About two years ago, my wife and I decided it was time to start being adults and part ways with our thrice handed down Ikea couch. After a bit of a search, we landed on a sleeper sofa we liked at Macy’s and proceeded to debate whether we should also apply for their American Express card in order to save $100. We ended up pulling the trigger on the card, but there was still one more savings aspect to be enjoyed thanks to that purchase: Plenti points.
Plenti was introduced in 2015 as a multi-retailer loyalty card where users could earn points at places like Chili’s, Rite-Aid, ExxonMobil, and of course Macy’s as well as with services such as Hulu and AT&T. As the result of our couch purchase that day, we ended up with $15 worth of Plenti points to use and we earned more via various offers, including getting 10x points on our Exxon gas purchase just last month. Well, this week Plenti announced it was shuttering later this summer. With that, now is the time to use up the last of your points.
When it comes to the death of Plenti, the writing was already on the wall when — following departures from Hulu, AT&T, Expedia, and others over the years — Chili’s and Macy’s (AKA the two best participants) announced earlier this year that they’d be pulling out as well. The last day to redeem your points at these two locations is May 3rd, as previously announced. Meanwhile, Plenti revealed this week that the last day to redeem points with the other current participant locations would be July 10th. For the record, new registrations for Plenti have also been suspended.
To take advantage of your Plenti savings before they disappear, you have a few different options. At stores like Macy’s, just inform the cashier that you have your Plenti card and then you’ll be asked to swipe it. After that, the terminal should prompt you to apply your points to your purchase. As for gas station locations like Exxon and Mobil, you’ll want to be sure to insert your Plenti card before your credit or debit card (I learned this one the hard way). Just like at other retailers, the pump should display your point total and ask if you’d like to redeem them.
Finally, if you don’t get around to using your Plenti points before the cut off date, you may not be completely out of luck. According to the e-mail Plenti sent to members, ExxonMobil as well as the Southern Grocers chain of stores (BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys, and Winn-Dixie) plan to rollover unused Plenti points to the private loyalty programs they’re each introducing. However, the catch is that this will only apply to customers who joined Plenti through them. In other words, since I first joined Pleni via Macy’s, this rollover offer wouldn’t apply to me.
Alas, Plenti was never my most-used loyalty program, but we did make some use of it from time to time. Because of this, I’m slightly sad to see it go. In the meantime, you can bet I’ll be redeeming my $25+ in points ASAP.