Reward Zone changes again! $250 to earn a certificate now.... (1 Viewer)

[MarkDude]

Looks like it's not happening everywhere (check myrewardzone.com to see if it's changing in your area). This completely kills it for me. Won't be shopping at Best Buy anymore. A 2% kickback is just pointless....

Here's the info from myrewardzone.com:

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Your Reward Zone® program membership is changing. We're making some important changes to create a better program for you.

The changes to your Reward Zone program membership are available in your area as of November 1, 2005, but not in other areas of the country. Information based on the former version of the Reward Zone program membership will not apply to you.

The Changes
Membership now has no fee
Keeping track of your points is simpler—earn 1 point for nearly every dollar spent
Certificates are awarded starting at 250 points with a $5 reward certificate
New Premier level membership offers enhanced benefits and recognition
The Benefits

In addition to a no-fee membership and a simpler point system, you will continue to receive advance access to concert tickets, presales and events. You will also still enjoy special member-only bonus point offers and more.

Premier Level

Premier level is now available to members who spend at least $2000 at Best Buy® or on BestBuy.com. Premier members receive:
Exclusive deals and special recognition
Expiration on reward certificates is extended from 3 months to 6 months
Option to earn double points on items selected such as games, music and DVDs.
Your Points

All of the points in your account as of November 1, 2005, will be converted and transferred to the new point system. We will add new points to your account to maintain the value of the points that you have already accumulated.

 

[GarySchrock]

Well, the changes do suck of course, but the fact that it'll be no-charge at all means that I'd still use it, the same way I do now. I buy stuff at BB when they have the best price. If they don't, I don't. I don't even generally go out of my way to price match, because depending on who I get on the register is can be a pain. Given that, something back is better than nothing back. Now, if they wanted you to keep paying for these changes, that'd be another matter.

(So far I haven't seen any notice about this where I'm at, of course, it would take a mailing, since I almost never log into the rewardzone website.)

 

[MarkDude]

While it's good that they won't continue to charge for it, I would rather pay $9.99/year to get the better rate. Besides, most people got their membership renewed for free anyway.

I've earned $350 in RZ certs since I joined 2 years ago. I paid $9.99 for the first year and got a free renewal. At the new turnaround rate, I'd have only earned about $200. Clearly the pay-for-membership format worked much better for me.

Shame on Best Buy. I don't think there's anywhere near a precedent for this way a customer loyalty program has continually tried to ruin their customers' loyalty by making the program so much worse.

 

[Patrick.C]

According to myrewardzone.com the changes are only in Ohio:

 

[TravisR]

Exactly. I'm not owed money back from them just because I shop there.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

They are probably just testing out whether the program will be more popular if there's no fee. Even though the fee is small, they'll probably get a ton of new members without it.

Sucks about the lower benefits, though.

 

[Chet_F]

I personally hate stores that FORCE you to get a card to get better prices. It's a real pain in the ... - I moved south about a year ago and EVERY grocery store requires you to have a card just to get decent prices. It's ridiculous. Before you know it you have 25 different cards for all of the stores. What a joke.

 

[DonRoeber]

All of those stores have your phone number in their database too. I never bother carying the card anymore, I just tell them my number and get the discount. Keeps my wallet from overflowing, if nothing else.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I just got notified of a free year renewal, and the program terms are still the same--$150 in purchases gets you a $5 gift certificate.

- Steve

 

[Al (alweho)]

You know this may be due to a change in Ohio state consumer laws - has anyone checked on that?

 

[MarkDude]

What kind of law could that possibly be?

I may just sign up for a new RZ card and use the address of one of my relatives in New York. I get the certificates by e-mail anyway...

 

[Al (alweho)]

Mark, many states have consumer laws that are more restrictive or just different than national ones.

For example (if I remember correctly) it used to be here in California that Gift Cards/Certificates would not be allowed to have expiration dates or non-use fees charged - whereas other states had no restrictions on what the staggered fees/charges/expirations vendors could apply as the cards remained unused. (Wal*Mart, as well as the GAP, used to start devaluing/or adding a fee to their gift cards after a month or so of being unused.) I think this has now changed nationally to match California's law.

Watch/read the fine print at the end of many ad offers and contests sometimes - there are always states listed where they are not valid or different. Ohio, as well as Maryland, tends to be listed quite often.

 

[MarkDude]

Interesting. I've never seen Ohio listed as an exception to any contests and I read all the fine print in just about every contest I come across. I just don't see what kind of law could have possibly made Best Buy be forced into this situation. There are still plenty of pay-for-membership frequent shopper programs here, and that's really the only change that was made to the Reward Zone.