After September 18 (why don’t they just say “On September 19th”?), BestBuy is making some changes to its Reward Zone rewards program.
- Membership will be free; make one purchase per calendar year to continue your membership. (I guess you’d lose your points if you didn’t.)
- You’ll receive 1 point “for nearly every dollar spent” (obviously there will be some exclusions).
- 250 points will get you a $5 reward certificate. When I originally reviewed their Reward Zone program two years ago, it took $150 in purchases to get that $5 reward certificate (100 points per dollar spent and 15,000 points for the $5 GC)… BUT membership was $10 and points couldn’t be earned online.
The new Reward Zone will offer some other perks, like free paper when you buy 2 ink cartridges, exclusive members-only deals, sweepstakes and memorabilia offers, and access to special sales.
If you’re wondering (I was), they say they’ll convert your existing points to the new rates after the change occurs. Sorry, we won’t all be enjoying Christmas in September. 
If you have questions or want more details, contact them at http://www.MyRewardZone.com/learnmore or call 1-888-BESTBUY.
They tout this as a “simplified point system” and say it was necessary as “part of our efforts to continually evolve the program, making your participation easier and the rewards more meaningful.” I think they could’ve done that without dropping point value. At first glance it would seem to be a cost-cutting measure, but maybe this is part of some larger loyalty strategy (perhaps to cover the cost of the perks like the free paper and sweepstakes?).
There have been a TON of complaints about Reward Zone, mostly related to fulfillment. Read my comments to the original review to see what some other people have gone through. My own experience with the program has been positive. If you do want to cancel your membership in Reward Zone, they say to either email rewardzone@bestbuy.com or email them at 1-888-BESTBUY.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I just got a $10 coupon(off any purchase) in the mail from BestBuy when the changes were announced. This was to reimburse me for the $10 renewal fee I had paid a couple of months ago. Sweet.
I received a 12% off coupon and am not pleased. I have a paid membership to earn at the $5 for $150 level, and now they are going to devalue that and make up for it with a coupon that requires a purchase? They need to do a pro-rated refund, a $10 off any purchase, or pro-rated points for the remaining membership fee in my opinion.
HOW DO I CHANGE MY ADDRESS&EMAIL ADDRESS?
The part I don’t understand is the forfeiture of points at the end of the calendar year. This means if you make purchases for Christmas and don’t use your points by New Years, you loose them all. If they keep the old rules in place, purchases made in December would not be usable at all (because they don’t become eligible for 30 days – I guess in case you bring items back).