Content starts here
CLOSE ×

Search

Reply
Regular Contributor

impossible to win instant awards

I'm deeply distrustful of the whole Rewards operation.

 

For one, I've gone through more than 400 consecutive Instant Wins and won nothing. NADA.

 

And why is that?  Anyone explain that?

 

And what about finding out some general information on who's winning the rewards sweepstakes? Is there any attempt on the part of the provider/operator or AARP Rewards to give out some information that explains there are real people winning the sweeps?

 

AND why can't the provider of AARP Rewards provide me a running total of my cumulative entries into a sweepstake? It used to do that, provide a running total on all my entries, but now it doesn't do that.

 

As always, I'm deeply skeptical of the people running this thing...

 

 

 

 

42,541 Views
169
Report
Bronze Conversationalist

Hello everyone 🤗. Good question. The odds are really unknown. But there are millions of members and non members that play IWG. Also the sponsors say that a winner is picked at a random time. Sometimes when I play the IWG the reply is instant and other times it takes a a little while because I believe theirs quite a bit of people playing at the same moment. ( Which I believe it's looking for particular people that doesn't have a special character next to their name. Just joking or am  I seeing how some people have won numerous times)  . I'm not saying this out of bitterness against any legitimate winners, just some of these ( just my opinion) made up winners like some of them without a city. Back to the odds of winning. 125 IWG gift cards divided by 7 days for each IWG item ( that's about 18 gift cards per day which equals 156 ) divided by 24 hours a day ( 18÷24=0.75 approximately 1 winner every 45 minutes of the ???????? number of members and non members that play) so you see the odds are quite high. So how do some of the same people keep WINNING? ( This is just my own opinion)  I'm just saying 

Concerned Member
4,157 Views
1
Report
Conversationalist

I think playing with points are better odds then tplaying he free method. 

Karyn
4,144 Views
0
Report
Regular Contributor

What kind of rewards are you winning, in the latest stretch of efforts?  And how many instant wins do you enter daily or weekly?

0 Kudos
4,932 Views
0
Report
Newbie

YEARS of my time trying to win. It comes back, "Sorry, you did not win" almost IMMEDIATELY after I push the enter button. I'm finally going to stop doing this. Unfortunately it has taken me years to get to this point. Wish I could get all my time doing quizzes and watching videos back! 😞

5,066 Views
10
Report
Regular Contributor

This is an ongoing instance of AARP not paying attention to the people who manage their Rewards program. I don't recall the name of the company they hired, but they are doing a bad job. They should be replaced. Any truly honest, transparent and random Rewards program would not generate the number of complaints you see here from members who have tried for years to get a win, only to see the system apparently being tilted against them.

Contact AARP and file a complaint. This has to be addressed, or otherwise the whole thing is crap. 

4,998 Views
0
Report
Conversationalist

I started printing the list of winners to a .pdf file so I can search for particular names that seemed to come up a lot as winning. I reported this to AARP rewards in 2021 but apparently nothing has been done about it. This continues today as, going to my list of 'lucky' winners, they are still winning at an incredible rate. 

 

Go to rules for any instant win, scroll to the bottom, and there is a link for the list of winners. Currently the list of winners covers the period of Dec 17 2022 to May 24 2023 - over 5 months. There are people who have won up to 16 times in that period. Not me, not you but somehow this list of 'lucky' winners manages to win between 5 and 16 times during that period. 

 

I truly believe someone is gaming the system. AARP Rewards says that can't be but if a software person is aware of when the 'system generated' win time is, it can be. I find it virtually impossible for anybody to be that lucky that they win up to 16 times while the rest of us can't win once a year. I have been monitoring this since 2021. I even have a spreadsheet with this list of 'lucky' people and the number of times they have won. This has been going on for quite awhile for these same 'lucky' dogs! Wonder how we become one of them!

4,994 Views
7
Report
Bronze Conversationalist

Hello everyone 🤗. Thank you so much. I've been saying this for so long. I've asked the same question about how is it that the same people keep Winning. THE SAME PEOPLE. As I said once before I used to belong to VipVoice and let me tell you that a lot of the same names were winners there also . So we're only allowed 3 redemptions per month but these people can win Instant Win and Sweepstakes as many times as they can. NOT FAIR AT ALL.🤬 I myself have never won . When they had the Auctions I won a few times. I don't play IWG or Sweepstakes anymore. GAMES PEOPLE PLAY. I'm Really just saying 

Concerned Member
4,905 Views
0
Report
Honored Social Butterfly

Do you still play the sweepstakes, and instant wins every day? Or, have you boycotted this. True what you've written, as well as, I see the same names winning in sweepstakes, too. I mean, transparency is great and everything, but it's right there for everyone to see how questionable the winners' list is, and how the same names win the BIG sweepstakes, many times. I should say it's questionable when the same names win even the 100.00 sweepstakes month-after-month, and often. You stated, 'I reported this to AARP rewards in 2021 but apparently nothing has been done about it.' If you could provide a link to the post, then maybe it can be conjured as 'active,' again. I do recall this discussion many moons ago.

 

References, here:

⬆️Check it out! 🙂 ⬆️ 🔎

 

Shell Game.jpg

4,947 Views
5
Report
Conversationalist

I don't know how to provide a link to the post but here it is:

 

‎07-24-2021 12:37 PM 
5 Kudos 
I have been doing searches for the Instant Win game winners for 7 months now. I download the info into a pdf file on my laptop and can then do a search along with the number of wins for select people. The winners had uncommon names but consistently win 7 to 14 times over a 3 month period. These are names like Shinobu, Hsiuchi, Masahiro, Winnie, Reese Anne - I will not report their last initial as displayed but the last initial is consistent within the list of winners that is to say there are not 2 different people with the same first name. Now perhaps there are different people who have the same first name AND first initial of the last name but I do believe those odds are slim given the uniqueness of the first names.   I have been asking for well over 3 months now about how some people can keep winning on a regular basis when most of us cannot. I have gotten no reply. Maybe @AARPTeri is looking into this. I truly hope so before the rest of us get so frustrated that we give up on this system.   Another member suggested that the Instant Wins should be for members only. I agree. Also, Instant Wins should be limited to 3 a month. Do I hear deafening laughter out there? Here I am suggesting 3 a month when most of us cannot win 1 in 3 months.   Thanks for being another voice on this issue.  
4,861 Views
4
Report
Regular Contributor

I’m generally sure your instincts are right, which is that there’s something rotten in the AARP Rewards program.

 

I intend to boycott AARP -- namely not renewing my membership. Or my wife’s -- until some transparency is provided. Who are these so-called winners? How do they manage multiple wins?  

 

I have gone approximately 590 Instant Win tries and not won a single one, going back more than 14 months or so.

 

My wife, who joined AARP a year ago, has gone the entire year and won not one single thing, despite numerous daily or every-other-day entries.

 

Either the system is rigged, or AARP has run out of cash and can’t fund many Instant Wins. Or someone else has come up with the trick for getting to the prizes in a non-random manner.

 

Don’t get me started on who’s winning the sweepstakes. I don’t dare even think about how AARP has effed up that series of contests. I haven’t won one of those ever, and I’ve no doubt submitted more than 43,000 points for assorted ones over the past five years.

 

If it’s not a scam, PLEASE, someone at AARP contact me and make me see things your way.... In the meantime, I’ll keep entering the contests but I will not renew.

2,686 Views
1
Report
Honored Social Butterfly

Hi, @Tomsowa. I know your frustration(s)! I just won an Instant Win today, and was gobsmacked! Winning something (for me) is about as rare as the 'Blue Moon' this month.

 

That's why I posted about winning an instant win here... https://community.aarp.org/t5/Redemption/impossible-to-win-instant-awards/m-p/2512780/highlight/true... (mainly giving some proof that the 'little people' can win, too! (╹ꇴ◠) )

 

Keep trying and good luck?  🌬 ☘️

2,618 Views
0
Report
Regular Contributor

Very interesting!  I know sometimes I have been on a roll and have won more than once in a month.  Lately, it has been very few wins. What do they know that we don"t? I do miss the box opening with confetti when you would win. Ah, the good old days.

0 Kudos
3,030 Views
0
Report
Honored Social Butterfly

Yes, there it is! Excellent! 👍🏻 

 

I think that since nothing has been acknowledged there since 2021, maybe a quick 'bump' could bring it to the forefront? It is a good read. 😉 I wonder if AARP will admit they have rigged something. haha

 

Also, from same thread (2021), hilarious...

[RE: The removal of the 'Lucky You' confetti box - IWs]

 

@AARPTeri 
Community Manager
‎07-09-2021 09:28 AM wrote: 

@rednexsrus @MichelleM50204 @GitaG508487  Thanks for noticing!  We will pass on your comments to the team and we certainly appreciate seeing your feedback! The team simplified this due to confusion it was causing a number of users who provided that feedback.  You will still be notified if you are a winner but via text.  

🤔😂

4,599 Views
0
Report
Honored Social Butterfly

After all of these years, you never won one? I'm keeping tabs on when I do win, which is few and far between, but it seems to be geographically coordinated and also by month. Mine was March, and it usually hits again in September. Still believing this to be true, I play every day, because 'Why Not.' I have a ton of points to use, and it's sort of fun to boot. I do miss the confetti box that opened when you did win, though. lol Keep trying! ☘️ Good Luck! 🙂 

 

Depeche Mode - Nothing's Impossible ♡

0
Kudos
4170
Views
4,700 Views
0
Report
Contributor

You and me both. I think it's a hoax.I've played diff times and days and cards for 3 years and never won anything. I'm about done wasting my time on it.

6,774 Views
0
Report
Silver Conversationalist

Unfortunately, Kroger closed stores in California because they were unwilling to pay their employees an additional $4.00 per hour for pandemic hazard pay.  Grocery chains in California with 300 or more employees are required to pay employees the extra pay.  Albertson's and Safeway are big grocery chains on the West Coast.

7,502 Views
0
Report
Social Butterfly

@rednexsrus 

 

I was pleased to see the Kroger Instant win game out there.  I, too, believe that it is probably the best gift card to offer because I am at one frequently and get a lot of items there on sale that have limited shelf lives.  I can't use Albertson's or Safeway...

 

Kroger stores make up the one of largest brick and mortar groceries in the United States.  Publix too.  Walmart and Amazon are fine choices IMHO, but...

 

More Kroger gift Cards for Points Please!

 

My two cents, thanks,

AndrewToo
7,012 Views
0
Report
Silver Conversationalist

I certainly hope this topic does not come true especially for me, where the KROGER gift card is concerned. I cain’t remember the last time we saw this GC in the line up.

I know not everyone has a KROGER in their area, but still I think its one of the best GC’s out there, Instant Win, points only and Sweepstakes. Just Saying

lucyp061351
7,040 Views
1
Report
Super Contributor

Good Luck!!  Noticed that Instant win for Kroger this morning, but both that and the Albertson's Super Play are only beneficial for people in parts of the country where those stores are located.  Well that's points I save I guess.  I would jump for joy if they had GCs for Wegmans or Publix.....

7,004 Views
0
Report
Social Butterfly

@KristinaD289916 

Congratulations Kristina!

 

@rednexsrus 

Lucy, WOW...your comment "Hang in there, Your turn will arrive one day."

was absolutely prophetic!  A little encouragement goes a long way.

Do you have any lottery numbers to share?  he he

 

AndrewToo
0 Kudos
8,442 Views
0
Report
Trusted Contributor

So, we now have six instant wins instead of seven?  Or am I missing one?

0 Kudos
8,424 Views
1
Report
Silver Conversationalist

@11320cs 

Yes you are definitely missing one !!!  ( $10 Barnes & Noble,  does not expire until 11:59 PM 3/8/2022) ??  😡 Really makes it impossible to win instant rewards when admin won't even put it on the page

Just Saying 

Anyone else missing this IW ???

lucyp061351
0 Kudos
8,373 Views
0
Report
Social Butterfly

@KristinaD289916 

 

I don't know how long it will take to win my next instant win prize.  I have long draughts without an instant win and I get discouraged.  However, with the win today, I have hit two instant wins in 2022.  This is by no means typical; I'm not usually that lucky.  The other win this year was in January at about 8:10 PM EST.  

 

AndrewToo
0
Kudos
7320
Views
8,527 Views
2
Report
Periodic Contributor

Thanks for your response. Is this not funny....I posted a reply to you and low and behold....today I won an instant win. I rarely play sweepstakes as if it takes me a year to win an instant win, doubt I will ever win a "one chance" sweepstakes. Sadly, I play most instant wins (as a vegan do not try instant wins for restaurants without an option for me), and of course, won one I probably will not use....but can give to a friend who will. 🙂

0 Kudos
8,316 Views
1
Report
Contributor

I'm going to reply as well to see if it changes my fortunes.  I've only won one instant win game despite playing thousands of times!

0 Kudos
2,897 Views
0
Report
Periodic Contributor

How many years does it take to win an instant win? Never seem to win.

8,300 Views
1
Report
Silver Conversationalist

Hang in there, Your turn will arrive one day 🙂 🙂  

lucyp061351
8,028 Views
0
Report
Social Butterfly

Just hit an instant win...$10 Chipotle  at 3:02 AM EST.

I used the free method from the official rules.

This Chipotle instant win game just started at

12AM today.

 

I fail to see a pattern of wins.  I enter

all of them one after the other.  I "play" everyday.

 

Instant wins...not hopeless, just very rare.

 

AndrewToo
8,128 Views
1
Report
Silver Conversationalist

@andrewtoo 

KUDO'S to you Andrew, I just cain't figure out this free method, just seems to take too long & I get too many errors. I will continue to pay the points

Just Saying  

lucyp061351
7,864 Views
0
Report
Silver Conversationalist

I was just wondering about the circumstances surrounding the 7 Instant Wins.

We know that to win one of these elusive items you have to be on target when the random number generator or is it a random time generator comes up to get the "LUCKY YOU"

My question is: Does the random time that comes up apply to all 7 Instant Wins OR is there actually 7 different random times one for each reward card. Could you get that rare "LUCKY YOU" twice ?? on two different GC's. Hummmm

Something to think about. Just Saying 

lucyp061351
0 Kudos
8,141 Views
4
Report
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Users
Need to Know

NEW: AARP Games Tournament Tuesdays! This week, achieve a top score in Atari Centipede® and you could win $100! Learn More.

AARP Games Tournament Tuesdays

More From AARP