Married couples rewarded for shopping & fidelity
In the US a loyalty programme with a social difference has been launched, to reward married couples for staying together while they also stay loyal to a network of merchants participating in the uTANGO programme.
The programme is, in fact, also open to unmarried individuals. Singles, engaged couples and newlyweds are being offered the chance to earn cash rewards based on their everyday spending - up to US$250,000, US$500,000 or as much as US$1 million, in return for becoming long-term, loyal customers of more than 200 participating merchants such as Hotels.com, Drugstore.com and HomeDepot.com.
Life stage rewards uTANGO is a concept that rewards long-term personal and customer loyalty, and allows young couples to accrue anything from US$8,333 to US$33,000 each year toward a 'Life-Stage Rewards' payout.
According to uTANGO's CEO, Jim Miller, "The US is a nation of spenders, not savers, and for most young couples their main concern is making sure they have enough money every month, let alone saving for the future."
Family savings Burdened by increasing living expenses, rising consumer debt, and falling wages, many Americans find themselves unable to save for major life-stage expenses such as buying a home, starting and raising a family, paying for college or saving for retirement. According to government research, the US personal savings rate stands at -0.4% (the lowest it has been since the Great Depression).
uTANGO was set up to reward members with TANGO Bucks for their total spend with programme merchants. Newlyweds (married for 0-3 years) can choose between three Life-Stage Rewards plans (US$250,000, US$500,000 or US$1 million) to fit their own budget.
The rewards of marital bliss Once a married member has selected, locked and activated a Life-Stage Rewards plan, members must remain married throughout the programme and maintain the minimum accrued TANGO Buck balance in their Life-Stage Rewards Plan account in order to receive cash payouts over the years. Payouts can be up to US$10,000 at 10 years of marriage, US$100,000 at 20 years, and US$1 million at 30 years.
In order to support the future reward distributions to uTANGO members the company has established the uTANGO Rewards Fund, which will invest in a fund managed by Alliance Bernstein L.P., a publicly traded global asset management firm.
Anniversary rewards In addition to receiving the big Life-Stage Rewards, all members will also receive annual Anniversary Rewards of up to US$200 for achieving their annual TANGO Buck goal. uTANGO also offers members a Refer-A-Friend programme through which they can refer up to 500 new members, earning a US$1,000 Referral Bonus for each new member they successfully refer into the programme. The bonus is added to the 30 year Life-Stage Reward payout.
The programme's web site also features a section called LifeMatters, which provides advice on everything from relationships and personal finance, health and wellness, family planning and other topics that help members strengthen their relationships.
Singles and engaged couples can participate in the programme to help build up rewards ready for the time when they get married. For example, engaged members can earn TANGO Bucks for purchases related to planning their wedding (e.g. wedding rings, honeymoon travel, and so on) to give their account a boost before they start married life. Once married, they become eligible to select a Life-Stage Rewards Plan and immediately contribute all their TANGO Bucks toward that plan. Membership in the programme is free of charge.
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