Brighton announce changes to loyalty point scheme

Brighton and Hove Albion have announced a number of changes to the way in which their loyalty points scheme works. Reading NSC and social media, you would think that Albert Einstein had dreamed up the formula given the number of fans who have struggled to understand how the new process will work.

This hasn’t been helped by the club realising a PDF detailing the changes that appears to have been written by somebody who has swallowed the Paul Barber Guide to Talking Bollocks. Thankfully, WeAreBrighton are on hand to simplify what the changes mean without using phrases such as “point of purchase”, “priority purchase period” or “allotted timeframe”. And before anybody asks, no, your £10 AMS “lifelong” membership is no longer valid. Can we have our money back please Dick Knight?

Season Ticket Points
Does exactly what it says on the tin. These are points for season ticket holders who will get first dibs on away match tickets. Before, you received a flat 1000 points for being a season ticket holder. Now, you get points based on how long you have held a season ticket at the Amex for. These range for 50 points for this being your first season through to 190 for seven seasons at the stadium. This change rewards longer serving supporters, given those who have stuck with the club throughout our time at the Amex an advantage over those who have signed up just in time for Premier League football. A good move in our book.

Members Points
If you are a season ticket holder, you can completely ignore these. These points are only valid if a sale becomes available to members. If you are not a season ticket holder, then these are your points. For every ticket for a home or away match you buy using your Fan Number, you are awarded points. The number of these vary depending on the opponents and competition. The more points you have, the more chance you have of getting a ticket for an away game, presuming there are any left after season ticket holders have been given the opportunity to buy.

Away games
This is perhaps the most interesting change. Previously, you received 10 points for every away game you went to. Hiking to Rotherham on a Tuesday night in January to support the team (or in our case, go on a student night out in Sheffield afterwards) was worth exactly the same as the short hop up to Fulham for the best away day in the Championship. Now you will be awarded between 5 and 15 points depending on the opposition. That means that those fans who fancy a plush day trip to the Emirates will get the bare minimum 5 points whereas those who trek to Burnley away pick up 15 alongside their doner kebab pizza. It rewards those who travel everywhere and anywhere and is again another good move.

Cup games
Home cup games used to previously be worth a flat 20 points. Just like away games, these will now also be judged on a sliding scale. Sit through Colchester United at home in the second round of the EFL Cup with 6,000 others and you can pick up a plum 15 points. Chelsea at home in the FA Cup quarter finals will net you just five.

End of the season
At the end of the season, the points you picked up from home cup games and away games are halved. They are then added together with your season ticket points to make a brand new total for the start of the next campaign. So if you half your away and cup games points total from last season and add it to however long you have held your Amex season ticket for, that will give you your starting point for this season.

And that is all there is to it. You may have noticed that we very much enjoy criticising the Albion, but unfortunately there is virtually nothing you can realistically take them to task for over this.

The changes effectively reward those who have made the commitment to be season ticket holders throughout the Amex era with a greater chance of getting tickets for the big away games. Likewise, the new system of awarding away points means those that brave the horrific thought of a trip to Burnley or Stoke City are rewarded for their efforts in travelling to a hellhole in support of the team.

And all of that means that it is the most committed and longest serving fans who will have first refusal on seeing the Albion at Old Trafford, the Emirates and Anfield. A worthwhile reward and consolation for failing to pull at Rotherham United on a Tuesday night, we think.