Hi there, Jessica here. While Ulta doesn't curate as many limited edition boxes as Sephora does with their Sephora Favorites line, I still frequently shop at the beauty retailer. I've been at the Platinum reward tier for multiple years, and last year I somehow spent enough money to actually reach Diamond. If you don't even know what Platinum or Diamond means, you're in the right spot- keep reading for a breakdown. If you're familiar with the system, after explaining how the program works I'll give you all of the tips I have on how to maximize your rewards and Ulta Beauty consumer experience.
The Ultamate Rewards Program
In case you’re new to Ulta, they have a point reward system similar to Sephora's that is used when you make purchases with your Ulta account. While Ulta Beauty does have a credit card with added reward perks, you don’t have to pay money to join the Ultamate Rewards program. As long as you have a valid email address and phone number, you become immediately eligible for perks like discounts, a birthday gift, and point multiplier events. When you make a purchase in-store, they will look up your account by your phone number. If you're making a purchase online, you just need to be logged into your account. The lowest tier is member status, meaning you get 1 point per dollar spent, a free gift and double points during your birthday month, and bonus points and savings opportunities. This is the level everyone starts out at.
Once you spend $500 within one calendar year (between January 1-December 31), you become Platinum for the rest of that year and the next year. You still get a free gift and double points during your birthday month, but you also get a $10 credit to spend on anything in the store, you get 1.25 points per dollar spent, your points never expire, and you get early access to new products and exclusive deals. If you spend $1200 in a calendar year, you get everything platinum members get, however you also get 1.5 reward points per dollar, a free gift once you enter the diamond tier, a $25 services reward credit to use on a salon service of $25 or more, and free shipping on all orders over $25 within the continental US. When I became diamond I was given a choice of a few different options, I picked a travel-sized Dermalogica sunscreen with a retail value of $22, but there were full-size options available as well like a foundation from Clinique, the Drybar Prep Ralley spray, and an It Brushes for Ulta Dual-Ended Flawless Complexion brush.
How Rewards Work
Every purchase connected to your Ulta account will get you points- and if you're a diamond or platinum rewards member, you'll get points faster than the standard one point per dollar. Ulta doesn't make it a secret that you get a better benefit from saving your points. Once you have 100 points saved, you're eligible for $3 off your next person. Save your points, and 1000 points gets you $50 off your purchase. Save even further, and 2000 points will get you $125 off of your Ulta purchase. The coolest part (in my opinion) is you can use your points on anything Ulta Beauty sells, prestige brands, and beauty services included. Saving 2000 points gives you the highest added benefit- you can definitely save more than 2000 points, but if you save 4000 points, for example, the value of your points will be $250 and not something higher. The ability to spend your points on whatever Ulta has to offer is what makes Ulta's rewards system so great, there's no need to sit around waiting for products to be released that you want to redeem your points for when you can spend your points like cash.
Maximizing Points
One of the cool things about Ulta Beauty's program is the frequency with which you can maximize your points with your purchase. The photo above is a screenshot of the active bonus offers available for my account right now, and the products that have bonus points attached changed all the time. I don't say that to advocate for spending money unnecessarily, but more so to suggest that if there is a particular purchase you want to make that you don't have to make immediately, it may be worth waiting and checking out what the bonus points offers are and when they change.
Sometimes, Ulta Beauty will also offer bonus points attached to a particular time period. For example, back in December, they offered 250 bonus points if I made a $50 purchase on that one day. Another time, they offered me 1000 bonus points if I spent $200 during their Love Your Skin event that lasted for a few weeks (that was a steal of a deal, and I hope they offer it again in the future). One trick with these bonus point offers is that you have to activate the deals. It doesn't take much effort beyond clicking "activate now," but that still is an extra step you need to make sure you follow if you're using the deal. I like to use this strategy for good GWP promotions, too- if I know I want something, I wait until I see a good gift with purchase that I like before making the jump.
Other Tips to Know
Ulta Beauty almost always has a gift-with-purchase promotion running that's tied to an amount spent and not on a specific brand- and you can stack promotions to take advantage of both. For example, if I wanted to get the 250 bonus points for spending $50 back during that December promotion, I could combine that (and frequently do) with gift-with-purchase promotions where I qualify for a gift with a minimum spend. Ulta even allows you to double stack GWP promotions- for example, if I spent $70 online I would be eligible for that 24-piece beauty bag, but if $50 of those dollars were on Nars products and Nars had their own GWP promotion running with a $50 minimum spend, I would qualify for both gifts. Ulta always has a list of the available gifts with purchase you can check out- they don't always automatically add to cart, but if you add it to your cart and meet the requirements, the cost for the gift will zero out. And yes- if you're using your points to pay, you can still get promotions like gifts with purchase!
Checking your Ulta Beauty emails will be a big help in seeing what deals are available to you. Here's a screenshot of an email I got in early January announcing the Love Your Skin event and the products that were 50% off for that day only, that diamond and platinum members got free shipping with any beauty steals promotion during the event, and that you could get 5x points on a Tula moisturizer- and this doesn't include all of the potential bonus offers or gift with purchases available. I had actually been saving my points and had been curious about trying the Nuface Trinity which is normally $339... So I made the jump!
For the Nuface Trinity and two different gifts with purchase I paid $48.26 after the discount from the Love Your Skin event and my points! Another thing I like about the Ulta reward system is that I can actually return products that I buy with them- if I decide my Nuface isn't worth it, I can return it within the time allowed by the return policy, and I get my points back. There is another popular beauty company with a rewards system that doesn't allow returns, so I love Ulta for allowing them if needed.
I hope this guide is helpful to you for maximizing the benefits you get when it comes to Ulta's Rewards program. There are definitely some perks with Ulta Beauty's program that Sephora doesn't offer, so I usually will compare promotions between the two stores if I am shopping for a product that is carried by both.
Do you have any Ulta Rewards tips of your own? Have you ever snagged anything super cool with your points? Let me know below- I always love to talk all things beauty and good deals.
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