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No teller of loyalty

June 30, 2011 by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

Got a surprising piece of news in the mail recently from my bank. Effective July 1, it said, I will no longer be able to earn reward points on purchases made with my debit card. The reason is recent legislation that caps the fees banks can charge retailers and other companies for processing debit card purchases.

This should not have surprised me, except that I had no idea I was in a loyalty program with my bank. This is a lender with whom I have done business for almost eight years. I've used its debit/credit card for almost eight years, too, yet it was never once communicated to me that I was a member of a loyalty program.

"Any reward points you've earned prior to this date will be available for redemption in accordance with the program terms," the bank notice states.

Oooh, rewards? Maybe this is not such a bad surprise. So I tap into the loyalty program's website. What rewards can I earn? Electronics? Tickets? Gift cards? But wait, I only have 1,000 points. One thousand points, and the minimum requirement for redemption is 2,000 points.

So the program I never knew I was a member of was worthless to me anyway. At least my bank was forced to point this out.

About Lisa Biank Fasig

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