Ulta GWPs

[itscarin]

This thread will be for Ulta GWPs only.  Share ulta promos here.  

Please do NOT post requests for the spreadsheet in this thread.  Please post requests for the Ulta GWP google spread sheet in this thread: http://community.sephora.com/t5/Off-Topic/Ulta-GWP-Google-Spreadsheet-Request-Thread/m-p/2753063#M11...

A list of in store coupons is here: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Savvy-Shoppers/Ulta-GWP-Coupons-no-chatter/td-p/3866521

Let's keep this thread on topic!

Ulta points refresher (because yes, it is that complicated):

Spoiler

Item #1 - $53.50

Item #3 - $108.50 (and is eligible for a certain item/brand 5x multiplier)

* There is also a 5x all purchase multiplier and you are platinum so you get 1.25x

Total Spent - $162

Base Points Earned - 162

Platinum .25x Earned - 41 (162 * .25 = 40.5, and rounding up)

5x All Purchases Earned - 648 (it ends up being 4x because you don't count the base points)

5x Item/Brand Earned - 434

Total Points Earned - 1285

Links are not allowed.  In lieu of links, please read this:

Spoiler

Please add product id numbers and sku numbers so people can find items on ulta.  

Just to clarify, there is an item number that Ulta lists on the website, right under the picture of the item.

The product id is the number given to the item in the URL.  So Ulta's site follows this formula of having the url and then the very last part of the url is "productId=xlsImpprod" followed by an 8 digit number.  If you use that "productId" number you can get to the page of any item on ulta. 

It's not a search, but the direct url to the page. 

Click on any product, and then view the url in the address bar.  It will look like this: ulta's website (not using the actual domain because BT admins don't like that) /prep-prime-fix?productId=xlsImpprod15921204  Replace the 8 digit product id of the item you want to see with the id of the product you're looking for.

My very unofficial Ulta point multiplier to approximate percent discount chart:

(This is a number where I use the multiplier to divide by 2000 to see how many dollars I would have to spend in order to redeem a $125 reward.  E.g. 2000 points divided by 1 point multiplier means I have to spend $2000 to get the $125 reward.  Adding how much I had to spend ($2000) + the reward ($125), and then using the reward ($125) to divide the total purchase ($2125), I get a discount of approximately 6% based on the total purchase.  Note: the total purchase is based on the concept that you are spending just enough to reach the next $125 reward and combines the reward value with how much money you had to spend to get that reward.

Spoiler

Multiplier	1	1.25	1.5	2	2.25	2.5	3	3.25	3.5	4	4.25	4.5	5	7.25	7.5	8	8.25	8.5	9	9.25	9.5	10	10.25	10.5
Spend	2000	1600	1333	1000	889	800	667	615	571	500	471	444	400	276	267	250	242	235	222	216	211	200	195	190
Points	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000	2000
Redeem	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125	125
Total Purchase	2125	1725	1458	1125	1014	925	792	740	696	625	596	569	525	401	392	375	367	360	347	341	336	325	320	315
Discount	6%	7%	9%	11%	12%	14%	16%	17%	18%	20%	21%	22%	24%	31%	32%	33%	34%	35%	36%	37%	37%	38%	39%	40%

[yuline]

I’m shocked they referenced a transaction from 2015. That’s something retail equation would do. I wonder if they’ve started utilizing retail equation. The letter doesn’t state you’re banned from online shopping (maybe it’s a warning that you can shop online but you will be banned if you return anything?) and they haven’t permanently closed your account with no warning. Their approach is different from Sephora still. They’ve personally reached out to you with specifics whereas Sephora just sends a mass group very strongly worded message that says not negotiable, here’s our decision, goodbye/good riddance. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I know what it feels like. I still think Ulta has left the door open for you but it’s a hard road ahead where you probably can’t return anything for a long time and there are other competitors you can give your business to if you feel wronged and don’t think you need to go Ulta’s way. Thanks for sharing. I definitely am going to be walking on egg shells with Ulta from now on. i hate ordering online because you can’t readily see or have enough control. Like I just got a hair masque from ulta and every product from this product line comes with a seal and yet this one didn’t strangely and makes me wonder if I got sent a used one so I was thinking of returning it because I think it’s been tampered with. Sometimes stuff happens and you do need to return stuff but yet no one tells you what exactly is the return limit. First Sephora and now Ulta, whose next? When Sephora got strict with their return policy, I noticed another company (I’d like to keep their name anonymous because I don’t want to unnecessarily drag them into the mud because they’re a very good company that treats customers really well) also followed suit by changing their return policy and told me because all the other competitors changed policy so they felt compelled to follow is what o was told. Anyway I’m sad that companies are doing this. I don’t think I enjoy shopping so much anymore and feel a lot more pressure not to make the wrong decision buying which is stressful.

[maxima]

@yuline It's hard to determine exactly what's going on in this situation because they've provided no specifics, cited no violation of policies, and have not stated emphatically what I can or cannot do. I called my local store and they confirmed that my account wasn't flagged. So I just don't know. Maybe this came from an over-zealous CS supervisor who decided to mine through my entire order history, and after she established a pattern of various issues, alerted someone in corp.

Or did they review every account that placed an order from that major glitch back in December? You're right! They have a handful of policies in place, yet seek to penalize customers for some phantom infractions. Why not just be forthright about things? Wouldn't that be beneficial to all parties involved? 

I'm not going to worry to much about it. In 2018, I reached Diamond by early April.

This year, I started on a low buy and haven't even made it to Platinum.   

I posted that email so people know that Ulta may seem as though they're very accommodating meanwhile, they're "keeping score." So, be mindful of that.    

[treestar86]

yep, it's all a scam.  they inundate you with deals and coupons and points, to entice you...and then once you start shopping and spending a lot and are one of their best customers, then it's "sorry, you've shopped too much.  goodbye."  a little messed up, no? 😞

[alexalicious]

That is so crazy. I'm sorry to hear it as someone who puts in a ton of orders and have had half a dozen arrive leaking, damaged or missing items in the past few years. A friend had boxes stolen from her doorstep during the holidays. I personally photo document everything now, but geez how can you be held be responsible for shipping issues? I know the return bar is fairly low and not proportionate to how much you spend quarterly. I've hit the bar just swapping unopened products for other colors because online shopping isn't always accurate to actual appearances. So sorry, it's a total bummer. I get that there company is watching out for itself, but screw ups and accidents do happen and that's not the customers fault.

[maxima]

@alexalicious Thank you. Yup, it's a big mess and an even bigger turn off. I'm not inclined to shopping in-store because it's even more of a hassle. I called my local store on 4/29, two days before the Urban Decay x Game of Thrones collection was to launch in stores. I spoke to a manager who had to actually put me on hold to inquire about when it was coming out and she had no idea about the vault. I'm not dealing with that. Meanwhile, back on the 12th Macy's confirmed what they'd be getting and asked if I wanted to do the 15% F&F presale. But I held out for Ulta and luckily I got the collection online.       

[Ispend2much6]

@maxima   Aren't you the least bit tempted to make another online order for something small and you know you would use, just to see what would happen?  I'm sorry this happened; you're right, there are no absolutes and Ulta can call all the shots.

[maxima]

@Ispend2much6 Thanks for the encouraging words. I really do appreciate it. This is like spending thousands of dollars on someone only to be betrayed by them.  

My Platinum perks order shipped about an hour ago. Though I'm not sure it counts since I placed it early this morning and perhaps corporate couldn't catch it.    

[Danzie89]

That was FAST shipping! I placed an order at 1:30am and it hasn’t shipped. However, Ulta is typically notorious for fast shipping times for me (I live near corporate headquarters). I hope this means you’re off the ban list! 

[maxima]

@Danzie89 So do I. Maybe the email was more of a thinly veiled warning, rather than an outright ban. But I'm in the dark about all this, until something more definitive occurs. I'll keep a low profile and my purchases to a nice, quiet $0.00.   

[Danzie89]

Wow! So sorry this has happened to you. They certainly should not be factoring in purchases made four years ago. I’m surprised I haven’t been flagged— I have had several orders arrive damaged (leaking, specifically), and Ulta has always happily replaced them and compensated with a gift card for my troubles. After reading this I am more cautious about my emailed complaints. 

[yuline]

Right on! Can’t believe they went so far back.

[maxima]

@Danzie89 Thanks. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong either. But obviously they think differently and just decided to let things get to this extent. They could've easily contacted me and provided some kind of "warning." Even still they would've been in the wrong because there are no policies that restricts returns, addresses missing/damaged items, replacement of products or orders, etc. Kinda' can't make things up as you go along.... But hopefully, my situation can serve as a sort of cautionary tale. 

[Danzie89]

Right!! Well, I hope Ulta makes it right for you. 😢 

[niki172]

Holy smokes! I've called a few times about damaged products (I can remember 3 nothing above $20) and have done 1 return in the last 2+ years. If they're basing this off of something from 2015 that's nuts.

[yuline]

Yeah like who goes back that far? I don’t remember what I bought or did in 2015.

[maxima]

@niki172 The problem is that they're basing their decision on skewered factors. It's no secret that Ulta's CS is terrible. I know for certain that they don't always accurately notate the reason for our calls. So if I call about missing samples and they only add the notation "customer called about item missing from order," the issue gets taken out of context. Or if I call and tell them that I just got my order. However, Lasership just left it on my doorstep and I hope they don't use them as a carrier again. Well, the entire situation comes across as something entirely different if some idiotic CS agent notates the call as, "customer had problems receiving package." That's the nonsense I'm dealing with here. 

[niki172]

@maxima ah I see now. That makes total sense as I've had Ulta CS outright lie to me before about being able to cancel an order and that they would "get back with me" in a hour. I should have known better when I called back about an hour and a half latter the CS rep I spoke with said that what that rep said was absolutely false. That CS rep stated that they send an email to the warehouse to see if they can stop the order and then I'll get an email (hopefully) in a few hours to let me know if they were able to stop the order. No one from CS calls you directly about package cancellation plus the prior rep never even emailed the warehouse. SMDH

[maxima]

@niki172OMG, I had that very same thing happen to me twice. It was way back in  2014 that I was told by CS that they have a "window" of about an hour where they're able to send an email to their warehouse and have an order cancelled. It made sense considering that Macy's has the capability to do this. Sephora is able to have orders  returned back to them even after it ships. So each time, CS did return my call and were actually able to get it cancelled the first time. But the second time around, they couldn't catch it in time. I never attempted to do it again and they never offered it as a solution. Their quick to indicate that you can just refuse the package. I won't do that either because there was an issue with that too. 

[ArmyChick84]

Honestly, not shocked. If you call often about missing items, it looks bad.

I was black-listed in 2017 for no reason (I have never called about missing items I bought online or returned anything in-store) and I contacted their CEO. They restored me right away. I threw a fit because I am not about to drive an hour to the nearest ULTA to buy anything...

[Ispend2much6]

@ArmyChick84   If you don't mind me asking, how did you find the CEO's contact info?  The only phone number I found routed me back to the regular customer service line.  Thanks!

[maxima]

@ArmyChick84 I responded to their email and spoke to a supervisor. I asked her to tell me specifically what they're referring so that I could address it. She brought up an order from June 2015. I'm not kidding.