Last week, we announced self-sustaining perks. Today, we are proud to unveil our initial plans for self-sustaining rewards, an iteration of our Subscription plans and Rewards Levels.
The goal is to:
- Introduce a fair-value subscription plan.
- Lower requirements and increase participation in Reward Levels.
- Regulate emissions and improve the distribution of rewards.
- Add in-app utility to PLU.
Subscription Plan Improvements
Earlier this year, Plutus revealed a proposal for its new subscription plans, and we have made some key improvements to this gathered from our customers’ feedback.
Key Changes
- Rewards Cap: We are updating the monthly reward caps for our subscription plans (i.e., the monthly card spending eligible for rewards). This regulates reward emissions from the Reward Pool and ensures value earned surpasses the monthly cost.
- Fair Value: Prices have been lowered to continue offering both rewards on spending and perks at favourite brands that exceed the fees. Together, these two sources provide a double advantage, enabling customers to not only recoup the monthly cost through perks but also cover expenses via day-to-day spending. This is unmatched!
- Starter Plan: To ensure Plutus’s continued mass-market appeal, new customers can enjoy a free Starter Plan for the first month providing them with up to £/€17.50 in rewards value.
- Reward Levels: Concurrently with the upcoming subscription plan changes, we are enhancing our Reward Levels by reducing the PLU Requirements. This ensures fair value contribution to the ecosystem. Read on for details.
Note: Plutus will announce the go-live date for the new plans in due course. Customers will receive a minimum of 30 days’ notice before any of these changes come into effect.
Note: Our introductory offer was updated in February to one month. This is intended to give new joiners a taster of the rewards, perks, and benefits Plutus has to offer!
PLU Utility | Boost Your Rewards Cap
We will be introducing a new feature that empowers customers with full control over their rewards cap! Customers will have the opportunity to boost their monthly spending eligible for rewards at any time by redeeming PLU.
A single redemption will increase your rewards cap for a full year, while the redeemed PLU will reenter the Pluton Rewards Pool, fortifying its long-term sustainability.
Example: If you choose to redeem 20 PLU, you’ll be able to earn rewards on an extra £1,000 in card spending each month for an entire year. This translates to an additional £/€360 worth of rewards throughout the year at the 3% reward rate. For those earning 8%, this amounts to an additional £/€960 worth of rewards.
Note: The requirements have been determined based on our customers’ spending data and their reward levels. Plutus may adjust these requirements and benefits to ensure cost-effectiveness.
Reward Level Improvements
Rooted in community feedback, Plutus will be making some adjustments to our Reward Levels.
Key Changes
- Lower PLU Requirements: We’ve reduced the PLU requirements for all Reward Levels, making it more accessible to everyone.
- Enhanced Benefits: Reward Levels will boost your perks rather than replacing them, ensuring customers can enjoy a noticeable increase in benefits. For example, customers on a Premium plan (with 3 perks) and Hero Reward Level (with an additional 4 perks) will receive a total of 7 perks.
- New Reward Levels: Plutus is introducing two new Reward Levels, Myth and the highly anticipated Honey Badger.
Myth: Customers can unlock this Reward Level by stacking 1,500 PLU. It presents an attainable target for current Veterans and Legends.
Honey Badger: To reach this Reward Level, users need to stack 3,000 PLU, providing an exciting goal for existing GOATs to strive towards.
These updates combined with our new subscription plans help provide a fairer distribution of rewards while continuing to provide higher value to our customers.
Note: Requirements are non-custodial and provide uninterrupted access to a Reward Level for as many years as customers participate, meaning you retain both your rewards, and your stack. These requirements are dynamic and can be lowered to remain cost-effective.
Key Goals
Our upcoming redemption features will play a significant role in creating a self-sufficient Rewards Pool, further enhancing the longevity of PLU Rewards. The team has several new utilities planned for PLU, including incremental rewards for those who redeem their earnings.
This redeem feature enables our customers to access their preferred reward level at a fraction of the stacking requirements and enjoy all benefits for a limited period. All this, without the need to learn Web3 features, increasing the overall participation. PLU requirements for this feature will be dynamic to ensure fair value and remain cost-effective. To avoid confusion with Subscription Plan and Reward Level updates mentioned above, details of the redeem feature for incremental Reward Levels will be in a separate blog, available in due course.
Promotional Offer
All customers on a subscription plan or a Reward Level will receive a Premium Plan worth (£/€19.99) *free for 3 months if they meet the requirements to unlock a new Reward Level.
- Start Date: 20/10/2023 14:00 UTC
- End Date: 29/11/2023 11:59 UTC
Rules
- If you are not on a Reward Level, you have to connect a wallet with sufficient PLU.
- If you are already on a Reward Level, you simply need to stack additional PLU in your connected wallet.
The new lower requirements shared above will take effect after November 29th (the promo end date). This means you’ll need to stack the additional amount to meet the new requirements before November 29th to be eligible. Soon after the promo end date (once the new requirements are in effect), your reward level will be adjusted according to your new stack, granting you access to your new benefits.
Please see the complete terms on the helpdesk article.
Note: The date mentioned above does not constitute a feature launch date. The date provided is solely the promo end date. The feature will be launched with a 30-day notice via email.
Edit for Clarity: The free Premium subscription will be given to customers in the form of a PLU reimbursement. Customers will receive £/€22.50 worth of PLU (greater than the £/€19.99 monthly fee) on the 23rd of each month they have an active Premium plan. Full terms and an FAQ available here >
FAQ | Reward Levels
Why is Plutus changing its subscription plans and Reward Levels?
Plutus introduced its first subscription plan back in 2019 when our user base was significantly smaller. Over the years, we’ve grown to over 100k customers and distributed rewards valued at $10+ million during this period. As we set our sights on scaling to over a million customers, it’s important we iterate and improve our service, incorporating feedback provided by our loyal community.
We conduct a thorough review of the data before any of the announcements are made and are confident that our new proposal strikes a fair balance between sustainable rewards and delivering exceptional value to our customers.
We understand that embracing change can be a challenge, but we encourage our customers to take a close look at the substantial value they will continue to receive from our new subscription plans. We hope our customers recognise that these are indeed fair and well-considered business decisions that have a long-lasting positive impact.
Why has Plutus removed the previous lower Reward Level proposal?
Plutus has identified alternative solutions, such as the redemption-based incremental Reward Levels mentioned above, to encourage users with less PLU to access the Reward Level benefits. Consequently, there is no longer a need for lower Reward Levels at this time. Details will be revealed in due course.
What happens to my Reward Level status if I’m a grandfathered user?
The PLU requirements for each Reward Level have been lowered. Consequently, the need for any customers to be grandfathered due to Difficulty Adjustment is eliminated, and we will be removing this feature and adjust your reward level according to your stack. This streamlines the platform and ensures that no customers will face downgrades.
Note: Customers who upgraded to Legend and GOAT post Q4-DA will have enough PLU to automatically be enrolled onto higher Reward Levels (Myth and Honey Badger).
FAQ | Subscription Plans
Is a Paid Subscription Plan required to earn rewards?
Yes, to earn rewards or perks, customers must be subscribed to one of our paid plans — Starter, Everyday, or Premium. Rewards and perks are not available on the free Standard plan, regardless of your Reward Level or redemption passes. We’ve designed our rewards to greatly surpass the modest monthly fee, ensuring you get amazing value for money from your subscription.
What happens to all users on the Starter Plan?
Customers on the Starter plan (at the time the new subscription plans go live) will receive one free month of it before being downgraded onto the new Standard plan.
What restrictions are there on the Standard version of the app?
Customers on the Standard plan will not receive any rewards and will be unable to withdraw PLU. All bank-like features will remain active.
Are the PLU requirements for boosting Rewards Cap fixed forever?
Plutus may make adjustments to the PLU requirements and benefits to remain cost effective and beneficial for customers.
Can I stay on the current plans rather than transitioning to the new plans?
No, all customers will be migrated to our new subscription plans.
Can you clarify what the official pricing is?
Starter Plan
- Price: £/€6.99/month
- Rewards: Earn £/€17.50 in PLU per month (calculated at 3% rewards).
- Bonus: New customers receive a complimentary free Starter plan for the first month. Afterward, customers must subscribe to a paid plan or be downgraded to the Standard plan, which offers no benefits. Existing customers will receive one month of the new Starter plan upon the launch of our updated plans.
Everyday Plan
- Price: £/€14.99/month
- Rewards: Earn £/€35 in PLU per month (calculated at 3% rewards).
- Discount: All customers can enjoy the discounted £/€9.99 pricing for the first 6 months, after which Plutus will assess the continuation of this discount.
Premium Plan
- Price: £/€24.99/month
- Rewards: Earn £/€60 in PLU per month (calculated at 3% rewards).
- Discount: All customers can enjoy the discounted £/€19.99 pricing for the first 6 months, after which Plutus will assess the continuation of this discount.
What about if I partake in the promotional offer?
If you choose to upgrade your Reward Level between 20th October, 14:00 UTC — 29th November, 11:59 UTC, you will receive a special promotion. You’ll enjoy a free 3-month subscription to our new Premium plan.
For complete details on how to take advantage of this exclusive offer, please review the promotional terms and conditions here.
Don’t miss out on this limited-time opportunity to experience all the benefits of our Premium plan for free!
How much value do I get out of the new subscription plans?
In our new subscription model, every plan is designed to provide exceptional value to our customers.
Subscription Plans
For instance, the Premium plan, priced at £24.99 (£19.99 for the first 6 months), allows customers to earn:
- £/€30 in rewards each month at a 3% rate
- £/€30 in perks each month
Customers are earning a total of £/€60 in PLU every month, which equates to 3x more in rewards than the monthly fee.
Boosting Rewards Cap
Customers can increase the soft cap on spending eligible for rewards by redeeming PLU back into the Rewards Pool.
For example, by redeeming 20 PLU, customers can increase their monthly rewards cap by £1,000 for an entire year. This results in an additional £/€360 worth of PLU per year. In essence, customers can, again, enjoy rewards that are three times the amount redeemed.
Note: Minor changes to the rewards cap can have a significant impact on emissions at scale. The redemption feature is being introduced to help manage emissions, whilst empowering customers with an avenue to increase this rewards cap should they wish.
How do customers on the free Standard plan withdraw PLU?
To withdraw PLU, customers must be on a paid subscription plan. This means customers on a Standard plan can upgrade to a paid plan to withdraw their PLU. The subscription plan fees help contribute to improving your favourite app.
FAQ | PLU Utility
How will the yearly card spending limit impact my rewards cap?
The yearly spending limit of £/€100,000 attached to the Solaris-issued Plutus Card will be discontinued with our new subscription plan, enabling customers to maximise their rewards cap.
For example, a Premium subscription combined with a 500 PLU redemption, gives you a total of £/€11,000 spending limit a month, and a £132,000 total yearly cap eligible for rewards.
This enables customers on a Premium plan to earn up to £/€4,320 per year, and Honey Badgers to earn a colossal £/€12,960 in PLU Rewards.
How will we redeem PLU the yearly Rewards Cap? From the internal balance or external wallet?
Customers will be able to redeem PLU from both internal and external balance. Exact details on the product flow will be revealed in due course.
What happens if I have paid to boost my Rewards Cap, and then want to boost it further?
Customers can increase their Rewards Cap multiple times, but they cannot redeem PLU for the same cap twice. These increases are not cumulative; if a customer has already raised their cap, they can only increase it to a higher cap, replacing their previous spending limit eligible for reward.
How are the subscription plans cost effective?
All account plans are designed to ensure the rewards outweigh the costs, both via Perks and the rewards earned on spending. Moreover, you gain access to a bank-like app with extra rewards on spending. For example, Everyday accounts earn £35 and Premium accounts £60 if maximised, these rewards can be boosted as much as £/€540 per month (Premium, Honey Badger, Rewards Cap).
How does the Rewards Cap redeem feature work with subscription plans and reward levels?
You can boost your monthly Rewards Cap on your subscription plans by redeeming PLU using the upcoming redeem feature, which means if you unlock a reward level, you can boost your rewards even higher. For example, the £1000 monthly spending cap enables you to earn a maximum of £/€360 (3%) value back in rewards per year, whereas Legends with 6% can earn £/€720, and Honey Badger, a colossal £/€1080 (9%) every year as they continue to stack.
What happens to PLU redeemed on the app?
PLU redeemed on the app is to be recyled back to the Rewards Pool in its entirety. Plutus will provide details in the quarterly Pluton Reconciliation, verified against our internal data and the blockchain by the UK accredited accountancy firm, Haggards & Crowther.
What happens to unlocked Rewards Cap monthly allowance if the customer downgrades to a standard plan with no rewards?
There is no pause in redeemed benefits, customers must utilise their rewards cap each month, and earn PLU using one of the Subscription Plans and/or Reward Levels.
How does the lower rewards cap on spending impact my metal card benefits?
The rewards cap on spending does not impact metal card benefits.
Are there plans for incremental Reward Levels?
Yes, to avoid confusion, this feature will be released separately after the above updates have been released. More details to follow in due course.
What about the previously announced subscription plan proposal and the Difficulty Adjustment?
- The subscription plan is being adjusted based on customer feedback to offer fair value. For example, the £/€1000 Rewards Cap (Premium) matches the average spending of our customers, ensuring majority can earn rewards without friction, while higher spenders contribute to the ecosystem by redeeming PLU into the Rewards Pool.
- The Difficulty Adjustment is being replaced by a lower rewards cap which regulates emissions on spending and enables us to lower requirements and increase participation. These new changes ensure 93% of previous participants on a Reward Level are awarded with higher reward rates and boosted perks.
Are PLU requirements to redeem cost effective?
The PLU requirements for redeeming a Rewards Cap outweigh the benefits when combined with a subscription plan or a Reward Level, especially for those on higher levels. For example, £360 a year in rewards (3% value) for 20 PLU, or £10,800 a year in rewards (9% value) for 500 PLU, which = £10,000 monthly spending cap eligible for rewards.
