HAL newbie. AARP gift question

[josumello]

About to book first HAL cruise. I was hoping to buy the gift cards that AARP offered with a %10 discount. When I went to AARP website it was no longer listed. There was. Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, and RCCL. Did I miss seeing  HAL ?

Thanks

[mawvkysc]

I see them still. Put Holland in the search box when looking at all rewards. 

[Will_Dieterich]

Don't forget to do the request for the free OBC.

[POA1]

Also, make sure you do the AARP SheerID verification before you complete the booking. The OBC offer is good on future cruises, and you want to get the timing right.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/community-appreciation-cruise-offers/aarp-member-benefit-offer

[josumello]

Thanks everyone!!

I did do a search for Holland on all rewards and it did come up. Today I am planning to book our first HAL. When I get booking number I will apply for OBC. 

[DiveMaster]

2 hours ago, josumello said:

Thanks everyone!!

I did do a search for Holland on all rewards and it did come up. Today I am planning to book our first HAL. When I get booking number I will apply for OBC. 

Note:  You can use those Gift Cards to add OBC to your account.  Consider CCL shares for the shareholder benefit OBC since the share price is fairly low.   Also, if an NCL cruise, consider HNCL shares for their shareholder OBC since the share price is fairly low.

[Langoustine]

12 hours ago, josumello said:

 Did I miss seeing  HAL ?

Yes. They're still there. Try again.

[josumello]

3 hours ago, Langoustine said:

Yes. They're still there. Try again.

Ok. I just went to purchase the gift cards. It said I hadn’t made 5 standard purchases this month and it would reset next month?? Help!!

[mawvkysc]

42 minutes ago, josumello said:

Ok. I just went to purchase the gift cards. It said I hadn’t made 5 standard purchases this month and it would reset next month?? Help!!

If I was in that situation ( and couldn’t wait till the new month ) I would log in to my mother’s AARP and buy them there. 

[josumello]

5 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

If I was in that situation ( and couldn’t wait till the new month ) I would log in to my mother’s AARP and buy them there. 

I don’t understand what it meant by saying I had Zero standard purchases this month and would have everything reset next month. Makes no sense. 

[josumello]

OMG. I don’t know which is worse AARP or HAL. I have spent most of the day trying to sort out the gift cards. I finally was able to get the gift cards after multiple tries. The website basically crashed and wouldn’t let me log on. Had an error code and phone number to call. The lady who tried to help after 20 minutes told me it was time to have the dedicated web team take over. I said great. She then said they would call me in 5 days!!! What a sh** show. I tried my iPads. No go. Then I tried my antiquated desk top. Success!! Still won’t work on iPhone or iPad. Now my next challenge is to see if I get confirmation of gift card purchase. It shows up on my credit card account!!

I won’t even go into the HAL debacle. I certainly hope this is not indicative of the on board experience. 
thanks everyone!!!

[mawvkysc]

@josumello it has taken several hours for my gifts cards to show up the last two times that I bought them. I think it’s a security measure because I bought such a large amount. 
 

You may want to consider using a travel agent if you don’t feel  like messing with the website. Mine input all of my gift card payments to HAL for me. 
 

I still have my first HAL cruise coming up, but lots of people on this board say the website is not indicative of the onboard. experience. 

[josumello]

1 minute ago, mawvkysc said:

@josumello it has taken several hours for my gifts cards to show up the last two times that I bought them. I think it’s a security measure because I bought such a large amount. 
 

You may want to consider using a travel agent if you don’t feel  like messing with the website. Mine input all of my gift card payments to HAL for me. 
 

I still have my first HAL cruise coming up, but lots of people on this board say the website is not indicative of the onboard. experience. 

I do have a great TA. The only reason I had to deal with HAL direct was further info for gift cards. Hopefully I won’t have to deal with them again. Amazing what we go through to save %10. But that is a lot on a 35 day cruise. 🤪

[consmarci]

I have not had good experience using aarp discount if we booked a Casino deal. Also stock CCL discount won't be accepted with a Casino deal. I'm not complaining (a free cabin from Casino is nice), but just so others know that it will most likely be not accepted if you apply and not to be surprised. If it is accepted, you just got lucky! 

 

Having just gotten off Rotterdam, the Customer Service line was long with people with printouts of their gift cards to be applied. Those who didn't know about it were intrigued as we all had plenty of time to chat while in line. I will say, it took awhile. There were 4 different copies of every transaction going to different departments and they all needed to be signed and stapled and on and on. Took about half hour for 6 gift cards to be put on our OBC. It was seen immediately on the navigator app, so you can really follow whether they did it correctly. 

 

I am going to inquire ahead of time if I can have them put on the account with an agent over the phone before we sail, because it would be so much easier. I will say, 10 percent off can really add up and then if you use a credit card that earns points/miles, it is even more savings, so if you can get those discounts, it really can make a nice difference. You can also pay ahead for spa, internet, specialty dining ahead using the gift certificates. 

[Khlela]

16 hours ago, josumello said:

OMG. I don’t know which is worse AARP or HAL. I have spent most of the day trying to sort out the gift cards. I finally was able to get the gift cards after multiple tries. The website basically crashed and wouldn’t let me log on. Had an error code and phone number to call. The lady who tried to help after 20 minutes told me it was time to have the dedicated web team take over. I said great. She then said they would call me in 5 days!!! What a sh** show. I tried my iPads. No go. Then I tried my antiquated desk top. Success!! Still won’t work on iPhone or iPad. Now my next challenge is to see if I get confirmation of gift card purchase. It shows up on my credit card account!!

I won’t even go into the HAL debacle. I certainly hope this is not indicative of the on board experience. 
thanks everyone!!!

This JUST happened ot me last week. Same exact thing, errors, phone call, resolution. I received my gift cards via email just 1 business day after my call. So hopefully you will get them in the email today! I just sent them to my HAL TA and they are applying them all for me. 

[josumello]

It is the aarp website that is causing my problem. Was just on the phone with a rep who seemed knowledgeable. We will see amazing how aarp managed to charge my cc without any problem!!

I still can’t login at all on any device 😡

[Khlela]

Just now, josumello said:

It is the aarp website that is causing my problem. Was just on the phone with a rep who seemed knowledgeable. We will see amazing how aarp managed to charge my cc without any problem!!

I still can’t login at all on any device 😡

Yes, it was the AARP that caused me problems as well, not HAL. I was worried because I could see my credit card charged but wasn't seeing anything in my email. That's when I called and they said they escalated it to the dedicated web team. They were the ones that ended up calling me telling me that it got fixed and that they emailed the gift cards. So frustrating that you still can't log in! It seems to be on and off for me. I can sometimes on my computer, never on my phone, so frustrating. Hope it's resolved for you soon!

[josumello]

10 minutes ago, Khlela said:

Yes, it was the AARP that caused me problems as well, not HAL. I was worried because I could see my credit card charged but wasn't seeing anything in my email. That's when I called and they said they escalated it to the dedicated web team. They were the ones that ended up calling me telling me that it got fixed and that they emailed the gift cards. So frustrating that you still can't log in! It seems to be on and off for me. I can sometimes on my computer, never on my phone, so frustrating. Hope it's resolved for you soon!

That is exactly what is happening to me. Timing is my problem. I need gift cards by Feb 17. 

[Khlela]

2 minutes ago, josumello said:

That is exactly what is happening to me. Timing is my problem. I need gift cards by Feb 17. 

I'll have my fingers crossed for you! I was needing my by next week too so I understand that nervous feeling! I really hope you manage to get them today or tomorrow. ❤️ 

[josumello]

Thanks!!🙏