Sears has announced that starting on February 1st, 2019 that Shop Your Way Rewards (SYWR) points will not count towards the free shipping minimum of $59. Given Sears bankruptcy you should be using your SYWR points as soon as you possibly can anyway but if whatever reason you’re not then this is just one more reason as to why you should be.
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Still count toward free shipping minimum as of today.
Does this apply to Kmart as well?
Yes
Half the items on their site are not available for shipping anyway. And if store pickup is an option, it's often a store that is several miles away.
Several miles? I'd be happy with several states away! Haha
Shall we count the reasons why Sears should just shut down? Leading up to their bankruptcy announcement, they were pushing sales that were tied to SYWR points that were issued monthly and expired within a month. Now that people are spending down their SYWR points, they add shipping charges that are becoming harder to avoid as Sears and Kmart stores close. I have a Kmart store near me that is staying open, but it looks like the only restocking is coming from other stores that close down. Congrats, Eddie, you've led an American icon down the drain.
Free shipping with minimum $59 and now syw points don't count. Pick up is the only option to use syw point.
Sucks. When the Kmart goes near me (and it will) that might be it. Though, interestingly based on increases coming in shipping fees this month from UPS, FedEx, and USPS, some pundits see more retailers no longer offering free shipping or moving the threshold to much higher price points. https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/01/01/will-ups-and-fedex-rate-hikes-doom-free-shipping.aspx
These rate hikes only effect non-negotiated retail rates. Major retailers all have bulk discount agreements that often waive/offset the increases and don't charge shipping surcharges (like overweight, etc.). They won't remove free shipping even if needed to maintain margin, just increase price of goods.
So the only option is going to be pick up (if the store is close to you)
Or bring back the $50 back on $100 deals of yore. But yeah, most likely don't buy anything. I've had a good run Sears reselling, but probably just about done.
This will surely fix Sears financial woes!
That sucks.