MOBILE giant Virgin Media O2 has quietly made a major change to a Greggs offer from it Priority rewards scheme – and customers are fuming.
At present, thousands of customers can get one free coffee a week from Greggs, as well as a free breakfast roll, sausage roll, or vegan sausage roll on Friday or Saturday mornings.
To get the freebies, O2 customers need to visit the Priority app to get a code.
Hot drink codes are issued on a first come first served basis, with at least 10,000 codes available each day from Monday to Saturday and 7,000 on a Sunday.
A minimum of 25,000 codes for Greggs food are released at 7am each Friday and Saturday.
But from 12 September, the weekly freebies for thousands will be scrapped, a move which has left Greggs fans distraught.
A note on the Priority app today (29 August) said: “We’re switching up your Greggs rewards from 12 September 2024.
“We know how loved the Greggs rewards are, so we’ve taken our members’ feedback on board before making any changes.
“That’s why our new ones give you even more choice, and allow more people to grab savings at Greggs every month.”
The message explains that from 12 September , “the current Greggs rewards won’t be available” and that Priority would offer two new rewards.
These will be one hot drink from Greggs for £1 each month, and one Greggs savoury treat for £1 each month.
The message explains that the changes give customers “even more choice” as food fans won’t be limited to sausage rolls or breakfast rolls – they will also be able to choose from more things on the Greggs menu, including the steak bake, or pizza slice.
When it comes to hot drinks, your £1 will get you a drink of any size. But this is the same as the current free offer, which also has no size restrictions.
Confusingly, the O2 message goes on to explain that “Priority members can bag treats at a time that suits them” – but it then states time restrictions for the £1 products.
The £1 hot drinks will only be available between 7am and 11.30am, and £1 savoury treats between 11.30am and 7pm. This means you can’t buy both products at the same time unless you visit Greggs at exactly 11.30am.
O2 said it will also offer “seasonal Greggs treats and surprises from time to time too”.
O2 customers and Greggs fans have taken to social media to express their outrage.
One customer on X (formerly Twitter), said: “@O2 hi, so you’ve listened to members feedback over the Greggs benefits, and people have said instead of getting a free coffee every week they’d rather pay a pound for a coffee once a month? I think you are telling porkies!”
Another added: “I got a bit excited when I saw O2 Priority were ‘mixing up the Greggs offer’. Huge anticlimax. It’s gone from a free hot drink once a week and a free breakfast roll on Fri or Sat to a hot drink for £1 once a month and a savoury for £1 once a month.”
Over on HotDealsUk.com, there was similar disappointment about the new terms for the Greggs products.
One user definitely_maybe wrote: “We’ve listened to members’ feedback. What feedback is asking for the free stuff to stop?”
The O2 Priority app has long been popular with O2 customers, offering a range of promotions and discounts for a range of high street stores, restaurants and events. There are also regular competitions, with big-ticket items, such as cash prizes and holidays, often up for grabs.
Virgin Media customers have also had access to Priority perks since the two companies merged in 2021 to create Virgin Media O2.
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “We regularly review and update our Priority rewards to ensure we continue to provide members with the best possible choice and value.
“As part of that, we are launching two new Greggs rewards from 12 September that will allow even more Priority members to enjoy savings on their favourite hot drinks on a day that suits them, a wider selection of savoury treats each month, and benefit from other seasonal treats and surprises throughout the year.”
The latest move by VirginMedia O2 mirrors a similar change in 2022 when it partnered with Caffe Nero. Customers could enjoy one free Caffe Nero drink per week, redeemable between Monday and Thursday.
But in May 2022 the offer changed to one free drink a month, rather than each week, and was then dropped completely the following month.
O2 is not the only company to slash the coffee perks it offers customers.
Health and life insurance firm Vitality partners with Caffe Nero.
Up until this summer, members who earned 12 or more ‘activity points’ each week could get either a free barista-made drink, an Innocent smoothie, a bag of coffee beans or a box of coffee pods.
But Vitality scaled back the popular deal in July, limiting it to just Caffe Nero barista-made drinks or an Innocent drink, not coffee beans or pods to use at home.
Next week will also see major changes to coffee chain Pret a Manger’s subscription service.
Club Pret currently costs £30 a month with members getting five free hot or iced barista-made drinks each day, as well as a 20% discount on all food.
But from 3 September Club Pret members will instead get 50% off five barista-made drinks a day, with no discount on food. The subscription price will fall to £10 a month.
Virgin Media O2 customers are cutting back on Greggs freebies including coffee.
But there are plenty of other ways to get a free brew. Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements explains..
Download the Greggs’s app and sign up to its loyalty scheme for the first time to get a free hot drink.
The offer includes tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
You’ll be able to collect loyalty stamps through the app, too, which add up to freebies.
Octopus energy customers can also get a complimentary hot drink every week at Greggs by signing up to the Octoplus section on the power provider’s app.
Pop into Ikea during the week to get a free cup of tea or filter coffee with the store’s loyalty card. It costs nothing to sign up to Ikea Family.
You can also bag a free hot drink at Waitrose if you’re a MyWaitrose member when you make a purchase instore.
Get a tea, coffee, cappuccino or latte with the deal.
And the purchase need not cost a lot – buy a piece of fruit or a cheap chocolate bar. Sign up at waitrose.com.
Plus, don’t forget about loyalty schemes at the high street coffee chains.
Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero all offer free drinks after a certain number of purchases — usually around nine or ten.
