Carnival Cruise Line is launching a new loyalty program, Carnival Rewards, on September 1, 2023, which replaces the VIFP Club and shifts from a lifetime status based on cruise nights to a two-year status period based on spending. The overhaul has faced criticism for making it harder to achieve and maintain elite status, offering minimal perks at lower tiers, and requiring significant spending to accumulate points for valuable rewards.
The overhaul of Carnival's loyalty program, shifting from lifetime status based on cruise nights to a two-year status period based on spending, presents a significant change in the cruise industry's loyalty landscape. For those in travel tech and startups, this signals an opportunity to innovate in loyalty program tech, potentially developing platforms that help cruise lines better track and manage spending-based rewards, akin to systems used in airline loyalty programs.