Carnival Rewards Loyalty Program Launches with New Points and Status Tiers

Sep 1, 2026

(10:00 a.m. EDT) — Carnival Cruise Line has officially launched its new loyalty program today, renamed Carnival Rewards.

The program was originally announced in 2025 and was initially scheduled to launch in June 2026. It effectively replaces the cruise line's Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) club.

The new program consists of three main pillars: Carnival Rewards Points, Status Qualifying Stars, and Co-Brand and Partnerships. Additionally, the loyalty program introduces the Milestone Recognition Program, which celebrates passengers as they reach key sailing achievements based on the number of days sailed.

Passengers can now earn three Carnival Rewards Points for every $1 spent on eligible Carnival purchases, including gratuities (taxes and fees, however, don't count as eligible purchases). Additionally, cruisers can earn one Point for every one Casino Point remaining at the end of a sailing. The rewards points in turn can be redeemed for Carnival cruises, pre-cruise purchases and eligible onboard experiences, including shore excursions, spa treatments or specialty dining.

The points are earned at the end of the sailing and post approximately 14 days after the sailing end date. The points can then be redeemed as soon as they become available,

Status Qualifying Stars are earned at a similar rate to Carnival Rewards Points: three Stars for every $1 spent on eligible Carnival purchases, and one Star for for every Casino Point earned. The purpose of the Stars, however, is to establish and increase the passenger's status level.

As part of the new Carnival Rewards Program, the status tiers have been revamped. The entry-level Blue tier has been eliminated and only four status levels remain: Red (which cruisers attain upon enrolling to the program), Gold (unlocked at 10,000 Stars), Platinum (achieved at 50,000 Stars) and Diamond (upon earning 100,000 Stars).

Status is earned during a two-year Status Qualifying Window and enjoyed during the remainder of that period and the following two-year status enjoyment window. The inaugural qualifying period will run from Sept. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2028, so cruisers will have a little over two years to earn Status Qualifying Stars for the first qualifying window.

Carnival passengers who achieved Diamond Status prior to the launch of the new program will retain their status for life. On the other hand, members who earned Platinum status in the VIFP program by August 31, 2026, will retain their status through Dec. 31, 2028. Additionally, they will earn a 10,000-Star boost during each qualifying period, designed to grant them Carnival Rewards Gold status in the subsequent January 2029 to December 2030 cycle and provide a boost towards earning higher status.

"Cruise loyalty has traditionally been built around how often guests sail, and Carnival Rewards was designed to go beyond that," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "The new program recognizes the many ways our guests engage with Carnival, and with both rewards and status, we're giving guests more flexibility and more value to enjoy the experiences that matter most to them. Simply put: Your cruise, Your rewards. Your way."

Carnival Corporation Completes New Pier Extension for Celebration Key in The Bahamas (Photo: Carnival Corporation)

In tandem with the arrival of Carnival Rewards, the cruise line has partnered with Barclays to launch the new Carnival Rewards Mastercard

The main card benefit consists of earning up to 6X Carnival Rewards Points (3x points from the card, plus up to 3x points through Carnival Rewards) on eligible Carnival purchases, plus 2X points on eligible restaurant and grocery store purchases, and 1X point on any other purchase.

Additionally, new cardmembers earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.

Similarly, cardmembers earn up to 4 Status Qualifying Stars on Carnival purchases when combined with the Stars earned through Carnival Rewards and 1 Status Qualifying Star on all other purchases.

According to the cruise line, existing cardmembers will be transitioned to the new Mastercard product beginning this month during their next billing cycle, rolling out throughout September. All existing Fun Points balances will convert 1:1 into new Carnival Rewards Points landing directly in cardmembers' centralized Carnival Rewards accounts.

"To be clear, the card is not a must have in order to be engaging with the program, but (it) does help accelerate and make sure that folks who are engaging with Carnival outside of just sailing are getting the rewards and status," said Sidharth "Sid" Krishna, vicepresident of loyalty at Carnival Cruise Line.

The credit card fully embodies the new Rewards Program co-brand and partnerships pillar, but Carnival executives don't rule out future partnerships that can further enhance the loyalty experience for passengers.

"The current partnership that we have with Barclays and Mastercard is our key component. But this does give the avenue to expand more partnerships," added Krishna "The first step is setting up this foundation of our loyalty program, which is getting guests to engage with points on the cruise and with the credit card. But as we go on with our loyalty platform, we plan to expand into partnerships and other programs, but we don't want to promise and commit to anything until we're getting there."

Sapphire Princess and Holland America's Volendam in Skagway, Alaska at dusk (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Carnival Cruise Line belongs to the larger Carnival Corporation, which also includes Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard Line and Costa Cruises, among others.

And each of the brands offers its own rewards program, but currently, there is no status match or points transfer among the brands.

Recently, Royal Caribbean Group announced its Points Choice program, allowing passengers to allocate rewards points to the cruise line of their choosing within the group (which consists of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea).

Will the new Rewards Program herald a move towards uniting Carnival Corporations' loyalty programs?

"Right now, we're laser focused on launching the awards for the Carnival Cruise Line brand," said Jonathan Lask, Carnival Cruise Line's senior vice president of onboard revenue. "Obviously, we're one of eight brands in the overall Carnival Corporation portfolio. So time will tell how that evolves, if at all.