Macy’s has made some changes to it’s star rewards program. They now offer a tiered system where the more you spend at Macy’s with your store or American Express card the more rewards you receive. The spend requirement is based on the previous calendar year, so to hit Platinum status you need to spend $1,200 or more between January 1st and December 31st.
Free Shipping
Gold and Platinum members will receive free shipping with no minimum. According to the fine print it’s standard shipping and does not apply to furniture, mattresses, purchases in Macy’s stores, prior purchases, or international orders.
5% Back In Rewards
Once you reach Platinum status (requires $1,200 in spend) you’ll receive 5% back in rewards. The following items are excluded:Â Macy’s Gift Cards, restaurants inside Macy’s, services, sales tax, and any portion of your purchase paid with Star Money or Macy’s Gift Cards.
Our Verdict
With the way Macy’s CEO is carrying on in the launch video you’d think that this is the most ground breaking and generous rewards program in existence. Free standard shipping is OK, as is 5% but neither is ground breaking or particularly useful. I don’t think this makes either the store or American Express card particularly useful or worth signing up for. What are your thoughts on the new Macy’s program? Let us know in the comments.
Hat tip to Rapid Travel Chai
Macy’s is currently running their Thanks for Sharing Program for cardholders. For a $25 enrollment fee you can earn 10% back in rewards on net qualifying purchases (there are a lot of exclusions) charged to your Macy’s card during the program period. The rewards won’t be distributed until March of 2018 though.
$10 from each enrollment, up to $15 million, goes to charity.
https://secure-m.macys.com/loyalty/tfsEnroll
Unless you retail shop exclusively at Macy’s, the Star Rewards program has never been particularly rewarding. The 25% off and $10 off $30 coupons I get 4 times a year for being a Macy’s Amex cardholder are nice, but not particularly exciting.
Macy’s Amex is also eligible for a perpetual ShopRunner membership, though that’s been nerfed too.
I believe you get free shipping from Macy’s if you order some lip balm or something anyway.
Before Plenti, Macys used to offer 1% on their own card. When they partnered with Plenti, they stopped their own cashback. Now that they are brining their upgraded cashback program, I suspect they would leave Plenti program soon.
Until then, you are effectively getting 6% back – 5% on Macys and 1% at Plenti.