Forum Discussion

equinox001's avatar
equinox001
Resourceful Rider
2 years ago

New Points system

Maybe someone in the community can explain better than Citibike reps. How does the new Points system work? There is no more automatic rewards after reaching a certain number of points? And I do not understand about expiration, right now I have accumulated 42 monthly points. They are now in the "bank". Do I have to sue them before the end of the month?

points
  • Jess's avatar
    Jess
    2 years ago

    Hey there, equinox001 & robertripps, thanks for posting your questions in the community. If you’re seeing the points bank in your Bike Angels profile, your rewards won’t redeem automatically moving forward; instead, your points will accrue in your points bank. This won’t affect any rewards you redeemed before your most recent update after 5/3/23. Any points earned in April that hadn’t earned a reward were rolled into your points bank. 

     

    With the points bank, your point total won’t reset each month. Points earned are stored in your points bank and can be redeemed for digital and cash rewards. Angels that reach Lifetime Achievements, like Hustlin’ Hero, will earn physical rewards.  To redeem your points, click ‘View your rewards’ in your Bike Angels profile. 

  • Jess's avatar
    Jess
    Bike Angels Team
    2 years ago

    Hey there, equinox001 & robertripps, thanks for posting your questions in the community. If you’re seeing the points bank in your Bike Angels profile, your rewards won’t redeem automatically moving forward; instead, your points will accrue in your points bank. This won’t affect any rewards you redeemed before your most recent update after 5/3/23. Any points earned in April that hadn’t earned a reward were rolled into your points bank. 

     

    With the points bank, your point total won’t reset each month. Points earned are stored in your points bank and can be redeemed for digital and cash rewards. Angels that reach Lifetime Achievements, like Hustlin’ Hero, will earn physical rewards.  To redeem your points, click ‘View your rewards’ in your Bike Angels profile. 

    • Leslie52's avatar
      Leslie52
      Steady Solver
      2 years ago

      Why doesn't Citi Bike notify bike angels when changes are being made?  Are you aware that most do not even know this discussion board exists (and it is fairly difficult to find).  There is now an NYC Facebook group, so it is clear that everyone is completely confused with regard to the changes.  This still does not make any sense to me.  While my app has not yet changed, I would like to know what to expect and how the changes will impact tax reporting.  Also, while have earned well over 62,000 lifetime points over the years, I have not received all of the "physical rewards" you mentioned.  I only received a pin, gloves...which are far too large for me (and useless since they are fingerless...and I have Raynaud's), and an awful metal water bottle (rather than the plastic one I had hoped for).  When I contacted Citi Bike, they used the quarantine as an excuse, but I still have not received the backpack (or the key...although I did receive an empty envelop at one point).

      Also, I have a huge credit on Amazon because I did not want to provide access to my bank account.  Would there be a way to offer debit cards rather than directly depositing the rewards to a bank account or Amazon credits?  Very few retailers offer them on Amazon, so I cannot always use those funds to purchase what I need for the most competitive price.  

      Finally, when will the changes be implemented on other phone devices?  Apparently some people have lost all there points after updating their iPhone this past week.  

       

      Thank you for your support!

      • Jess's avatar
        Jess
        Bike Angels Team
        2 years ago

        Hey there, Leslie52, thanks for posting your questions and thoughts and calling attention to the Bike Angels community. We built the community in 2021 and ramped up last year. We invited Citi Bike Angels to join us here, but word of mouth endorsements go a long way. Tell your Angel friends! 

         

        With the points bank, your points total won’t reset each month. You can bank your points and redeem the prizes you prefer on your own schedule. We haven’t added new rewards to the program at this time. Angels that are seeing the points bank currently have access to learn more about these changes in their app, but comments here show there are some details missing. That’s where the community can really shine!

         

        I have forwarded your feedback about prepaid cards to the larger Bike Angels Team, as I understand some Angels might not want to link their bank or PayPal. Since the rewards aren’t changing, any required tax reporting will be the same. 

         

        We hear you that Angels want to understand when and how things will change, and we’ll continue to work to improve communications around rollouts like this. We’re always working to improve Bike Angels, and changes are often rolled out carefully to riders over a period of time. While I can’t provide an exact timeline for when all Angels will see updates to their experience, I can confirm points shouldn’t be lost during this transition. Any reports the Bike Angels Team discovers will be fully investigated.

         

        We are constantly working to make the system better, including new app features and other changes. We always conduct a slow rollout of improvements to ensure things are working as expected. During the rollout of a new feature, individual riders may see slightly different experiences, so what you see may not be the same as others. These rollouts are only temporary and after a while, you and other riders will see the same version of each feature. 

         

        I hope you’ll stay plugged in to collaborate with our community‚—we’re growing, and we want you along for the ride!

    • RickyDee's avatar
      RickyDee
      Steady Solver
      2 years ago

      I have a follow up question: I (and someone l know) don’t see the new feature. My app is the latest version (updated a few days ago.) l logged out, deleted the app, reinstalled and logged in to no avail. Is this feature not yet available to all?

      • equinox001's avatar
        equinox001
        Resourceful Rider
        2 years ago

        According to one of the previous comments, this is only on iOS at this point. Perhaps Citibike support have more details. But the rollout of this new program leaves much to be desired.

    • WeeksGirl's avatar
      WeeksGirl
      Resourceful Rider
      2 years ago

      How do you redeem the 1 week extension for every 20 points?   We do not see it in the app.  All we see is this.  Please help.

      • Ronda's avatar
        Ronda
        Casual Commenter
        2 years ago

        I have the same problem. Been asking about it for weeks 😞

  • robertripps's avatar
    robertripps
    Casual Commenter
    2 years ago

    Thanks for answering some of our questions. I am still wondering what happens to points already earned before the change? From May 1 until mid afternoon on May 3, I had earned 1091 points under the “old" system, but when it changed on my app, my point bank started with 1 point, so where are my other 1090 points? Will I get the usual reward for those 1090 points at the end of the month?

     

    Also, Bike Angels rewards screen says shop rewards using the points in your bank. So do we now have to redeem the points for Ebike credits as well to be able to use them? When I redeem E-gift card points, if I have an uneven number of points, will the remainder roll over towards my next reward? Can I choose to redeem only some of my points- so if I have 1,100, I could redeem only 1000, and keep the 100 in the bank towards my next 1000? Are there larger rewards over 1000 points, or would I just cash out every 1000 points?

     

    Lastly, can you please explain some of the new screens & the way this new system works: for instance, I now see separated Ebike credits and Lyft credits- how are those determined, as they were previously combined? I now seem to have a large amount of Lyft credits, but hardly any Ebike credits, even though my app rewards section (which is still there from the “old” system) shows plenty of rewards going back to going back around a year and a half, totaling many, many times more credits than the new rewards Ebike section shows. I don’t want to lose 18 months worth of Ebike credits! And taking rides for the past 5 days under the new system has not increased any of those numbers on my app.

     

    Thanks,

    • Jess's avatar
      Jess
      Bike Angels Team
      2 years ago

      Thanks for following up, robertripps. I want to answer any questions you have about the change! Rewards that were already redeemed before the change took place won’t change. Any points earned and not redeemed for prizes will reflect in your points bank.

       

      With the points bank, your points total won’t reset each month. You can bank your points and redeem the prizes you prefer on your own schedule. Regarding the different credits display, do you mind sending a photo of what you’re seeing in your app over here? I want to be sure I’m understanding your question correctly, and make sure that any issues are investigated and resolved.

       

      We periodically survey Angels to get a better understanding of how they interact with the program and plan features based on Angel feedback. This change was one such change—Angels reported they wanted more control over when and what kinds of rewards they earned. While we haven’t added new rewards to the program at this time, as the program grows, we’ll continue to explore new ways to add value for Angel rewards.

      • robertripps's avatar
        robertripps
        Casual Commenter
        2 years ago

        Hi Jess, thanks for getting back to me. For some reason even though I refreshed this site several times a day, it only now shows me your response, which it displays as yesterday- not sure why it is back dated?

         

        In any case, since my app switched over on May 3, obviously I had not redeemed those 1091 May points I earned the first 3 days of this month, and when I first saw the points bank, it only showed 1 point. However, I do see on the Your rewards screen that I have an E-gift card for $151.30, which would be the value of 1090 points under the old system (minus 200, then multiplied by $0.17), so hopefully at the end of May, I will be able to get that value, plus any other points I cash out under the new system.

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

        My other question regards the “old” Ebike rewards that I have not yet redeemed- they do not have an expiration date, and I have way too many to screenshot, so here is a sample of the oldest ones. Some are fractions that were never completely used by Citibike, and some are full $1.70 or $3.40 values.

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

        The “new” Your rewards page (top grab) shows I have only $5.90 worth of Ebike credits (so it is not counting my older credits), but also $151.40 worth of Lyft credits. No idea how you arrived at those numbers, or why Lyft credits are so much larger than Ebike credits. But I do want to make sure that once I go through that $5.90, I am not charged, and you pull from my old stockpile of Ebike credits first.

         

        Thanks.

  • robertripps's avatar
    robertripps
    Casual Commenter
    2 years ago

    As long as the bank is not PacWest Bancorp.

     

    But seriously, I too want some more information on this major change that seems to have occurred in the middle of yesterday afternoon, with no warning or explanation, at least for iOS users so far. What happens to points already earned before the change? Are points really all rolled over month to month? How do we redeem them? Etc.