Wine Rewards Program - Seeking Feedback

Hi All!

Friendly request for some feedback. We have a free rewards program for spending on wine (https://grandreserverewards.com). You earn points when you buy wine at wineries, wine stores, or wine clubs.

Our current reward catalog includes great glasses, openers, experiences, classes, posters, books, chillers, racks, and more. See https://catalog.grandreserverewards.com/ for a preview

We are looking to continue to improve the reward catalog and get feedback on what we should add. For legal reasons, it can’t be wine. What else would you love to see? What isn’t interesting?

We also have a companion credit card, and I know a lot of folks on here pay attention to card rewards. What kind of rewards or other benefits would get you excited to apply for the card? We have some winemaker events, you get a Priority Wine Pass, a wine magazine, a Grassl Glass (these are amazing) and other perks with the card. What else would you like to see?

Thanks for your input! We are working to make a product that is a must have for wine lovers like the berserker crowd.

Matthew

I’ve been telling them (I’m an advisor) that collectors would want high end rewards that people would want to work towards…to me, that’s things like a Durand, Eurocave Wine Fridge, Gabriel Glasses, or something like that…am I right? Things I might not want to buy myself, but if I got points, it would be an indulgence… What do others think?

+1 go aspirational. Why are Aadvantage and Mileageplus multibillion dollar businesses (even as standalone from the airlines)? Because they advertise ways to get international J/F seats for an average traveler and credit card holder. That’s the draw even if most people are using miles to fly the family to Disney world in Y. An airline program is obviously a bit different than a wine rewards program but I’ve been hooked on my frequent flyer accounts since my first trip to Asia in J that cost me all of $50 and 90K miles (oh the good old days).

Is this similar to Southwest Dining Rewards?

Sort of. Our Grand Reserve Link program (https://grandreserverewards.com/link) lets you earn additional points on top of your existing credit card. Unlike Southwest Dining, you will earn 1 point per dollar at all wine merchants, not a specific list.

We also offer a credit card (https://grandreservecard.com/) that earns you 5x at our partners (~430 wineries), 3x at all wine merchants, 2x everywhere else.

What is the most aspirational item for you, as a wine lover? What is the wine equivalent of a first class trip to Asia?

Landing a helicopter at Screagle?

Might be really cool (for both parties involved) to get something highly allocated, even a newbie like Macdonald. They get the exposure, you get a unicorn

Definitely Screaming Eagle or a BDX first growth.

Unicorns are like the aspirational high end experiences that Amex offers… backstage with drake etc. Great marketing but not the bread and butter

For bread and butter, it seems that the thing wine collectors seem to want is more wine at sharp pricing. Retailer partnerships for credits and discounts seems an obvious benefit of interest - just check out the “best coupon / discount” thread which seems to be a new perennial front-pager on this site.

Full disclosure; Matthew chose our glass (Grassl Liberté) as a “welcome to the card” gift for new cardmembers so I have an affiliation here with profit for me, but what follows has the added benefit of being true and sincere.

I think the last few posts are what Matthew is asking for. What types of unicorn events/products can he add to his catalog to get wine lovers to use the card and accumulate points. I’ve suggested to him to review what Chase Sapphire or Amex do with their experiences. I went to a meal at Grace in Chicago with my CSP points and had a fantastic time. I’d imagine the same could be done with him and the GR card. Private tasting at Ridge or other top-tier winery? Library wines from wineries or chateaus (you can think globally here too folks). Cruises in wine country. Private Zoom tasting events where a bottle is shipped to you a few months ahead of the event so it can rest, but you and 9 or 19 other people are on a video call and get an opportunity for intimate conversations about the wines. Dinners at locations where food and wine are apprecaited (TFL, Meadowwood, etc).

This is a very neat concept and I think we’d all benefit by telling Matthew what to go get and make available.

Thank you all for this great feedback. We are continuing to understand the best legal ways to get great wines in cardholders hands with points. Looking at a custom storefront, gift cards or other ways that continue to allow you the cardholder to get great access to both wines and winemakers. We are pulling together some events (virtual and distanced) like an LA-area release/tasting we’re doing this weekend.

Would other items like caviar or meats and cheeses get any excitement here, or should we focus on the wine?

Our goal is to deliver the best value we can to everyone. If you could get a 2009 Screaming Eagle for 500,000 points would you feel like it’s a good deal?

W/o the credit card that’s half a million in spend right.

I’m not sure I would ‘waste’ a credit pull on something that’s brand new. For now, I’d rather purchase something on the website and get miles or points on my credit card. You can, and still should offer something to frequent buyers on the site.

Dangle the carrot and I’ll play.

DH

You don’t mention, or I missed it on the site, what’s the annual fee?

IMO, there should be a broad range of reward options targeted to the wine noobs all the way up to the whales that buy cases of wine monthly.

Lot of folks that are really into wine (especially here) are also really into other esoterica outside of wine. Look at what threads have the most posts in The Asylum, Epicurean Exploits and Travel. I think you would get a lot of traction with high end audio, destination dining and unique foods.

Just some thoughts on “higher end” rewards:

Unicorn Wines As Mentioned Above
Holy Grail Steaks
Dinner At The French Laundry
Winemaking Experience With A Napa Heavy Hitter
Notable Chef Cooks At Your House

From what i could tell, the Credit Card is $149.

The program where it links with your account is $0.

This is correct. The Link program is free.

The credit card has a $149 annual fee and includes a sign-up bonus of 50,000 points when you spend $3,000 or more in the first 90 days from account opening. You also receive a Priority Wine Pass, a magazine subscription from a selection of six wine magazines, and access to our event series. Plus more new benefits to come soon!

Yes at the base level that’s correct. We have done and will do other deals, though, like we did 2x points on all Wine Berserker Day spend last January.

Possibly an extreme deal for an extreme wine!

Personal experience with winemakers would be high on my list (whether private curated zoom tasting in the current environment or more traditional in the future). I know in some instances this might not be special, but I’d you could pick specific library wines to walk through ahead for instance, it would be great.