Sephora’s Beauty Insider Cash vs. Rouge Reward
Recently, Sephora changed their Beauty Insider Loyalty Program’s Terms & Conditions. One of the main changes was to their point-earning system. Now, each level of Beauty Insider only earns 1 point for every dollar spent. There will still be point-multiplier events where you can earn up to 4xs the points, but you have to use a code and it only happens twice a year.
So, since it will take longer/more money to “earn points” now, Sephora introduced “Beauty Insider Cash”. You can now redeem 500 points for $10 off your Sephora purchase of $10 or more. Assuming earning 1 point = spending $1, this Beauty Insider Cash is a 2% reward. Whomp whomp.
If you are at the Rouge level of Sephora’s Beauty Insider Program, you have the option to redeem your points for a “Rouge Reward”. The Rouge Reward costs 2500 points for $100 off your Sephora purchase. Assuming earning 1 point = spending $1, the Rouge Reward is a 4% reward.
Clearly, the Rouge Reward is a better value vs. the Beauty Insider Cash. So if you are already a VIB Rouge and have 2500+ points, you should definitely get the Rouge Reward.
How To Get The $100 Rouge Reward
Since the Rouge Rewards were announced in 2018, I’ve been able to get four of them. The Rouge Reward is available in the Rewards Bazaar (Sephora’s marketplace for redeeming points). New Rewards are released on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9am PST.
Quantities of the Rouge Reward are “limited” for each release day, which makes it a little tricky to get your hands on one. (Not really sure why a digital reward is limited….)
To make sure I got one of the $100 Rouge Rewards, I
- set an alarm for just before 9am on Tuesday and Thursday
- log into my Sephora account on my phone, and made sure there was nothing in my cart
- check the App Store to make sure that my app was the current version
Then, when my alarm went off on Tuesday or Thursday,
- go into my app, click my account icon (bottom middle icon with my name),
- click the Beauty Insider icon (top left — shows your point total and Rouge status)
- scroll down to From Rewards Bazaar, and click “view all”
- scroll down to the 2500 point level to see the Rouge Reward
- add to basket and agree to the terms
- check out fast (this is why you want your cart empty and ready to go)
The actual Rouge Reward doesn’t appear right at 9am PST, you’ll most likely have to refresh a few times. When I got my most recent Rouge Reward, it appeared at 9:05am PST. When I checked to see if I could find it today, it appeared at 9:07am.
It’s really crazy all that you have to go through to be able to redeem your points for this reward. I wish that whenever you reached 2500 points, Sephora would just automatically apply an account credit.
What To Buy With Your Sephora Rouge Reward
Now that you finally snagged a $100 Rouge Reward, you have 90 days to spend it before it expires and there are some other limitations (these are the terms you agreed to when you added the $100 Reward to your cart). So, what should you buy…
Well, first off, the Rouge Reward can’t be used to buy a gift card; you have to buy actual product. And you can’t transfer the code to a friend as a gift; it’s tied to your account.
I recommend that you buy something you know already like — staple products that are running low — because you can’t return anything bought with a Rouge Reward. So, if you wanted to splurge on something new, you’d be stuck with it if it didn’t work for you. If your product was damaged, you could exchange an unused/unopened item for the exact same item.
With my Rouge Reward, I plan on buying my skincare staples that I’m running low on — these are already products that I use and love, so I know I won’t need to return them for causing a bad reaction or not being right for me.
What I’m buying:
Whatever you buy, make sure your transaction is at least $100 because any left over Rouge Reward money is forfeited. Also, since the Rouge Reward is a code, you won’t be able to use it with any other promo codes (sale codes, GWP code, and most promo codes).
Overall Thoughts
I’ve been shopping at Sephora for years, and their loyalty program has gone downhill. Other retailers will give you more incentive to shop (Nordstrom, Ulta, or a specific brand’s own site). So ultimately, it’s up to you where you choose to spend your money.
I’m not going out of my way to try to “earn points”, but if I happen to be shopping for something specific already, it’s nice to get a better bonus for your purchase. I don’t know why Sephora makes it so difficult to redeem for the Rouge Reward (the only reward they have worth redeeming for); it kind of takes away from the convenience of shopping there to me. I don’t want to battle to get a discount especially when it’s literally a digital code; there’s no reason they should be limited. :/
If you are one of the lucky few to get a code, what do you plan on buying? Don’t forget, you only have 90 days to use it before it expires!
