impossible to win instant awards

[Tomsowa]

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...

[KellytheBelly]

For anyone interested, you'll be happy to know that I finally won an Instant Win!

🎉 Lucky Me! 🎉  😂

(@Jason2020LovesKelly Don't be jelly. 😂 😘💕)

[Jason2020LovesKelly]

Boom Bam! 

[KellytheBelly]

@Jason2020LovesKelly Congratulations, honey! 🎉

[shamit]

Happy to see you won one.  And a good one at that.  I am still waiting and so is my husband.  The rate of winning has gone dramatically.

[AnneG461594]

Good for you Kelly!!!!!  I just got the DSW one that my daughter is using for wedding shoes!  Well deserved for all the heads-up you give us

[KellytheBelly]

Well, 'Congratulations to you,' @AnneG461594! How awesome your daughter is getting married. Awww. Thank you for your kind words. 🙂

[11320cs]

I have won an instant reward before but now I find that I cannot win one.  I haven’t won any for a while.  I am back to wondering if they really exist.  I am sure they do.  However, there must be many, many people playing and I just can’t get one.  If they spread 125 rewards out over seven days then that is only about 18 a day.  But who knows if that is how they put them out there for a chance for people to win.  They could do 125 in one day.  And why do nonmembers get to play for instant rewards?  It does make the whole rewards program very frustrating.  And what happened to having seven instant rewards everyday?  I have seen only six for a while.  I guess there is always hope or maybe not.  I am just frustrated.  I would just like to get lucky once in a while and win.  And the sweepstakes, well, put me down as Never have won.   But that is another subject.

[jserramcorder]

I play the IWG daily just to use up my points.  I will get a few now and then, sometimes two in a row (I think it happened twice in 3 years) but I have not gotten anything for months now.  On a different note, in the last 4 years or whenever they changed their program, I won two major gifts--$100 Old Navy gift card and a device for communicating with your grandkids--that one was a fluke.  I entered it  without reading what it was.  2 or 3 days later I looked at the prize and realized it was not anything I could use.  At the end of the month they told me I won.  Hope other wins are out ther but not holding my breath....

[shamit]

I know the feeling.  No sweepstakes for me or my husband.  I used to win an instant win about once every 4 to 6 weeks.  Haven't won one in 4 to 6 months now.  Things have definitely changed since they decided to go after the young people down to 18 years old, Not to mention letting people who aren't members enter everything, and having very few cards for points that are for members only.  And let's not forget most of those cards are hidden.

[andrewtoo]

Hey guys...

I am pleased with my instant wins this year.

I have now won five of them. 

I won twice in January which, of course, is the

likelihood of being "struck by lightening," or so

it would seem.

Three wins were via the free entry method and two

were won from the "tiles" in the online catalog this

year.

Entering via the free method can be frustrating at

times and you only save 350 points per day by

using it (7x50pts).  You can win by using either method and

the "points method" is faster and easier making

it more likely that you will enter every day.

I enter the instant wins every day that I have

Internet access.  When I am away from my

laptop, then I pull up rewards and just enter via the

points method otherwise I generally go through the free

entry method.

So...my last instant win was less than two weeks

ago after entering from a tile.  As shown below:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keep entering, it doesn't even cost points!

I enjoy this program, warts and all.  But, I can understand those who

don't think it is worth the time to earn and play, however, unusually

lucky times will surprise us, if we only keep trudging along.

Sorry for the long post...

[andrewtoo]

For what it's worth...

While this was not a typical 4 month period, I won 4 instant win certificates from the beginning of this year until the end of April 2023.  I just keep trying and I go long periods without an instant win.

[SeniorOmelette]

Do we know what the actual odds of winning are?  They say things like "Play for a chance to be 1 of 125 winners" but that doesn't mean you have a 1 in 125 chance of winning, only that there are 125 winners in total.  It's just really unclear what your chances are.

[al45009948]

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 

[Karyn8]

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

[Tomsowa]

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

[d247369j]

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! 😞

[Tomsowa]

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. 

[BeachGirl23]

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!

[al45009948]

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 

[KellytheBelly]

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:

• Daily Instant Wins:  http://winlists.helloworld.com/245438_IW.pdf
• Sweeps: http://winlists.helloworld.com/245438_SW.pdf

⬆️Check it out! 🙂 ⬆️ 🔎

[BeachGirl23]

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

Re: Instant Win Games

by BeachGirl23 in Redemption

‎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.  

[Tomsowa]

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.

[KellytheBelly]

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?  🌬 ☘️

[Nadja7]

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.

[KellytheBelly]

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.  

🤔😂

[KellytheBelly]

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 ♡

[cp1128]

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.

[JoLo49]

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.

[andrewtoo]

@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,

[rednexsrus]

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