surfingelectrod

Thanks.

kingtopher

Yeah I was a little bummed that they were closed on the 8th even though the coupons said they were good through the 8th. Oh well, it's just a missed sale for Borders. I'll wait until the next coupon.

FangsFirst

Bizarre. We were open for *different* hours, but certainly not closed.

Not really a recognized holiday according to our handbook either.

Lazy ass stores!

MikeShaynePI

Didn't the coupons used to be good until Mondays? I mean come on. Sending coupons out Thursday morning to have them expire on a Sunday? I can understand them not wanting the coupons to be good on Tuesdays, as this is when new DVDs come out, but why not Mondays?

dx23

Well, Borders has started its new rewards program with a bang!

BORDERS REWARDS EXCLUSIVE OFFER
VALID 4/19/07 THROUGH 4/22/07
Take 10% Off
Your Total Purchase
and Borders Will Donate
5% of Your Purchase
to the GRAMMY Foundation

http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/coupon_100419.htm

So this coupon can be combined with other specials and discounts but not any other coupon, like the 20% off available all the time at www.visitborders.com .

Really, if this is the way they are going, I'll be shopping less and less in their store.

cdollaz

Be sure to call the Rewards customer service and bitch. The person I talked to a few days ago said they had gotten a ton of complaints and would probably make some changes if enough people are pissed. The customer service people are in a tight spot because she basically admitted to me that they all know the new program sucks but they have to provide CS for it anyway. Their number is 800-443-7359. Be sure to detail every little thing that keeps you from shopping there, from the new program to the fact that their coupons are getting shittier and shittier and that good coupons are the only thing that make their prices competitive.

fliggil

My spending has certainly slowed substantially at Borders over the last 4 months, it would be nice to see some more frequent 30% coupons, otherwise I just can't justify shopping there.

Christi P

There is also an email address at the bottom of the emails they send out : [email protected]

I sent an email complaining about the downhill slide in the rewards program.

abintra

Could someone explain the whole Holiday Rewards/Borders Bucks thing to me?

I purchased an item on April 15th thinking the amount shown on my account that was earned for Holiday Rewards could be redeemed but the cashier said I had none and could only use a personal shopping day instead. I came home and logged into my account and it still showed my Holiday Rewards that she said I had none of.

Now I log in and see that I no longer have any Holiday Rewards due to redeeming a personal shopping day. There would have been a several dollar difference in rewards between the amount of Holiday Rewards I had versus the personal shopping 10% discount. Should I have been able to redeem my holiday reward amount instead of them giving me a personal shopping day?

FangsFirst

They shouldn't counteract each other regardless. That's very strange.

HSR should still be redeemable (through Jan 31, 08).
PSDs should be redeemable through May 30th (if they were earned by April 12).

Redeeming a PSD should not prevent HSR from being available, so you shouldn't have a zero balance "due to" redeeming a PSD. In fact, you can combine them when you have both.

Are you sure the cashier just hadn't confused terms and redeemed the HSR instead or something? (I'm only saying this assuming you didn't SPECIFICALLY calculate and/or look at the receipt)

dx23

Well, explain this to me:

I had $49.74 as of april 11 in qualifying purchases (all made in april). I saw that, so i went to Borders on april 11 and purchase Twin Peaks season 2 for $39.99. So I had over $50 in qualifying purchases by April 11, the last day before the reward changes. Guess what? The powers that be at Borders Rewards didn't give me a personal day and didn't add any acrued money to my holiday rewards account. I emailed them to see why this happened and a CS named Cory, replied that those $39.99 were going to show in my Border Bucks in May. I replied that I made the purchase before the changes to the program. Another CS named Toby replied that he was sorry, but that because of the changes, the only thing they could do for me was to give me a 10% off coupon to compensate for everything. I replied that the coupon could not be combined with other better coupons that have been given on a weekly basis, like the 20% off. I'm still awaiting what they pull out of their ass to give me as an anwser, but still, I still believe that this rewards program was just a scam to get our profiles and some personal information.

cdollaz

Call them, keep going up the ladder as far as necessary, and don't take no for an answer until you get the credit you deserve.

bookcase3

I received an email saying that I had $15.xx to spend from holiday savings rewards. Went to Borders the very same day to make a purchase, and they said I'd have to bring in the email because they didn't have any record of that. Went back nearly a week later, it showed up in their computers and I got to use the rewards. But to be honest, I don't know how this program works, even after all the posts above -- it's so convoluted. I'll just look at it as free money when/if I get future rewards, although I won't be getting too much because I only buy things there when we get 30% coupons -- otherwise their prices just aren't competitive.

abintra

I contacted the email posted here and was told the same thing dx23. That my holiday rewards balance was zero now because it wouldn't be added until May 1st, even though it was already on my account due to my purchases being from past months.

My only guess is that all HSR went inactive starting 4/12 and won't be rolled into Borders Bucks starting until that May 1st date. Not sure if that is true though since my account listed them as Borders Bucks, reduced to that amount instead of the HSR amount, on 4/14 when I made my purchase. The responses from their email address don't specifically address anything beyond saying that May 1st is when they will be added to my account.

I read it the same way you stated, that HSR could be redeemed after 4/12 but I was denied them as the cashier had no idea what I was talking about because my rewards card showed no HSR (or Borders Bucks or whatever they are called now). She automatically used my PSD, since it was earned before 4/12, reflected on the receipt but, as of now, I no longer have any HSR/Borders Bucks that were reflected on my account immediately before that purchase when she used the PSD.

I honestly have no idea how this is supposed to work. For all I know everything is working the way it is supposed to but the wording on the site suggests to me that I should have had HSR/BB to redeem.

FangsFirst

Naturally anything that was earned in 2006 (up until 12/31/2006) has disappeared from accounts after Jan 31, 2007, as that was its expiration date. HSR earned Jan 31st, 2007 up through April 11th, 2007 should be available through Jan 31st, 2008 (assuming you hit the $10 minimum threshold).

And Borders Bucks are not accrued gradually, if you will--they're accrued in the fashion that Best Buy's reward zone credit is. There is not a 'balance' until you reach the $150 threshold that earns $5 of credit--and considering the credit is issued the month after it is earned, it would make sense that purchases building up just apply the next month as well.


So I guess what the question is is this:
Had you spent $200 since Jan 1 by Apr 11?

If you had not, that's the real answer to all of this--and if you had, well, I'm lost.

abintra

Tried emailing them again and received a reply that was more specific. My account didn't have $10 worth off HSR before 4/12 so even though it showed I had HSR to use on 4/14 it wasn't applicable to me since it was less than $10.

Everything I had for HSR was erased on 4/12 since it wasn't more than $10 and will now be accumulated based on $5 reward for every $150 spent and that amount will be reflected on my account and able to be used starting May 1st.

Edit: I didn't see the above post before typing.

I was confused why my account listed my holiday rewards amount on 4/14 if that wasn't the amount that could be redeemed. I knew I hadn't hit the $200 amount but it stated that anyone that hadn't would have their amount rolled into Borders Bucks. I presumed that is what it was showing available for me to use on 4/14. Even though it showed more than $5 available for me, it wasn't applicable because I hadn't spent $150 since 1/07. It didn't state that additional qualifier and I hadn't been aware of that until now.

FangsFirst

Admittedly, it wasn't broadcasted very loudly, but it has been in the documentation from the beginning.

abintra

I just recently signed up for the program so hadn't received any program changes notices. Just started reading this thread or else I wouldn't have realized it at all other than the paragraph in my account of..

Beginning April 12, 2007, 2007 Holiday Savings Rewards may be redeemed immediately through January 31, 2008. Members who have not made at least two hundred dollars ($200.00) in Qualifying Purchases between January 1, 2007 and April 11, 2007 will have all of their Qualifying Purchases between January 1, 2007 and April 11, 2007 applied toward the calculation of Borders Bucks.

FangsFirst

Oh, right, I was just saying the threshhold was not a change

ThePrimeDreamer

So I've been thinking about this lately. With this "new" Borders Rewards program, is it even viable to still use it or has it gone the route of Best Buy's Rewards Program where you really don't get any savings? Should I just go back and get a Barnes and Noble card?

FangsFirst

What?
1) How does Best Buy's not save? Ok, admittedly, it's 2% and takes forever to actually come into effect...unless you're referring to it prior to it being free.

2) To be able to use the original savings with BR, you had to spend $200 to get any credit, now it's $150. Admittedly, for less, but it's a lower thresh hold.

3) The coupons still exist (I still think they probably got reduced because of the overuse of them, as well as the ultra-lax stores who LET people overuse them...) and although the 30%s are more rare these days, they do still come around. And they still require membership.

4) What? I'm always completely lost by anyone who complains about borders prices then goes to B&N. OK, box sets are 10% off. Otherwise, they're almost always HIGHER...and their membership card is $25, so you have to spend $250 before you even break even on the cost...at least even if you "never" save anything with Borders Rewards, there's no chance it will cost you anything...

bdhart

Here is a $10 off $50 coupon:

http://www.bordersstores.com/feature...oupon_erewards

g

barnes and noble membership card can start to save you a lot whe you combine it with members only coupons. Its easy to regularly get 15 percent off instore coupons plus the ten percent. Then there is their extremely competitive online prices. And their occasional sales like the buy 1 get 1 tv sales.

jeffrey r

Hey Fangs,

I was checking out the other day and used some HR points, and the girl at the checkout said I needed to use my HR points up by the end of the month. I thought they were good through next January. She's wrong, correct?

FangsFirst

She's wrong--you can see from the info I posted above, straight from bordersrewards.com!

Fair enough, but I get people who say they will immediately go there. Now, if one is patient for their coupons and such, ok. I dunno. It's still illogical to suggest there are no savings with the two rewards cards mentioned...