Huff and Puff about Bonuslink Points

Alright.. there is a possibility that I'm the only one who actually give a d**n about my Bonuslink points. I was and have always been under the impression that the points do not have an expiry date. I could not be any wrong. When my June statements arrived, I was MORTIFIED!!! 2k points will be expiring at the end of July. To further rub salt on wound, points expiring in August and September are also included in the statements. 

I was aiming to collect my points slowly up to a point where I could actually redeem something useful for the family - like a new vacuum cleaner or a fan or even a brand new flat screen TV. But alas, desperate times call for desperate measures. I did the next best thing so as to not waste the points. I decided to redeem a Philips SoundBlaster portable bluetooth speaker. 

This thing is actually tiny. Reviews are so so. The only reason why I want it is that it's very useful when hanging out with friends at the park and listen to music or watch movies together.

*Going into philosophical mode* they say nothing in life is ever free, everything comes with a price and you have to work hard, keep trying, never give up to get what you want. Owh yeah, that saying could not be anymore true in my case of redeeming this cute gift. I tried and tried and tried for two days! 

Because my points aren't enough to cover the redemption, I did it the ExpressWay. It means to use some of your points and add cash to it to complete your redemption. Because it is an online transaction, I cannot approach the Customer Service counter at Parkson branches. So I went online, filled in the details and went through the process. Then when it comes to "Proceed to make payments." part of the process, nothing happens. No pop-ups for online banking transaction, no messages saying what to do next, nothing. Except for a confirmation email to my inbox - stating that if no payment is made within 30 minutes, the redemption will be cancelled. 

This goes on every single time I tried to complete my redemption yesterday. I tried Google Chrome, I tried Internet Explorer, I tried Mozilla Firefox, I even tried Chrome on Mobile and Dolphin browser. Nothing. 

Then I realized, pop-up and ad-blocker! I had them on. That's it! So I temporarily allowed the pop-ups from Bonuslink website, and voila! out came the online transaction. So I selected my bank, login, and requested my TAC. Guess what? TAC never came. I tried again, and again, and again!! Almost lost my cool! 

Finally a friend was kind enough to lend his account and transaction got through after what felt like a million times trying! (there was only 6 or 7 but it sure felt like a million with all the steps involved!)

Now that's done and over with, I'm just happy to see an Approved status for my redemptions. I wonder with only 36 points left, will my next statement be in the negative? Well.. two to three weeks until delivery. I'll do a review on the speaker when it comes!

ps : OK there was only 5 repeated attempts.. but it does felt like a million times!!! >.<