Points system versus rewards system?

[Lean_3]

I was wondering what the benefits were for the points system? I am currently with the rewards system and I save $7 a month on my plan! I love the rewards system, but I am just curious to what the point system is. I think that I might stay with the rewards system for now though.

[DennyCrane]

@Cheefster Good comparison/visual. Also just to note that you can't redeem points until you have at least 15 points, so for you that would probably be every 2 months.

[Cheefster]

I think it is xxxxxxxxxxxxx that Public Mobile is now forcing older customers into the new Public Points system by May 2024. I've stuck it out with them for 5 years on the $25/month plan, referred 6 people, so here's how the old Rewards system compares with the new points system for me:

	Old Rewards	New Points
Autopay	$2/month	5% ($1.25)/month
Loyalty	$5/month (5 years)	$0.83/month (10 points/12 months)
Refer-a-friend	$6/month	same
Helping others	same	same
Total	$13 off	$8.08 off

Worst of all, I now have to go in every month to spend my points, rather than having the money automatically taken off my bill. They gave me 30 GB of free data as "compensation", but it expires in 150 days, and I don't need anywhere near that much data. @publicmobile, this is a xxxxxxxxxxxxx way to reward loyalty. 

edited by computergeek541: attempts to bypass the profanity filter are a vilolation of the terms of service

[Korth_]

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@Cheetah24 wrote:

@Lean_3: I believe what you are referring to as the point system is the legacy rewards system? If you joined recently you are automatically enrolled in the new rewards system. And you can't change it to the legacy system. Some people will argue that the legacy points system is better. I have no idea as I haven't used the new rewards system myself. 🙂

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This confusion is because Public Mobile called the old system "Rewards" and often refers to the new Public Points™ system as "rewards" as well. Largely because so many of their busy but lazy information, FAQ, help, and instruction pages still have unchanged, half-obsolete text they wrote many years ago.

"Legacy" or "Legacy Rewards" is not an official term used by Public Mobile. It's meant to reference the old and discontinued (but not obsolete) Rewards some of us still collect. All new accounts created since early 2022 get Public Points™ rewards whether they want to or not, they have no choice. Accounts which already existed before then had legacy Rewards and were intermittently bombarded with bribe offers to switch them off the old Rewards system onto the new rewards system. Public Mobile makes it easy. And they try to sell the idea that Points are better than Rewards, just click that convenient (one-way) button to (irreversibly) try it out for yourself!

Public Mobile never actually forced any of us to move from Rewards to Points and never actually broke any promises or made specifically false statements - but they definitely used cheap, low, dirty tricks and deceptions and misinformation and ambiguities and implied intimidations to encourage as many subscribers as they could to click that button which permanently migrated them away from legacy Rewards. Even now we sometimes see people ask if Rewards-to-Points is a good move or we sometimes see people who already made the move request/demand/beg to have their decision/mistake reversed.

[Korth_]

If you already have payoff from your Rewards then keep your Rewards. Resist temptations, the bribes you get offered aren't worth it if you do the math.

Points provide short term payoff. They can actually be better for new customers who get bonus Points and spend them impulsively then chase after some better deal at another provider less than a year later. They're not worthwhile for those of us who intend to actually stick around, especially those of us who've already stuck around with legacy Rewards.

[DennyCrane]

Do not change to Public Points. It's far less valuable. You'll lose $2 auto pay. $1 off per month, per year of loyalty will turn into 10 points once per year. For someone that's been around 5 years, they'll max out at $60 per year vs $10 on the new system. Even 1 year of loyalty would net you more on the old system ($12 vs $10).

Referrals are like for like, though keep in mind points have to be redeemed once your accrue a minimum of $15, vs rewards which get automatically credited each month. What you gain is 5% of your spend back in points.

The only real benefit is some add-on's can be purchased for a lower point value than the cash price.

[Cheetah24]

@Lean_3: I believe what you are referring to as the point system is the legacy rewards system? If you joined recently you are automatically enrolled in the new rewards system. And you can't change it to the legacy system. Some people will argue that the legacy points system is better. I have no idea as I haven't used the new rewards system myself. 🙂