What you need to know.
The LEGO® Group recently announced some big changes to the VIP points system. Those changes took effect this week, and there are a few key pieces of information that every LEGO® fan and VIP cardholder should be aware of. Below, you will find a more detailed account of the changes, but to summarize:
- Your previous points balance will be carried over.
- Points are calculated in a new way, but the value is the same.
- Gone are the travel loopholes.
- You can earn points in more places.
- You can earn points in more ways.
- You can use points for more than just discounts.
- You can no longer redeem points directly in a store.
- Discount vouchers expire.
- VIP cards are going digital.
01. Your previous points balance will be carried over.
If you were a VIP member before the new program took effect, your previous balance of points will be respected. The number of points you have will be different, but their reward value will be the same.
With that said, you might log into your account and find that the points are missing entirely. This is known issue, and the LEGO® Group has announced that it will be fixed in a couple of days. You can read their official statement just below.
A message to our valued VIP customers
We are currently in the process of upgrading our VIP Program to give our fans more benefits and more rewards.
To do this, we need to move to a new online Rewards Centre in order to provide you with more opportunities to earn and redeem LEGO VIP points.
This involved migrating all of our existing LEGO VIP Rewards accounts from our old platform to the new centre. We have millions of accounts, and unfortunately during this process not all VIP points information was successfully migrated. As a result, some VIP accounts are not showing the correct points balance.
Please don’t worry. No one has lost points. We have a backup of all points information, and are in the process of fixing the issue. It will probably take a day or two, but we will make sure everyone’s account is showing the correct points balance.
We apologise for any inconvenience and also want to reassure you that no personal data has been impacted by this migration, only VIP points data.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to our awesome consumer service team. https://www.lego.com/en-us/service
Thank you for your patience and understanding. We’re working as fast as we can to fix this!
LEGO VIP Team
This information was provided through the LEGO® Ambassador Network.
02. Points are calculated in a new way, but the value is the same.
Buying a set at the LEGO® Store in Canada used to earn you one VIP point for every dollar you spent. After earning 100 points, you got $5 off of a purchase. This essentially amounted to 5% cashback.
Under the new system, spending $1 CAD gets you five VIP points. After earning 500 points, you can get $5 off of a purchase. This amounts to 5% cashback, so no change there.
Changing the number of points in this way means that you will earn roughly the same amount of points regardless of the country that you are making a purchase in. So, for example, if you go to Denmark and spend 1 kr, you will get 1 VIP point. But, since $1 CAD is roughly equal to 5 kr, you are still getting the same value in points. Which leads me to my next point…
03. Gone are the travel loopholes.
A Canadian traveling in the United States can still earn VIP points when shopping in the States. But, in accordance with what we discussed above, you will earn a different number of points that will amount to the same value as shopping in Canada.
You can also no longer redeem your points while in another country. Points can be earned anywhere, but can only be redeemed in your country of residence. So, fellow Canadians, you can no longer hop across the border to get a better value for your VIP points.
04. You can earn points in more places.
You still earn points by shopping at shop.lego.com and at the actual LEGO® Store. However, reading through the terms and conditions, you will find that you can now earn points by shopping at participating LEGO® Certified Stores, as well as Legoland stores (both parks and Discovery Centers). It’s about time that Legoland and Discovery Center stores were added into the mix. Actual LEGO® stores and the Legoland versions are run by different entities, but it remains the same brand, so I have always thought they should have the same points.
05. You can earn points in more ways.
Logging into your new VIP account online, you will see that you can earn VIP points for engaging with the LEGO® Group. Things like telling the LEGO® Group who you buy sets for, what themes you prefer, visiting their Instagram page, and visiting their Facebook page each earn you 25 points right now. More opportunities to earn points in similar ways are supposedly coming in the future.
A word of caution though, this part of the system appears to be glitch filled still. I was not able to tell the LEGO® Group what theme I like, or from whom I buy sets. The form would not submit.
06. You can use points for more than just discounts.
In your new VIP account, clicking on the “rewards” tab will show you that you can get more than just discounts. You can redeem points in exchange for actual products. So far, the stuff offered is mostly past freebies, but if you missed out on something, this could be a good way to get it. For example, as I am writing this, you can get the Ford Mustang exclusive key chain without actually buying the Ford Mustang set, though at 1000 points I don’t feel it is worth it. On the flip side, you can also get the awesome Iconic VIP Set for just 500 points.
07. You can no longer redeem points directly in store.
In the past, you would just walk up to the counter in the LEGO® Store, hand them your VIP card, and you could redeem your points on the spot. Now, you have to log into your VIP account first, redeem a voucher, then bring the voucher to the store to get your discount. Vouchers will be delivered “within 24 hours” according to the terms and conditions of the program. So, it might not be as simple as redeeming a voucher on your mobile device in store while you are shopping. But, that remains to be seen…
08. Discount vouchers expire.
As long as you keep your VIP points account active, your points won’t expire. By “active” it is meant that you have to earn or redeem points at least every 18 months. Every time you earn or redeem points, the 18 month clock resets. If you go longer than 18 months, you lose your points. This is the same as before.
Your vouchers that you redeem online are a different story. Vouchers have to be used within 30 days of acquiring them. If you redeem a voucher and then do not use it in 30 days, you lose the voucher and the VIP points. So, only redeem right before you plan to buy.
09. VIP cards are going digital.
All new VIPs will get a digital card for their Apple Passport or Google Pay app. For the time being, you can request a physical card, but those will be phased out over time.
Concluding thoughts…
The roll out of this new program has been a little glitchy. I know that a lot of people have not been able to access their new accounts using Google Chrome (which The LEGO® Group is aware of), some peoples’ past points are not properly reflected, and not all of the features of the new site actually work, to name a few. There are also some definite downsides, namely:
- You can only redeem points in your country of residence.
- There is an added step to redeeming discounts in store.
- Discount vouchers have a 30 lifespan.
But, there are some perks as well to the new program:
- You can shop in more places.
- You can get points in more ways that don’t require money.
- You can redeem points for more things.
Right now, I see three big downsides, but also three possible positives. I think whether or not this new program is actually an improvement will depend on the continued appearance good freebies to redeem with points on the VIP site. These freebies should also not be overly expensive in terms of the number of points that you need to get them. 500 points for the Iconic VIP Set is acceptable in my mind, but 1000 points for the Ford Mustang key chain is a little much. What are your thoughts on the new VIP program? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Until next time,
-Tom
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I guess I’ll get used to it. This sounds a lot more complicated than the old system, though.
You are not the only one who feels that way. There has been a lot of complaints in particular about not being able to use points directly in store.
Yeah, that’s the part that sounds the most annoying to me. But I’ll give Lego the benefit of the doubt for now. Maybe once I start using these vouchers, it’ll make more sense to me.
Great summary. I used it to inform the members of my LUG! Thanks.
So glad I could help!
Thanks for the breakdown on the new VIP system. My first thought is I would have liked a bigger reward for being a VIP, such as, a running total of dollars spent at LEGO and exclusive rewards for hitting certain milestones. Exclusivity is the main reason I shop at LEGO. They have been touting it for a while now but I’ll reserve judgement to see if it positively or negatively affects me. Great job!
Mark
Thanks for the compliment! You also raise a very good point about the exclusivity, and give a great idea when it comes to the milestones. Sadly, I think if the milestones were to happen, everyone would start at zero. I know that my shopping and points history has been completely wiped clean…