AliExpress Rewards (Rant)

They may have came out with this a few days ago, I don't know. But I did discover it today, and I have read all of the information about it already (there's not that much to read).

AliExpress Rewards

It uses a point system that is apparently a point per $1. I added up all of my purchases, and nope, not even close. But it does also include 1 point for each feedback you give, and 5 points for the days that you make/made purchases. You do not get rewarded points if your purchase is less than $2, however. 

But honestly, AliExpress is just trying to make you buy more to get those points and some sort of "reward" that is actually nothing. They call it rewards to get your hopes up and make you feel good about buying something; it gives you a goal.

So there are 5 levels to this "rewards" system: A0, A1, A2, A3, A4. Of course, the more points you have, the higher level you will be in. I won't go into detail on what each "reward" level does. 

Because this entire thing is useless. 

No, I am not sponsored by AliExpress. I would like to be, but I do not think they will after they see this post. 

I would give this AliExpress Rewards system a score of 0/10. How about they actually give coupons for a change. 

Update: I know they also have a "points" system, but it's entirely useless too because it's impossible to get points unless you have a huge network of people that are willing to click on the links and actually buy the stuff you recommend them. And even if you get a few points, it won't actually be worth anything until you get 500 points, which then you can trade for a coupon $5 off a purchase of $6. 

At least they're not just spending all of their time of these pointless things. They are definitely making the website much more user friendly and presentable. 

Update 2:

Looking back at this "rewards" program, I think it says quite a bit about how AliExpress views itself. 

By the way, the website is definitely much better! It looks sleeker, and the "orders" page makes it less likely for people to accidentally "accept" their order before they even get a chance to look at whatever they bought.

For those of you that are actually wondering, I will list out the "rewards" you get from AliExpress Rewards.

For all members

• Doesn't matter how many points you have

• Price cut notifications: you will get a notification or email if something in your wishlist or shopping cart goes on sale or has a discount.

Level A0

• when you have 0 points

• get nothing, except for the price cut notifications

Level A1

• when you have 1 point

• still get nothing, but with price cut notifications

Level A2

• when you have 100 points

• nothing, still

Level A3

• when you have 500 points

• Fast Refunds -- get your returned item money back, fast

• you do need to open a dispute with the seller, and they need to approve of it first

• then after you ship out your item and input the tracking number into the dispute page, AliExpress will put your refund into your bank account, right away

• get Fast Refunds up to $25

• meaning if your item(s) was more than $25, it might take a few days to get your refund

Level A4

• when you have 2000 points

• Fast Refunds -- up to $100

• Fast-Track Claims

• when a dispute isn't going well, you escalate it

• level A4 members get to use Fast-Track Claims, where someone on the Customer Service team will work on the issue with you, speeding up the claim process by 5 days

As you can see, these "rewards" aren't exactly rewarding. The purpose is to try to make it "easier" for you to shop on AliExpress with all sellers, without worrying about not getting your money back. 

But having these rewards, at least to me, have the opposite effect. 

First off, you need to buy a LOT just to even get those points.

Second, is it really necessary to include this, when Fast Refunds and Fast-Track Claims should be something that is already included under the Buyer Protection? Or I thought they were. Guess not.

Sorry for making this post longer than it already was.

Point is: AliExpress Rewards is useless. Just read the reviews to make sure you are getting what you see and be sure that the seller you're buying from is reliable. 

Update: I see that they added a "More Rewards Coming Soon" block under the Rewards page. I'm not sure how long that has been there, but AliExpress should up their game some more. I've noticed them shutting down some stores (I think) and trying to only keep stores with very good feedback, but the quality of items are still meh. I've honestly haven't been shopping on there as much; I much rather pay more for the quality items I have available than save a few dollars to get something that breaks within a few months (I've been there, it's not worth it at all). 

I've been wanting to put long-term AliExpress reviews up, so stay tuned.