Carnival Cruise Line's new loyalty program, Carnival Rewards, has launched, replacing the previous loyalty program, Very Important Fun Person.
Carnival announced the program last year.
The cruise line also launched a new credit card with Barclays, Carnival Rewards Mastercard, that is integrated with Carnival Rewards.
A key change in Carnival's loyalty program structure is that points are accumulated through Carnival-related spending, not just through nights sailed. For every $1 spent on eligible purchases, guests earn three Carnival Rewards points. Accumulated points can be redeemed for cruises and eligible onboard experiences.
There will be more variety in point-redemption opportunities than in the previous program, said senior vice president of onboard revenue and performance marketing Jonathan Lask.
"They'll be able to redeem it on a bar package if that's what they care about, or a shore excursion or they could use it to pay down their cruise fare," he said, characterizing Carnival Rewards as having a more personalized approach than VIFP's "one size fits all" structure.
Status is earned through accumulated status-qualifying stars. Guests accumulate three stars for every $1 spent on eligible purchases and one star for every earned casino point.
The status-qualifying window is two years, and customers keep their status for two years. The inaugural qualifying period, however, includes an extra four months, since it begins Sept. 1 and concludes Dec. 31, 2028.
Guests are enrolled in Carnival Rewards at Red status. Gold is achieved at 10,000 Stars, Platinum at 50,000 Stars and Diamond at 100,000 Stars.
VIFP members who achieved Diamond status will be able to keep that status for life. VIFP Platinum members get 10,000 bonus status-qualify stars every other year and are guaranteed a minimum status of Gold.
The no-fee Carnival Rewards Mastercard allows members to earn Carnival Rewards Points on any purchase, regardless of whether it is a Carnival experience or product.
On Carnival purchases, users get six points per dollar spent; on eligible restaurant and grocery store spending, two points per dollar spent. All other purchases earn one point per dollar spent.
Carnival is currently offering new cardmembers 50,000 bonus points for spending $1,000 within 90 days.
Cardholders also earn status-qualifying stars through purchases on the card -- up to four stars on Carnival purchases and one star on all other purchases.
Sidharth Krishna, Carnival's vice president of loyalty, said a cardholder could hypothetically book a cruise two years out and then use the credit card for everyday spending in the interim, earning status by the time they're onboard.