Freeride - RIP?
Apr 10, 2001 | 4:17 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 367
Freeride - RIP?
I received the email from Freeride today:
"Greetings FreeRider!
This email is to notify you of an issue concerning your recent certificate
order. Because of some fulfillment problems and delays, we are no longer using
800 Gift Certificates to fulfill FreeRide gift certificate orders. As a
result,we are unable to fulfill your order placed between 3/23 and 3/28. The
points
have been refunded to your wallet, and you are free to use them to place a new
order.
All new certificate orders are being handled through a different vendor, and
will be fulfilled 2-3 weeks from the order date. Our new gift certificate
vendor does not issue order numbers, so if you have a question about your
orderplease contact us here directly.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused by the cancellation of
your order. We are always working to improve our service, and we hope this
change will help us to do that. Your patience and understanding are
appreciated.
Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions about
this. Thanks for participating in FreeRide!"
How bad is this, the reversed already placed order, the selection of giftcerts is sharply down to 24. They got rid of $50 - 5750 points awards, only $25 - 2950 remains, and the only travel-related one is $25 Marriott.
Is this writing on the wall?
"Greetings FreeRider!
This email is to notify you of an issue concerning your recent certificate
order. Because of some fulfillment problems and delays, we are no longer using
800 Gift Certificates to fulfill FreeRide gift certificate orders. As a
result,we are unable to fulfill your order placed between 3/23 and 3/28. The
points
have been refunded to your wallet, and you are free to use them to place a new
order.
All new certificate orders are being handled through a different vendor, and
will be fulfilled 2-3 weeks from the order date. Our new gift certificate
vendor does not issue order numbers, so if you have a question about your
orderplease contact us here directly.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused by the cancellation of
your order. We are always working to improve our service, and we hope this
change will help us to do that. Your patience and understanding are
appreciated.
Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions about
this. Thanks for participating in FreeRide!"
How bad is this, the reversed already placed order, the selection of giftcerts is sharply down to 24. They got rid of $50 - 5750 points awards, only $25 - 2950 remains, and the only travel-related one is $25 Marriott.
Is this writing on the wall?
Apr 10, 2001 | 9:43 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Hartford, CT, USA
Posts: 155
They did the same thing to me last year with AT&T Worldnet Service credit. After deducting the points, they credited them back saying they no longer offer the award. Then they even messed up the credit.
I haven't really used them anymore, since the magic bus went in for service. Now that it's back, it's still pretty useless. Honestly, I don't understand the purpose of the magic bus. It's quite simple to click on a banner and then start surfing your favorite websites rather than their options.
I think advertisers really expect that when people sign up for newsletters or such, that they will at least give some attention. With the magic bus I wonder what they think. How much time can you spend at only these websites to earn the points to win? It's obvious that you are going to be heading somewhere else, and still collect your points.
It seems there needs to be better ideas besides contest entries....after all...when AllAdvantage went this route, that was the end.
Adam
I haven't really used them anymore, since the magic bus went in for service. Now that it's back, it's still pretty useless. Honestly, I don't understand the purpose of the magic bus. It's quite simple to click on a banner and then start surfing your favorite websites rather than their options.
I think advertisers really expect that when people sign up for newsletters or such, that they will at least give some attention. With the magic bus I wonder what they think. How much time can you spend at only these websites to earn the points to win? It's obvious that you are going to be heading somewhere else, and still collect your points.
It seems there needs to be better ideas besides contest entries....after all...when AllAdvantage went this route, that was the end.
Adam
Apr 13, 2001 | 6:58 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 284
I have to honest, and while I agree that Freeride is pretty much a no-goer anymore, 800 Gift Certificates were a problem. On two occasions that I have ordered certificates through them (once with Freeride and another with a different scheme) the order has been messed up, with the points being deducted and the cert never being sent. Then followed a massive battle to get the points back.
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Mark
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Mark
Apr 13, 2001 | 1:02 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Seattle
Posts: 559
I have to say that I've been VERY happy with FreeRide lately. I'm earning more with FreeRide than with MyPoints and Milesource (and I have a LOT of referrals on Milesource, vs. almost none on FreeRide, so that tells you something).
On FreeRide it's very easy to get 60 points per day (30 for searches, 30 for showcase sponsors in the bottom panel) and not hard at all to get more from the Magic Bus. Contrast this with MyPoints, which sends out 10-point offers only intermittently these days and offers only 10 guaranteed points per day. Likewise with Milesource, which is currently paying out only about 30-34 points per day.
I take all my FreeRide awards in WebCertificates, which are much better than SuperCertificates because you can use them almost anywhere that takes MasterCard. This really increases your spending options. In fact, you can easily turn around and buy something with your WebCertificate account through any merchant on FreeRide (or MyPoints or ClickRewards, etc.) and earn MORE miles/points on the purchase, since it looks like you are paying with MasterCard. Talk about double dipping!
As for the complaints about the Magic Bus, I think they are unjustified, particularly since FreeRide recently changed the system to allow EITHER cashing in tokens for guaranteed points OR using tokens to enter the sweepstakes for higher point awards each day.
By the way, I've had no problems with getting WebCertificates by e-mail within a few days of requesting the awards. I suspect the problems with SuperCertificates are on GiftCertificates.com's end -- I've been told the same routine (accusing FreeRide of not paying bills) occurred last year and GiftCertificates.com eventually admitted they were in error.
All I know is, my WebCertificates are arriving regularly, and I'm very happy indeed.
On FreeRide it's very easy to get 60 points per day (30 for searches, 30 for showcase sponsors in the bottom panel) and not hard at all to get more from the Magic Bus. Contrast this with MyPoints, which sends out 10-point offers only intermittently these days and offers only 10 guaranteed points per day. Likewise with Milesource, which is currently paying out only about 30-34 points per day.
I take all my FreeRide awards in WebCertificates, which are much better than SuperCertificates because you can use them almost anywhere that takes MasterCard. This really increases your spending options. In fact, you can easily turn around and buy something with your WebCertificate account through any merchant on FreeRide (or MyPoints or ClickRewards, etc.) and earn MORE miles/points on the purchase, since it looks like you are paying with MasterCard. Talk about double dipping!
As for the complaints about the Magic Bus, I think they are unjustified, particularly since FreeRide recently changed the system to allow EITHER cashing in tokens for guaranteed points OR using tokens to enter the sweepstakes for higher point awards each day.
By the way, I've had no problems with getting WebCertificates by e-mail within a few days of requesting the awards. I suspect the problems with SuperCertificates are on GiftCertificates.com's end -- I've been told the same routine (accusing FreeRide of not paying bills) occurred last year and GiftCertificates.com eventually admitted they were in error.
All I know is, my WebCertificates are arriving regularly, and I'm very happy indeed.