'Having trouble, are we?' I hope not! (ipoints.co.uk)

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Product:	ipoints.co.uk
Date:	01/06/01 (1 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: money for nothing...

Disadvantages: ...but no chicks for free!!!

ipoints - one of the better reward schemes and, along with web rewards, might be able to carry on were others have failed through tougher market conditions.

The basic deal for the user is this: shop online and get 'ipoints' in a simular way to the supermarkets and once the threshold has been reached, redeem them from a variety of options given from ipoints directly or from their partners. Other ways of earning include things such as visiting sites and/or registering with companies as a possible future customer. Then of course there is the 'normal' thing of surveys and competitions from the company and their partners.

A good scheme which should carry on when the likes of Beenz and Trocas are long dead and buried. On the downside, some of the partners don't pay up which is rather naughty (companies such as 'yoursource' and 'sharpcards' - you should be ashamed of yourselves!!!).

Earlier this year (2001), I noticed the first signs of trouble (I hope I'm wrong about this - certainly now their seems to be a lot more companies on board with ipoints now) when they discontinuing offering ipoints to members who refer new people to sign up, offering a prize instead. Then, the redemption levels were raised. For a £5 Boots voucher, this would cost 70 ipoints. Then it was 75 and very soon after that, 80. Now, the minimum has been raised to 150 ipoints for a £10.00 voucher. In a way it's "cheaper" but whenever companies raise the minimum redemption price, it's always a sign of trouble. Or it could simply be reduced administration costs (perhaps if they were to offer online gift certificates, like amazon.co.uk, this might reduce them further.

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