Wed, June 25, 2003

It seems that ranting has become second nature, to the point where it is spilling over into my everyday life. This week, I was frustrated to find that Borders, the books and music superstore, had scaled back its rewards for Platinum Discover cardholders such as myself. Rather than rant twice about the same thing, I'm publishing here the letter that I'll be firing off to their CEO as soon as I track down his name. (Re-printed by permission.)

Borders Honcho:

Imagine my shock when I logged in to redeem my Discover Card Cashback Bonus Reward online and discovered that the value of the Borders gift card available for a $20 Reward redemption had plummeted from $40 to a mere $25. All the other companies still offer "Double Your Reward" except Borders.

What a shame. See, the Double-Reward gift cards had succeeded in their purpose. I made more purchases at Borders than I ever had before, and I never redeemed a gift card for less than its value. Not only was the promotion driving me to the store more often (increasing my gift-card and non-gift-card business alike) but even when I was paying with a gift card I was also handing over some cash. It was like a Borders Renaissance for me! But now, the measly $5 is not enough incentive to redeem my Bonus Reward with Borders. I'll go back to what I did before Borders entered the game: I'll fold the Reward back into my Discover balance, and I'll shop at Best Buy, where the prices are more competitive, the selection more varied, and the staff more knowledgeable and helpful.

The gift cards were working, and now they're not. I hope the $15 savings Borders is racking up per card makes up for the loss of business to thousands like myself who just needed that little extra incentive to shop there. Dropping the cards' value feels like Borders turning its back on us; I for one will respond in kind.

Respectfully yours, Jameson

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