ChopePerks Flash Sale: Stop it, you’re spoiling us!

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that ChopePerks rewards program is a complete dumpster fire. 

What was once a dependable source of dining vouchers has now seen two spectacular devaluations in the space of a year. The first (in November 2019) replaced all restaurant vouchers with minimum-spend-required ChopeDeals codes, and capped redemptions at one per month. The second, unannounced devaluation (November 2020) hiked the cost of ChopeDeals codes by 2.5X, and flooded the catalogue with a whole assortment of crappy partner rewards. 

And now comes the wonderful news that Chope has launched a one-day flash sale, a veritable smorgasbord of orgasmic delights like 5% off ChopeDeals codes and further discounts on partner rewards that you could get for free anyway.

I’m tingling. 

ChopePerks Flash Sale

On 24 March only, ChopePerks members will be able to redeem the following “rewards” at a discount to their usual prices. I’m going to show you some highlights, and for your convenience, have rated the utility of each on a scale of 💩 (somewhat useless) to 💩💩💩 (extremely useless).

Let’s start with rewards that at least don’t make your blood boil. 

I’ve gone and redeemed two Cathay Cineplexes Everyday Vouchers (redemptions are capped at two per month). An Everyday Voucher normally costs S$10.50 per piece, and by spending 1,350C$ you get ~0.8 cents per C$; a lower value compared to ChopeDeals codes, but with no out-of-pocket spending required. 

Likewise, if you have need for a hot desk, then redeeming a Found8 day pass for 450C$ nets you ~1 cent per C$ (keep in mind though that SMU Alumni Association members can get a free hotdesk every day at JustCo, and membership costs just S$60 per year). 

Then there’s ChopeDeals codes, which are on sale at a whopping 5% off- 950C$ gets you a S$10 code, valid with a minimum spend of S$20. Let’s leave aside the fact that 1,000C$ used to get you a S$30 restaurant voucher; you can only redeem a maximum of one code per month, a cap that hasn’t been lifted for the flash sale. Moreover, since only one code can be used per purchase, you can’t stack it with savings from credit cards.

And then we cross into the rewards that are borderline scammy, because you could get the same thing for free elsewhere. These feel opportunistic, like they’re designed to take advantage of users who don’t know any better. 

Take this FairPrice Online S$12 off S$80 code, for example. Chope wants you to pay 400C$ for it, when the exact same reward is completely free from the following sources:

• ByKido (NWKIDO)
• CSC (CSCFPNEW)
• Geneco (GENEW12)
• Singtel (FP12NEW)

And no, you don’t need to be customers of any of the above merchants to use their codes. 

Or consider this BlueSG 2-months membership, which Chope prices at 350C$. You can get the same thing for free with SAFRA or Singtel Dash.

Want to kick back with some movies at home? Chope will sell you a 2-month Catchplay+ subscription for 680C$, but the exact same thing can be had for free by anyone signing up with the SAFRA2021 code.

Need some laundry done? Chope is offering new Love of Laundry customers S$38 off a min. spend of S$58, for the deeply discounted price of 380C$. But wait- new customers could always use the FIRST30 promo code and save S$30 off S$50, for the same nett spend! 

If you’re an existing customer, Chope will sell you a 15% off promo code for 100C$, but any Kris+ user could save 15% by simply using the app (yes, there’s a slight difference in minimum spend- S$30 vs S$50, but that’s basically the cost of dry cleaning two pairs of pants).

New to Helpling? Chope has a S$35 off promo code for 380C$. But any UOB cardholder can save S$20 off the first two cleaning services with the code UOB20G, for a total discount of S$40.

10% off at Noel Gifts for 100C$? Why, when you could get the same with the POPULAR10 or PASILVER21 codes. 

Thinking of spending a whopping 3,600C$ (that’d take 36 reservations to earn!) for a 90-minute Core Collective free trial? Think again- virtually every trainer on the platform will offer you the same thing (albeit slightly shorter). 

I could keep going, but I hope you get the picture by now. Even with the flash sale prices, the vast majority of the ChopePerks catalogue is utterly useless. These are mostly new user acquisition codes masquerading as rewards, and shouldn’t be touched with a ten foot pole. 

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that you’ll find some good dining discounts on ChopeDeals, but the ChopePerks program has been devalued to the point of irrelevance. This flash sale does nothing to change that, and if I were you, I’d look to cash out my C$ for movie tickets. 

Do you friends a favor and warn them against redeeming anything else in the catalogue- it’ll just make your stomach turn.