My Coke Rewards: the semi-end of an era · 4:15pm Mar 23rd, 2017
For putting in points, yesterday was the last day.
(Well, not quite. This is still MCR, and so the programming was flubbed. It was still possible to enter points for about three hours beyond the deadline. But for the intended purpose, yesterday.)
When you're an MCR member, you get used to being lied to. It's what corporations do. Coke recently ran a series of surveys among selected, invited individuals, which seems to have been pretty much everyone with an MCR membership. They asked what people wanted from the program in a series of questions, each of which had possible four answers, with none of those answers being what anyone truly wanted to say. They then announced that they were renewing the program for another year. And I? Shrugged, then checked my winter stockpile and verified that I had enough caps put aside to get through the cold without having to fight my way through snowdrifts and plow-made walls to reach the recycling hutches. No issues there.
Shortly after that, they announced that in the name of their eternal deity, known as The Sustainability Of The Program, they had read the results of their poll. And what they'd concluded is that we didn't want for there to be a Program any more.
No, that question wasn't actually on the poll. We all know that the only reason you give out polls any more is to ignore them in a way which justifies the decision you'd already made.
We were told that there would still be a rewards system. Codes would remain good. They weren't going to stop printing fresh ones. But... we only had until March 22nd to enter points. (No bonus point opportunities were given out between announcement and deadline. And because they'd planned this all along, bonuses gained via an instant win which had been offered in November? Expired on 3/22.) After that, the catalog would remain up until June 30th, with no promises of restock, refresh, or new things to redeem for.
From July 1st on, there would be a new program. And all we've really been told about it is that there's no waiting involved. No one has to save up week by week for anything. You put in codes and you get rewarded on the spot. The central suspicion is that we're looking at a lot of digital wallpaper, with more than a hint of "a code is a code is a code" built in, so that a basic cap is worth as much as a club store's 32-pack label. No one's exactly predicting gift cards, even though that's what just about everyone requested more of in the actual poll. But there's no way to tell. They've told us pretty much nothing. And so we wait.
Well, they did tell us that if there were any points left in the old accounts once July hit, they would be donated to a charity of Coke's choice. Which comes off Coke's tax bill. Isn't Coke generous that way?
People freaked.
A number emptied their accounts immediately: gift cards (which sold out, and then were surprisingly restocked) and free 12-pack coupons at full price. Others called MCR, tried to get hints, got what they said were suggestions of a final sale, and decided to wait. Others spent a little, saved a little. (Here's the current catalog, including those things which are currently out of stock.)
On the first day after points entry ended, MCR added a new weekly sweepstakes. No promises that they'll actually manage to give the prize away, especially after the fiasco with the Amazon gift cards.
(Short version: they tried a mega-sweeps: five hundred cards at $500 apiece. Shortly after midnight on the final day for entries, anyone who logged into their account was told they'd won -- before the sweeps had actually ended. They also got to collect their gift cards immediately, for they were virtual cards and you just got a code in your Email after verifying your win -- and since there's no tax forms on a prize worth less than $600, you got them immediately. Actual drawing: vaporized. MCR apologies: none. But technically, five hundred people -- or rather, five hundred accounts -- did win...)
Because we've been told there will still be a program of some sort, people are still collecting caps. So if there's some ultra-Reward (digital wallpaper with nice graphics) which you need a thousand caps to Insta-Redeem! for on the new Day One? People will be ready and it'll go out of stock right after someone finishes typing all that in. Gosh, what a change.
Me? I spent what I could have put in normally during the final weeks, then kept entering points until I had it back. I have thousands of points still sitting on my balance and no idea what I'm going to do with them, especially with no promises of things staying in the catalog. I could always get multiple Cedar Fair amusement park tickets and trade them for Amazon credit -- if those stay in stock. But I don't know. I can see myself being put in a position where I'm looking at a couple of dozen magazine subscriptions and nothing else. That's the risk in waiting.
I have a few hundred unentered caps, and will undoubtedly have more by the time July arrives. I don't know if they're good for anything.
I'm frustrated, but that's my default setting with this program. No surprise.
But that frustration was never constant.
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Over the years...
I came in late. I missed the days of the game consoles and mega gift-cards: I entered after the program had already done its first Sustainability cutbacks. But...
In total, I've scored several hundred dollars in smaller holiday gift cards through redemptions, plus one big one through a sweepstakes win and some smaller pieces with instant win games. There's been other wins: a basketball hoop setup was given away, and my unusable Southwest tickets (remember those?), which I couldn't redeem or (legally) sell, were given to someone who'd always wanted to visit the West Coast. She found a way to cover her hotel and meals: I took care of airfare. The Universal Studios ticket wins? Those I sold, two years running, and then Coke stopped working with them entirely.
I haven't had to pay for sneakers for years, as long as I was buying Nike: those gift cards were always there. (I still have about $80 in unused credit.) Every winter, my soda was free, courtesy of the holiday 12-pack coupons. Magazines were taken care of. I got one big reward which somehow made it into the catalog for about ten minutes -- ten minutes when I was online and had the necessary points: an autographed NBA jersey. It paid more than half my rent for a month.
My little pot grill? MCR. The stovetop cast iron ridged one, for indoor grilling? Also MCR. Still holding up.
I arranged for some of you to get iTunes credit with a few simple texts.
Cedar Fair tickets in many seasons. Six Flags once in a while. Sold or given away.
I did all right. Not as well as some: I missed the first days. (And slept through the Amazon fiasco.) But I've won sweepstakes, where other have not. I was in the right place at the right time here and there. I didn't have a fast enough computer or connection for that time when the backed-up Battleship game finally went live and threw prizes in every direction, but I was able to give or trade the crucial black caps needed for entry to the people who could.
I, in all ways, over the lifetime of this program, came out ahead.
There were little wins and larger ones, good Rewards and sudden surprises. It was a frustrating program to be part of -- but not all the time. There were days when it was worth it, and they paid for the ones where it wasn't.
I'm glad I was part of it.
But now? Sun lowered, Moon not yet raised, standing within that moment of twilight and -- waiting. I don't know what's next. I know I'll have a few hundred caps which I can greet it with. Could be a thousand by July.
I don't know what's coming. I just know I don't like digital wallpaper...
I've circled July 1st on the calendar, and may be up at midnight to greet the new era.
I expect to be frustrated.
(Looks at stack of Coke 'ends' out of 12 packs stacked up on my shelf)
So, I wait until July, then enter the codes and wait for stuff. Got it. :)
4469027
You kind of have to. Something I didn't mention above: not only did they provide a points entry cutoff date, but they also blocked the establishment of new accounts. We got enough warning that angry people could have opened duplicate accounts for fictional residents of their households and earned another free 12-pack coupon for each, spreading out extra points where they could do some good. That much, MCR saw coming, and so moved to prevent it.
So no one new can enter the program (or rather, the new program) until July 1st, and there's a chance the established members might have to register again. But at the same time, everyone is theoretically starting even. It's just that -- well, it's what I said: I have a few hundred unentered caps. I may have a thousand by summer. If it's type-and-go, I'm ahead of anyone with less than me and behind those with more supply.
However, without knowing if there's anything worth redeeming for...
Based on what we got for the NCAA game, I'm expecting a lot of wallpaper. $5.00 gift cards might be pushing it.
I entered codes for about a year, using only the Coke my wife drinks normally. I got $5 iTunes one time.
Score.
4469032
I have... *quick counting* ...probably $70 in MCR iTunes credit, none of which I've ever used because I don't want to install any programs on my computer which seem to basically say "We're going to organize all content purchased from Apple and destroy all the rest."
And so it sits.
(Yes, that may not be how the code works, but the installation suggestion just comes across as sinister.)
I never did manage to get fully into MCR, never had the drive to go out of my way to find caps and prefer canned sodas over bottled (even then, I tend to buy Pepsi), but I've enjoyed reading about your experiences with it.
Maybe I should take more advantage of things like it in the future, gift cards are always nice to have. I know my roommate swears by Speedway' s rewards system, she's got 40k points saved up there.
If worst comes to worst, I hope it's at least a really nice wallpaper. Maybe a tastefully cropped mobile background.
I can only imagine how they'll botch this up even further. Maybe the point donation won't be converted to cash first.
"Here, have these bottle caps."
"... What?"
"Don't worry, we launched the bombs earlier today. In the resulting nuclear apocalypse, they'll be worth millions!"
4469038
Well, if you ever wanna dispose of them in one fell swoop, I am a federally licensed iTunes gift card incinerator.
4469048
There's actually a charity who needs them.
*Feels just a little bit more satisfied about having quit coke.*
4469075
*points out that you're in the wrong country to even have a program*
4469076
*Defensively does not see why that's relevant*
4469079
*is in a country where facts no longer matter in any argument and therefore wins*
We're starting to see some hints of how things might work for the next iteration, courtesy of the new offers on the Insiders page. Ten codes (from any package size) can be redeemed to gain a coupon for a free large popcorn at an AMC theater, or two codes can be burnt off to get an instant win chance at a $5 Walmart gift card. (That last has a free AMOE, but is limited to forty plays over the span of the contest.)
Thirty old-school points (ten caps) for a free large popcorn at an American movie theater would have been considered as a very fair Reward price. The IW cost, however, is a ripoff: IWs were generally one to three points for entry, and this is effectively charging six. The popcorn is actually the better value.
And again, it's any codes -- so for these offers, a cap is worth as much as a 32-pack. Kind of kills the code market value of the 32-pack.
4469055
I just went through the TV catalog for a few seconds. It would give me a place to watch Justice League Action with what was already applied to the account: I have enough for sampling and/or season pass. (Haven't gotten to watch three full minutes of footage.) But I have to spend on something: you generally can't buy a gift card with a gift card.
If they take iTunes credit for anything, I could also blow out my account on $5 cards and put together a coupon big enough to completely fail at purchasing any iPad.
Score?
Coupons Ahoy!
That's why the only caps I collect are in Fallout. Good job though.
4469137
Score!
Well, as long as it's a real charity, and not something like "Help Starving Multimillion Dollar Corporations Cheat People.org," that seems reasonable.
...I'm afraid to ask what charity it is now.
4469047
There's a few websites where you trade time for money. Depending on how much of your life you want to burn clicking buttons, you can get a Buck or so a day.
Some places, they're known as beer money.