meecal

Wow....I figured their scheme would be to raise rates from month two onward but I thought the most they would go up would be something like 10-20%. With low-usage months (Sept-Nov) coming up (mid-Atlantic region) I thought it would be worth it. Now reading these stories I'm a bit worried what I'm going to end up spending, even though it is low-usage season. My plan the whole time has been to cancel once the sign-up points post. Can anyone confirm when exactly the sign-up bonus miles/points posted for them?

NYBanker

Energy Plus is a pure bait-and-switch operation. Beware.

Their executives are the former First USA credit card management team. Their true business is customer acquisition - not providing power. The prices they will charge you will increase significantly from the initial rates that they show.

My detailed experience with them is found here: http://www.sitinfirst.com/2011/03/be...ur-power-bill/

fr33b13

Thanks to everyone who gave warning about this company. Sorry you had to learn the hard way.

JFKSFOLAX_friend

Just got an offer for: "Earn Up To 15,000 AAdvantage� Miles" as follows:

" Earn 12,500 American Airlines AAdvantage� bonus miles after two months of electric service*
Earn an additional 2,500 AAdvantage bonus miles after two months of natural gas service*
Year-round unlimited miles � earn 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 you spend on the supply portion of your bills*
Month-to-month variable rate plan where you are not locked in to a long-term commitment**"

crimson12

So I switched to Energy Plus and got my miles -- and noticed my bill going up significantly.

If I switch back will I lose the miles?

y2chen

Just saw the following promotion via email to my gf's account.

Choose Energy Plus� to supply electricity to your home or business and enjoy the following:

• Earn 12,500 American Airlines AAdvantage� bonus miles after two months as an Energy Plus customer*
• Year-round unlimited miles � earn 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 you spend on the supply portion of your electric bill*
• Save up to 10% with a variable supply rate that is up to 10% below your local utility company for new customers**
• No fees and no long-term commitment required
• The option to go green and support 100% wind power
• Switching to Energy Plus is easy, plus you'll receive the same reliable service from your existing utility company.

Bolding mine. Seems to be targeted, as I see nothing on the standard offer page that indicates this mileage offer, and I haven't seen any posts on this so far either. No email for me since I already signed up two months ago.

This beats their standard offer of 5,000 by a longshot. The next best offer I've seen is the 7,500 mile offer from the end of last year.

Edit: Oops, looks like its already been mentioned at the tail end of this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...ergy-plus.html

ThePointsCollector

Bummer. I switched to them 2 weeks ago

DebBrown

Yeah, me too. I switched in hopes of getting the extra miles before 12/1.

Deb

LSGator

I switched too, will get a 10,000 mile bonus after my second month. As soon as I get my miles, I am out of there and switching to a contract plan. Here in Texas, Reliant is offering a fairly sweet AA mile program for 2 years. 7,500 at enrollment, 500/month, and 5,500 bonus at end of term, all with a locked in rate.

Buyer beware with Energy Plus, my first month bill for 6 days was around 9 cents/KWH, my second bill jumped to close to 19 cents/KWH. I called to complain, explaining that I understood variable rates (I have an MBA with a focus in energy investment analysis, I know variability), but that kind of jump was not market variability and not a good way to convince me to stay with them as my energy supplier. They switched me to a bulk account and issued a 20% credit to my account. As soon as my miles post to my account, they will lose my business.

I estimate that my electricity is going to run me about $75 extra for the two months I am with them, which is $150 total for 10,000 miles + the 600 or so that I get for usage. That puts me at about 1.4 cents per mile. Not as cheap as I would have liked, but not killing me.

ThePointsCollector

Do you know of any websites to compare electricity rates? I was with reliant energy and pretty sure they screwed me over multiple times.

saatx

In Texas you can go to www.powertochoose.com and look at your available options and compare the current prices too.

NYBanker

Don't sweat it. Assuming you're usage isn't crazy, it's probably worth it to use EnergyPlus for 3 months...or however long it takes to get the signup bonus to post. Just make sure you switch away right after it posts.

dw210

Great information here. I may still switch to get the 12,500 miles. I'll stay long enough to get the miles - - but will certainly watch my bill and switch again if they jack the rate up.

Phasers

I switched to Energy Plus here in TX for their 7.9 cents/kwh first month and 7500 bonus miles.

First month- 7.9cents (May)
Second Month- 11 cents (June)
Third Month- 15.9 cents (July)
Fourth (and final) month- 18.3 cents (Beginning of August)

My suggestion, switch the day the bonus miles post...

thebat

Yes, that is absolutely true. It also takes a month or two to change suppliers so don't wait an extra minute!