Bounts.it .earn money doing exercise

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Sep 2016
10:13am, 13 Sep 2016
9,863 posts
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Chrisull
I just donated 100pts to Cancer research. Now call me thick and ignorant but I have *NO IDEA* exactly what donating points to a charity does (otherwise I'd donate more!). I thought it would explain to me as I went along. I assume that they match some sort of donation to cancer research - £1 or something, but there's no indication that it does this. Do Cancer research have an account from which they tot up points to buy a donation?

It seems like I'm totally running down something that started out with the best of intentions. It's probably because I've worked on web sites of a couple of similar operations and the only intention is *NOT* to make a workable business, but sell it off for enough money that the founders can retire.
Sep 2016
10:24am, 13 Sep 2016
9,864 posts
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Chrisull
My guess is they're looking for venture capitalist funding currently, and then if they secure it, that this will fund a whole new tranche of rewards (this is kind of how it worked on another site I worked for - that I won't name - but doesn't exist anymore - they sold it up) and that will keep it from hemorrhaging too many customers - the number of active customers is what will generate the bucks. (which kind of tallies in with the non-workable business model). The VCs must be nervous at the moment.
Sep 2016
10:33pm, 13 Sep 2016
9,865 posts
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Chrisull
The new bounts deals - Spend your points and £20.... funnily enough they haven't all sold out yet. Sigh.
Sep 2016
6:13pm, 14 Sep 2016
2,579 posts
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FreshStart
A statement from Bounts

''I created bounts 5 years ago with the single goal of encouraging people to do more exercise. 1 in 4 people in the UK don't exercise enough according to the Chief Medical Officer. We believed that receiving a virtual points mechanism with the potential for a small physical reward could make a difference and help nudge people to do more.

As it turns out, we've helped 000's of people get back a lot more than they've put in and stay active along the way. We are going to do a better job of telling these stories. The rewards help in this, the rewards are not an open store for those whose primary motivation is as a money making exercise as we know a very small yet vocal % of members treat it.

bounts isn't a Nectar style program, we don't ask you to buy products to earn points at the rate of 1:1,000. So for this to work financially rewards on bounts have always been subject to availability and they come and go. The value of bounts also fluctuates to meet demand. We receive cash rewards for free from suppliers and others that we buy. We are able to buy them because we generate income from advertising, sponsorship, data insights and organisations who work with us to get people active like employees, gym members and people struggling to get active. Premium subscriptions are only a part of our revenue. About 10% of bounts members take one out and if you’re exercising and taking part in challenges you’ll get that value back and in most cases a lot more.

Putting it in context, you would need to spend £5,000 at Tesco and sainsburys to get a £5 voucher. Reward programmes like British Airways Avios also handle the supply of rewards in exactly the same way we do. Reward seats aren't on every flight and at every time. The number and value of points also vary.

I'm proud of what we've created but I know we have more to do. There are features of the app that are difficult to get right due to their complexity but we keep improving them.

People who know the reward program well often benefit more than new members when they get to high-value rewards first. I've been in the shop 6 times in the last 24hrs on 2 occasions I was able to purchase a £5 Amazon voucher for points only (I didn't btw). Hunting for these vouchers is frustrating for some people whereas others accept that it's part of bounts being low cost.

There are improvements on the way. Very soon members will be able to join sponsored challenges to "unlock" a reward from their wishlist giving them more control. Members who are passionate about sharing their fitness stories, referring friends and working with our partners will be rewarded.

I stand by every claim and statement I have made about bounts but new members will be given further clarification as to how it works.

That said, we do need to clarify bounts for members who want to see it as a Nectar type store experience and are not contributing to the culture of the community in a positive way and we reserve the right to cancel memberships. By the same token if anyone is unhappy with bounts and have paid a premium subscription I will refund your money. I'll leave that offer open to anyone until 30th September 2016. If you'd like a refund, please go to support.bounts.it and submit a ticket with REFUND as the subject. Any existing bounts points will be held in your account for you to use if you wish for a period of 12 months.''

Regards,

John Stuart
Founder @ bounts
Sep 2016
8:20am, 15 Sep 2016
9,870 posts
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Chrisull
Interesting - but he's right it's not a Nectar points style system. There is no option for Nectar to pay a subscription to fast track points... I think that's where they've entered deep water - if you pay a subscription to get points quicker that's why you want rewards, otherwise why subscribe? Should have kept it pure - everyone on the same level earning points for free, no subscriptions, we couldn't complain then. Company I did a site for had to offer refunds too...
Oct 2016
9:46am, 28 Oct 2016
10,130 posts
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Chrisull
Bounts scraps premium and super premium memberships!!!! (Had to happen). Means rewards won't get better any time soon I guess. Reward wheel also ditched.

Today's email:

"Hello

Firstly, I would like to say a huge “thank you” for being a member of one of the world’s largest and fastest growing motivational apps. Encouraging you to become more active, achieve what you can, and then help you do more, has always been our goal.

We realise that we can always do better and recently have been looking for ways to improve the experience that we give our members. In particular, the way in which we distribute rewards and the expectations that we’ve set for those paying for Premium and Premium+ membership.

Our rewards are the icing on the cake and as such, we want to make access to them fairer, more straightforward and, most important, closely linked to you achieving your goals. We have therefore made some improvements to the way bounts works.

The key developments to the bounts app
• Every member of bounts will now earn 20 points for an activity (all members will be equal from now on)
• Nobody will have to pay for the service (Premium and Premium+ subscriptions have stopped)
• Cash voucher rewards will now be linked to exercise challenges. You won’t need to hunt for them in the reward shop
• See all the changes at the bottom of this email
We are a small team and we are working hard to get the bounts experience where we want it to be. We are continuing to make changes which will further improve your bounts experience.

Finally, I would like to say again how much we appreciate all our bounts members. We love hearing from you, whether it is constructive criticism, suggestions for improvements or stories about your personal successes. Keep exercising and keep focusing on your healthy lifestyle and we promise to continue to help you.

Please keep reading below to see all the changes and improvements...

Kind regards
John Stuart
bounts Founder

The Changes in Detail

Removing Premium and Premium+ Membership
One of the key changes we made in recent times that has proved to be of limited value to members and to bounts has been Premium+ membership. Although it allowed some members to accumulate points rapidly, it was something that changed the nature of bounts from motivational and inspirational to something more akin to a nectar type loyalty scheme, where the gaining of cash vouchers (or the equivalent) is the main aim rather than a pleasant occasional reward for lifestyle changes. There is nothing wrong with a nectar scheme, but it’s not what bounts is.

Therefore, from today, we will be removing paid subscription memberships and instead every member will now receive the same number of points per activity. We are doing this in a way that no-one loses out financially and which is as fair as possible.

Rewards
Recently, the reward shop has been extremely frustrating for some members hunting for cash vouchers. We’re changing how that works which means you don’t have to hunt for vouchers anymore.

In addition, you won’t find any cash vouchers in the shop moving forward. We are now linking them to a new type of challenge. These new challenges require you to have enough points and sometimes, if they are sponsored by our partners, meet other criteria. We have already beta tested it among selected members by inviting them to undertake their own private challenges and providing them with a reward when they complete it.

The reward shop will continue to have great offers and exclusive deals from our partners. As we’ve grown we are getting more and more offers for lifestyle and active gear that will allow you to mix your points and cash.

Other changes

Points
We are improving the way you earn points… up until now, a free member could earn a maximum of 15 points per day. From now on all members will be able to earn a maximum of 180 points for 9 activities per day. Points still remain important. They will get you access to certain challenges and can be used for points plus cash purchases in the reward shop.

Goals
At the end of November all members will be able to set their own goals. Instead of 7,000 steps being the goal for everyone, the goals will now be unique to you.

Challenges

Challenges will become a key feature of bounts and will varied in duration, activity type, entry requirement and availability. Alongside the personalised challenge system outlined above, we will be increasing the availability of other “all member challenges”, such as the bounts bonanzas which have been so successful recently. We will also be adding random but regular challenges which will be rewarded with £5 vouchers immediately. For example, we might put out a challenge for the first 100 people to complete three consecutive days of 10,000 steps – they will all receive a £5 voucher on completion (providing they enough points).

Stuff you want
We are also planning to bring more of the sports and lifestyle gear into both the shop and the challenge process. We are confident that we will be able to offer ways to get hold of valuable items for considerable discounts with your points – something that we have had good feedback on from members. In addition, buying something from one of our partners may open up a new challenge just for you (for another reward!).

Reward wheel – time to go
The reward wheel has not been as successful as we wanted and so we are removing it from the bounts app. We will allow the credits to be used (wheel spins) up until November 30th but after that the only currency within bounts will be points.

Nominate your step tracker
For some time, we have seen a growth in multiple trackers being used to gain points (something we have allowed up until now). However, this is not really in the spirit of bounts and so although members will be able to continue using multiple trackers, they will have to nominate which tracker will be used to earn points (you will be able to change which one at any time, but only one tracker will earn points at any one time) – we think this is fairer to all members.

Check-ins
We are (we know!) pretty much at the sharp end of the technology that allows check-ins at sports clubs and other venues – our tech is unique and it works. However, the bit of the tech that we have no control over is the phone signal at any particular venue – the cause of most failed check-ins. This often gives rise to inconsistent check-ins which is frustrating. Therefore, we have decided to remove automated check-ins and you will need to manually check in each time you visit your sports club (or any other sports related venue that we cover – which is most). Manual check-in is quick and easy and much more reliable.

If you have any questions or require further information please visit support"
Oct 2016
10:13am, 28 Oct 2016
8,136 posts
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Maz..........
that's all very interesting thanks Chris....

I am happy with more accurate check-ins and only having one tracker....
Oct 2016
10:52am, 28 Oct 2016
2,594 posts
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FreshStart
They have deleted all of their social media accounts which is slightly strange.
Oct 2016
11:57am, 28 Oct 2016
10,132 posts
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Chrisull
I'd imagine deleting premium/premium+ and effectively saying to those people you've wasted your money will not be popular at all!
Oct 2016
1:01pm, 28 Oct 2016
14,741 posts
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GimmeMedals
No it isn't....

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