Universal Rewards: Purchase within a week or be deleted

[ocdtrekkie]

I currently have about four movies worth of points in my Universal Rewards account... I just got this email:

Starting September 1st, Universal All-Access Rewards will be changing to give you what you want - MORE MOVIES!

* More free movie rewards every month
* Earning points will be simplified
* Purchase validation will be required to stay a member

So take action! Keep your account and points active by making a validated purchase before September 1st...
Otherwise, your account will be closed.

[starsteam]

My email said this

Starting September 1st, Universal All-Access Rewards will be changing to give you what you want - MORE MOVIES!

More free movie rewards every month
Earning points will be simplified
Thank you for being a member! Your account and points will carryover.

I haven't redeemed any points in a couple of months, but I did redeem a code to earn points just last week.

[JFS3]

My email states "Your account and points will carryover" so it doesn't look like it is doing this for all acounts.

Wondering if there is an inactivity timer being triggered. Don't think I have bought anything recently but do get a free movie with points each month.

[vwnut13]

Looks like Universal is purging all of the accounts that people created to get free movies.

Hopefully "More free movie rewards every month" is digital movies for 1,000 points, and not overpriced DVDs that aren't worth the $5 shipping fee let alone the point values.

[Undeadcow]

I see the 'more movies' language, but what's the catch?

I guess it depends on how 'earning points will be simplified' (it's already simple now - link MA and sit).

[Sayonara808]

Do digital movie purchases count from say iTunes, Vudu, etc. How about from D2D?

[ocdtrekkie]

Originally Posted by Sayonara808

Do digital movie purchases count from say iTunes, Vudu, etc. How about from D2D?

I imagine digital purchases should count, provided their worth points. Last time I checked, older Universal movies weren't worth anything in their rewards program though, but I am not positive.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Sayonara808

Do digital movie purchases count from say iTunes, Vudu, etc. How about from D2D?

Yes. New movies are worth 1,000+ points, and older movies are worth 500+ points. D2D purchases count.

[ocdtrekkie]

Update on this absolute comedy routine:

- Support would not respond directly to any inquiry about it, simply pasting the content of the original email in reply.

- I actually *bought a digital movie*, confirmed everything was linked and the points redeemed, and got another threatening email the next day.

- I have screenshots, and if they delete my account anyways, they will find out expressly how annoying I can be.

It still absolutely blows my mind that a company can demand I purchase from them within a *week* or they'll delete all my stuff with no more significant notice.

What's really funny is... it was just hard to find a Universal movie to buy: Their catalog kinda sucks of late, and it's their own fault their purchases have dwindled. Taking it out on customers by demanding purchases to retain rewards accounts is... kinda sad. If I end up out my rewards points with no resolution, I will no longer purchase Universal titles.

[ocdtrekkie]

Another update:

Despite responding to my support email stating that if I made a purchase, my account would not be deleted, I'm sure nobody will be surprised to find out they deleted my account anyways.

[ALM]

I can’t log in anymore - looks like they have copied Sony and blocked VPN’s

[Undeadcow]

While the account deletions are lame it's perhaps worth noting that Universal's reward program is a fairly generous freebie program (more so than Sony or Disney) so maybe we should curb any tendencies to go on the warpath with torches and pitchforks to nuke the place. Aggressive complaints about free stuff are probably one reason we don't get more free things.

[biggquis]

Is The Parenthood any good?

[ocdtrekkie]

Originally Posted by Undeadcow

While the account deletions are lame it's perhaps worth noting that Universal's reward program is a fairly generous freebie program (more so than Sony or Disney) so maybe we should curb any tendencies to go on the warpath with torches and pitchforks to nuke the place. Aggressive complaints about free stuff are probably one reason we don't get more free things.

I mean, I had four movies worth of rewards they just deleted, and I spent $5 trying to preserve that. So... I expect $5 and four movies out of this before I leave them alone.

Pretty sure Universal Pictures can afford it.

[ocdtrekkie]

Originally Posted by ALM

I can’t log in anymore - looks like they have copied Sony and blocked VPN’s

Does your login fail or can you not even access the page? They clearly deleted accounts which made purchases within the timeframe, so there's a decent chance they just arbitrarily deleted you.

[Chedwiggen]

Originally Posted by ocdtrekkie

I mean, I had four movies worth of rewards they just deleted, and I spent $5 trying to preserve that. So... I expect $5 and four movies out of this before I leave them alone.

Pretty sure Universal Pictures can afford it.

Good for you. And I mean that.

[Kage]

If I redeem points for a digital movie, will it be in HD or UHD?

[u2popmofo]

Originally Posted by ALM

I can’t log in anymore - looks like they have copied Sony and blocked VPN’s

No VPN here, and I'm having the same issue. I last logged in as recently as a 1 to 2 weeks ago.

[Undeadcow]

Originally Posted by Kage

If I redeem points for a digital movie, will it be in HD or UHD?

Quality varies. Some titles are UHD but other times titles available in UHD are HD only by rewards.

[unsung122212]

If anyone is having issues logging in, try clicking forgot/reset password link to see if it will send a reset password email or says something like no account with that email/username message. If the latter, then it looks like it was deleted.