Shoppers at Boots were shocked to see their Advantage Card points have been wiped, which the pharmacy giant states is the result of a technical glitch. However, the changes were made after Boots made shoppers aware of changes to their popular loyalty scheme.
Customers began tweeting their complaints to the major beauty retailer to say their loyalty points balance now showed zero. Boots announced through an email that customer may lose their points from June 20, 2022 - if they hadn't used their card in a year.
Prior to the changes, the points were wiped after two years. Customers do not need to spend their points but they will need to shop with Boots and scan their card at checkout.
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The email sent to customers read: "Thank you for being one of our valued Boots Advantage Card members. Whilst it won’t impact you as a regular Boots shopper, we need to let you know that we’re updating our Boots Advantage Card terms and conditions.
"From 20th June 2022, we will remove Boots Advantage Card points from accounts that haven’t been used* for one year, instead of the current two-year period. As long as you shop with your Boots Advantage Card at least once a year, your points will always be there ready for you to use them."
However, some shoppers discovered that their points were already missing when they checked their balance. They took to Twitter to share their experiences.
One person tweeted: “Thanks for the warning about this. I had almost £30 on my Advantage card and when I checked after this email I now have ZERO.”
Another customer said: “They wiped mine, I had near £30 on it and I’m sure as hell I didn’t get a warning email about the two-year wipe either… Won’t be shopping there now.”
A Boots spokesperson told The Mirror this was a result of a technical fault that caused the balances to show as empty when there should be points. They stressed the customer's point balances should show as normal when the page was refreshed.
They urged any customers still experiencing difficulties to contact Boots Advantage Card team on 0345 124 4545. The Boots’ spokesperson added: “As long as you shop with your Boots Advantage Card at least once a year, your points will always be there ready for you to use them.”
The Boots loyalty scheme currently works by rewarding Advantage members with four reward points for every £1 spent in store or online. The points are equal to 1p each which can be used in store or online to pay for shopping.
The scheme also sends members personalised discounts as a benefit of being an Advantage Card member. It also offers reductions across the retailer's multiple ranges.
Shoppers can sign up for the card online on the Boot's website. The brand estimates that it has around 14.7 million active members.
