Some programs stink. Which ones make you cringe?
 

This one does--for ME:

Points.com.

I do not use them anymore and so I do not really care anymore, but this email I've pasted in below came to me today. Note that it tells me my membership has just expired. I mean, did I get a note or a warning saying it was ABOUT TO expire--with any teaser asking me to stay on or do some special promo and be able to stay on at a reduced renewal rate or something?

NO.

It tells me instead that it just plain expired. Sorry!

It's kinda stupid, I think--just like they are. I am not surprised and am glad to be done with them, but the fact they EXIST bugs me. They are kinda like when you walk in a store and ask for a certain item and the clerk tells you, "oh, no, sorry... we JUST sold the last one a minute ago!"

What's the freakin point of that? Are they trying to somehow make you feel GOOD that you just missed it? Are they trying to tell you you are a loser by missing it? Are they trying to simply cover their OWN asses by giving a reason why they cannot service YOU? What's up with that!?!

Hate that.

Hate Points.com.

For me, its chemistry is just OFF.

Maybe you have something that bugs you too about a certain loyalty program that you are or have been a member of. I would love to see 'em all...

Here's my email form Points.com and I would love to see other stuff like it:


Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 11:56:24 -0400
To: ME
From: "Points.com News" <[email protected]>
Subject: Your VIP Access Has Expired


Dear Jeffrey:
We're sorry to have to tell you that your Points.com Gold membership has just expired. While you retain a Basic membership, you have lost the privileges that come with being a Points.com Gold member.

Being a Gold member gives you VIP access to Points.com. You get to make unlimited Swaps between your reward programs and to swap miles or points for gift certificates at hundreds of retailers. You also get exclusive access to unlimited Toll-free and IM support, double entries into all Points.com Sweepstakes and much more.

This loss can be temporary, though. For a limited time Gold membership can cost as little as $9.95. PLUS, if you renew on the Points.com Gold Annual plan you'll save 15 percent* and get to choose a massive bonus from your favorite reward program.

This offer won't last for long. A return to Points.com Gold status is just a couple of clicks away. Save your VIP status and renew today.

Sincerely,
Customer Support
Points.com


(I actually only use the Points.com service indirectly--to consider doing that once-in-a-million NWA or DL member to member mileage transfer where Points.com is the "engine" that runs that service. I do not use the site or my now defunct account ney more! They suck.)

That should be abundantly obvious: they're trying to get you to pay to regain your status.

indeed it is, but they aint pushing the right motivators with me! That actually sends me running the opposite direction and frankly, I think their's is a huge marketing blunder on that way of doing things.

But I already knew this.
;)MM

"Some programs stink. Which ones make you cringe?"

Points.com isn't really a loyalty program.

But as far as which ones truly stink, nothing can possibly top GlobalPass.

A notch below that there's always Goldpoints.

What is more incredible is that Points.Com not only drops you as a so called gold member but takes away your basic right to speak to an agent by phone :rolleyes: :td: !!Thats up there in rotten egg in the face award.
Unless you agree to pay them enough to get customer service

They don't stink they just smell very bad :D
Another company shooting themselves in the foot.
I wish them luck

Survivor, American Idol, and all the other similar game shows they've spawned.

Oh, that's not what you meant?

Click Rewards stinks. Points never post and no response from customer service. I gave up before I ever reached a reward level I could redeem.

Continental OnePass is the single most useless FF program that's operating today. You have better odds of winning Powerball while getting struck by lightning than you do of being able to redeem OnePass miles for an actual award ticket.

Hey, that happened to me!

Unfortunately, the lottery ticket was burned up by the lightning.

1. GlobalPass
2. GoldPoints
3. CO OnePass

I "third" the vote for the worst program being Continental's "Nonepass". If there were laws governing affinity programs....nonepass would surely be a fraud.

e-Rewards stinks. I somehow allowed myself to get sucked into this about two years ago, thinking it'd be the easiest way to collect "free" HH points and AA miles. Figuring the value of my time, they were the most expensive points/miles I ever bought! The other "rewards" you can get from the site are worthless - Hertz offers that are worse than what you can get just by browsing Hertz.com, heavily-restricted discounts to online merchants that charge way over best-available prices for various goods, etc. I suppose the heavily-restricted Blockbuster rentals have theoretical value...if you live next to a Blockbuster and enjoy visiting a physical video store.

I got a couple of Blockbuster rentals (I didn't realize how heavily-restricted they were until after I redeemed them) and a few thousand HH points out of the deal and added e-Rewards to my spam filter. I'm done with it.

I have the same problem
 

A year ago I tried to transfer my Alaska Miles into my Aeroplan account and for a year the status was still "pending", I called them for 20 times and they said they'll get back to me tommorow, and there's a tommrow everyday. Until recently they put my Alaska Miles back to my account, and my points was never transfer to my aeroplan account. And now they raise the price to 99.95 per year, I am not even going to renew my membership anymore. I am so disappointed at points.com.

I got the e-mail 3 months after my "status" expired
 

Here's my e-mail:

Dear Jacky,

Pointsplus Expiry

Thank you for using Points.com - we hope you have been satisfied with our
services over the past year. Your PointsPlus membership has expired, and as youdid not renew, we have adjusted your account status to a regular Points.com membership. We also paused any Auto-Exchanges you might have had set up.

With over 3,600 exchange options, Points.com allows you to give or receive that perfect gift, holiday getaway, and so much more!

Points.com has introduced a number of new partners in the last year including
Starbucks, Reserve America, Gold Points Reward Network, US Airways(R), HawaiianAirlines, and Hollywood Movie Money(TM). Visit Points.com and check out the latest and greatest in our News section at http://points.com/news.jsp or browse
our full list of exchange options at http://points.com/CategoriesList.jsp

As a Points.com member, each exchange is $9.95, but there is still time to renew
your annual membership and take advantage of our renewal bonuses! Here are some
of the bonuses available:

* 1,500 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
* 1,500 US Airways(R) Dividend Miles(R)
* 2,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles
* 1,050 Air Canada Aeroplan(R) miles
* 5,000 S&H greenpoints

For more details on bonus miles log in at https://points.com/login and click on
the renewal message on "My Account", or select "Renewal" under "My Account" on the main menu.

If you have any questions about the content of this email, visit our online help
pages at http://points.com/help or contact our Customer Service Center by
replying to this e-mail (please include your Username), or by phoning 1 866 340 3717. Our Customer Service Representatives are available Monday to Friday between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm EST.

Thank you for using Points.com.

Sincerely,

Your Points.com Team
http://points.com

I disagree.
Jan. 2004: Standard BF Mainland-OGG (for 2)
Nov. 2004: Standard BF Mainland-HNL (for 2)
April 2005: Standard BF U.S.-U.K. (for 2)
Dec. 2005: Standard BF Mainland-HNL (for 2)
BTW, all of the above included all domestic segments in F.