I speak with people often about the benefits of joining the HE community, but I have difficulty explaining the rules surrounding the awarding of the “new member” guestpoints bonus. The FAQ (attached) is not clear about the number of guest points that are available to new members and specifically what are the milestone deadline dates for doing each of the steps?
How many points are awarded at each milestone?
How many points are lost if the first membership payment is not made within three months?
is it three months after creating the account? Or three months after completing some other milestone?
I have spoken to people who are part way through the process and have not yet paid, but the number of points in their “bank” and the number of points still to be awarded at each milestone do not match the FAQ explanation. See attached example… the points that this person has, and the potential future points to be gained, do not match the FAQ. Also, nowhere does it warn the potential member that they will lose some or all of these points if they do not pay within three months.
In the example, the user apparently already has 450 GP and the platform seems to be telling him that he can received an additional 850+650=1500 points, for a total of 1950!
This contradicts the FAQ which indicates that 50+750+500=1300 is the points gained!
The user in question here initially created their account over 3 months ago. Does this mean that when they pay their membership, their bonus is only 500 points because they were too late paying?
I also reached out to member support for some help with a clear explanation for you. Here is their clear response. I hope this helps
Hello,
Thank you for reaching out! We are delighted to have you joining the HomeExchange community, and I am happy to clarify how our welcome GuestPoints (GPs) work for our new members.
To help you get started, here is a breakdown of the points you can earn at each milestone: Your Welcome GuestPoints Breakdown
Account Creation: 50 GPs (awarded for signing up).
Profile Completion: 750 GPs (awarded once your first listing is 100% complete).
Membership Activation: 500 GPs (awarded when you pay your annual subscription).
Community Outreach: 100 GPs (awarded when you send your first 10 messages to other members).
Total potential points: 1,400 GPs Regarding the 3-Month Period
We want to ensure our community stays active. If there is no activity on your account within three months of completing your first listing, 800 GPs may be removed. However, please rest assured that this is not an automatic process. We will always contact you beforehand to advise you if your welcome points are at risk of expiring so you have time to use them. A Note on Referrals and Friends
Regarding the information you received from your friends, it is likely they joined under a previous promotional structure. We recently simplified our milestones to make it easier for new members to receive their points. If you started your registration before these changes, our system automatically adapts your profile so that you still receive the same total amount of GuestPoints as any new member today.
We hope this information is helpful and clear. If you have any further questions as you set up your profile, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Warm regards,
