this is what we hope.   Surely, the equivalent AARP program was quite large and ran for a long time  . . . but then, we don't know what drove AARP to make the changes that we all hate.

Apparently, AARP and deluxe rewards went their separate ways. I would guess it had nothing to do with gift cards, specifically.  I guess the new company AARP uses charges them less? 

 

Hopefully Allstate and deluxe rewards keep going for a long time.  It's possible that deluxe rewards will be more accommodating to Allstate after losing a big client like AARP. (Optimistic thinking on my part) 

[jbethel11]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

Over 10k people in that group.

How long has this group been active? Are they the reason the cards are selling out so quickly?

[rukkian]

28 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

How long has this group been active? Are they the reason the cards are selling out so quickly?

That group has been around a long time as well. I am sure there are others as well. The whole problem here is that this is first wave season without another real good option.  This time last year, they were running out as well, both on Allstate and AARP.  It is just worse now since AARP is gone, which probably had allot more people using it.

Edited January 17, 2020 by rukkian

[Organized Chaos]

46 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I wonder if or how much Allstate profits from selling these gift cards? I know all retailers buy them for below face value, but I don't know how much. Even if they get them for 10.5% off face value, at the rate they sell, that's a big profit! 

 

Plus, the goodwill may convince some to buy Allstate insurance. 

 

This is something I've wondered for years now. Back before AARP changed, their Rewards for Good program was run by the same company that still runs Allstate Rewards. With that third-part involved, it's hard to tell how they benefit. Do they get a cut of the sales? Is it simply the benefit of traffic driven to the website by the rewards programs? They have to be getting something out of it or they wouldn't bother. To my knowledge, Allstate doesn't really have to do anything since Deluxe Rewards handles the program. Deluxe processes the orders and ships them out. I don't even think Allstate buys the cards. My guess is, Deluxe does all the legwork, then offers their services as a fulfillment company to all these other companies. Hard telling.

 

Obviously now, since AARP's change, they benefit a lot more because they switched the Carnival cards over to members-only purchases. I'm almost certain that was their decision and not the decision of the new company, HelloWorld, that handles their new program. They realized how popular the cards were and saw an opportunity to increase their membership numbers. Personally, I thought that was kind of underhanded, especially for a non-profit.

[Joebucks]

1 hour ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I wonder if or how much Allstate profits from selling these gift cards? I know all retailers buy them for below face value, but I don't know how much. Even if they get them for 10.5% off face value, at the rate they sell, that's a big profit! 

 

Plus, the goodwill may convince some to buy Allstate insurance. 

 

While I don't know for sure what it is, I'd imagine that since no other companies are offering 10% off Carnival cards, and AARP just cut it off unless you are a member, it is probably not a profitable venture.

[Organized Chaos]

39 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Apparently, AARP and deluxe rewards went their separate ways. I would guess it had nothing to do with gift cards, specifically.  I guess the new company AARP uses charges them less? 

 

Hopefully Allstate and deluxe rewards keep going for a long time.  It's possible that deluxe rewards will be more accommodating to Allstate after losing a big client like AARP. (Optimistic thinking on my part) 

 

AARP shot themselves in the foot. They saw the demand for the Carnival cards, made them a members-only purchase to boost their numbers, then went with a company who limits the cards to one/month. After that, people fled and many have said they're taking their memberships with them. What aggravated me so much AARP's reaction to it all. If you've ever looked at their community forum, it was blatantly obvious how unpopular the new program was and how upset people were with it. But AARP seemingly brushed it off and kept telling everyone it's a great new program, just wait because more good things are coming, blah blah blah. It showed a lack of respect for their members, and everyone who had used Rewards for Good all those years.

 

I'd like to think that Deluxe Rewards took notice of that and now sees an opportunity to increase their Carnival card sales. We can only hope that they'll increase their inventory because of it.

[Joebucks]

In trying to sign up for the app, no matter what username I use (I've tried over 20, even random characters) it says username is taken. Any ideas? I'm assuming the server is just down.

[Saint Greg]

47 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

How long has this group been active? Are they the reason the cards are selling out so quickly?

 

I came across it a year ago. I think the sellouts are a product of all of the AARP people coming over to AllState.

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

49 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

How long has this group been active? Are they the reason the cards are selling out so quickly?

 

The history says created April 28th 2016 and re-named on November 7th 2017. Also says it's a hidden group that only members can find. Maybe they are trying to keep the numbers down because I wasn't a member when I found it.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

8 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

While I don't know for sure what it is, I'd imagine that since no other companies are offering 10% off Carnival cards, and AARP just cut it off unless you are a member, it is probably not a profitable venture.

 

Not necessarily.  Grocery stores give gas points, and target gives cash back on gift card purchases (if you use the red card).  Costco and BJs has huge discounts on gift cards (I haven't seen Carnival, though).  But, retailers, in general, aren't going to lower prices as long as they are selling the inventory they get.  It could be profitable to sell them at a bigger discount, but more profitable to sell them at face value.  

 

But, who would go through the trouble of buying them from allstate rewards for the same price as grocery stores and target?  They have to lower the price to drive sales, and lower them enough to get the demand needed to be profitable.  

 

6 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I'd like to think that Deluxe Rewards took notice of that and now sees an opportunity to increase their Carnival card sales. We can only hope that they'll increase their inventory because of it.

 

Inventory might be restricted by Carnival, and/or their gift card supplier (Carnival subcontracts out their gift card sales).  

[Organized Chaos]

23 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

In trying to sign up for the app, no matter what username I use (I've tried over 20, even random characters) it says username is taken. Any ideas? I'm assuming the server is just down.

 

I don't think I've heard that one before. Just be careful when trying usernames. Their system remembers your information, so if you end up getting a username you really didn't want, then try to create a new account with something better, it'll tell you an account already exists with your info. You can try their customer service, but it's not the greatest, and that's being nice. 800-642-2609

[TLC535]

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[Joe817]

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