BB RZ - Bonus 500 points - Stuff you should know about

When Halo Reach became available for pre-order, I did so and paid with a Reward Certificate and BB GC. I had an idea that I wouldn't receive the regular purchase points but would receive the Gamers Club promo. My whole in-store pick-up experience was a mess and long story short. I went to check on my points today and have not received the 500 points - not surprised as I am not impressed by BB anymore.

Take a look at the restrictions for the new Assassins Creed here:

https://myrewardzone.bestbuy.com/offerDetails.jspx?offerCode=GO1_AC

Limit 3 games per offer, maximum 1500 bonus points. Not good in combination with any other promotions. Reward Zone® program members cannot earn bonus points in combination with other promotional points offers. Bonus points (as defined in the applicable rules) will not be multiplied. Members earn these bonus points in addition to points earned as part of the standard Reward Zone program. Points are not awarded on purchases paid by Best Buy gift card(s) or reward certificate(s). Points are not awarded for instant and mail-in rebates; promotional gift card offers; Best Buy gift card redemptions; sales tax, state fees, shipping charges, delivery charges and restocking fees; prior purchases; Outlet Center items; special order, clearance, demo and open-box items. Valid at BestBuy.com and Best Buy stores in the U.S.A.; excludes stores in Puerto Rico. Best Buy employees are not eligible for this promotion. Games must be pre-ordered by 11/15/10, and purchased between 11/16/10 and 11/20/10.

and general terms here:

https://myrewardzone.bestbuy.com/offerDetails.jspx?offerCode=GO110CERT

I could've sworn those were not restrictions before - but as they now state, they can change the rules anytime they want.

I'm soo sad that I wrote them an email:

"Hello. I am writing to RewardZone customer service because I've been having problems with this entire purchase and my Best Buy experience. My Order No./Customer PIN is 123456789. I went online at RewardZone's website to discover that I have not yet been awarded the 500 points by pre-ordering the video game, Halo Reach, as promoted and advertised on Best Buy/GamerZone. Tonight is the first time that I've seen restrictions in receiving the bonus points, for example - maximum 1500 points, restrictions on how the purchase was made especially in regards to Reward Certificates and Best Buy gift cards being used as payment. It is saddening that these restrictions go unnoticed by an excited and willing customer, especially when Best Buy can change their mind on the policies anytime just as your policy now states. I know that these restrictions did not exist prior to my purchase, and a previous phone call to customer service on my sad Best Buy experience confirmed that I'd still receive my 500 points - but now, your policy changed, again. If these restrictions are a result of patrons who exploit the program, I feel that Best Buy is treating me unfairly, as I am not one of those customers. In fact, no matter how many bad experiences that I've had with Best Buy customer service and the failed and un-speedy in-store pick-up, I've stood my ground as a Best Buy customer. I am ever increasing becoming a non-customer, especially with issues like this. It is sad that Best Buy has chased all of the smaller electronics and video game stores out of my neighborhood, because now, I have no alternative.

Mr. X
Member ID #1234567890"

I hope this helps to prevent any future heartbreak to any of my CAGamers.

Peace!

[quote name='Tony208']Points are not awarded on purchases paid by Best Buy gift card(s) or reward certificate(s).

[/QUOTE]

I know, huh. Ain't that some shiznit!

Has anybody been a victim of this?

They are also starting to enforce the preorder and purchase rule in order to get your 500 points. Some boxes reflect this wording.

I remember seeing the 1500 max back when SC: Conviction was released. I bought two and was looking into buying two more for my buds but didn't because of the limit.

I think that they should disclose this without having to dig for it. It should be right there on the page of the item. I would've never thought about looking for these details had I not checked my account for the missing points. I even spoke to a RZ CSR whom said that my points would be there. Big time suck!

[quote name='Tony208']Points are not awarded on purchases paid by Best Buy gift card(s) or reward certificate(s).

[/QUOTE]

I use a reward certificate on nearly every purchase I make at Best Buy. You don't get points for the value of the certificate. If you buy a $50 item with a $20 certificate, you'll still get 30 points.

Yea, the highlighted part in the OP has been in place since at least Alan Wake. Technically they also do bait & switch because all of their cases say "500 Points for pre-ordering" however when you go into the details on the website, its "500 points for Pre-ordering and purchasing the game on release".

I started looking at the Best Buy reward program and I don't see the benefit in using it. The program is complicated and it takes far too long for points to be credited or certificates issued. I think it would probably be useful for folks who buy a lot of dvds or other items at BB, but since you can't chain pre-order bonuses on videogames, for me Amazon makes much more sense. (or KMart, but I don't have one in my town) I'll keep an eye out for straight gift card deals like the $20 for Reach, but I don't think I'll bother with the bonus points.

I received a reply back from BB RZ today:

Hi (Minos1067),

I understand your concern over your pre-order and whether or not you will receive the bonus points for your purchase. It is our policy with Reward Zone to never award points for purchases made with gift cards and certificates, including Gamer's purchases because the certificates are a gift from us to the customer and gift cards have already been awarded points once when the card was purchased. As for bonus points, you should still receive your 500 bonus point for the game purchase. It takes up to 45 days from the date you received the game for the points to post. If the system has not updated your points balance to reflect the bonus points 45 days after your game arrived, please contact us back so that we can manually add the points for you. I do apologize for any frustration that you may have over the way the program is set up, but it is designed so that we can continue providing Rewards as the customer is our top priority.

Sincerely,

Tiffany R.
Best Buy Customer Care Team

I'm Still not sure if it helps my hurt feelings. Nah, it doesn't. There's still no change in my account. Guess I'll wait up to 45 days.

Dougtron 3030 is right. I'll be saying bye-bye to Best Buy.

knowledge bump