Goodbye, GetGo: What happens next?

Update: My not-so-good GetGo to GoRewards experience

Who else would not want to travel for free? For the longest time, the loyalty program of Cebu Pacific was able to convince me to always choose the airline in almost all of my flights. I did pay for most of my travel while I was collecting these GetGo points with the hope of getting free flights. I even endured the longest flight of my life from Manila (MNL) to Dubai (DXB) eyeing for more points. That was probably my worst flight experience that some travelers would also agree but it is also one of the world’s cheapest flights in terms of cost per distance traveled.

Back in 2019, I banked up nearly 40,000 points. I spent all of it for my traveling plans the following year (2020). I laid out a trip to Baguio (via MNL) in February, a birthday gift tour for my sister to Singapore (SIN) in June and finally a birthday trip for myself together with my best friends to Korea (ICN)where we will meet halfway with another best friend from Canada. It was all so exciting. I was able to see the Summer Capital of the Philippines and then the rest… pandemic.

The air transport industry is probably the worst hit industry in mobility. Although flights still exist, passenger flights took the largest blow as an effect of lockdowns, heavy regulation for travel and behavioral shift due to the dangers of the coronavirus disease. Each carrier have been pulled back to their drawing board and went back to their business models which took years to perfect. This includes of course, Cebu Pacific.

Unfortunately, last May 27th I received an email from them that the program will be replaced by a rewards program for retail sales. Starting July 26, 2021, the GetGo Program will be integrated into the new Go Rewards Program. This offers its members access to rewards and benefits through its partners like Cebu Pacific, Robinsons Retail stores, Caltex, and a growing roster of your favorite lifestyle brands.

As GetGo transitions into Go Rewards, the following adjustments will be made on your membership. Your GetGo points will remain yours but will be converted based on the following guidelines:

Points Issuance Period	New Currency/Account
Points earned before January 1, 2020	Cebu Pacific Travel Fund at PHP0.30 per GetGo point
Points earned from January 1, 2020 onwards	Go Rewards Account at 0.3 Go Rewards points per GetGo point

For example, if a member has 3,378 GetGo points as of July 25, 2021 and 2123 of these points were earned before January 1, 2020, the points will be converted as follows:

GetGo Points for Conversion:	Amount credited to Cebu Pacific Travel Fund:	Amount credited to Go Rewards Account:
3,378	PHP636.90	376.5 Go Rewards points

You may continue to earn GetGo points from Cebu Pacific and other GetGo partners which will follow their respective mechanics and earn rates according to the schedule below:

Allowed until June 13, 2021	Allowed until June 30, 2021	Allowed until July 25, 2021
Robinsons Supermarket Robinsons Easymart Robinsons Department Store	Bank of Commerce Dragonpay Go Hotels Kaligo Klook Lazada RCBC Security Bank Summit Hotels	Agoda AUB BPI Cebu Pacific Citi Dusit Hotels and Resorts Grab EastWest Bank UnionBank

The GetGo points issued to you from January 1, 2020 to July 25, 2021, will be converted to their equivalent Go Rewards points balance on July 26, 2021. Redemption of points through Cebu Pacific and other partners will be until June 30, 2021, to give way to system transfer and preparations for the new program.  Redemption of Go Rewards points will be available by July 26, 2021.

Starting July 26, 2021, you will start earning Go Rewards points. The new earn rate will be as follows:

Card Type	Visa/Bancnet Spend in Cebu Pacific	Other Visa/Bancnet Spend
Credit Card	PHP100 = 1 Go Rewards point	PHP200 = 1 Go Rewards point
Debit Card	PHP400 = 1 Go Rewards point	PHP400 = 1 Go Rewards point
Prepaid Card	PHP400 = 1 Go Rewards point	PHP400 = 1 Go Rewards point

As the program transitions, issuance of points earned from your monthly transactions using the CEB GetGo Visa Card will be adjusted based on the following:

Transaction date	Points to be issued to member	Date of points issuance
June 1 to 30, 2021	GetGo points	Debit/Prepaid: 1st week of July Credit: 2-3 days after cutoff date
July 1 to 25, 2021	GetGo points	Debit/Prepaid: 1st week of August Credit: 2-3 days after cutoff date
July 26 to 31, 2021	Go Rewards points	Debit/Prepaid: 1st week of August Credit: 2-3 days after cutoff date
August 1 to 30, 2021	Go Rewards points	Debit/Prepaid: 1st week of September Credit: 2-3 days after cutoff date

Apparently, what they failed to mention is that the Cebu Pacific Travel Fund expires. It will most likely compel its members to spend the travel fund until it gets voided out due to the many circumstances brought about by the pandemic. It will also force you to travel if the flight is not canceled because you have no valid reason to get a refund.

Whether we like it or not, the new rewards program will never be as good as the old one. I personally looked forward to spending my points when the pandemic is over. But I guess the complexity of loyalty programs mean that it is either the loyal patrons or the company itself who will shoulder the effect of the pandemic. Cebu Pacific chose its loyal customers to make their business elsewhere.

While we are still waiting for the actual effect to the customers who banked points, only time will tell if Cebu Pacific will remain afloat as the country’s homegrown budget airline. One acceptable option that I hope Cebu Pacific considers is the full conversion of the GetGo points to Go Reward points so that our hard earned points would not go to waste and become free passes for Cebu Pacific to fulfill its promise that GetGo points will not expire for life.