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  • Where can I earn rewards?
    Any business shown in the app are eligible to earn rewards. You can see a full list and map in the Discovery tab.
  • I have money in my rewards balance. How do I take it out/use it for shopping?
    If your community is set for direct payout, simply click on "Payout" from your home screen. Otherwise, your rewards will need to be redeemed towards another purchase at any listed business in your community. For example, let's say you earned $10 from going to a restaurant, you can then redeem the $10 towards a coffee, ice cream, etc., at any listed business in your same community. To do that, click "Redeem" from your home screen, select the business you shopped at, and submit the receipt or select your linked bank transaction. Once processed, you'll receive the cash out via your selected payout method. For more instructions, please see https://www.bludot.io/redeem-rewards
  • My request is showing "pending". How long does it take for requests to process?
    Requests are typically processed within 1-2 business days. It may take longer from time to time in case of larger volume, up to a week. Please rest assured that we are hard at work getting everyone's requests processed as soon as possible.
  • My Claim request has been approved but Redeem request is still pending
    Claim requests and Redeem requests are processed in different queues so you may see a little difference in timing. Kindly stay tuned.
  • I already submitted a purchase and it was approved, but I didn't get my payout?
    Double check if you submitted a Claim request or a Redeem request! Claim requests let you earn more rewards from your purchases; Redeem requests let you cash out your rewards as a rebate. If you didn't submit a Redeem request, go ahead and click on "Redeem" on your home screen, select the business where you shopped at and submit the receipt. Once processed, you'll receive the cash back via your payout method. If you did do that but still didn't get your payout, please contact support and we can assist you.
  • What are the requirements for receipt submissions?
    Receipt submissions shall meet the following requirements: Includes identifiable information about the business (business name and address) Includes the date of the purchase Includes the amount of the purchase (only printed amounts are accepted, not handwritten amounts) and payment method Must be legible and show the complete receipt image (not folded, cropped, or otherwise obscured) We reserve the right to request additional information from you to validate your purchase as part of our fraud prevention efforts.
  • Are any purchases not eligible to earn or redeem rewards?
    The following purchases are not eligible to earn or redeem rewards: Purchases made before the program launch in the community that you are submitting requests to Purchases made before your sign-up to Open Rewards (a grace period of 7 days is allowed) Purchases where the business is only acting as a point of sale, eg. lottery tickets Money services such as bill payments, cashiers check, check cashing, ATM withdrawals, ATM fees, cashback, etc. Loading a stored value card such as gift cards, pre-paid cards, etc.
  • How much rewards can I redeem?
    Unless noted otherwise, you can redeem all of your rewards balance up to the amount of the purchase, less any amount of rewards earned on that same purchase. Consider the following examples: If you have $5 of rewards balance and made a $20 purchase, and did not earn any rewards on this purchase: you can redeem all $5 towards this purchase If you have $5 of rewards balance and made a $20 purchase, and $1 out of the $5 rewards balance was earned from this same purchase: you can redeem $4 towards this purchase and the remaining $1 can be redeemed towards another purchase in the future If you have $30 of rewards balance and made a $20 purchase, and did not earn any rewards on this purchase: you can redeem $20 towards this purchase and the remaining $10 can be redeemed towards another purchase in the future If you have $30 of rewards balance and made a $20 purchase, and $1 out of the $30 rewards balance was earned from this same purchase: you can redeem $20 towards this purchase and the remaining $10 can be redeemed towards another purchase in the future
  • Do my rewards expire?
    If your rewards have an expiration date, they will be shown in the "expiry" section of your app. If you don't see anything with an expiry, that means they don't expire. This is subject to change depending on your community's admin.
  • Can I earn rewards at the other cities on the app or only my home city?
    Yes! You can very much shop in any of the other cities on the app and earn rewards in those cities! The rewards in each community's wallet is redeemable in that community only.
  • Can I participate if I don't live in the city but in another city nearby?
    Yes! The program is open to any consumers regardless of where you live.
  • I went to a listed business and they said they don't know about this program
    That is perfectly ok! It is very possible that the local business you are visiting does not know what to do with this program, because there is nothing they need to do! Simply follow the tutorials in the app or if you have any questions, contact us directly.
  • I just signed up but forgot to use the referral code
    No worries! Just contact support with the code that you wanted to use and we can help.
  • I referred a friend to the app. Why is my referral showing "pending"?
    Your community's referral program may require that the user you referred first complete a Claim request before the referral bonus is earned. In that case, you'll see the referral status as "pending" until they submit their first Claim request.
  • I accidentally submitted the receipt to the wrong business
    That's ok! We'll correct it during processing.
  • Can I connect more than one card?
    Yes! To connect additional cards, you can navigate to your Profile -> Linked Accounts and Cards -> + Link Card.
  • What if I have different cards that are associated with the same bank account?
    If you have different cards under different people (eg. your spouse, another authorized user, etc) but the cards link to the same bank account, it should only be added by 1 user to prevent duplicate transactions. If we detect duplicate cards, it will be deleted.
  • How to delete my account?
    Please contact us at support@bludot.io with your request and we will proceed from there.
  • What do I need to do to be part of the program?
    Chances are your business is already included in the program at launch. Try searching for your business in the app and if you found it, then you are all set! You can still create an account for your business which will allow you to see activities data relating to your business as well as more promotional features. To do that, or if you don't see your business and want to add it, simply follow the instructions here: https://www.bludot.io/add-your-business
  • How do I let customers earn or redeem rewards at my business?
    There is nothing you need to do! You don't need to train any of your staff, add anything to your POS, or make any changes to how you do business. Simply business as usual. Everything is handled via the app directly with the customers. That means customers should always pay for their bills with you in full as they normally would when they make a purchase with you.
  • How do I let customers know my business is part of the program?
    Here are some ways you can promote! Display the Open Rewards flyers and stickers at your business, eg. at the check-out counter, on your windows, etc Share that your business is part of Open Rewards via social media Tell your customers and help they earn rewards at no cost to you!
  • Customers are showing me the voucher cards they got from the city. What do I do?
    Instruct the customers to add those voucher cards in their app. Each card has a unique code which they can enter in the app and receive the amount (eg. $20) in their rewards balance. They can then redeem that amount by making purchases at listed businesses. There is nothing you need to do, everything is done through the app. The consumers should pay for their bill with you in full.
  • I have already accepted voucher cards from customers and taken the money off of their bill. What do I do?
    Please contact support and we will guide you through getting reimbursed. In the future please direct customers to use the app instead of giving you the cards.
  • Can I see data about how customers are earning and redeeming rewards at my business?
    Yes! Simply register for your business in the app and you'll see all the stats. Instructions are here: https://www.bludot.io/add-your-business
  • How does the program work?
    Open Rewards allows consumers to be rewarded by shopping in your local community. Users will earn rewards when they shop at eligible businesses in your community. They can then redeem the rewards they have earned by shopping at another eligible business in the same community. This way we keep the dollars local and incentivize consumers to shop at the businesses whom you want to support.
  • Who funds the rewards?
    So far the communities have funded the rewards, i.e. your city/county would set aside a certain amount of funding that consumers would earn out of. Some communities have used ARPA funding for this program. The funding amount is entirely within your control. You will set a budget for the program and you will never pay more than what's been allocated. For consumers, this means the program is available while funds last, which is another great reason for them to shop now than later!
  • Is there a minimum amount of funding I need to start with?
    There is no minimum, and you can start small to see how the program works in your community. You can always add more funding if it's a huge success!
  • Who decides which businesses can participate?
    You as the community administrator decides which businesses in your community should be included in the program.
  • Do businesses need to sign up to participate?
    Nope! Businesses don’t have to sign up, learn anything new, train any staff, or do anything outside of their norm. Simply business as usual. This greatly reduces potential for errors and fraud. This also eliminates the need to pound the pavement to enroll businesses, greatly reducing the friction of program launch.
  • Who decides the percentage of rewards consumers earn?
    You as the community administrator will decide. Our default is 5%.
  • How long does it take to get up and running?
    As soon as we have the list of businesses that you want to include in the program, we can load your community to our app within a week.
  • How do we tell the community about the program?
    Getting the word out is a huge part of the program's success. We will help provide a website landing page, and flyers and stickers that can be distributed to local businesses' storefronts. We recommend that you use your channels to announce the program in your community, such as local news, social media, blog, events, etc. We are happy to assist with the creation of marketing materials to advertise the Open Rewards program.
  • How do we track the impact of the program?
    You will have access to a dashboard where you can see in real time how people are shopping, earning, redeeming, the rewards fund balance, as well as total economic impact.
  • What if a neighboring city also gets the program?
    The rewards that consumers earn from your city can only be spent in your city, so there is no interference if neighboring cities also get the program.
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