H&M Just Screwed Over Their Loyalty Members Again (And I'm Not Even Surprised)

By HOAR Team 3 September, 2025 5 mins read 3672 Views

God, here we go again.

So I'm scrolling through my emails this morning - you know, the usual mix of spam and "urgent" work stuff - when I spot this gem from H&M. They're changing their rewards program. Again. And guess what? It's not in our favor. Shocking, I know.

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The Math That'll Make You Wince

Starting October 1st, you'll need to drop £150 to earn one of those precious £3 vouchers. Used to be £100. That's a 50% increase for teh same measly reward.

Let me break this down because the numbers are honestly insulting. You earn 1 point per £1 spent (revolutionary concept, H&M). Before, 100 points got you £3 back - that's a 3% return. Now? You need 150 points for the same £3, which works out to a pathetic 2% return.

My mate Sarah texted me about this earlier: "So they want me to spend MORE money to get LESS value back? Make it make sense." Poor Sarah. She's been religiously shopping there since 2019, thinking she was getting decent rewards.

Corporate Speak Translation Service

H&M's spokesperson delivered the usual corporate nonsense: "We are constantly evolving our membership programme to better reflect how our customers engage with us today and make it even more rewarding and relevant to our community."

Translation: "We want more of your money for less reward, but we're going to dress it up in fancy language."

They also mentioned you can still earn points for "completing your profile" and "recycling unwanted garments." Because nothing says valuable reward like filling out a form and doing their environmental work for them.

Death by a Thousand Cuts (AKA Recent H&M Changes)

This isn't their first rodeo with disappointing customers. Back in March, they axed the birthday discount - you know, that one nice thing that made you feel slightly special once a year. Gone.

The 10% new member discount? Also history.

And don't get me started on their returns policy changes from February. They bumped the fee from £1.99 to £2.95 per parcel. Even loyalty members - the people who supposedly matter to them - have to pay it now. Used to be free for members, but apparently that was too generous.

What You Actually Get Now (Spoiler: Not Much)

Here's what H&M thinks constitutes "great benefits" these days:

Early access to sales (so you can spend money faster), free delivery on orders over £40 (because £39.99 orders can get stuffed), and those "exclusive" prices that probably aren't that exclusive.

Oh, and invitations to events. Because nothing compensates for worse rewards like an awkward store gathering where they try to sell you more stuff.

Listen, I get it - businesses need to make money. But this pattern of gradually making loyalty programs worse while pretending they're "evolving" them is getting old. H&M joined the returns fee party in September 2023, following Zara, Boohoo, and Next down the same greedy path.

At this point, their loyalty program feels more like a punishment scheme for people who shop there regularly.

Maybe it's time to find a new favorite store. One that actually rewards loyalty instead of exploiting it.

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Did you miss our previous article...
https://hellofaread.com/money/aldi-just-did-something-smart-for-once-at-500-stores