Last summer OpenTable reminded members that they planned to expire points for members who weren’t using the restaurant booking service. In many places restaurants have been closed, and even where they’re open customers have been reticent to go out to eat because of the pandemic.
This is a program known for consistently devaluing their points program and which even added a checkbox for people to opt into points earning on each reservation, something people easily missed.
They made clear to expect points expiration to come March 31. My points expired earlier in the month than that. So I emailed a complaint to OpenTable, at the suggestion of a reader. They got back to me saying they’d give me my points back.
Due to an unexpected surge in email requests related to points expiration and redemption, response times are longer than usual. If you are receiving this email, please know that we have received your original inquiry and are ensuring that your points don’t expire on March 31st or that any recently expired points are reinstated. Given our current quantity of requests, it may take more than one week for us to process your request.
One hint for your points is to get more value out of them redeeming for Kayak bookings since both OpenTable and Kayak are owned by Booking Holdings (née Priceline Group).
Not only did they refuse to give me my 1800 points back (last opentable booking was 3/14/20) but they also refused to extended my recently expired dining certificate for $50 which I had stupidly redeemed one week prior to the world shutting down. They super suck.
Thank you for writing this column. I wrote to Open Table today and do hope they reinstate my points.
You can make the request using the Contact Us at https://help.opentable.com/s/contactsupport?language=en_US
I redeemed my points for an amazon gift card. I never seemed to get a decent open table gift card deal since a lot of restaurants in our area have switched off the platform.
I wrote to them weeks ago, and I received an automated response explaining they’d get back to me. They have yet to do so.
When I click on “Please restore my points,” instead of getting a promised form to fill out, I get a message that says “There are no additional ways to contact us.” I’m impressed by those who emailed, because I can’t find any way to do that. The AI bot is a joke. There’s a phone number on the web, but the automated attendant just tells you to pound sand.
The site is still good for finding restaurants with open slots. Then I call and make a reservation. I am also doing what I can not to use the other sites owned by the Bookings group. People complain that Amazon owns the world, but at least they got that way by treating customers like customers instead of like deliverables, which is what we are.
Due to covid, we have not been able to eat out for the past year. I just found out that my 9,000 points have disappeared; i.e. “expired”. I have tried to contact open table about this – I cannot find an email for them, the customer service phone line automatically disconnects without ever letting you speak to a live person, and open table says they are not taking emails but have a live chat – but when you click on the live chat it says this is not available and there is no other option.
What a scam!
My 9000+ OpenTable points were wiped out in December of 2020. I emailed them for restoration because we couldn’t eat out due to COVID-19, but never heard back. I think OpenTable is a big scam.
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