Carnival Rewards Explained: A Deep Dive Into The New Loyalty Program

Well, Carnival has finally put the terms and conditions out there for its new Carnival Rewards program which everyone must agree to and accept, and if you’ve been anywhere near cruise social media lately, you already know this new program has not exactly been met with a warm round of Fun Ship applause.

The current VIFP Program has been around for years, and while it wasn’t perfect, it was at least simple. You cruised, earned days, you moved up. That’s in, plain and simple.

The new Carnival Rewards program is very different.

Starting September 1, 2026, Carnival is moving to a points-and-status system where your loyalty standing is no longer based simply on the number of nights you sail. Instead, it will be tied to what Carnival calls Carnival Rewards Points and Status Qualifying Stars, or SQS.

In plain English, this means your future status will be based largely on qualifying spending, not just how many cruises you take.

So yes, if you were wondering why some longtime Carnival cruisers are upset, that’s a pretty good place to start.

When Does The New Carnival Rewards Program Start?

Carnival says the new Carnival Rewards program begins on September 1, 2026.

The terms specifically state that these rules are valid on and after that date. The program will replace the old approach with a system where members earn two different things:

That second part is the big one. Carnival Rewards Points are the “spend them later” currency. Status Qualifying Stars are what determine whether you’re Red, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond.

And right away, Carnival makes something very clear: prior earnings or points from previous Carnival rewards programs do not roll over into future program versions unless Carnival specifically allows it.

That is one of the lines that is likely going to sting for a lot of longtime Carnival guests.

The Big Change: Loyalty Is Now Spending-Based

The biggest shift is that Carnival is no longer making status primarily about how many days you’ve sailed.

Under the new program, members earn 3 Carnival Rewards Points and 3 Status Qualifying Stars for every $1 USD spent on qualifying purchases.

That means status is being tied to qualifying spend. Not all spending counts, which we’ll get into, but the basic formula is pretty simple.

So, to reach the published tiers at launch, the math works out like this:

That’s the part a lot of people are going to zero in on. Under the current VIFP system, someone who took a lot of shorter or more affordable cruises could work their way up over time. Under this system, the money matters a whole lot more.

In other words, the person booking suites, casino-heavy trips, drink packages, specialty dining, spa treatments, excursions, and other eligible purchases may move faster than the person who books inside cabins, skips the extras, and just enjoys being on the ship.

Which, let’s be honest, is exactly why people are upset.

What Are Carnival Rewards Points?

Carnival Rewards Points are the redeemable side of the program.

These are the points you can eventually use toward eligible rewards. According to the terms, at launch, Points can be redeemed toward eligible portions of cruise fare, certain qualifying pre-cruise purchases, and qualifying onboard purchases. Carnival also says Points will not be redeemable for taxes or fees.

The terms also warn that members should not rely on the continued availability of any particular redemption item because the redemption list can change at any time.

That’s legal language, but the practical takeaway is simple: don’t assume today’s redemption options will always be there.

What Are Status Qualifying Stars?

Status Qualifying Stars, or SQS, are what determine your loyalty tier.

This is separate from Carnival Rewards Points. You earn both through qualifying purchases, but they serve different purposes.

Carnival Rewards Points are for redemption. Status Qualifying Stars are for status.

At launch, Carnival says the tiers are Red, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.

Carnival also reserves the right to change the number of tiers, the number of SQS required for each tier, and the benefits associated with each tier.

So, while these are the launch thresholds, the terms make it very clear Carnival can adjust the program later.

How The Two-Year Status Window Works

This part is important, and it’s also where the new program gets more complicated than the old “you sailed this many days” system.

Carnival is using a two-year earning window.

There is also a Status Enjoyment Window. That is the period after the earning window when you enjoy the status you qualified for.

Carnival gives this example: the first Status Enjoyment Window runs from January 1, 2029 to December 31, 2031.

Here’s the part that matters for cruisers: once you meet the SQS requirement for a tier, Carnival says you move to that tier and keep it for the rest of the current earning window and the entire following enjoyment window.

The terms give this example: if you reach Platinum in March 2027, you enjoy Platinum for the rest of 2027, all of 2028, and throughout the January 1, 2029 to December 31, 2031 enjoyment window.

So there is a benefit to qualifying early in a window. But once the earning window ends, your SQS resets to zero for the next cycle.

That’s another huge change.

Your Status Qualifying Stars Reset

At the end of each Status Earning Window, your SQS resets to zero.

You keep the status you earned for the full Status Enjoyment Window, but after that, you revert to the base tier unless you have qualified again for something higher. At program launch, the base tier is Red.

This is another reason people are unhappy.

Under the old system, once you reached a loyalty level, there was a sense of being there forever. The new system is closer to airline and hotel loyalty programs, where status must be re-earned.

For frequent Carnival cruisers who spend heavily, that may be fine.

For longtime Carnival cruisers who earned status over years of sailing but don’t spend enough under the new formula, this may feel like the rug is being pulled out from under them.

What Counts As A Qualifying Purchase?

Carnival splits qualifying purchases into two main buckets:

1. Qualifying Cruise Ticket
2. Other Qualifying Purchases

A Qualifying Cruise Ticket includes the eligible portion of your cruise fare paid using “eligible tender.” Most cruise fares are considered Qualifying Cruise Tickets unless Carnival excludes them.

Carnival says certain fares do not count as Qualifying Cruise Tickets, including charter cruises, giveaway or sweepstakes cruises, working rate code cruises, third-party casino group cruises, and other cruise rates Carnival determines are excluded based on fare rules.

That means your standard cruise fare will generally count, but not every type of fare will.

What Parts Of The Cruise Fare Count?

Carnival breaks down which portions of a Qualifying Cruise Ticket are eligible.

These count, as long as they are purchased using “eligible tender:”

• Cruise fare, including non-commissionable fare
• Prepaid gratuities
• Carnival Vacation Protection Plan
• Transfers

These do not count:

• Required cruise fees and expenses
• Government taxes and fees
• Fly2Fun
• Penalties

That’s an important distinction. If you’re looking at your total cruise invoice and thinking the whole amount will earn Points and SQS, that’s not necessarily true. Taxes, fees, and some other charges are carved out.

What Are Other Qualifying Purchases?

Other Qualifying Purchases include eligible pre-cruise and onboard purchases.

Carnival says that unless something is specifically excluded, onboard and pre-cruise purchases are generally considered Other Qualifying Purchases.

But there are exclusions.

The terms say the following do not count as Other Qualifying Purchases:

• Casino charges on a guest’s folio
• Taxes and fees for any purchase
• Fines and certain fees
• Medical services
• Other purchases Carnival excludes before purchase

This means a lot of the extras people buy before or during a cruise may count, but not everything.

Think shore excursions, specialty dining, beverage packages, spa purchases, Wi-Fi, and similar items as the types of things that may fall into this bucket if Carnival treats them as qualifying. But the terms also leave Carnival room to add, remove, or change what qualifies.

What Is “Eligible Tender?”

This is another key phrase buried in the terms and it comes up a lot.

Carnival says “eligible tender” includes eligible payment forms, but does not include purchases made with onboard credits, promotional Future Cruise Credits, or Carnival Rewards Points.

That means if you use OBC, promotional FCC, or Carnival Rewards Points to pay for something, that portion does not count as “eligible tender.”

There is also an important onboard spending rule: for Other Qualifying Purchases to count, the purchase must appear on the member’s official Carnival folio.

Carnival gives the example that if a guest makes a retail purchase onboard and pays directly with a credit card instead of charging it to their folio, that transaction would not appear on the folio and would not count as eligible tender.

So, if you’re playing the status game, this matters. Charging eligible onboard purchases to your folio appears to be important.

But Carnival also says a purchase appearing on your folio does not automatically guarantee it is a Qualifying Purchase.

In other words: yes, it needs to be on the folio, but no, the folio alone doesn’t make everything count.

How Points Are Split In A Stateroom

This is one of the more interesting parts of the terms.

For staterooms with more than one guest, Points and SQS earned from the Qualifying Cruise Ticket are   by the number of people staying in the stateroom, including minors.

So if four people are in a cabin, the cruise ticket-related Points and SQS are split four ways.

Carnival gives an example: if there are four adults in a stateroom but only two are Program members, each Program member receives one-fourth of the total Points and SQS earned on the Qualifying Cruise Ticket. The other shares are not reassigned to the members. They are simply not credited unless those individuals are enrolled.

That’s a big detail.

If you book and pay for the whole cabin, you do not automatically get all the Points and SQS from the cruise fare. The person who sails gets their share, assuming they are a member and their account is tied to the booking.

What Happens If You Pay For Someone Else?

Carnival makes another important distinction here.

For Other Qualifying Purchases, the person whose folio the purchase appears on receives the Points and SQS, as long as they are a Program member. If that person is not a member, the Points and SQS are forfeited.

For Qualifying Cruise Ticket purchases, the person who sails receives the Points and SQS, not necessarily the person who paid. That is also subject to the stateroom split rules.

So if you pay for another person’s cruise, don’t assume you’re getting the loyalty credit. Carnival says the sailor gets it.

You Must Complete The Entire Voyage

Carnival says Points and SQS for a Qualifying Cruise Ticket will only be awarded if the guest completes the entire voyage, regardless of whether the ticket was paid in full.

So if someone doesn’t complete the sailing, the cruise ticket-related Points and SQS may not be awarded.

When Are Points And SQS Credited?

Carnival says Points and SQS are calculated at the conclusion of the corresponding cruise.

They are generally awarded within about 14 days after the cruise ends. However, Carnival also says it does not guarantee they will be credited within a specific timeframe. Points cannot be used until they are actually credited to your account.

Carnival may also adjust Points and SQS for discounts, refunds, penalties, post-booking upgrades unless those upgrades are purchased with eligible tender, or the use of ineligible forms of payment.

If purchases are made in a currency other than U.S. dollars, Carnival converts the amount to U.S. dollars using the exchange rate in effect on the last official day of the sailing.

What If Your Points Or SQS Are Missing?

Carnival puts the responsibility on the member to monitor their account.

If you believe you earned Points or SQS and they were not credited, you must submit a request to Carnival up to 180 days after the relevant sailing. Carnival says you should wait at least 21 days after the cruise ends before submitting that request.

Carnival may require documentation, such as receipts, tickets, or proof of purchase.

If you believe there were erroneous or fraudulent deductions, you are responsible for reporting those within six months of the deduction date.

So yes, add “check my Carnival Rewards account after the cruise” to the post-cruise checklist, somewhere between unpacking dirty laundry and wondering why the scale is being so judgmental.

How Casino Activity Works

Casino activity has its own section.

Carnival says guests can earn Carnival Rewards Points and SQS through casino activity. During a cruise, guests earn casino points based on factors including casino activity. At the end of the voyage, those casino points can translate in to Carnival Rewards Points and SQS.

Here’s the big distinction:

Carnival Rewards Points from casino activity are based on casino points earned less any redeemed casino points.

Status Qualifying Stars are based on the casino points earned during the voyage regardless of redemption.

Carnival gives this example: if you earn 1,000 casino points and redeem 400 of them for free casino play, you receive 600 Carnival Rewards Points and 1,000 Status Qualifying Stars at the conclusion of the voyage.

So casino players may have a path to status that works differently from regular cruise spending.

For back-to-back voyages on the same ship, Carnival says casino-related Points or SQS may not be determined or awarded until 14 days after the final voyage aboard that ship.

Can Minors Participate?

No, minors cannot enroll in the program.

Carnival says individuals under 18, or under the age of majority where it is higher, are not eligible to enroll or participate. Age eligibility is determined as of the date of embarkation.

However, if a minor is listed on a reservation, a responsible party must be assigned and linked to the minor’s booking. Points and SQS earned through qualifying purchases made for or on behalf of a minor and reflected on the minor’s folio will be credited to the responsible party’s account, if that responsible party is an active member.

Minors linked to a responsible party may receive limited tier benefits associated with that responsible party’s status, but Carnival keeps discretion over which benefits apply.

Do Points Expire?

Yes.

Carnival says that to keep accumulated Points, members must remain active. If your account has no qualifying activity, meaning no Points earned or redeemed, for three consecutive years, all Points in the account are permanently forfeited, subject to applicable law.

Once forfeited, Points cannot be reinstated.

You can maintain activity by completing at least one qualifying activity within each three-year period.

There is also an interesting note about redemptions: if you redeem Points for a cruise and do not actually board, that reservation does not count as a redemption and does not extend the activity window. However, if an activity results in a refund of Points to your account, that refund is considered Program activity that extends the activity window.

Can Carnival Take Away Points Or Close Accounts?

Yes, and the terms give Carnival a lot of room here.

Carnival says accounts can be terminated or limited immediately and without notice under certain circumstances, including if required by law, if the member dies, if the member relocates to a country where the program is prohibited, or if Carnival reasonably determines prohibited conduct occurred.

The list of prohibited conduct is long. It includes fraud, abusive behavior, harassment, disrespectful or inappropriate conduct, artificially manipulating Points or SQS, trying to transfer an account or points, violating Carnival’s terms or cruise contract, making misrepresentations, creating extra accounts, being placed on Carnival’s no-sail list, being removed from a Carnival cruise, disturbing guests or employees, failing to pay amounts owed, violating Carnival policy, or other misconduct.

That means your cabinmate’s bad behavior could potentially become your loyalty program problem.

If an account is terminated for those reasons, all Points and SQS are forfeited and may not be recovered, subject to applicable law. Carnival may also prevent future program participation and future sailing on Carnival cruises.

Can You Opt Out?

Yes.

Carnival says you can opt out of Carnival Rewards through your Carnival.com account or by calling 1-800-764-7419.

But opting out is not something to do casually. If you opt out, Carnival says your account will be cancelled, your account history will be deleted, and you will forfeit all acquired Points and SQS. Carnival also says you cannot reverse the action once you submit the opt-out request.

So this is not a “let me click around and see what happens” button.

How Can Points Be Redeemed?

Carnival says Points available for redemption will be visible in your Carnival.com account.

At launch, Points can be redeemed toward eligible portions of cruise fare, certain qualifying pre-cruise purchases, and qualifying onboard purchases. Points cannot be redeemed for taxes or fees.

Carnival also says only one guest per stateroom may redeem Points toward a booking, regardless of whether that guest books their cruise fare in full.

That could matter for families, groups, or couples where multiple people have points and want to combine them toward one cabin. Based on the terms, that does not appear to be allowed.

Can Points Be Transferred?

No.

Carnival says Points, SQS, tier status, and benefits cannot be transferred, assigned, sold, attached, pledged, or moved to someone else. They also have no cash value and are not property of the member, except where applicable law says otherwise.

So this is not a household pooling program. It is an individual account program.

Carnival Can Change The Program

This is another major theme throughout the terms.

Carnival reserves the right to modify, restrict, or change the program, the terms, or the structure. That includes changing how many Points are earned, what counts as eligible tender, what counts as a qualifying purchase, how SQS are earned, how many SQS are needed for status, how long status is honored, what rewards are available, whether status tiers are added or removed, whether Point caps are added or changed, and when Points or SQS are forfeited.

Carnival also says it can suspend or terminate the program.

If the program is terminated, unused Points and status benefits can be forfeited, subject to applicable law and required notice.

In other words, the program is Carnival’s sandbox. You can play in it, but Carnival keeps the shovel, bucket, and the right to change the sand.

Why People Are Upset

Based strictly on Carnival’s terms, it’s pretty easy to understand the reaction.

The old program rewarded days sailed. The new program rewards qualifying spending.

That means the value of your loyalty may depend much more on how much you spend with Carnival and eligible partners than how often you sail.

A cruiser who books affordable cabins and keeps onboard spending low may not move through the tiers nearly as quickly as someone who spends more on fare, gratuities, vacation protection, transfers, onboard purchases, and casino activity.

The SQS reset is also a huge psychological change. For people used to lifetime-style progress, the idea of qualifying windows and status requalification feels more like airline and hotel loyalty than classic cruise loyalty.

And then there’s the fine print. Carnival can change the program, change the earning rules, change the tier thresholds, change the benefits, remove rewards, terminate accounts, terminate the program, and declare that Points and SQS are not your property.

Now, much of that kind of language exists in plenty of loyalty programs. But seeing it laid out in black and white probably isn’t going to calm down the angry Facebook posts.

Who Benefits Most From The New Program?

The new program seems most favorable to Carnival guests who:

• Book higher-priced cabins
• Spend more onboard
• Prepay eligible extras
• Buy eligible pre-cruise items
• Cruise often and spend consistently
• Generate casino activity
• Pay with eligible tender rather than relying heavily on onboard credit, promotional FCC, or redeemed Points

It may be less favorable to guests who:

• Book cheaper fares
• Sail frequently but spend very little onboard
• Share cabins with multiple people, since cruise ticket-related earnings are divided by everyone in the room
• Use OBC or promotional FCC heavily
• Expected their previous VIFP-style progress to continue the same way forever

Carnival Rewards is not just a refresh of the VIFP Club. It’s a major shift in how Carnival defines loyalty.

Instead of simply rewarding how many days you’ve spent onboard, Carnival is moving toward a system that rewards qualifying dollars spent. You earn Carnival Rewards Points to redeem later, and Status Qualifying Stars to determine your tier. At launch, status runs from Red to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond, with published SQS thresholds of 10,000, 50,000, and 100,000 respectively.

For some cruisers, especially those who spend heavily with Carnival, this may work out just fine.

For others, especially longtime Carnival loyalists who built status the old-fashioned way by sailing often, this is going to feel like a very different game.