I am also not happy with PMs new reward system. If the issues is the total amount paid monthly consider reviewing your monthly (data, LD, etc.) usage and changing your plan to a lower one if that is an option for you.
I agree with you in that the rewards in the olds system is automatically applied for your next bill and with the new system, one has to actually "shop" for how you want to "spend" the Public Points. It makes it double the work if I'm also paying for ...
From the dashboard area when you log-in, click on My Rewards (left side if you're using a desktop). It will open a new window and will show you how many Public Points you have. Click on Browse Catalogue, it will give you all what you can "shop" for u...