I got this as the Melia birthday surprise in 2015:
"Congratulations
You now have an upgrade to a room of a higher category for your next stay at one of our hotels.
This upgrade will only be applied when you check in online.
Valid for a period of 12 months from the date of your birthday"

Finally heard back from Melia customer services

Apparently they no longer email you about the birthday surprise, no write to you, nor send you any sort of message. They still do it, but you have to be psychic or something...

Around the time of your birthday, you now need to log into your account, and go to My Promotions (new option between My Booking and My Points). This year's offers are an upgrade or 20% off:

http://i.imgur.com/5aR8QEW.png

Indeed and no more 2=1 night for birthday...Choose the upgrade for a upcoming stay in Berlinjust should not forget to check in online..

It seems that the Brexit-related cancellations at the Melia ME London discussed at the FT London do a week back have triggered a new promo. Not sure if it's targeted, but the promotions section of my account shows this today:

http://i.imgur.com/yWIWlJj.png

spflyer, just beware that upgrade and in general online check-in is only applicable to direct booking. I had a third-party booking with Melia (via corporate travel agency) and online check-in was unavailable on that booking, as well as any upgrade vouchers I had...

MeliaRewards points sale exteded
 

It's time to rename this thread to MeliaRewards ;)
Melia Rewards extended its points sale: till the end of the year one can buy 1,000 points for 5 EUR, instead of normal price of 8 EUR.
To buy points you need to log into your Melia Rewards account and follow Buy Points link. Minimum purchase is 1,000 and maximum you can buy per year is 100,000 (which cost 500 EUR exactly). These points won’t count towards Melia satus. Bookings made with points can be cancelled without penalty up to 14 days before arrival.

Yes, this was overdue. A mod has now kindly taken care of it -- MeliáRewards it now is. :)

Awesome! :) Thanks for that! :)

MeliaRewards has a very stringent policy of points expiring if you complete no stay within 12 months. Those 12 months go by quickly when you're busy. Is there any way of avoiding the points expiry issue? Does purchasing points help prevent the remaining points from expiring?

should be worth to make a reservation only with points and then proceed with the cancellation of the reservation.

Is purchasing points even working at the moment? All I get is a "403 Forbidden" error when trying with various browsers and languages. If it's not a general error, it must be due to the fact that I haven't had a stay in a couple of years?!?

craigthemif, I bought MeliaRewards points a few weeks ago and it all worked fine for me. I also stay with them regularly.

Concerto, Re points expiry, you are right, the fact that points expire in 1 year is quite bad. I agree with piblo that the easiest way to prevent this is to make a speculative booking with points only. Try to book for s further ahead as possible. That date will be your new points expiry date. When you need those points for a real booking, just cancel the speculative one and you will get all the points back, because bookings with points only are 100% cancelable and refundable, as log as you cancel 14 days in advance.

I recently reached MeliaRewards Gold and was expecting my 3 20% off vouchers. After a few weeks of waiting I decided to contact customer support (there is a link on the website, on top, from where you can submit your query). Nice CS lady asked for a screenshot of My Promotions and then pronptly sent me a code! :) I thought it would help to anyone in the same situation.

Are there any sign up bonus / referral offers for Melia Rewards, links posted further up seem to no longer work.
Myself and colleagues have a stay at The Melia White House in London and so I was planning to join their loyalty scheme and then possibly refer colleagues.

14 days in advance? Have to watch out for that one, it's grim!! At least with IHG you can wait until the day before if you are not sure and may need to cancel. Can reservations be modifed?

My big question, which would solve the problem, is whether points purchases extend the validity of the points? The current promotion (1,000º for €5) is quite a good one, available until the end of the year I believe.