#13 Utilizing Reward Points in Korea

Essential tips for using your reward points

ASSEMBLE Protocol
ASSEMBLEPROTOCOL
5 min readJul 6, 2020

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ASSEMBLE protocol is a blockchain-based global point integration platform that exploits ASM utility tokens, whilst establishing a business ecosystem that can integrate, utilize existing points and miles with point providers, consumers and retailers.

In the previous post, we mostly checked out the technical side of the ASSEMBLE Protocol. Today’s post is not directly correlated with the ASSEMBLE Protocol, yet it is still indirectly associated with the fundamental ideology of our platform, the ability to use points anywhere. In this post, you will read about the essential tips and methods that can be employed to properly use the reward points you’ve collected through loyalty programs.

According to a survey that was recently conducted, approximately 100 billion KRW worth of reward points disappear in Korea on an annual basis. The survey results and the collected data illustrate that 32.4% of respondents are not familiar with the ways and places they can use their points. This is followed by 26.1% who do not check their accumulated points on a monthly basis. Further, 22.2% stated clearly that they do not use points mainly due to the burdensome procedure of figuring out how to use them. It’s clear to see that point consumers do not recognize points as being equal to fiat money.

In today’s point-abundant era, points are not only being used for the mere purchase of goods, but they are also being used in some other areas of our daily life. These purposes include, but are not limited to, the payment of national taxes, charging transportation cards, and paying fines. In today’s post, we will try to illustrate some particular ways to make the best use of your points.

Check Remaining Points

An interesting fact is that most point providers have validity period policies. They usually set the validity period for 5 years from the date of accumulation. Although the validity period policy may differ from point provider to point provider, or depending on the type of point itself, almost all points have an expiration date. Therefore, it may often happen that when you try to use your accumulated points the validity period may have already reached its expiration date. To be fair, most point providing companies notify their customers 6 months before the expiration date through paper bills or by email.

At the same time, it’s better for customers to check how many points they have left from time to time, and to get in the habit of using their points more frequently. However, if you are a member of multiple loyalty programs and have more point cards, it’s indeed a very burdensome process to check all your remaining points. However, there are already some services that can help you keep track of your points. For example, if you have collected points in Korea, you can check the following websites:

  1. Visit the financial consumer’s information portal, run by the FSS (Financial Supervisory Service), and click on “Card Point Integration”.
  2. Visit the Credit Finance Association’s website and click on the “Card Point Integrated Union Service”.

If you enter your name and RRM (resident registration number) at these websites, you will be able to check how many points you have at each company.

Being Aware of the Terms and Conditions

You should keep in mind that each point provider establishes their own terms for points accumulation, usage, and applicable discount benefits. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully check the point usage terms in order to properly use your points. In particular, it is essential to look out for phrases, such as “subject to exclusion when calculating the previous month’s performance” or “subject to exclusion when accumulating points.” Moreover, point usage can be restricted. Therefore, when paying for tuition fees, interest-free installment payments, charging prepaid cards, etc., it is highly recommended that you check the conditions for point usage through the provided guidelines or through the website of the points provider.

Being Familiar with Point Usage Places

In fact, each point provider offers a variety of ways for customers to use their points in the same way they use fiat money, mainly to popularize their loyalty program. Among them, there are various franchises, such as movie theaters, department stores, amusement parks, gas stations, etc. that are partnering with point providing companies. Basically, the point provider enables and encourages customers to treat their points as equal to fiat money. Hence, if you know the right places to liquidate your points, you could find yourself saving a lot of money and enjoying other benefits.

Organizing Points and Targeting Affiliates

It is a very common situation among consumers that have a large amount of points from different point providers, that they’re not sure which points to use when it comes time to spend them. In order to address this issue, we recommend organizing your points so you can decide which ones you can use and which ones you can’t.

As a matter of fact, large distributor companies may have a joint shopping mall. Hence, it will be a lot easier if you start collecting points that can be liquidated at those specific joint malls. For instance, you may be able to book a night at a hotel from points that you earned by shopping at an affiliated supermarket.

We hope these tips and tricks will help you with your own point management. See you next time!

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