Loyalty Points

[Stranded]

So if I've got 5000 points accumulated in a 5 year period, the 5 years they were accumulated in should have some weighting

0 to -5 years = 5000 points
-5 to -10 years = 2500 points
-10 to -15 years = 1250 points
-15 to -20 years = 625 points

Just my thoughts

From some bloke on Twitter. Am I missing something? Isn’t the maximum number of points you could possibly get in a 5 year period is less than 2500 and that’s IF you have a ST and go to every away game, every year.

Numbers for illustration only I would guess.

Not sure how you can have any issue with this - if you are an ST, you get priority anyway and in terms of the current season does it really matter if you've had an ST for 20 minutes or 20 years. By all means add some weighting to points accured before the past 5 years - say you retain 10% of all points accrued prior to the cut off.

Personally, I would give free tickets out to anyone who went to 80% or more of our away games over the past 3 seasons. They deserve it.

[Green]

I would have them checked into rehab tbh

[RG30]

Like most ideas with the club the intention is reasonable and with valid reasons but the execution and timing isn't.

Season starts in 10 days. They've had all summer to announce this or at least give some form of reasonable notice . Add the fact Exeter (A) is our second league match and among the smallest of allocations and it doesn't sit well from that point of view.

[Clyde1998]

So if I've got 5000 points accumulated in a 5 year period, the 5 years they were accumulated in should have some weighting

0 to -5 years = 5000 points
-5 to -10 years = 2500 points
-10 to -15 years = 1250 points
-15 to -20 years = 625 points

Just my thoughts

From some bloke on Twitter. Am I missing something? Isn’t the maximum number of points you could possibly get in a 5 year period is less than 2500 and that’s IF you have a ST and go to every away game, every year.

I think the context of that tweet is the person's proposal, as opposed to what the club are going to do. I think he's using 5000 as a generic large number that will divide easily. The proposal simply is a weighted system of points from the last five years counting as 100%, from between 5-10 years ago counting 50%, from between 10-15 years ago counting as 25% and from between 15-20 years ago counting as 12.5%.

Based on the current points system, it's 255 points for a ST, 10 points for each ticket to a game (whether home or away), 10 points for STAR membership. So it would be 1,555 points for having a ST, going to every league away game and being a STAR member over a five year period (there's still cup matches, individual tickets which people may buy for friends/family and possibly women/youth matches which would give you points).

Under this proposal, a season ticket from twenty years ago would give 32 points (rounded) - which is just over three away matches in the current season.

[CountryRoyal]

So if I've got 5000 points accumulated in a 5 year period, the 5 years they were accumulated in should have some weighting

0 to -5 years = 5000 points
-5 to -10 years = 2500 points
-10 to -15 years = 1250 points
-15 to -20 years = 625 points

Just my thoughts

From some bloke on Twitter. Am I missing something? Isn’t the maximum number of points you could possibly get in a 5 year period is less than 2500 and that’s IF you have a ST and go to every away game, every year.

I think the context of that tweet is the person's proposal, as opposed to what the club are going to do. I think he's using 5000 as a generic large number that will divide easily. The proposal simply is a weighted system of points from the last five years counting as 100%, from between 5-10 years ago counting 50%, from between 10-15 years ago counting as 25% and from between 15-20 years ago counting as 12.5%.

Based on the current points system, it's 255 points for a ST, 10 points for each ticket to a game (whether home or away), 10 points for STAR membership. So it would be 1,555 points for having a ST, going to every league away game and being a STAR member over a five year period (there's still cup matches, individual tickets which people may buy for friends/family and possibly women/youth matches which would give you points).

Under this proposal, a season ticket from twenty years ago would give 32 points (rounded) - which is just over three away matches in the current season.

Yeah I didn’t consider any of that as I’m not a star member, we normally get knocked out early doors and I’ve never been to a women’s game so can’t comment. As for youth, haven’t gone for ages, would only go away and would just buy on the gate, so again can’t comment.

[Webster750]

I'd prefer if the undesirable games (Villa U23's at home in the League Trophy on a miserably cold Tuesday November night etc) carried a higher points total than the likes of Premier League games.

Also enforce a scan-in system so all supporters have to tap their membership cards / season tickets in the concourse at HT & FT to confirm they've not left before the end.

[Hendo]

Also enforce a scan-in system so all supporters have to tap their membership cards / season tickets in the concourse at HT & FT to confirm they've not left before the end.

lolwut?

[Clyde1998]

Also enforce a scan-in system so all supporters have to tap their membership cards / season tickets in the concourse at HT & FT to confirm they've not left before the end.

Let's just go all the way and have a CCTV face recognition system, with those chanting throughout the match getting loyalty points for every second they're chanting and those leaving early getting banning orders.

[Snowflake Royal]

Well this does me in.

Was a STH for about 5 years until second covid season, have been to about 3 games since, because of Covid and how diabolical Dai is.

Looks like I'll be in the home stands at Exeter.

[Sutekh]

Well this does me in.

Was a STH for about 5 years until second covid season, have been to about 3 games since, because of Covid and how Daibolical Dai is.

Looks like I'll be in the home stands at Exeter.

CFY

[SouthDownsRoyal]

I'd prefer if the undesirable games (Villa U23's at home in the League Trophy on a miserably cold Tuesday November night etc) carried a higher points total than the likes of Premier League games.

Also enforce a scan-in system so all supporters have to tap their membership cards / season tickets in the concourse at HT & FT to confirm they've not left before the end.

[Forbury Lion]

Seems a bit unfair on the supporters that have been there for years but have just been ****** off by the utterly diabolical management of the club both on and off the pitch in the last 3 years.

You could argue the opposite, Harsh on those supporters who sat through 3 years of dross if they don't get priority over those who stayed away for 3 years but now want to go to the odd away game for a day out.

[Forbury Lion]

Personally, I would give free tickets out to anyone who went to 80% or more of our away games over the past 3 seasons. They deserve it.

The way things are going, there might be some free seats on the bench if anyone turns up with their boots, might even get a game.

[RG30]

The new loyalty points total showing now on the website. Currently on 1295 which is nearly 3k down.

[Brogue]

ive gone from 3500 to 110

[Hendo]

1,335 point for me. No idea how many I was on before.

[Zammo]

1340, or 2595 with Zammo jnr added in (which it's showing it is).

[RG30]

A FIVE SEASON POINTS TALLY IS BEING SUPPLEMENTED BY A LEGACY STATUS FOR HIGH DEMAND FIXTURES!
We have always valued the loyalty of our fans. Now more than ever before. And we will continue to recognise those who are steadfast in their loyalty to Reading Football Club.

The current loyalty points system has been in operation for nearly two decades, first being introduced in our 2004-05 Championship campaign. For nearly 20 years, it has proven extremely successful during an era which has included promotions to the Premier League, an FA Cup semi-final and many more high demand fixtures.

However, during that period, loyalty points have continued to accumulate on supporters’ accounts. As the gap in points has grown, we have become increasingly aware of the limitations of using the existing points system to implement a fair sales criteria when issuing a limited allocation of tickets for high demand fixtures. Fans who have supported the club inconsistently but over a long period of time are prioritised ahead of those who ardently travel home and away every week in recent seasons.

There is not going to be a loyalty point system which suits everyone. But with many expected ‘high demand’ games this season, now we feel it the right time to make a change.

We believe it fair that Season Ticket Holders for 2023-24 and recent seasons, or those who have attended a high percentage of home and away games over the last four or five campaigns should be at the front of the queue when demand outstrips our ticket allocation.

However, we also want to recognise long-term loyalty and ensure fans who were following our fortunes during the rollercoaster ride which has been the last two decades are also given an opportunity to back the boys!

So, we are trying to do both…

CURRENT SEASON TICKET HOLDERS
To reward the most current levels of loyalty, supporters will keep all the loyalty points they have gained for the earlier four seasons and the campaign we are about to embark upon.

So, from this season on, only loyalty points accrued since the 2019-20 campaign will be retained. Then, at the end of our 2023-24 season, points picked up in 2019-20 will expire and a new four-year points tally will be recalculated ahead of the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

To complicate matters slightly, as 2020-21 was mainly played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will initially add an additional season’s points to fans’ tallies. But the principle remains the same.

HISTORIC LOYALTY STILL RECOGNISED
We are fully aware of how precious loyalty points are to supporters and so we still want to recognise all our fans’ historic support.

So, instead of wiping all points prior to 2019, we will give current ST holders, former ST holders, members and non-members a legacy status based on the points they built up before the change:

Bronze Legacy Status – 25-499 points
Silver Legacy Status - 500-1499 points
Gold Legacy Status - 1500+ points
This status will be marked against their account in our ticketing system. Your legacy status will not be updated going forward, it is purely a set status to recognise fans’ historic support in lieu of the 15 years of expired points which will no longer form part of the count.

SO HOW WILL THE SELLING CRITERIA LOOK?
This season, we anticipate that we may have as many as 12 away fixtures that could require the use of a staggered sales process based on loyalty criteria – as the Royals prepare to lock horns with a few local rivals and visit several relatively new and/or smaller stadia with smaller away end allocations to offer.

This set-up means the club can offer tickets either solely to those with loyalty points from the past four seasons, to those with specific legacy status or - for high-demand games – a combination of the two.

Here is the selling criteria that we will apply for our fixture with Exeter City on Saturday 26 August which we are expecting to be a popular fixture:

10am Monday 7 August: ST holders with 1,500+ loyalty points
2pm Monday 7 August: ST holders with 1350+
10am Tuesday 8 August: ST holders with 1000+
2pm Tuesday 8 August: ST holders with 500+
10am Wednesday 9 August: All ST holders
2pm Wednesday 9 August: Members with 1000+ loyalty points or Gold legacy
10am Thursday 10 August: Members with 500+ or Silver legacy
2pm Thursday 10 August: Members with 100+
10am Friday 11 August: Members with 25+ or Bronze legacy
2pm Friday 11 August: General sale
As already mentioned, no system will please all our supporters. However, having consulted with supporters, we believe this is a change which will be fairest for our fanbase.

Supporters can check their new loyalty points total, by signing into their Royals Account by clicking here.

If you have not got a Royals account? Follow our step-by-step guide to create one by clicking here.

If supporters have any queries, please email sales@readingfc.co.uk and we will respond as quickly as we can but would appreciate your patience during this busy time in the build up to the start of the season.

https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2023/august/02/loyalty-points-change-2023-24/

[Tinpot Royal]

510, down from 2846 for me

I did give up the season ticket after the 14/15 season though & only really started to go again last season, this years season ticket doubled my points

[Zammo]

^ cheers dude.

Got a feeling there is going to be a lot in that top two tier bracket now.