After more than a couple of years of existence, AT&T’s Plenti program is officially ending by the end of this month. The number two biggest wireless carrier in the country had first introduced the loyalty rewards program in May 2015, in collaboration with familiar brands such as Hulu, ExxonMobil, Macy’s Nationwide Insurance, Rite Aid, Direct Energy, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Powered by American Express, Plenti basically allowed the carrier’s customers to accumulate points and then redeem those points when they availed of a new line of service, or completed transactions at retail partners.
AT&T made the formal announcement by way of an email message sent to its subscribers. So what happens to those AT&T subscribers who signed up for a membership in the loyalty rewards program? According to the major US mobile operator, the membership of those customers will still remain active, and they will still be able to avail of offers extended through other Plenti partners. As for the points earned, AT&T explained that these can still be redeemed by members at Rite Aid, Exxon and Mobil, Macy’s Chili’s, and other partners even beyond the end of October. Customers need to note, however, they that will no longer be able to accumulate or redeem points with AT&T after this month.
Despite the fact that AT&T’s involvement with Plenti will soon end, customers need to be reminded that the carrier still has its AT&T Thanks program. Launched back in July of last year, the program offers several perks such as buy one get one free movie passes, presale ticket deals from Live Nation, and special streaming content for subscribers of AT&T’s DirecTV offering.
While it is interesting that AT&T is ending Plenti, loyalty programs are actually becoming more popular these days, especially as a means for mobile operators to hold on to their existing customers. With the ongoing so-called unlimited data wars, carriers are in danger of losing their subscribers to rival networks. But with rewards programs, these companies can give their customers extra reason to stay.
It goes without saying that AT&T is not the only one offering a loyalty program -- T-Mobile also has its T-Mobile Tuesdays program, which was launched at around the same time as the AT&T Thanks program. Even the Big Red is joing in on the party -- about a couple of months ago, Verizon Wireless debuted its Verizon Up program (albeit quietly).
