I don’t know if there was a promotional communiqué regarding the new reward tier available at Ulta but I saw it mentioned in an e-mail last month.
Previously, their base tier was open to everyone and included point earning (redeemable for $ off), a free birthday gift, and double points during your birth month.
Platinum
If you spent $400 in a year, you’d achieve Platinum. For the 2018 reward year, however, Ulta has increased that threshhold by fifty bucks to $450.
New Reward Tier – Diamond
The new reward tier is unlocked with a $1200 annual spend with Ulta. That exceeds Sephora’s VIB Rouge tier by $200 per year.
At first, I thought their new credit card may accelerate that achievement, but since the tiers are based on dollars-spent, not points-earned, it doesn’t seem like it will.
Diamond Perks
Perks new or exclusive to the Diamond tier include:
- Free shipping on $25 or more
- Annual $25 beauty services reward card
- 1.5 Points-Per-Dollar
Justification?
The previous reward structure made sense to me. When I initially read about the new Diamond tier, however, I was confused as to how it made sense for their target market. There are perks, yes; but it costs a good bit more to achieve and I’m not sure the perks outweigh it.
My guess is that with more sought-after prestige brands (NARS, MAC, etc) it makes sense to up the ante. Likewise, if you take advantage of the Ulta Salon (particularly for chemical/color services) or their Dermalogica skincare services, you may have an easier time achieving that tier.
The Bottom Line
Would you consider or strive to hit Diamond? As it is, I was questioning whether I’d reach VIB or Platinum this year given my low-spend goals. Just as VIB Rouge is entirely out of the question for me, so is Ulta’s new reward tier.
I suspect Ulta will have sporadic groups of customers reaching Diamond, but I doubt they will sustain a significant number of customers with year-over-year Diamond-level status. It just not realistic for most people.