New AA points scheme stinks?

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Rickles

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#92186 28-Oct-2011 11:35

I've just received advice that AA rewards/points will no longer attract a monetary value, that I used to be able to apply to my annual membership fee.

Now, a member gets points when spending at 'participating retailers', which is much as before, BUT are only redeemable when buying petrol at BP or Caltex! It seems that BP is not even any longer considered a 'participating retailer', which is where most people's points were earned.

Further, the points/discounts on fuel purchases expire at the end of the month following the month they were earned, so fillinmg up will become a logistical nightmare.

Seems a little stink to me.

R.

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#538621 28-Oct-2011 11:41

Yes its the implementation of thier pilot scheme that they had running in Palmy. It focus' on the fuel discounts to use at BP and Caltex. You accumulate petrol discounts around other retailers and it adds up. Which I guess makes sense because they are an Automobile Association.

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Chainsaw

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#538660 28-Oct-2011 12:46

I agree - stinks. I used my card when filling the work car, I could use the points on what I wanted. Points DID NOT EXPIRE. That was one of their marketing tools.

Have to go back to the dreaded Fly Buys now.

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Snowflake

#538661 28-Oct-2011 12:47

i've never found AA rewards or flybuys rewards very rewarding. what do you expect though, when its 'something for nothing'.

the petrol discount thing sounded interesting though, and it doesnt take long to accumulate savings with dicounts of 8c or 10c per litre. I tend to use online shopping a bit, so i miss out of fuel dscount receipts from supermarkets at times. this might get me back saving on fuel, so might actually work well for me.

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timmmay

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#538664 28-Oct-2011 12:52

That's a good way to get people to go to Shell, or Z Energy.

The AA scheme's a little confusing, but I think I get it. Spend money at retailers in the scheme, they'll give you x cents per litre off your next fillup. So I guess if you buy a bunch of things, you might get 10-50c per litre off your fuel. The question is where do you earn these points, because they haven't said in their mailouts.

I'm only an AA member because I want the breakdown service. The points I got helped make it cheaper. I may just switch to State Roadside Rescue if it makes more financial sense.

Shock

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#538673 28-Oct-2011 12:59

Smart Fuel is the website around it http://www.smartfuel.co.nz/cms_display.php

I remember it being on Campbell Live and general feedback was it was a sucess with some people raking in the bargains given large family size and frequent shops.

You would be inclined to assume that if BP & Caltex are where you redeem these points you could see the supermarkets associated with their current docket schemes being added to the list of retailers for smart fuel.

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CYaBro

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#538674 28-Oct-2011 13:00

What stinks even more is you don't even need to be an AA member to get the discounts!
Anyone can get a card according to the AA website.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

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Rickles

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#538675 28-Oct-2011 13:03

Guys,

Even though the mailout says to discard the old card, I have now noted that the AA web site still has the standard Rewards scheme displayed, so I have sought clarification if there is in fact two schemes or just one!

Personally, I have no need for the discount petrol scheme, which looks pretty dicey regards timing anyway.

And the fuel scheme is open to anyone in NZ, not just AA members specifically!

R.

scuwp

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#538691 28-Oct-2011 13:13

Rickles: Guys,

Even though the mailout says to discard the old card, I have now noted that the AA web site still has the standard Rewards scheme displayed, so I have sought clarification if there is in fact two schemes or just one!

Personally, I have no need for the discount petrol scheme, which looks pretty dicey regards timing anyway.

And the fuel scheme is open to anyone in NZ, not just AA members specifically!

R.

If I recall the letter correctly it goes on to say that you still accumulate points under the old scheme until 1 Nov. The new card will do that for you. After that date any points already rewarded under the old scheme will be used to offset your next annual membership costs.

Personally most of these rewards schemes are just not worth it. You have to collect like a trillion points just to get enough to redeem for a CD or cheap toaster, so a few cents off each gas purchase is fine by me.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

Chainsaw

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#538698 28-Oct-2011 13:20

I have found the AA Rewards very worth it, as I fill up the company car. I would go out of my way a bit just to go to a BP station. But now I won't be able to use the new scheme as any discount will automatically go to the company fill-up, good for the company, bad for me. So switch to Fly Buys, good for me!

Regs

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Snowflake

#538713 28-Oct-2011 13:38

CYaBro: What stinks even more is you don't even need to be an AA member to get the discounts!
Anyone can get a card according to the AA website.

the letter i got said that AA members got special offers, and earned rewards faster or some such thing

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dclegg

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#538733 28-Oct-2011 14:07

Regs: i've never found AA rewards or flybuys rewards very rewarding. what do you expect though, when its 'something for nothing'.

FlyBuys is actually quite lucrative for us. We have it connected to our mortgage, and as a result we rack up the points fairly quickly. We generally use the points to buy things we'd never entertain buying normally (e.g. a $200 All Blacks stadium jacket)

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Rickles

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#538788 28-Oct-2011 16:37

Guys,

I have just had a response from the AA, and they pretty much confirm that the new SmartFuel scheme REPLACES their hitherto Reward scheme. Here is their reply -

"AA Smartfuel replaces the AA Rewards Programme where you will be able to accumulate cents per litre fuel discounts by shopping at participating retailers and swiping your card.
You can then redeem your accumulated fuel discount at BP stations and participating Caltex stations.

You can still earn AA Rewards Points up until the 6th of November and from the 7th of November onwards you can start accumulating cents per litre fuel discounts. Any AA Rewards Points you earn up until the 6th of November will go towards discounting your AA Membership subscription upon your renewal.

We replaced AA Rewards with the new AA Smartfuel programme because many Members have told us they wanted AA to help them reduce the cost of fuel. While this means that Members will no longer receive AA Rewards discounts off their Membership subscription, we expect that the regular savings on fuel that AA Smartfuel will provide, coupled with a stronger partner village in time, will mean that AA Members will receive much more in value from AA Smartfuel than from AA Rewards".

Still stinky .

R.

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#538803 28-Oct-2011 17:24

The new scheme is a bit yawn. It's also incredibly complex and very difficult to track your actual savings, remembering that you can only save fuel once, and to a maximum of 50l (forget filling a Holden/Falcon and saving 20c)

Regs

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Snowflake

#538805 28-Oct-2011 17:26

dclegg:
Regs: i've never found AA rewards or flybuys rewards very rewarding. what do you expect though, when its 'something for nothing'.

FlyBuys is actually quite lucrative for us. We have it connected to our mortgage, and as a result we rack up the points fairly quickly. We generally use the points to buy things we'd never entertain buying normally (e.g. a $200 All Blacks stadium jacket)

flybuys on a bnz mortgage? i looked into that, but i could negotiate a much better rate on their the non-flybuys mortages which made a lot more sense. $1500 less interest per annum and a faster mortgage clearing, or $500 of bonus fly buys points? you choose...

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mattwnz

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#538813 28-Oct-2011 17:46

I find that retailers who give you loyalty points, you can often buy cheaper elsewhere. Many do have to have their prices higher to cover the costs of these loyalty schemes. The other things is that they are collecting data from you, which is then onsold.

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