AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Cruise line loyalty programs operate differently from most airline and hotel loyalty programs. Since most cruisers sail less than once a year, most cruise line statuses are “for life” and don't expire. Earlier this year, Carnival teased changes coming to its loyalty program. Today, Carnival Cruise Line announced that it will make big changes to its loyalty program in 2026.
The new program will focus more on total vacation spending and credit card rewards. Let's dig into all the details to see how this affects your cruise loyalty strategy.
Page Contents
Carnival Ditching VIFP, Launching Carnival Rewards
In June 2026, Carnival is sunsetting its Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) program and renaming its loyalty program Carnival Rewards. The new program will have a dual-earning structure for status and rewards.
Guests will no longer be rewarded status based on the number of nights sailed, as many of Carnival's competitors operate. Instead, Carnival Rewards will focus on total spending, including cruise fare and onboard activities. In addition, the Carnival Rewards Mastercard, issued by Barclays, will be factored into points and status earning.
Currently, the VIFP program has five tiers, earned based on the number of nights you spend on board Carnival:
- Blue for your first sailing
- Red from your second sailing through 24 nights sailed
- Gold for cruisers who've sailed 25-74 nights on Carnival
- Platinum for 75-199 nights
- Diamond for 200+ nights
The new program will reduce to just four tiers. The new tiers and stars required to earn them are:
- Red upon sign-up
- Gold at 10,000 stars
- Platinum at 50,000 stars
- Diamond at 100,000 stars
The tiers are earned over a rolling two-year period. Then, you'll keep that status for the following two years.
MSC Cruises — one of Carnival's biggest competitors — status expires if you don't take a cruise within three years of your last disembarkation. However, once status is earned in MSC's program, members keep that level of status as long as they continue to cruise in those three years. Carnival is taking a different approach here, instead requiring members to re-earn status every two years.
No word yet on how these changes affect Carnival status matching.
How to Earn Carnival Status Qualifying Stars
Rather than basing earnings on the number of nights sailed, Carnival sailors will now earn “Status Qualifying Stars” toward Carnival elite status. The earning rate will depend on the method you use to earn points. And it's not just cruises that will help you earn Carnival status.
Earning Stars on Carnival
You'll earn three Status Qualifying Stars per $1 spent on eligible Carnival purchases. That means you'd need to spend the following amounts to earn Carnival elite status purely through Carnival spending over a two-year period:
- Gold: $3,333
- Platinum: $16,666
- Diamond: $33,333
Carnival Rewards points will be earned when spending money on any eligible Carnival purchase, including cruise fares and onboard purchases. When it comes time to use points, they can be redeemed for onboard activities, spa treatments, specialty dining, and future cruises.
Spending not eligible to earn points or stars includes taxes, port fees, air travel purchased through Carnival (Fly2Fun), and certain other fees. In addition, certain fare types like charters and packaged rates are excluded from earning points and redemption. In addition, purchases made with Carnival Rewards points are excluded from earning, as well as purchases made with on-board credit, and any fares using Future Cruise Credits that were not originally funded by guests' own spend.
Earning Stars through the casino
You'll earn one Status Qualifying Star for every casino point earned. You earn a casino point for every $2 in coin-in on slot machines, and $5 in coin-in on video poker, plus earnings on table games. This means status could be earned primarily from casino gaming, if that's your thing.
Earning Stars through Carnival credit cards
There will also be some tie-in to the co-branded credit card, but we don't have full details on that aspect of the program at this time.
Carnival Mastercard holders currently earn FunPoints through spending on Carnival and with other purchases on the card, which are redeemable for onboard credit. When the new program launches, FunPoints will be converted to Carnival Rewards points, but we don't have more details than that at this time. The cruise line does say to continue to spend on the card, as points converted when the program launches will count towards your new status.
Changes to Carnival Elite Benefits
Analyzing the newly launched Carnival Rewards website to explain the changes, Carnival is eliminating the Blue tier altogether. Now, Red is the minimum starting status level within Carnival and is earned on sign-up. No changes are being made to benefits for the Red tier at this time.
Gold status changes
The only real change being made to the Gold tier is the removal of the Gold status pin, which you received from the photo desk on each sailing.
Platinum perk changes
Platinum will remain the second-highest tier, now earned at 50,000 stars. Carnival is making more substantial changes to the Platinum tier.
First, Carnival is eliminating the VIFP Club party on 5+ day cruises. Instead, two complimentary beverages are offered on every sailing to Platinum members.
In addition, Carnival is eliminating the following benefits:
- $5 worth of complimentary arcade credits for guests under 18
- Welcome treat on 5+ day cruises.
- VIFP Club logo gift on every sailing
Diamond perk changes
Diamond will remain the highest status you can earn. In addition to the changes mentioned above, the following benefits are being eliminated:
- One-time complimentary meal for two at Specialty Dining restaurant of choice
- One-time free cabin upgrade or third, fourth, and fifth guests, sail free
- VIFP Club luggage tag set
New Carnival Rewards Milestone Rewards
Carnival is also launching Milestone Rewards, which seems to be every loyalty program's favorite thing in 2025! Unlike elite status, Milestone Rewards will be earned based on nights sailed. At 50 nights, members will earn:
- 5,000 points
- Special milestone Sail and Sign Card
At 100 nights — and every 100 nights sailed thereafter — members will earn:
- 10,000 points
- Commemorative gift
- Special Sail and Sign Card
What Happens to Existing Carnival Elite Status Members?
Carnival is transitioning existing status holders to the new program. The program launches June 1, 2026, so the VIFP program will continue to exist until that date.
From June 1, 2026 until May 31, 2028, existing status holders will retain their same status level in the new program. Meanwhile, these members will need to start re-earning their status in the new program.
Carnival Diamond elite members will get a bit longer of a runway, retaining their current status until May 31, 2032.
Time for an ‘ocean run?'
This timeline represents an opportunity for Carnival members who are close to the next tier of the VIFP program to do an “ocean run,” similar to a mileage run in aviation loyalty or a mattress run in hotel loyalty, in the next year. That's because the VIFP program continues to exist until then, so if you're only a few nights sailed away from the next tier, it might make sense to book that next cruise soon.
Our Take
With a lot to digest, this is a major change for cruise loyalty from one of the largest cruise lines out there. For one, switching from a lifetime status to an expiring status system is gigantic — especially for those already in the program who expected to have benefits into retirement.
We've seen a shift in strategy from many loyalty programs to reward higher spending — rather than higher usage — of the product they're selling. So, it's no surprise that the cruise industry is doing the same. Tying in credit card spending and rewarding casino gamers with the opportunity to earn status is a no-brainer as well.
Overall, many will be unhappy with these changes. However, based on how you interact with the new Carnival Rewards program, it may be easier to earn Carnival status in the future.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.