aarp gift cards

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, friendswithdave said:

Thanks all, it worked for me this morning. The screen looked different. I think I just needed to log out then log back in.

 

Now I need to figure out how to use these to make payment when booking a cruise using an online travel agent currently providing the best deal on a Dec cruise. I'll start working on this and report back, but if you have hints or know this isn't possible, your input is appreciated.

 

FYI: No need to buy trip insurance if you are paying by gift cards since trip insurance does not reimburse to gift cards. If you need to change plans for a reason covered by trip insurance, the gift cards become worthless. This includes the travel policies offered by Chase/Am express as part of the credit card benefit.

 

I use the gift cards, but only for things that I would be reimbursed for in the event I needed to cancel. Example, gift cards are great for gratuities. If you don't show up on the cruise for whatever reason, that amount could be refunded to the gift card. I also use gift cards to purchase On board credit. I choosse not use gift cards to pay cruise fare.

[C 2 C]

Just in case no one has posted this yet: Holland America Line Announces Onboard Credit Offer for AARP Members (msn.com)

 

[prescottbob]

I‘’be been using the AARP (only reason I joined really) for the gift card discount to pay for past & some upcoming HAL cruises.

If one needs to cancel due to change in plan, illness, etc. prior to final payment date the amount of the gift card used for cruise payment, tours, etc. is re-credited back to the card only & can be re- used for future bookings, etc. 

After the final payment date & if cancellation is needed I would assume you’d need to purchase a cancel policy. That’s one question I did not ask many moons ago but I would think cruise payment, regardless of source, e.g. credit cards, gift cards (although they say no cash value but maybe able to re- charge the card?) Good question for the “travel insurance” guy.

Anyhow, I would suggest printing out the cards, or at the very least, writing down the card numbers and pins, and placing in your “HAL” cruise folder.

The gift card accounting folks are always helpful with any questions you might have. BTW, the AARP purchased cards have no expiration date. And if just purchasing for on-board expenses I’d take a copy of the card(s) even if they’d been processed. But that’s just me ( I do likewise with pre- cruise purchases, dining reservations, etc.)

The HAL gift card info #: 1 800 855 501 4161, press 4 for the accounting / card question folks.

 

Be well & Safe travels.

Bob

 

[BermudaBound2014]

3 hours ago, prescottbob said:

 

After the final payment date & if cancellation is needed I would assume you’d need to purchase a cancel policy. That’s one question I did not ask many moons ago but I would think cruise payment, regardless of source, e.g. credit cards, gift cards (although they say no cash value but maybe able to re- charge the card?)

 

 

It's a question you really need to ask. Almost all trip insurance policies contain language similar to below. I have confirmed with several people in the industry. A gift card is not considered a form of payment since you actually paid money to a third party. .

 

I have read where gift cards can be 'recharged' by HAL for typically refundable things in the event of an unforeseen circumstance (gratuities, spa, etc..). But once into penalty, trip insurance doesn't apply to cards. 

 

"Payments or Deposits means the cash, check, or credit card amounts actually paid for Your Trip. Payments made in the form of a certificate, voucher or discount are not Payments or Deposits as defined herein."

 

I should add that I have only inquired about the discount gift cards from AARP in the USA

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[Haljo1935]

HELP please! No matter what browser or equipment I am using, I cannot get the AARP HAL gift card purchase to go through.

I get a message that an error occurred & it can't be completed. Has a note to call AARP w/a phone number.

Of course, AARP could not provide assistance and said they would "send it up..."

My bank doesn't see the transactions have even been attempted  - they say the transaction is not even making it to Visa.

I've read numerous posts on the AARP site from users w/same issue going back to at least early last year.

I've used both Android & Apple phone, laptop & tablet - no go.

Used Chrome, Edge, Safari & Silk - no go.

I've turned pop up blockers off, tried w/it on - no go.

Used incognito mode - no go.

Manually entered payment details & also tried letting it auto populate - no go.

Used MC, Visa and PayPal  - no go.

Tried to buy as few as 1, as many as 3; as little as $100, as much as $500 - no go.

I've tried at 2am and 2pm and many times in between - no go.

They do show to be available and at the top is the message I've purchased 0 of 5.

What did I not try? What is the trick? What am I missing. All help and suggestions are appreciated. 

[BermudaBound2014]

16 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

HELP please! No matter what browser or equipment I am using, I cannot get the AARP HAL gift card purchase to go through.

I get a message that an error occurred & it can't be completed. Has a note to call AARP w/a phone number.

Of course, AARP could not provide assistance and said they would "send it up..."

My bank doesn't see the transactions have even been attempted  - they say the transaction is not even making it to Visa.

I've read numerous posts on the AARP site from users w/same issue going back to at least early last year.

I've used both Android & Apple phone, laptop & tablet - no go.

Used Chrome, Edge, Safari & Silk - no go.

I've turned pop up blockers off, tried w/it on - no go.

Used incognito mode - no go.

Manually entered payment details & also tried letting it auto populate - no go.

Used MC, Visa and PayPal  - no go.

Tried to buy as few as 1, as many as 3; as little as $100, as much as $500 - no go.

I've tried at 2am and 2pm and many times in between - no go.

They do show to be available and at the top is the message I've purchased 0 of 5.

What did I not try? What is the trick? What am I missing. All help and suggestions are appreciated. 

 

Unplug, wait 3 minutes, reboot. 

 

 

Just kidding.... that's what my IT guys used to tell me every  single time I had a tech issue at work. This does sound frustrating. Sorry I couldn't help but I'm sending you lots of good tech karma 🙂 

 

 

[crystalspin]

17 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

What did I not try? What is the trick? What am I missing. All help and suggestions are appreciated. 

It's not you, it's them. Just not a very robust platform. Try again tomorrow. Back in fall of 2022, gift cards were not available to be purchased for several weeks, and in fact, before they "came back", HAL made their own gift cards available and I paid up my cruise(s)!

[mowogo]

10 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

It's not you, it's them. Just not a very robust platform. Try again tomorrow. Back in fall of 2022, gift cards were not available to be purchased for several weeks, and in fact, before they "came back", HAL made their own gift cards available and I paid up my cruise(s)!

And then once you are finally able to purchase your first gift card, you have to have fun with customer service so they can approve the release.

[Haljo1935]

33 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Unplug, wait 3 minutes, reboot. 

 

 

Just kidding.... that's what my IT guys used to tell me every  single time I had a tech issue at work. This does sound frustrating. Sorry I couldn't help but I'm sending you lots of good tech karma 🙂 

 

 

So the really funny part of your response - I AM THE ONE who tells people to clear their cache, stop eating the cookies (they need to be accepted, not consumed), log out not just close out, blah, blah, blee, blee...

So I already gave myself the speech, lol.🧐

[Haljo1935]

34 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

It's not you, it's them. Just not a very robust platform. Try again tomorrow. Back in fall of 2022, gift cards were not available to be purchased for several weeks, and in fact, before they "came back", HAL made their own gift cards available and I paid up my cruise(s)!

Is there a browser that seems to be more compatible?

[mowogo]

2 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Is there a browser that seems to be more compatible?

No, it is just like the MSC status match page, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  

[Mary229]

7 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Is there a browser that seems to be more compatible?

Use Firefox.  I have it as a backup for many websites.  I used it yesterday for another website with a similar issue.  

[WriterOnDeck]

11 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Is there a browser that seems to be more compatible?

Works for me on Safari, not Firefox.

[mcrcruiser]

How do you take a picture of your AARP card to send them ?

[mcrcruiser]

13 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Unplug, wait 3 minutes, reboot. 

 

 

Just kidding.... that's what my IT guys used to tell me every  single time I had a tech issue at work. This does sound frustrating. Sorry I couldn't help but I'm sending you lots of good tech karma 🙂 

 

 

I remember your negative about using AARP gift cards not covered by insurance . We use a paper trail to show that we bought the gift cards from AARP & applied them to the booking   using the Chase Sapphire Credit card .That is all that needs to be done to insure that money with the Chase Sapphire credit card . so there is no problem with reimbursement on the trip cancellation & trip interruption of the ins part of the Chase Sapphire credit card

Edited July 26, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[Sea42]

13 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

HELP please! No matter what browser or equipment I am using, I cannot get the AARP HAL gift card purchase to go through.

I get a message that an error occurred & it can't be completed. Has a note to call AARP w/a phone number.

Of course, AARP could not provide assistance and said they would "send it up..."

My bank doesn't see the transactions have even been attempted  - they say the transaction is not even making it to Visa.

I've read numerous posts on the AARP site from users w/same issue going back to at least early last year.

I've used both Android & Apple phone, laptop & tablet - no go.

Used Chrome, Edge, Safari & Silk - no go.

I've turned pop up blockers off, tried w/it on - no go.

Used incognito mode - no go.

Manually entered payment details & also tried letting it auto populate - no go.

Used MC, Visa and PayPal  - no go.

Tried to buy as few as 1, as many as 3; as little as $100, as much as $500 - no go.

I've tried at 2am and 2pm and many times in between - no go.

They do show to be available and at the top is the message I've purchased 0 of 5.

What did I not try? What is the trick? What am I missing. All help and suggestions are appreciated. 

One problem I've seen lately is that some sites will not accept auto fill credit card entries. It may not be your issue but I thought I would mention it.

[mcrcruiser]

What is the proper process to take a picture of the AARP card to send  to them as proof that you  own it .Thanks in advance 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

33 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

I remember your negative about using AARP gift cards not covered by insurance . We use a paper trail to show that we bought the gift cards from AARP & applied them to the booking   using the Chase Sapphire Credit card .That is all that needs to be done to insure that money with the Chase Sapphire credit card . so there is no problem with reimbursement on the trip cancellation & trip interruption of the ins part of the Chase Sapphire credit card

 

I believe you are wrong. 

 

Look at the disclosure in the Chase Sapphire travel portal  and you will find the following language. A gift card is not considered a payment or deposit and therefore is not eligible to be reimbursed under the CSP travel insurance. I've called chase directly for confirmation because I also use CSP for trip insurance. 

 

I believe that @crystalspin also spoke to the president of the company herself. She can confirm. 

 

 

To anyone reading this thread, I would love to be wrong on this, but I'm fairly certain I have done the actual homework. A paper trail to a third party vendor means nothing.

 

Those using cards for payment, please do your own due diligence. I would absolutely hate for someone to be financially harmed thinking they have coverage when it's possible they don't. 

 

 

[Vict0riann]

When I bring up the AARP site there is nowhere to find the gift cards.    Help!  I used to be able to find it...

[mcrcruiser]

23 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I believe you are wrong. 

 

Look at the disclosure in the Chase Sapphire travel portal  and you will find the following language. A gift card is not considered a payment or deposit and therefore is not eligible to be reimbursed under the CSP travel insurance. I've called chase directly for confirmation because I also use CSP for trip insurance. 

 

I believe that @crystalspin also spoke to the president of the company herself. She can confirm. 

 

 

To anyone reading this thread, I would love to be wrong on this, but I'm fairly certain I have done the actual homework. A paper trail to a third party vendor means nothing.

 

Those using cards for payment, please do your own due diligence. I would absolutely hate for someone to be financially harmed thinking they have coverage when it's possible they don't. 

 

 

That could be a problem is a court of law,, especially in Calif  in a small claims court 

Edited July 26, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[scooter6139]

14 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Is there a browser that seems to be more compatible?

Chrome is my default, but it was giving me errors when I tried, so I moved to Edge and it worked there.  

[Nickelpenny]

31 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

When I bring up the AARP site there is nowhere to find the gift cards.    Help!  I used to be able to find it...

Here you go:  https://www.aarp.org/rewards/redeem/#sort-by=default  It is down the page a bit.

[mcrcruiser]

We filled out all the information for the AARP card  on Holland America's web site  then they say send a picture . Surely they don't explain how that is done . Do they really think we old timers know all this tech stuff ?  Do we wait for our adult grand children to come & help us  ? 

 

 We do not sail Princess any longer because of what you need to know to dull out on line a bording pass electronically .  I am sure that they have lost business do to the difficulties some of us have with that new system

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

I remember your negative about using AARP gift cards not covered by insurance . We use a paper trail to show that we bought the gift cards from AARP & applied them to the booking   using the Chase Sapphire Credit card .That is all that needs to be done to insure that money with the Chase Sapphire credit card . 

My Chase Financial Advisor and the head "Banker" at our branch, say that you are wrong. (I'm not on conversation-terms with the president!) AARP and even HAL gift cards will not be reimbursed on a claim.

 

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

We filled out all the information for the AARP card  on Holland America's web site  then they say send a picture . Surely they don't explain how that is done . Do they really think we old timers know all this tech stuff ?  Do we wait for our adult grand children to come & help us  ? 

Probably you need to wait for your grandchildren to visit.

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, Sea42 said:

One problem I've seen lately is that some sites will not accept auto fill credit card entries. It may not be your issue but I thought I would mention it.

Ah, you reminded me, that was the case when HAL offered their gift cards last October! But I suspect the AARP problem is not that, that people can't even get that far...