So here’s the thing, Neo is about to completely phase out Neo Premium Perk by December by 31st but I feel like this might not be the best idea if not executed properly so I just wanted to add my personal opinion about how I think Neo could improve that transition or if needed back out of it before it loses a good portion of its clients.
First why do people use Neo premium perk I think is a very important question to ask. From what I’ve seen and from the way I use it, Neo premium perk was a way for clients who didn’t want to invest directly a large sum of money into Neo, but still get the benefits of it with its boosted cash back, and it worked really well. It also allowed Neo card to not just be ahead of the completion but to stay ahead of the competition. For someone who was new into Neo this was perfect to get into getting more cash back and also made me want to start fully changing my entire banking layout to just Neo. Unfortunately seems it won’t be the case for now, but there is still some light at the end of the tunnel and I am willing to see how things unfold until then.
Personally I think removing premium was not the right call, yes boosted cash back made Neo give out more money than the usual and maybe wasn’t the most profitable business model for them, but nonetheless it expanded its number of committed clients without needing to do much because the perks were worth the monthly price. Now if business model wise this wasn’t working out as planned, then Neo could’ve simply adjusted the price and made it into a more premium price (around the $15/month) and trust me people would still pay and they would use the card more. That is solution number #1.
The second solution is for Neo to yes continue phasing out the premium perk but to put into place more cash back categories so that overall clients would still be able to get high level cassock in more scenarios. Whether its restaurant cash back, fast food, EV charging (might be included in gas) or community transportation cash back, these are just examples of categories offered by the other banks which Neo is trying to prove that they are. better than. Yes partners cash back are a thing but at the end of the day, they don’t all offer it and that’s the problem right there, because why should someone use of their credit card be limited to if they know they’re gonna get that extra % at that specific restaurant.
Third solution involves nerfing the current premium perk by about half its value proposition but adding something to support it, basically cash back rates are cut in half but monthly caps are lifted. Now to be honest it seems Neo might be removing caps for rewards but im not 100% sure, purely going on a video I saw on their YouTube channel talking about how Neo does not cap rewards but I might be wrong, I will gladly send the link of the video if needed but for now this is also a way that this can keep its users happy while giving away less.
the last solution is to simply, acknowledge already paying users and keep the perk active as long as they keep their current credit cards with Neo (would not apply for newer credit cards). Think of it as honouring early adopters who payed and will continue paying for that service.
Nonetheless while this might not be a decision I support at 100%, I understand from where it is coming from, but I would love to know if others support that POV or why they don’t, because our voices should be heard as long as arguments are provided to support said criticism.
