Grab has just announced a major update to its GrabRewards programme, which will come into effect on 2 March 2020.
“Our customers today interact with the Grab app more frequently for their transport, food, payments and other needs, and are demanding for better engagement on the platform,” a Grab statement said.
“With shifts in customer expectations, coupled with the overall growth of our ecosystem, the way we reward and create value for our customers must change too.”
The changes are pretty significant, so if you’re a frequent collector of GrabRewards Points or recently signed up for the new GrabPay Mastercard, here’s what you need to know.
Reduced GrabRewards Points Per Transaction
Firstly, users will be earning less GrabRewards Points with each transaction they make.
Under the current programme, Grab offers different point-earning rates for spending on GrabExpress (parcel delivery), Grab rides or GrabFood, and GrabPay.
This is what users are now earning for their transactions across Grab’s various services:
People usually focus on GrabPay as it offers the highest number of points — with 5 to 10 points awarded for each S$1 spent (both online and offline), depending on your GrabRewards membership tier.
However, come 2 March 2020, the new programme standardises the point-earning rate across all types of Grab transactions.
Users will only be able to earn 2 to 4 GrabRewards Points per S$1 spent.
Compared to the current system, GrabPay transactions will see the biggest cut, with a 60% reduction in points awarded per dollar.
Rewards Cost More Points To Redeem
On the other hand, the cost to redeem GrabRewards will be increased.
Right now, the amount of points needed to redeem Grab vouchers is staggered so that members who have unlocked higher tiers get bigger discounts.
For example, a S$10 Grab ride or GrabFood voucher now costs 4,200 points for a normal member, 4,000 points for a Silver member, 3,800 points for a Gold member, and 3,600 points for a Platinum member.
Under the new programme, Grab will be increasing the cost of their vouchers, and higher-tiered members will no longer enjoy discounted prices.
Regardless of your membership tier, Grab and GrabFood vouchers will soon cost 550 points for S$1 off, 2,500 points for S$5 off, and 5,000 points for S$10 off.
S$15, S$20 and S$25 vouchers will no longer be offered.
We did a quick calculation to compare how much a S$10 Grab voucher costs for a Platinum member, before and after the update.
Currently, a Platinum member needs 3,600 GrabRewards Points to redeem a S$10 voucher. Earning 10 points for each S$1 they spend on GrabPay transactions, they would need to spend $360 to reach this number of points.
After the update takes effect, a Platinum member will need 5,000 GrabRewards Points to get S$10 off, as will any other member. Platinum members will earn 4 points for each S$1 spent, which requires them to spend S$1,250.
Spend More To Unlock And Maintain Membership Tiers
With the reduction in points awarded, this also means it will take more spending to unlock and maintain each membership tier.
Silver membership is unlocked at 300 points, Gold membership at 1,200 points, and Platinum membership at 4,500 points.
A normal member (5 points per S$1) can now qualify for Silver by spending S$60, a Silver member (5 points per S$1) upgrades to Gold by spending S$240, and a Gold member (7.5 points per S$1) hits Platinum when they spend S$600.
After the update, normal members (2 points per S$1) must spend S$150 to hit Silver, Silver members (2 points per S$1) must spend S$600 to hit Gold, and Gold members (3 points per S$1) must spend S$1,500 to hit Platinum.
Likewise, the cost to maintain your current tier also goes up accordingly.
GrabPay Removed In Some Places
One Grab user has also noticed that GrabPay is no longer being accepted to make payment in a few places, like YouTrip, Revolut and AXS.
It is uncertain if GrabPay has also been removed in any other products and services.
New Ways To Rewards Users: Seasonal Campaigns, Flash Sales, ‘Challenges’
Despite the reduction in points-per-dollar, Grab promises that users will have “more places to earn and spend their reward points at millions of merchants”.
“In addition, customers can also look forward to more ways of earning points and rewards, such as through Challenges, flash sales and moment-based campaigns,” Grab added.
The firm has already introduced some of these, such as the current ‘Zodiac Coin Hunt’ campaign for Chinese New Year, which gives users a chance to win weekly grand prizes of up to S$58,888 and enjoy promos from participating merchants.
Grab is also holding its very first GrabRewards Flash Sale from 21 January 2020 to 3 February 2020, offering up to 50% off selected redemptions.
With this new direction, Grab will probably be running more of such campaigns regularly.
But if these don’t entice you, the best you can do is make the most of the existing GrabRewards programme before 2 March 2020.
Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post