Chipotle Rewards Program: Guac or Not?
Chipotle Rewards launched in 2019 and has been one of the fastest growing loyalty programs in the quick-service restaurant space. The company has cited that well over one-third of their sales are from loyalty members, so it has a big following. But how meaty is this program? We think it has room for improvement.
Image Credit: iStock
How it works:
Chipotle Rewards is free program that customers can join online, in the app, or in store. Customers earn 10 points for every $1 they spend as long as they transact as a member (online logged in or via an app scanned in store). To keep things spicy, Chipotle often runs promotions and challenges to drive point multipliers. There are birthday freebies, too.
But don’t get enamored of (or with) point tallies. It’s like eating a huge meal, racking up calories but never feeling full. The real nourishment of any rewards program lies in the redemption value of your points.
Chipotle has 11 redemption categories that cover almost all of their menu. We think this is too many and would prefer it if they collapsed a few choices. Redeeming for 1 single Tortilla just feels sad.
Image Credit:Chipotle.com
What’s the value?
(When we calculate “return value”, we mean how much you got free relative to how much you had to spend to earn it. For example, if we said a redemption gives 10% return value,, it means for every $100 you spent in earning points, you got $10 worth in free redemption.)
Chipotle’s value is where things get stingier than their quac portions. In our analysis, we are assuming the average Chipotle customer spends $18 per visit, which is in line with previous public statements by the company. A good return value for restaurant programs should at least be in the high single digit percentages and hopefully go over 10% for very frequent customers. How does Chipotle do?
• After spending $35 (about two visits), you’ll earn enough points for some free chips. Hooray? Nah. That’s a ~5% return value which isn’t that great.
• Want a free side of guac to go with those chips? You’ll need to spend $50 over three visits to earn enough to redeem. That’s a ~6% return value. Slightly better, but still not great.
• Craving something meaningful like a free entrée? Better start saving—$162 spent at Chipotle gets you that reward. Your return value? Somewhere between 5% and 8%, depending on what you order. If you’re that $18/visit spender that could take you minimum 9 trips to earn enough points for a free entrée. That’s a lot of trips to earn a free entrée.
The best redemption value is on fountain drinks at ~9% return value and some of the extra protein options. But having to use a reward for extra protein just feels stingy.
If you spend less than the average $18 per visit when you go to Chipotle, I suggest you grab a napkin—because you’ll probably want to cry into your burrito on how long it can take you to earn enough points to redeem for anything very meaningful.
If you’re rolling up to Chipotle weekly—or multiple times a week—first of all, congrats on hitting those protein macros. Second, get ready to celebrate… with a bag of free chips (but hold the guac, that’s not included). Realistically, you’ll be cashing in small rewards every 2-3 visits, and waiting weeks for that free entrée.
Now, if you’re a super-spender hitting Chipotle 3-5 times a week (are you okay?), yes, you’ll rack up points faster. But ask yourself: does a 5%-8% return value sound like a reward worthy of your dedication? Maybe not. However, you will get access to members-only promos and deals, which can stack up to something more meaningful over time.
Ease of Use:
Chipotle gets higher marks for the ease of points usage. You can convert points to rewards right in their app and then apply them upon checkout in store or online. Putting you in control of your points and rewards. And opting into promos or deals, and adding promo codes for further discounts is all easy and straightforward.
🕵️♂️ ANY Fine Print?
A mixed bag of rules, some good some not so good. Points don’t expire as long as you’re active every six months, and rewards are good for 60 days after redemption. That’s pretty generous. They also allow you to put in missing points request if you forget to scan.
The major negative is you CANNOT stack rewards when ordering online. So if you cash in for your free entrée you’ll have to pay for a drink to wash it down. This feels stingy considering the value of the program is just so-so.
THE VERDICT:
Purely from a basic earn/burn perspective, this program is underwhelming. Particularly due to:
Lower return values on some of the most popular items and
because you can’t stack rewards to truly get a full outing free.
Unless you’re a weekly regular, the rewards aren’t going to blow your mind—or help your budget. But, since Chipotle loves to drop frequent member-exclusive deals, you might want to sign up just to take advantage of those sporadic deals.
Rewarded or Robbed?
2x+ per week Chipotle customer: ⭐ REWARDED!
<2x per week Chipotle customer: Feeling 🚫 ROBBED!
Leave us a comment! Do you agree or disagree? Any further tips about Chipotle Rewards?
