Sephora Canada Announced A Major Change To Its Rewards Program & Shoppers Aren't Impressed

Have you claimed your Sephora birthday gift? If you haven't gotten yours, you'll want to take note of new changes to Sephora's rewards program.

Sephora Canada has announced that its Beauty Insider program will no longer be offering certain freebies online.

In an email to customers on May 1, Sephora announced that they were updating the terms and conditions of their Beauty Insider program.

For those not in the know, the Beauty Insider program is a free loyalty program that allows customers to earn points per dollar spent at Sephora.

Members also were eligible to receive exclusive rewards, including Beauty Insider cash (which can be applied to purchases), access to sales events and a free birthday gift each year.

The free birthday gift has been part of the program for years, and unlike other rewards, is available to every tier of the loyalty program, with no minimum spend required.

Now, however, the retailer is updating its terms around redeeming the Sephora birthday gift.

"Starting June 1, 2023, clients will need to make a minimum merchandise purchase of $25 to redeem their Beauty Insider birthday gift at sephora.com or sephora.ca," said the company in their email.

In its updated terms of service, Sephora says that in order to redeem your gift online, a merchandise purchase is required and the birthday gift will be available at checkout.

Customers don't appear to be too pleased with the change, and many have taken to social media to express their feelings about it.

"Spend thousands a year at Sephora and can't even get our birthday 'gifts' for 'free' anymore? Sheesh," wrote one person on Twitter.

Others took issue with the timing of the change.

"Hello @Sephora why am I being punished for having a June birthday and being required to pay $25 for my 'birthday gift?'" wrote another person. "Why would you not change this at the end of the calendar year?"

While the updated policies indicate that shoppers will now have to spend at least $25 to claim their birthday gift online, according to Sephora, a purchase has always been required to claim the freebie.

"Sephora has always required a merchandise purchase for clients to redeem their birthday gift online. As of June 1, that merchandise purchase will need to be $25 or more," the company said in a tweeted response to a message asking about the change.

As the company also pointed out — and as expressed in the email to customers — the minimum $25 purchase only applies when redeeming the birthday gift online, meaning that you can still go in-store to redeem the gift without having to buy something.

If you haven't redeemed your gift yet, you may still be able to avoid the $25 minimum spend, as the change is set to come into effect as of June 1, 2023.

Currently, the Sephora birthday gifts for 2023 allow Beauty Insiders to pick from several options, with haircare, skincare, makeup and fragrance available.

Beauty Insider members also have the option this year to opt for extra points instead of a physical gift.

If you want to go in store to avoid having to make a purchase to redeem your gift, you can use Sephora's store locator to find a location near you.