Tsogo Sun makes its loyalty programme worse; Tsogo Sun Hotels Rewards devalued during its 50th anniversary from October 2019 when it gets 50% harder to reach any tier-level.

Tsogo Sun is devaluing its customer loyalty programme from October with a whopping 50%, making it much harder for customers to reach either of its two tiered levels through points and therefore much more difficult to enjoy any of the promised benefits.

The Tsogo Sun Hotels Rewards programme is the latest South African loyalty programme and latest hotel group to make it much more difficult for guests to actually earn enough points through spend to get access to any of the benefits.

The loyalty devaluation ironically comes during the 50th anniversary celebration of Tsogo Sun. People who stay at any of its hotels who will now have to spend 50% more in any calendar year to reach or remain on either the "platinum" or the top "black" tier after they sign up and automatically is placed on the "gold" level.

For a member of the programme to reach the mid-tiered platinum level, Tsogo Sun is making it 50% harder to reach or to maintain, increasing the threshold from 2 000 to 3 000 points needed per year. The same happens to the black-level that is jumping from 6 000 to 9 000 points needed - another 50% increase.

Tsogo Sun Hotels Rewards members get different percentage discounts on meals and stays depending on their tier-level and earn a different percentage of points based on their status levels.

"While there have been a few changes made to the programme, not all of them have been removals," said Camilla Zuccarelli, Tsogo Sun's marketing manager for the leisure division, in response to a media enquiry.

"For example, our rewards members all get uncapped WiFi for 5 devices as opposed to 2GB, which was the case before the amendments were launched."

Neo Mboniswa, Tsogo Sun communications manager, in response to a media enquiry said that "the hotel and gaming divisions of the business were split this year, which required us to review some of our offerings".

"This was in addition to the programme having remained the same for the past 5 years, which meant that it required an update. The amendments included a review of the tier thresholds as well as the revision of our benefits."

Neo Mboniswa said that "In order to ensure that we didn’t regrade members without offering them an opportunity to meet the new tier levels, we ensured that there was a 3 month grace period for guests – especially those who were concerned about the timing of the new tier-changes and the possibility of the tier-structure affecting their status.

Tsogo Sun was repeatedly asked if it can please respond to specific questions but didn't provide answers.

These questions included who decided to devalue the Tsogo Sun Rewards programme and why this was done in Tsogo Sun's 50th anniversary year.

Tsogo Sun was also asked what factored into the drastic decisions to make it 50% harder to reach either the platinum or black level in the programme, and if there were too many members who had reached tiers and made use of some of the discounts and benefits offered.

M-NET VS CITIZEN. M-Net in new metamedia firestorm as MasterChef SA scandal now involves The Citizen newspaper and Radio 702.

Too many cooks ... have ignited a firestorm of controversy, engulfing yet another M-Net reality show in reputation-impacting (and a growing number of negative) headlines the pay TV broadcaster didn't foresee - and definitely don't want - for MasterChef South Africa.

While pay TV broadcaster M-Net and The Citizen newspaper are now having fighting words over what Deena Naidoo, the winner of MasterChef SA told the newspaper regarding his total prizes (or lack thereof) - and what M-Net and Tsogo Sun slammed as "inaccurate", has now also spread to engulf Radio 702.

Radio 702 has now entered into the fray and is being taken to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) by The Citizen after John Robbie on Friday on Radio 702 allegedly called The Citizen's story misleading ( an article which ironically was about the Citizen interviewing Deena Naidoo who said impressions that he won R8 million is actually misleading) and allegedly didn't give The Citizen the right of reply. Talk about a massive metamedia mess!

The Citizen says its stands by its story and that Deena Naidoo said what he said - which is, from The Citizen, amongst other things that: "it has been presented as though I have acquired ... a new restaurant as part of the main prize. But this is far from true. I will only run the restaurant for two years."

The Citizen says in a statement that: "promotional material for the series stated that the winner would receive their very own restaurant. The value of the restaurant, not the use thereof, was included in the value of the prize, creating a false impression.''

Meanwhile M-Net and Tsogo Sun issued their own statement Friday evening containing drop-in quotes from Deena Naidoo saying in that statement: "I never expected to have R8 million in my bank account and any reports that suggest this are simply untrue. I wanted to clear up the misconception that this might be the case, and in the process, it was asserted that I've been let down by M-Net and Tsogo Sun. This is inaccurate."

[Basically The Citizen on one hand and M-Net and Tsogo Sun on the other have their own statements - and versions if you want, of Deena Naidoo quotes - which now to believe of these widely differing comments all attributed to Deena Naidoo?]

Now Radio 702 is also embroiled in the growing broo-ha-ha, leading to even more coverage and more stories as well as more viewers and readers venting their feelings. Many say a perception was created that the winner of MasterChef South Africa on M-Net would get - meaning own - his or her own restaurant, and which is now clearly not the case.

M-Net and Tsogo Sun in the statement on Friday evening said "The total restaurant prize included (amongst other things) the full-time running and rebranding of the floor space. The arrangement was rent free, for two years." M-Net said "Deena Naidoo elected a joint venture operation where he will share in the restaurant profits and partake in the rebranding and relaunch of the restaurant.This will run for two years."

"Everyone in the country, including the contestants, was under the impression that the winner will be getting a restaurant," posted a user on Food24.

"So he still does not own a restaurant and he is a manager in a R7 million establishment. Wow. Lets all give up our day jobs to become a manager in someone's restaurant that will use your name to get clientele... pathetic and misleading advertising by M-Net and the MasterChef SA franchise," posted a user on Channel24.