I thought it was worth looking at LevelUp which is a mobile payments system, mainly targeted towards restaurants. There are a couple of reasons why LevelUp is interesting:
- They offer a rewards program
- It’s possible to get a 10% bonus on this rewards program
- It’s possible to get 5x on all purchases made through LevelUp
Contents
What Is LevelUp?
As mentioned before LevelUp is a mobile payments company, at the moment they have 1.5 million users and 14,000+ locations are using LevelUp. I think the easiest way to think of LevelUp is a consolation of different mobile payment options for businesses, here are the supported platforms:
At the moment the focus is really on QR codes though. This is a quick run through of how a purchase using LevelUp would work:
- Download LevelUp app
- Add payment option
- Visit a merchant that uses LevelUp
- Scan your LevelUp QR Code at checkout
- You then get an e-mail with your invoice instantly
You can also choose to tip if you’d like as well. You’ll also still earn credit card rewards transactions will code as LevelUp rather than whatever the merchant you’re purchasing from.
Rewards Program & Discounts
LevelUp also has it’s own rewards program, although the rewards program is a bit confusing. There are basically two types of credit you can earn:
- Loyalty credit. This is tied to a specific merchant and can be earned in a number of different ways, for example Danny’s Pizza might decide to offer you $50 in credit after you make 10 or more purchases. This credit can only be used at Danny’s Pizza. This credit does not expire.
- Campaign specific credit. This is part of loyalty credit but it comes with an expiry date and is also earned for specific actions (e.g making a purchase on your birthday or visiting a store you haven’t shopped at in six months)
- Global credit. This can be used at any merchant that accepts LevelUp, this credit is used last as it’s more useful than normal loyalty credit. Â This credit does not expired.
In addition to this rewards program, merchants can also offer a discount. For example, they might offer you 50% off your first purchase.
Sprint Billing – 5x Everywhere + 10% Bonus
The main reason why LevelUp is interesting is because of their partnership with Sprint, which was launched in November of last year. The basic idea is that rather than linking a credit card, debit card or bank account you instead link your Sprint billing account and all your LevelUp purchases are charged there instead. There are two benefits of this:
- You can get 5x points on all your LevelUp purchases. Sprint is a telecommunications company and as such it’s possible to earn 5x on all of these purchases. Here is a list of all the credit cards that offer a category bonus on telecommunication purchases.
- You get an additional 10% bonus on all rewards earned. By using Sprint billing as your payment method you automatically earn an additional 10% on any rewards earned. This means if you earned $10 in credit, you’d actually receive $11 instead.
Final Thoughts
LevelUp is an interesting company, they don’t have a lot of merchants that have signed up at the moment but it’s worth checking out to see if there are any restaurants (or other businesses) in your local area that do participate. It’s an even better program if you use Sprint and have a credit card that earns a category bonus on telecommunication purchases.
My favorite taco place uses Levelup. Their rewards are $10 for every $100 in spend (10%). It’s also coded as a restaurant, so another 2x points on CSP (5x points this quarter on Freedom). Aside from having delicious tacos, this is a lucrative bonus that makes me much more likely to eat there.
I made sure to wear my T-shirt that says ” <—— I'm with Stupid!" prior to this post.
Does this mean you have to have a sprint phone or is there another way of having a "spring account"?
I don't want to change cell providers.
Have to be with Sprint unfortunately. Unless somebody knows of a work around that I don’t.