Customers Are Calling Out Chipotle For This ‘Devastating’ Change To Their Rewards Program: ‘Explain Yourself!’

Chipotle recently updated its popular rewards program, as reported by Business Insider, and customers online are upset at the idea of spending more to be rewarded as a customer at the chain. Getting a free burrito is still possible, The Takeout urges, it just might now take a few more visits to do so…

The Chipotle Rewards program allows customers to sign up to earn 10 points for every dollar spent in the app, online, or at one of the restaurant locations. The program also offers free chips and guacamole right after you sign up, and fans can redeem a special reward on their birthdays.

Many customers use the points to cash in and redeem a burrito or another menu item. Another option is to use those points on merchandise or use them for a charitable donation. All of these options, however, will now take longer to obtain thanks to the updated rewards structure. As The Takeout writes, when it comes to the revamped program, “the price of ‘free’ just got more expensive.” Customers, of course, have noticed the recent changes to the rewards program, and continue to air their grievances on Twitter and elsewhere:

As for why Chipotle raised the amount of rewards points needed to obtain a free burrito, the company pinpointed inflation as the reason. The special number used to be 1,400 points, but now it takes 1,625 points to get a free entree in the Chipotle app. This means that it previously took customers $140 to get to a free item, if they earn 10 points for every dollar spent. Now, it would take $162.50 to get a free meal, so Chipotle fans are spending an additional $22.50 extra to earn a burrito that usually costs $12.

A Chipotle spokesperson recently told Insider, “To account for the additional cost of our real ingredients, we’ve marginally increased point values for menu items in the Chipotle Rewards Exchange.”  The Tex-Mex giant also noted that inflation caused an increase in its menu prices back in August.