Update: Many people are reporting successful refund/cancellation with Match.com today. For those who spent more on the add-ons than on the actual subscription, this may be the easiest way to avoid the risk of overpaying for the miles. As the official policy of Match.com is no refunds in most states, I would urge you to seek a refund sooner rather than later if you want to take that route.
Yesterday, we posted a shopping portal promotion from the British Airways shopping portal. We followed up on that with an update on the ability to take advantage of a specific deal for Match.com that would enable you to buy Avios at the effective rate of about .67 cents per point. Initial results are a mixed bag at best.
The deal we expected
The British Airways portal was offering 150 Avios per dollar spent at Match.com. The terms of the deal only specified that it was valid only for new subscriptions. While we initially mentioned the possibility of subscribing for one year for ~$200 for about 30K Avios, we later reported how to un-bundle your subscription to increase spend. By adding on features rather than bundling them, one could pay around $550. Some people found that they could disable promotional prices and raise the cost over $700. I spent about $550 plus tax and expected to receive more than 82,000 Avios.
Partial points pending
However, this morning purchases began tracking and the initial results are not what we expected. The British Airways portal is tracking the purchase, but only on the base subscription price without any add-ons — meaning that most users are seeing many fewer Avios pending. For example, I see 28,784 Avios pending, which is based on my base subscription price of about $191.90:
What should we do?
If you only did the base subscription, you would likely do nothing — it seems that the miles are posting on those purchases. If you purchased a number of the add-ons that do not appear to be triggering tracked miles yet, it is more complicated.
At this point, it’s early. The British Airways portal’s contact form will not allow you to contact them over a purchase that has not yet posted. That said, I know that many readers will want more information sooner rather than later. At this point, the options I see closely align with what Lucky has posted at One Mile at a Time:
Option 1) Reach out to the British Airways shopping portal via email, Twitter, etc. to inquire about the difference in Avios pending versus the actual purchase amount.
Option 2) Try to contact Match.com and cancel — whether just the add-ons or the entire order. I believe they have a no-refund policy, but it might be worth a shot for those looking to wash their hands of the deal.
—>Update: At least one reader, Jason, reports that he was able to get a full refund from Match.com today.
—->Update #2: Many people are reporting successful refunds via chat/phone today.
Option 3) Wait and see what actually posts in the end. Then, contact British Airways if it does not post based on the entire purchase amount. OMAAT mentions the possibility of filing a chargeback if necessary, though I’m not sure you’d have a case there.
I don’t know the right answer. I think everyone has to decide what they think works for them, and if we keep the conversation going in the comments, we can see what works and doesn’t as a group.
My initial inclination is to wait and see what posts. Sometimes, shopping portals track funny. I’ve had single purchases of multiple items that tracked separately and I’ve had multiple purchases on the same day that tracked on different days. I am definitely not confident that the add-ons are going to track, but 1-day isn’t enough time for me to be confident that they won’t just track separately.
On the other hand, I know that the outcome here ultimately rests on commissions being paid. Match.com pays a commission to the British Airways portal. The portal passes along a piece of that commission in the form of Avios. If Match.com does not pay a commission on the add-ons, the portal isn’t going to, either. If the system is not set up to automatically pay out on the add-ons, we will be relying on the shopping portal to go to bat with Match.com over the additional commissions. I can see the logic in thinking that the portal is more likely to follow up with Match.com if consumers contact them. I’m sure a number of people have already contacted the portal, so I will wait and see what those initial report-backs are and keep this post updated.
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[…] from The Points and Miles Game for bringing it to my attention!). Unfortunately, there’s no Match.com 150 Avios/$1 deal this time around. However, there are some great payouts, and many of them stack very nicely with […]
I was just now notified that Match.com credited my $227.88 purchase back to my credit card. I DID NOT ASK to cancel the transaction. I was happy seeing that my 34,000 “ish” Avios were pending and was looking forward to it finally going through. Is anyone else getting their transactions canceled?
the notice came from my credit card company. I went to see if the avios were still pending and they are..
Match.com credited my $203 purchased this morning, I did not cancel my account, and was actually giving the account to my friend to find a date. I still see 30k points pending in my Avios estore, but I assume it will go away.
After I left my comment I went to see that my Avios were still showing pending (and my eharmony was there pending, too). Next I went to match.com and tried to get help on their chat line.. As I signed on I got an offer to click automatically re-new. And voiila my account was back. Not sure what is going on. it broke down “with having issues”. So I sent the match.com help desk a note saying what had happened and that “I was concerned that by canceling me without my requesting it they might be trying to get out of the promo by which I had signed up in the first place”. NO answer back yet.
My Match.com account was canceled yesterday or so, my friend logged in and asked me why it said that, so I logged in and hit the reactivate button. Later in the day he noticed it kept asking him to pay for subscription, and asked me to make sure I paid for the subscription. It wasn’t until this morning I saw the refund from Match.
Any update?
Hmmm they auto canceled my account without requesting. Still have 30k pending points on british airways, but I assume those will go away as well.
They should leave some for all the time that was wasted.
[…] Date at a Time wrote several posts on it and urging readers to spend as much as possible. And then Avios were only given for the base subscription. WTF is wrong with some people? Anyways, at least you know that this is happening right […]
Nick, how did you check the pending avios? I was not able to locate that information as you had in the post. Thanks.
[…] Of course if you aren’t happy with the miles you’re getting, and don’t want to fight, cancel your order right away. […]
I just did an online chat to request cancel my subscription and get a full refund. The agent was quite helpful and issued the refund right away.
Yao,
How did you chat online? I can’t find it, only emails…
I purchased the bundle when it was 80x. Is that possible to get the avios if I create a new account and get the avios again?
The 150 points per dollar is dead. British Airways pulled match.com from the portal. So, no.
@meow
I think Lucky maxed out the deal like many other did…so it’s not like he was profiting from it while others got hosed. Some deals have a risk factor and this one definitely wasn’t a sure thing.
Lucky always profits, make no mistake about it. I’m sure Ford and him are laughing about this right now.
Lucky should be ashamed of himself for pumping this so hard. Perhaps, even jail.
I think you need to relax a bit. A lot of this hobby is experimenting and if you are going to be on the leading edge (or a fast follower) then you have risk.
I think you need to relax. Lucky is nothing more than a snake oil salesman, out to defraud those reading his blog.
Stop reading his blog, idiot.
@Rich, enjoy living your pathetic little life.
I bailed on this deal and was able to cancel via chat for full refund. Be careful as they initially just cancel the “auto-renew” on your subscription.
Per their agreement, subscribers residing in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin can “cancel this agreement, without penalty or obligation, at any time prior to midnight of the third business day following the original date of this contract, excluding Sundays and holidays.”
You are supposed to provide the cancellation in writing by mail, delivery or telegram, however, most of us are successful in achieving the cancellation by phone or chat (for now).
They email you a confirmation stating that the refund has been processed and the amount refunded. You can also print a copy of the online chat.
Elizabeth,
Where did you find the online chat? I can only find email option on their site…
[…] to One Mile at a Time and Frequent Miler, yesterday’s purchases are already tracking but the news isn’t all good. Despite […]
Maybe i’m wrong, but looks like the match.com deal on the BA shopping portal is pulled. I only did the basic $215 membership and the correct amount of points are pending…so hoping all is good. I’d advise anyone who got the deal at the $215 price ppoint take a screenshot of the points pending.
Yep I got a refund not worth the risk hassle to me as I can generate Avios all day long for a lot less than the 1.8 cents I would have been paying. Given BAs terms I think they can claim they only pay out on the subscription and not the add-ons. Good luck to those that fight but I am out. Wish I had been less greedy and just did the subscription. Oh well win some and lose some.
What a mess.