This is the spend needed to claim the following rewards based on the assumption that a ... Since Virgin Trains East Coas
Save East Coast Rewards.
Facts and figures: • 2,000 random customers were surveyed about what they want from a rewards scheme, but why were the 670,000+ existing Rewards Members opinions not canvassed • The old rewards scheme generated revenue, as you could earn points on all rail journeys booked through the website. For each rail journey booked, East Coast would earn 5% commission
What is Save East Coast Rewards? Since Virgin Trains East Coast took over the running of the East Coast Mainline, they have ended one of the UKs most generous loyalty schemes - East Coast Rewards. This scheme has been replaced with Nectar points as a way to reward loyalty with customers, however the new scheme now requires at minimum a spend of ten times more to earn a ticket to travel. Previously, you could earn a single ticket to travel by spending £255, but now, it will cost you £2,500 (best case scenario) to earn a free ticket. Virgin Trains East Coast claim that they surveyed a sample of 2,000 customers and from this, it was clear that customers wanted Nectar, however they did not seek the opinions of 670,000 existing East Coast Rewards members. We campaign to bring back the old scheme and give customers the rewards they deserve.
Comparison of the two schemes: We have done a comparison of the two schemes to show just how much worse off customers now are. In reality, they are worse off than the comparison shows as under the new Nectar scheme you can only earn points to pay for tickets, you cant directly earn free tickets to travel like under the previous scheme. Ticket Type
East Coast Rewards Standard Class Spend
Nectar (until 31 May) First Class Spend
Nectar (after 31 May)
Spend on Virgin Trains EC Only
Standard Class Single
£255
£170
£1666
£2500
First Class Single
£460
£307
£3333
£5000
Std Class Four Singles
£920
£614
£6667
£10,000
First Class Four Singles
£1565
£1044
£13,333
£20,000
This is the spend needed to claim the following rewards based on the assumption that a standard class single is £25 and a first class single is £50. The East Coast Rewards are not dependent on the ticket price so will always be as shown. The Nectar points required will be higher when the tickets cost more than this, which will be the case most of the time. East Coast Rewards can be earned on any rail operator booked through the East Coast website.
What can you do? Help support our campaign. If you haven't already done so, make your thoughts known to Virgin Trains East Coast - email their customer relations team:
[email protected] w: saveecrewards.co.uk f: facebook.com/SaveECRewards t: twitter.com/SaveECRewards
• The commissions earned for last year were £2,759,041 and the cost of paying for the rewards scheme (for wine, gift cards, and non travel rewards) was £527,731 - 20% of the commission • You cannot earn Nectar points on non Virgin East Coast journeys booked through their website, so there is now no customer incentive to book all of your travel through them, in fact Nectar collectors are better off booking through the First Great Western site as they offer points on all bookings. As there's no incentive to book on the Virgin website they could lose a significant amount of commission.
Unanswered Questions: • Why would you scrap a popular loyalty scheme that was making a profit for your business, for a scheme that is inferior in every way? • If you're confident about the market research why are you afraid to publish it? (If there's any commercially sensitive information it can be removed) • Is it a good idea to have a scheme that benefits the loyal Sainsbury's shopper more than the loyal rail customer? • If East Coast customers wanted Nectar they could have booked through FirstGroup already (and earn points on all travel) but over 670,000 chose East Coast Rewards. Why do you think that would be? • If you are now fully committed to Nectar, why can’t you run both schemes side by side to give customers a choice of how they want to earn rewards?
