GrabRewards Revaluation: Is the Update for Better or for Worse?

Important Updates to the New GrabRewards Programme

Unless you own your own vehicle or are an ardent supporter of taking public transportation only…

You’ve probably been using Grab to get around.

And you’ve probably been enjoying the perks you get with GrabRewards.

Well, guess what?

Grab has announced some updates to their GrabRewards programme which will result in the revaluation — or some would even say devaluation — of membership perks.

Wondering what are the updates?

We’ve broken it down for you.

Note: all updates will take effect on 2 March 2020.

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TL;DR: GrabRewards Update

Basically, there will be a reduction in how many points you can earn per transaction.

FYI: cash payment for Grab rides do not give you points anymore.

But there’ll be an increase in the number of places you can earn points from.

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The NEW Point System for GrabRewards

Whether you use GrabPay, GrabPay Mastercard or cash, you’ll be awarded a base of 2 points for every $1 spent.

The new (and old) programme will both reward you more points based on a multiplier system that is tagged to your membership tier.

For Members and Silver Members, you get a 1x multiplier.

For Gold Members, you’ll get a 1.5x multiplier.

And lastly, for Platinum Members, you’ll get a 2x multiplier.

Unfortunately… this is where the similarities end.

Here’s what the new schedule of GrabRewards points looks like:

Just keep these numbers in mind for now.

Oh, and you’ll definitely need to use either GrabPay or GrabPay Mastercard now in order to qualify for points.

The OLD Point System for GrabRewards

For those who are wondering what’s the big deal?

Here’s why.

For the old GrabRewards points system, the schedule of points awarded looks like this:

Notice that the base points you earn are much higher and more varied depending on which Grab service you use?

You’ll also earn at least some points if you use cash to pay for your Grab rides.

A Comparison: Old vs New Point System for GrabRewards

And here’s a side-by-side comparison of both the old and the new GrabRewards programme:

See the difference now?

Overall, it’s harder to earn GrabRewards points.

But I guess the system still “recognises” your loyalty by awarding higher points to Platinum Members.

So your membership status still counts for something at the very least.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Grab has mentioned that they’ll hold GrabRewards Flash Sales events where you supposedly can save up to 50% on your points redemption…

Which is probably going to be some kind of joint promotion with selected partners.

I guess we can only hope that these partners are the ones which we use more frequently like McDonald’s for GrabFood.

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GrabRewards Are Now Harder to Redeem

Redeeming Grab Vouchers ($1, $5 and $10 Credits)

Okay, we kinda spoke too soon about Grab recognising its loyal customers aka Platinum Members.

Yep, they’ve also revised the points required for Grab voucher redemption.

Do note that for every tier you move up, there is a current promotion that gives every tier a different discount when you redeem your Grab vouchers.

Regardless of your membership tier, the number of points required for you to redeem Grab vouchers are the same.

So much for “we will continue to reward the most loyal customers”…

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Grab Voucher in Singapore Dollar Equivalent

What’s the Actual Monetary Value of a $5 Grab Voucher?

Assuming you pay with GrabPay:

*Amount rounded up to the nearest dollar and percentage.

You’ll notice that Grab has increased the points required to redeem a $5 Grab voucher.

Previously it would have cost a Platinum Member $367 to get a $5 voucher.

Now it’ll cost you $625 instead.

If you do the math, that’s a 170% increase!

Sian…

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Grab Membership Tiers, Points To Qualify and How Much You Need To Spend?

During the previous update, Grab basically revamped the entire GrabRewards membership points system and made Platinum membership easier to achieve.

There is currently no news on whether the membership tier qualification requirement will go through any change with this update.

Points Required for Each Membership Tiers in GrabRewards

Actual Monetary Equivalent for GrabRewards Membership Tiers

*Amount rounded up to the nearest dollar.

The main takeaway?

It will cost you $1,000 to climb from Member to a Platinum Member status.

Is There a Point to Being a GrabRewards Platinum Member?

With all these changes and revaluation, is there really a point in being a Platinum member?

Well… we’re all about being financially prudent so we’re not advocating that you should go all out and achieve Platinum member status.

But if for example, your job requires you to travel often via Grab.

Or you slowly but surely make your way up.

Then why not, right?

GrabRewards Platinum Member Perks

Being a Platinum Member means that you get to enjoy

• Accelerated Earning
• Partner Rewards
• Platinum Support Line
• Priority Bookings

Honestly, I feel that Priority Bookings are kind of a big deal.

Being only a Silver Member right now, it takes me AGES to book a Grab ride.

So that’s always something nice to have.

Throwback To an EVEN OLDER GrabRewards

This is the second time that GrabRewards is being updated.

The first GrabRewards update was back in 2018.

I know. 16 points for a Platinum Member!!!

Now we can only look back and reminisce about the good ol’ days…

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Is There Anything to Look Forward to for this Update?

Well…

There is something new that will be introduced: Challenges.

Although details are scant, it looks like there will be time-limited challenges which you can choose to take part in.

Looking at the various characters available.

It looks like there’ll be:

• GrabPay Challenge
• GrabRide Challenge
• GrabFood Challenge
• Grab Challenge (probably a combination of the first three)

I’m guessing that for the GrabRide Challenge, you’ll need to clock a certain number of rides or amount spent in a week or a month in order to unlock a reward.

Similarly, the GrabFood Challenge will probably be about how many GrabFood orders you make or how much you spend on GrabFood within a stipulated time frame.

There may or may not be a Leaderboard aspect to this but it seems like the Challenges will definitely reward those who use Grab regularly.