Great Eastern Rewards Giving Me S$200 In Gift Credits?

Disclaimer: All comments on this blog site are an expression of opinion. You are recommended to consult with a licensed, qualified financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

I received an email from Great Eastern saying that I have received S$200 in Gift Credits that is waiting for me in their Great Eastern Rewards App.

Source: Email Sent By Great Eastern

The banner shows “Eat”, “Shop” and “Play” so I expected the rewards to be leisure-related. I know it won’t be S$200 of free rewards but maybe it will be for discount vouchers that are worth S$200. For example, a 10% discount off certain F&B outlets etc.

Also, there is no <ADV> in the title, which usually appears in advertising emails for Great Eastern.

When I downloaded the app and looked at the T&Cs of the Gift Credits, I was really disappointed with what I saw.

Update 19/10/2021: My friend had also received a call from a representative regarding the gift credits and the representative wanted to schedule a Zoom meeting to show him the platform. If any of you receive a call or message regarding the Gift Credits, do drop a comment below on what did they say.

Downloading The Great Eastern Rewards App

For some context, my mother and I have our hospitalization insurance plan with Great Eastern. In return, we have been receiving a free meal voucher every year for quite some time. In the beginning, they distributed the physical vouchers via mail. But lately, they have been distributing them via their rewards app.

Source: Great Eastern Rewards App

I only downloaded the app to claim the free meal and deleted it once I am done with it.

So when I saw the email sent by Great Eastern, I downloaded the app to check out the S$200 worth of Gift Credits.

S$200 In Anniversary Gift Credits

I open the app and this is on the front page. Everything still looks normal. I still have the impression that the rewards given is leisure-related.

Source: Great Eastern Rewards App

When I click in, the wave of disappointment set in. The Gift Credits can only be used for selected new policies. They have nothing to do with leisure-related rewards.

Source: Great Eastern Rewards App

But wait, it gets way worse.

Gift Credits Or Discount Code?

If you take a closer look at the terms and conditions, the Gift Credits can only be used for up to  10% of the calculated first premium payment. Any balance Gift Credits can be used for additional policies. What does this mean?

Source: Great Eastern Gift Credits Terms & Conditions

If you purchase a new policy with a monthly premium of S$100, you can only use the Gift Credits to knock off S$10 of the first monthly premium. The S$190 balance Gift Credits can be utilized if you wish to purchase additional policies.

It is essentially a 10% discount with a max spend of S$2,000 for your first premium.

In order to fully utilize the S$200 of Gift Credits, one would have to spend S$2,000 for the first premium across one or multiple policies. It will go back to the full price after the first premium.

It is a very minor discount in the grand scheme of things. One should place more emphasis on whether the policy suits your needs instead of looking at the potential discounts.

I advocate looking at the terms and conditions for any agreements that you accept as much as you can. We should know what we are signing up for.

Misleading Copywriting

Both wordings are technically accurate and true but the first option sounds way more attractive but to the detriment of consumers. It has even made me, a person who is very vigilant on marketing gimmicks, download the app to check it out.

Ask yourself which one sounds more attractive and accurate to what they are really offering.

S$200 in Gift Credits or a 10% discount off your first premium

As mentioned in my blog here, marketing is a numbers game. The more eyeballs on the promotion, the higher the number of conversions. The S$200 in Gift Credits is used to attract people to download the app and engage with the app. If you find out that the Gift Credits are not what they seem, you might want to surf around the app. After that you might keep the app on your phone so they can send notifications to get you to visit the app frequently.

Speaking for myself, when I realized that the Gift Credits are actually just a 10% discount off my first premium, I felt disappointed and will think twice about clicking on any Great Eastern promotions in the future. Do let me know in the comments if you will feel this way too.

Corporations Need To Stop Using Clickbait

Source: GIPHY

I didn’t plan on writing an article on this as I deleted the app after realizing that the S$200 in Gift Credits can only be used for the first premium of policies. I received another email less than a week later to remind me to claim the credits. This triggered me and made me write this rant out on my blog.

Companies need to start using accurate and truthful marketing. Although clickbait can attract views and engagement, its effectiveness will drop over time and more importantly, it will condition your consumers to stop trusting your brand and messaging.

TL, DR

I received an email from Great Eastern asking me to download its reward app to claim S$200 of Gift Credits. The Gift Credits turned out to be just a 10% discount off the first premium of selected policies. The “S$200 in Gift Credits” messaging is used to attract people to download and engage with the app and eventually keep the app on your phone. Corporations need to think twice about using clickbait as it will eventually erode their brand and consumer trust. Their future messages might have lower effectiveness or be potentially ignored by their consumers.