Q. When I bought a new printer and ink I was sold a discount card for future ink purchases. The card cost $20. I didn’t need to buy any more ink until almost 13 months later. I was told the card I tried to use had expired after one year. So, they got $20 of pure profit from the sale of the card.
I also have a credit card tied to a hotel points program. I checked my balance and it was much less than anticipated. When I read the terms and conditions I noticed that if there were no redeeming events in the past 12 months, the points are removed. There was no notice. I think there shouldn’t ever be an expiration date on these programs. What do you think?
A. It is unfortunate when an incentive, particularly something you paid for, expires before you use it.
Some companies are particularly good at warning when a program benefit is going to expire. Clearly, not all are as adept.
Unlike gift cards, which don’t expire, companies are free to set the terms of their incentives. And while notifying consumers they’re about to lose them would be great, that’s a customer service issue for each company to deal with.
How the companies handle those situations can make the difference between whether customers want to stick with them or bolt to the competition.
But it’s still best when you sign up for or buy into an incentive program to know the terms. Mark on your calendar or the card when you have to use it. If you have to use points or they’ll expire and aren’t taking a trip, order a magazine. There are ways to ensure you don’t lose what you’ve earned.
Good companies look out for their customers and let them know when they might be losing a benefit. But it’s still on us to look out for ourselves and know what we’re due and when.
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Mitch Lipka can be reached at consumernews@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @mitchlipka.