Loyalty Points

[Zammo]

Don't shoot the messenger, but I'm hearing changes afoot.

"Loyalty points criteria being amended and points earned prior to Covid to be scrapped"

More to follow. Possibly.

[RG30]

I have also heard the same and an announcement is due this week which made me check my points balance yesterday and I noticed a couple of away games I attended in 20/21 were completely missing (Coventry & Swansea) so maybe worth checking your points balance to make sure no one is missing any.

Good news if you are relatively young and didn't have the points balance of older fans but not great if you are the latter especially with <1k allocations at Leyton Orient & Exeter as the pool for those eligible should be much bigger.

[windermereROYAL]

*Checks calendar* nope not April 1st, already gone.

[RG30]

Should also add STH's will still get priority over non STH's.

[Sutekh]

Seems a bit unfair on the supporters that have been there for years but have just been ****** off by the utterly diabolical management of the club both on and off the pitch in the last 3 years.

[Brogue]

right, so my points earned from being a season ticket holder from elm park days through to when the new stadium opened right through to Stam season two, plus away season tickets in the prem years and sooo many other away games in that time are all to be forgotten? WTAF if true the club has got this very very wrong

[NathStPaul]

The system should be fairer and biased towards a younger generation. They are the supporters with the passion and who bring the noise. Windermere Royal and his cup of Bovril shouldn't take priority over them just because they happen to be young people.

[traff]

The system should be fairer and biased towards a younger generation. They are the supporters with the passion and who bring the noise. Windermere Royal and his cup of Bovril shouldn't take priority over them just because they happen to be young people.

Then, by definition, it is no longer a loyalty scheme.

[Hendo]

The system should be fairer and biased towards a younger generation. They are the supporters with the passion and who bring the noise. Windermere Royal and his cup of Bovril shouldn't take priority over them just because they happen to be young people.

Then, by definition, it is no longer a loyalty scheme.

Although some would argue it is, if those youngsters have been to 75% of the away games over the last few years, where our away record has been oxf*rd terrible.

I haven't been to an away game in ages, I would probably like to go to a few this year, but I am not too bothered if I don't. Would rather it goes to those who have been regulars for the last 4 or 5 years when I've been to a handful in the same time.

At the end of the day, the club aren't going to be able to put in a system which pleases everyone. One part of the fan base is going to lose out, regardless.

[traff]

The system should be fairer and biased towards a younger generation. They are the supporters with the passion and who bring the noise. Windermere Royal and his cup of Bovril shouldn't take priority over them just because they happen to be young people.

Then, by definition, it is no longer a loyalty scheme.

Although some would argue it is, if those youngsters have been to 75% of the away games over the last few years, where our away record has been oxf*rd terrible.

I haven't been to an away game in ages, I would probably like to go to a few this year, but I am not too bothered if I don't. Would rather it goes to those who have been regulars for the last 4 or 5 years when I've been to a handful in the same time.

Agree and definitely think there should be more emphasis on away games (although I understand this does not provide revenue to the club)
Really depends on what the thinking behind this is, if the club wants to attract a younger fanbase then fine. But why at the expense of established fans, 80/20 rule in Paretos Law is pretty well established?

[Brogue]

The system should be fairer and biased towards a younger generation. They are the supporters with the passion and who bring the noise. Windermere Royal and his cup of Bovril shouldn't take priority over them just because they happen to be young people.

Then, by definition, it is no longer a loyalty scheme.

Although some would argue it is, if those youngsters have been to 75% of the away games over the last few years, where our away record has been oxf*rd terrible.

I haven't been to an away game in ages, I would probably like to go to a few this year, but I am not too bothered if I don't. Would rather it goes to those who have been regulars for the last 4 or 5 years when I've been to a handful in the same time.

At the end of the day, the club aren't going to be able to put in a system which pleases everyone. One part of the fan base is going to lose out, regardless.

I’m sure they can reward loyal supporters over the last few years without fcuking over the people who have been going for years.

[NathStPaul]

Then, by definition, it is no longer a loyalty scheme.

Although some would argue it is, if those youngsters have been to 75% of the away games over the last few years, where our away record has been oxf*rd terrible.

I haven't been to an away game in ages, I would probably like to go to a few this year, but I am not too bothered if I don't. Would rather it goes to those who have been regulars for the last 4 or 5 years when I've been to a handful in the same time.

At the end of the day, the club aren't going to be able to put in a system which pleases everyone. One part of the fan base is going to lose out, regardless.

I’m sure they can reward loyal supporters over the last few years without fcuking over the people who have been going for years.

They shouldn't but something has to happen in terms of making our away support far more intimidating and loud. Have a look at those photos of "Faces in the crowd" the local press put up after our away games. It is a fcuking embarrassing site to see. Has to change.

[Clyde1998]

The system should be fairer and biased towards a younger generation. They are the supporters with the passion and who bring the noise. Windermere Royal and his cup of Bovril shouldn't take priority over them just because they happen to be young people.

Then, by definition, it is no longer a loyalty scheme.

Although some would argue it is, if those youngsters have been to 75% of the away games over the last few years, where our away record has been oxf*rd terrible.

I haven't been to an away game in ages, I would probably like to go to a few this year, but I am not too bothered if I don't. Would rather it goes to those who have been regulars for the last 4 or 5 years when I've been to a handful in the same time.

At the end of the day, the club aren't going to be able to put in a system which pleases everyone. One part of the fan base is going to lose out, regardless.

You get points for going to away matches - so those who are going regularly should have more points already. There have been very few matches in the past few years that have actually required the points system to be used to allocate tickets anyway; there will no doubt be more this season due to smaller attendances, more closer matches and playing at grounds we've not played at for years.

The only change I'd be happy for them to make is away matches getting more points than home matches, unless you have a hybrid system of something like current points being used for half the tickets, 'recent away points' being used for the other half (adjust proportions accordingly).

There are many reasons why people can't get to away matches regularly: cost (of both tickets and travel), travel time, travel issues, lack of free time, date/time of the match. I don't think those who's unable to go to away matches regularly because of any of these things shouldn't be punished for it.

I think there's a chance people will buy tickets without any intention of going to matches to ensure they're able to get tickets for high priority games, especially if we're talking about a small time period the points count for.

[RG30]

Let's not forget you get 10 points for joining STAR as well

[Zammo]

Let's not forget you get 10 points for joining STAR as well

If anything needs disbanding and starting again it's that lot.

[NathStPaul]

Let's not forget you get 10 points for joining STAR as well

If anything needs disbanding and starting again it's that lot.

Hear, Hear.

[RG30]

This was from last November;

STAR met with Paul Collins (PC), RFC Ticket Office manager, on 28 November 2022 to discuss the Loyalty Points system.

STAR last reviewed this in 2014 and achieved an uprating of points awarded for attending away matches. Over the past couple of years concerns have been raised by some supporters that new or younger supporters are disadvantaged by the scheme which works in favour of longer-standing supporters with higher points balances.

The purpose of this meeting was to learn about what the actual pressures were and how flexible the system was if changes were desirable.

The club said that nowadays it was extremely rare that a match was sold out before reaching ‘general sale to member card holders (MCH)’. The away match at Luton in May 2022 was the only recent example recalled.

Club and STAR agreed that giving current season ticket holders (STH) priority was still the right policy and within the STH base then giving priority on a points basis. This does have the effect of relegating member card holders with large points totals below current STH – but the instances where such fans can’t buy are currently very rare. This policy also gives new / younger supporters buying a STH a chance to put themselves higher in the ranking than a supporter who has a large points total but no longer attends matches regularly.

STAR asked if away match attendance only could be used as a priority for buying high demand away match tickets. The ticketing system does not allow for this to be done automatically. Club stressed that, in order to add Loyalty Points to your account, supporters have to buy their away match tickets through RFC Ticket Office.

STAR asked if supporters with a high points balance could buy their ticket and reserve the seat next to them for a family / friend whose points balance would qualify them to buy later in the week. Unfortunately, the system cannot accommodate this without significant manual intervention by the ticket office. The best advice was that if the family member was in the immediate points range below the buyer, then the buyer should contact the ticket office late in their priority day and see if anything could be done.

Cancelling loyalty points that were gained long ago (pre-2011, for instance) would be possible but, of course, contentious. PC advised STAR to look at the Brighton &HA points scheme as an example of a very different approach but one that RFC would not currently endorse. One of its features was giving supporters bonus points for renewing for consecutive seasons.

Club said the loyalty points scheme was useful in preventing away fans from buying tickets in home supporter areas of the SCL.

The overall out-take, however, is that the loyalty scheme is fit for purpose in our current circumstances and that very few fans fail to get a match ticket they want. The public perception of scarcity of high demand tickets does not match the reality. However, it makes sense to be prepared for a successful team creating problems in the future so suggestions such as using the previous season’s away record should be investigated along with other ideas from other clubs.

In terms of a new, loyal Reading supporter it would take them two seasons as a STH and STAR member, and going to about half the away matches to amass about 500 loyalty points at which point they have some priority value – and of course priority over all non STH members with however many points.

https://star-reading.org/news/loyalty-points-review-meeting-nov-2022

[Dirk Gently]

The system should be fairer and biased towards a younger generation. They are the supporters with the passion and who bring the noise. Windermere Royal and his cup of Bovril shouldn't take priority over them just because they happen to be young people.

Then, by definition, it is no longer a loyalty scheme.

It never was a loyalty scheme and never pretended to be one - they are "Royalty Points", not "Loyalty Points."

They simply give priority to people who spend the most money with the club, not to those who are the most loyal to the team.

[Clyde1998]

This was from last November;

STAR met with Paul Collins (PC), RFC Ticket Office manager, on 28 November 2022 to discuss the Loyalty Points system.

STAR last reviewed this in 2014 and achieved an uprating of points awarded for attending away matches. Over the past couple of years concerns have been raised by some supporters that new or younger supporters are disadvantaged by the scheme which works in favour of longer-standing supporters with higher points balances.

The purpose of this meeting was to learn about what the actual pressures were and how flexible the system was if changes were desirable.

The club said that nowadays it was extremely rare that a match was sold out before reaching ‘general sale to member card holders (MCH)’. The away match at Luton in May 2022 was the only recent example recalled.

Club and STAR agreed that giving current season ticket holders (STH) priority was still the right policy and within the STH base then giving priority on a points basis. This does have the effect of relegating member card holders with large points totals below current STH – but the instances where such fans can’t buy are currently very rare. This policy also gives new / younger supporters buying a STH a chance to put themselves higher in the ranking than a supporter who has a large points total but no longer attends matches regularly.

STAR asked if away match attendance only could be used as a priority for buying high demand away match tickets. The ticketing system does not allow for this to be done automatically. Club stressed that, in order to add Loyalty Points to your account, supporters have to buy their away match tickets through RFC Ticket Office.

STAR asked if supporters with a high points balance could buy their ticket and reserve the seat next to them for a family / friend whose points balance would qualify them to buy later in the week. Unfortunately, the system cannot accommodate this without significant manual intervention by the ticket office. The best advice was that if the family member was in the immediate points range below the buyer, then the buyer should contact the ticket office late in their priority day and see if anything could be done.

Cancelling loyalty points that were gained long ago (pre-2011, for instance) would be possible but, of course, contentious. PC advised STAR to look at the Brighton &HA points scheme as an example of a very different approach but one that RFC would not currently endorse. One of its features was giving supporters bonus points for renewing for consecutive seasons.

Club said the loyalty points scheme was useful in preventing away fans from buying tickets in home supporter areas of the SCL.

The overall out-take, however, is that the loyalty scheme is fit for purpose in our current circumstances and that very few fans fail to get a match ticket they want. The public perception of scarcity of high demand tickets does not match the reality. However, it makes sense to be prepared for a successful team creating problems in the future so suggestions such as using the previous season’s away record should be investigated along with other ideas from other clubs.

In terms of a new, loyal Reading supporter it would take them two seasons as a STH and STAR member, and going to about half the away matches to amass about 500 loyalty points at which point they have some priority value – and of course priority over all non STH members with however many points.

https://star-reading.org/news/loyalty-points-review-meeting-nov-2022

That last paragraph is factually incorrect. If you're a STH, a STAR member and go to roughly half of away matches, you'd have 780 points after two seasons. Due to ST points getting added prior to the season, you'd have 645 points going into the second season. Being a STH alone for two seasons gets you 510 points.

[Needle]

I've long argued for an expiry date on Royalty Points.

It makes no sense that someone who started following Reading week in week out three seasons ago should be lower down the priority list than a 30yr supporter who stopped coming five years ago but fancies Oxford away because it's a novelty.