Stephen Pepper has serious reservations about Pepper (the app), Citi files another strata card brand, and United “massacres” parts of its rewards table. All that and more in this week’s Saturday Selection, our weekly roundup of interesting news from around the web. (Links to the original articles are embedded in the titles).
Pepper’s Problems with Pepper
Gift cards and Pepper have it all. Regular readers will recognize our British pal Stephen Pepper, the Sultan of Savings (he put the Pepper in Sultan Pepper). Not only does Stephen work with us at FM, he’s also the author and editor of Gift Cards Galore, the authoritative gift card website that enjoys near-biblical status among buyers, sellers and resellers alike. Then things got complicated when Pepper Rewards debuted. Pepper (Rewards) is an app that burst onto the scene by storm earlier this year, selling in-demand brands at such low prices that it single-handedly drove down gift card resale prices across the country. There are problems with Pepperdise (the app, not the British guy), however. They’ve revamped their rewards program several times, creating a confusing, two-tier system where part of the bonus is paid out immediately and the second tranche is delivered in two (and now three) weeks. In addition to the weird multipliers and odd payout periods, there is no way to track the amount of rewards you’ve received, and the two interns in the background who manually award them often do so incorrectly, resulting in extra “coins” (Pepper’s reward currency) being awarded or taken away. Recently, there has been an increasing spate of “too good to be true” prizes that include future payouts; the whole thing sounds more and more like a “Ponzi” to me. I’m becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Pepper (the app, not the guy) and wanted to write a post outlining what’s going on. Stephen has kindly written a better, more complete post about Pepper than I ever would have; it’s a necessary cautionary read for anyone who participates in the program.
Citi files a trademark for Citi Strata Select … and it looks boring
The Citi Prestige was one of the best credit cards in points and miles history. The original card had a $450 annual fee but included $250 in flight credits, free green fees at golf courses, access to the American Airlines Admirals Club, the fourth night free at every hotel through Citi, and the ability to book cash flights with AA at 1.6 cents per point. When the Prestige first came out, the common refrain was, “How can this be profitable?” The answer was that it wasn’t… not at all. Citi’s one entry into the ultra-premium card game was slowly chipped away like a chainsaw until it was eventually removed from Citi’s portfolio altogether. Since the demise of the Prestige, there have been ongoing rumors that Citi was on its way back to the ultra-premium high-end life, rumors that heated up even more when the bank issued trademarks for two new cards: the Strata Premier and the Strata Elite. Those tantalizing promises fizzled out, however; the Strata Elite was shelved, and the Strata Premier was just the new name for the card previously known as the “Citi Premier.” Now Citi has filed for another trademark, this time for the Strata Select. Doctor of Credit suspects this is most likely the new name of Citi Rewards+, a boring sock card whose sole purpose in life is to offer 10% annual rebates on up to 100,000 points redeemed. Sigh.
Influencers find out that a glass hotel room is not as great as it is advertised
Imagine receiving an offer in your email inbox from the Paradiso Hotel, a boutique hotel in Ibiza, Spain. A bold headline reads, “Secure a free stay at a four-star hotel!” All you have to do is sleep in a glass-walled exhibition room in the hotel lobby with the lights on while drunk clubbers returning from a night of drinking gawk and point fingers at you. Sounds like a great time, right? That’s what “influencer” couple Margaret and Corey Bienert thought too. They decided to take up the Paradiso’s paradisiacal offer, but didn’t find it quite to their taste, saying the whole thing ultimately left them feeling “vulnerable” and “part of the art.” I can’t imagine why.
A massacre by United Mileage Plus
Airlines have been devaluing their prices in recent years, and some of the worst offenders have been United and Delta. Both airlines no longer have a published award chart (apparently Stephen King wasn’t available to write it), so they can charge pretty much any price they like. As a result, tracking price increases on specific routes can be difficult at best. In May, there were several reports of significant price increases on United partner awards, perhaps most notably to and from Japan. After a Godzilla-sized outcry, United walked back those changes… but it seems they’ve reared their ignominious head again. Increases of over 50% seem to be common; some routes have doubled in price. Delta SkyPennies SkyMiles have long been among the lowest valued U.S. airline miles, but in recent years it seems as though Mileage Plus has made it its mission not to let Delta take the crown. Loyalty Lobby has been following these developments and describes the recent increases in the linked article.
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