Verizon Smart Rewards Program is Ending, 3 Good Ways to Use Your Points
It’s no secret the Verizon Smart Rewards program was unpopular. Most redemption options required a cash component and the auctions were dominated by people with even more worthless points than you. A $5 Subway gift card with a current bid of 500,000 points? Really!?
The new alternative, Verizon Up, has already launched and Verizon Smart Rewards ends on November 1. If you’re left with several hundred thousand points to burn, here are a few decent options.
Get 10% Off Gift Cards
They have a decent selection of gift cards, many of which I never see pop up on Amazon or Costco deals. One of the standouts are the Carnival and Royal Caribbean gift cards — get $50 off a $500 card with only 5,000 points.
Also of note: Macys, Sephora, CVS, a wide variety of restaurants, a few movie theaters, and Avis and Budget rental car vouchers. A few offer electronic delivery, otherwise it will be $.59 to ship.
High End Beauty Products: 20%+ Discounts
Many of these items rarely go on sale, so it’s a great chance to stock up on items at a ~20%+ discount. They have a low price guarantee and even have the functionality to compare their prices with other major retailers. I double checked and it’s mostly accurate for these products since they are typically excluded from coupons and sale codes.
Briggs & Riley Luggage Discounts
Briggs & Riley make some awesome luggage backed by a lifetime guarantee. Their bags are rarely on sale, if you’re in the market, here’s a chance to get select backpacks, totes, and carry ons at ~30% off.
Enter All The Sweepstakes
This is probably not your best bet since everyone else is probably entering with their reamaining points, but if you don’t want to shell out any cash it might be. They’ve got a handful of sweepstakes for cash, gift cards, and even a trip to NYC ending in the next few weeks. If nothing else appeals, it costs nothing to blow all your points on sweepstakes entries and you might just win.
Options to Avoid
I would advise skipping the Local Deals as most of the offers I’ve seen can probably be found elsewhere for free. Same with rental car options and magazines. For other merchandise, don’t trust the price comparison as it doesn’t take into account various sales and coupons that other sites might be offering.
I prepay my Verizon plan with a phone I buy in cash up front. Not because I have bad credit but because it’s much cheaper per month this way. Too bad Verizon tends to treat prepay plans (which really aren’t all that different than contract plans) as second class customers and won’t let us join the reward scheme.
Agreed! Although I still don’t understand why they even have a rewards program — would that many people choose them or choose to stay with them just because of Smart Rewards or Verizon Up?