MyPoints.com is running yet another promotion — the Summer Challenge. In THIS promo, MyPoints’ shoppers will be ranked by the number of points earned by shopping at select merchants (more on this in a second), from whenever the contest started, through July 31. They won’t announce the winners for 30 days after that to allow for returns.
The top shopper wins 250,000 points (around $2,000). Shoppers #2-25 win 100,000 points (around $800). And shoppers #26-100 win 10,000 points (around $80).
Okay, the select merchants thing: only your points earned from shopping at 24 of MyPoints’ merchants count toward your contest total: Overstock, JCPenney, BestBuy, Circuit City, Smart Bargains, Blair, Nordstrom, Disney Outlet, QVC, Gap, Buy.com, Oriental Trading, Old Navy, Target, Dell Home, Dell Small Business, Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, Ice.com, Brylane Home, Tiger Direct, Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Apple Store.
Currently, earning just 1,000 points will get you into the top 100 (thus winning you 10,000 points, or $80). Right now, two $25 purchases at Oriental, or $100 at Overstock (or one of the other 10 pts/$ merchants) would get ya there. But of course that amount is going to ratchet up as the contest goes forward. Right now, the number one shopper has almost 25,000 points. If the contest ended today, spending $2,500 at Overstock.com would get you the #1 spot and you’d win $2,000.
Looking at the participating merchant list, Overstock, SmartBargains, and Barnes & Noble pay out the most at 10 points per dollar. Target pays between 5 and 10 points per dollar. Oriental Trading pays 500 points per $25+ order. Circuit City is 5, Blair is 3, and all the others are just 2 points per dollar… so this should give you an idea of which merchants to focus on.
Keep in mind, this is a bonus — you’ll still receive the number of points per dollar you earn whether or not you’re in the top 100.
And remember, also: the prizes are fixed amounts, while the amount you have to spend to get in the top 100 will be increasing. As your total spending increases, your chances of getting in the top 100 will increase…but since the bonus is fixed, the PERCENTAGE of your shopping total that the bonus is, will actually drop.
It’s great if you could spend $100 and get into the bottom part of the top 100 and win an $80 bonus. That bonus is less exciting if you had to spend $10,000 to get it…see what I mean?
MyPoints supposedly has 4.5 million members. I have a feeling we’ll see the leaderboard explode with big spenders — probably business owners, corporate buyers, etc. — before the contest ends. Doesn’t help the little guy like us, but it does make sense from a loyalty standpoint for MyPoints to give greater rewards to those who spend more.
