Major high street chain axes rewards leaving fans with ‘no reason to shop’ there

CUSTOMERS have been left gutted after finding out a major high street chain is set to axe two loyalty schemes.

Game, owned and run by the Frasers Group, is closing its Game Reward and Game Elite programmes within weeks.

Getty

Game is axing two of its loyalty programmes in a matter of weeks[/caption]

Game

Game has announced the closure of the schemes on its website[/caption]

Both schemes will be axed on July 31 in a blow for video game enthusiasts.

The reward scheme lets shoppers earn points on purchases made in-store or online which they can use to get money off future buys.

The Elite programme offers the same service, except you can earn extra loyalty points and qualify for special monthly offers and entry in to prize draws and promotions. It costs £3 a month to sign up.

We have asked Frasers Group how many people use the reward schemes and if anything will replace them and will update this story when we have heard back.

Game fans have been left gutted by the news – and complaining that they no longer have any reason to shop there.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one said: “The rewards scheme was literally the only reason I’d purchase from you guys instead of Amazon a lot of the time.”

Another said: “Game (is) taking away one of the last reasons to go shop with them.”

Meanwhile, a third added: “I wonder if Game will survive the year to be honest.”

And a fourth simply said: “This is so annoying.”

Both loyalty scheme customers can still receive points on purchases up until the end of July 15.

Customers should receive an email by July 16 telling them their remaining balance.

Emails will be sent to the address they used to sign up to either of the two loyalty programmes.

But any points accrued will need to be redeemed before the end of the day on July 31 otherwise they will be wiped and your account closed.

You can only redeem points once you’ve built up 400, worth £1.

Anything less than this and you won’t be able to exchange the points for a Game product.

Customers can redeem their points by using the Game Reward card or via the app on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Customers signed up to the Elite scheme can pay for their membership monthly or yearly, at a cost of £36 per year.

If you have bought a 12-month membership, your membership will closed on July 31, unless it is due to expire before then.

Any customers who have paid for a yearly membership but will see it close early will receive their remaining balance as rewards points.

For example, if you paid £36 but only end up using the membership for five months before July 31, you would have £21 outstanding.

If you had £7 worth of Game Reward points in your account, you would be awarded an additional £8 worth of points.

All the terms and conditions relating to the closure of the loyalty schemes can be found on Game’s website.

Game isn’t the first retailer in recent months to announce it is axing its loyalty scheme.

Stationer The Works dropped its “Together Rewards” scheme in March, with shoppers left gutted.

The scheme first launched in 2013, but in an email to customers earlier this year, Gavin Peck, chief executive officer, said the retailer had decided to drop the scheme “against a challenging economic backdrop”.

Co-op also ditched its points scheme in January meaning customers could no longer get 2p in points for every £1 spent on its own-brand goods.

It comes after the Frasers Group shuttered a number of Game branches across the UK in a blow for shoppers.

It closed its store in the Clydebank Shopping Centre, just outside of Glasgow, Scotland, last month.

It has also pulled down the shutters on nine further branches between October last year and March this year.

One store in Exeter was relocated to a nearby Sports Direct unit earlier this year too.

It’s not all bad news for the Frasers Group though.

It has already started opening “new concept” stores in Norwich, Blackpool and Sheffield.

The concept stores hold various Frasers brands like Sports Direct, Flannels, and beauty halls as well as products from USC, Jack Wills and GAME.

The group will also be taking over the former John Lewis site at Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough, at the end of 2025.

And it has acquired Compton House on Liverpool’s famous Church Street, with the location set to open as a giant Sports Direct.

The Sun asked Frasers Group to comment.

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