Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 11 – Premier Loyalty – Recurring VIBR or Ulta Diamond

For a couple years in a row now, I have managed to achieve both Sephora VIB status as well as Ulta’s Platinum status. I didn’t achieve these reward tiers only through spending on myself, though. In addition to my own personal spending, I:

  • Buy gifts for others
  • Buy blog giveaway items
  • Extend my account perks to friends (VIB sales, Platinum perks) who pay me back

Continuously Achieving Premier Loyalty tiers

I can see how easy it would be to hit the premier loyalty tiers; even though I think the Dyson hair dryer is a bit frivolous, but purchase that and exclusively use prestige product and I’m sure it is as easy as that. I’m struggling, though, to comprehend how individual people are spending enough to maintain the über premier loyalty tiers year after year.

I think it would be easier to achieve at Ulta since Ulta offers more services (Brow Bar, Dermalogica skin services, nails, hair). On top of that, their product range is broader, including drugstore, more  bath/personal care, and hair care.

The Bottom Line

So, in short, I’m curious – if any of you are multi-year VIB Rouge members, what does a year of Sephora purchases look like for you? Is it a lot of Drunk Elephant and Sunday Riley? Fragrance? Every palette that launches? Or are you buying gifts and offering up your perks and making orders on behalf of friends?

Ulta just launched Diamond this year but if you expect to achieve Diamond year-over-year, what will your purchases look like?

Ultamate Rewards – New Reward Tier

I don’t know if there was a promotional communiqué regarding the new reward tier available at Ulta but I saw it mentioned in an e-mail last month.

Previously, their base tier was open to everyone and included point earning (redeemable for $ off), a free birthday gift, and double points during your birth month.

Platinum

If you spent $400 in a year, you’d achieve Platinum. For the 2018 reward year, however, Ulta has increased that threshhold by fifty bucks to $450.

New Reward Tier – Diamond

The new reward tier is unlocked with a $1200 annual spend with Ulta. That exceeds Sephora’s VIB Rouge tier by $200 per year.

At first, I thought their new credit card may accelerate that achievement, but since the tiers are based on dollars-spent, not points-earned, it doesn’t seem like it will.

Diamond Perks

Perks new or exclusive to the Diamond tier include:

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