With $200 in HBC reward points banked, Daniel Betts was eager to cash in after hearing Hudson’s Bay had been granted creditor protection to avoid bankruptcy.
He was too late.
“It’s quite frustrating, a bit mystifying,” said Betts after being told by a downtown Vancouver HBC store clerk that the program was suspended. “They can still reward you with points, but you can’t redeem them — which seems a bit silly.”
The centuries-old retailer has paused its Hudson’s Bay Rewards during the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings until further notice, according to its application.
This affects some eight million Canadian customers who had points totalling $58,576,606 as of Feb 1, 2025, according to the court documents.
The company will, however, continue to honour outstanding gift cards — worth about $20 million — and maintain its relationship with third-party gift card providers responsible for selling and activating gift cards.
“Honouring outstanding gift cards in its continuing locations will promote goodwill among customers during the proceedings and will assist in maintaining value for stakeholders as a whole,” said Hudson’s Bay in its application.
As part of its restructuring plan, the company is expected to close about 40 of its 80 stores, according to a source close to the restructuring plans, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
On Friday, customers who logged into their accounts saw a “temporary issue” notice preventing them from viewing their points balance.
However, it assured them that all points earned from purchases were still being tracked.
By Tuesday, the message had changed to say that “the program is currently paused,” and points could no longer be earned, redeemed, or tracked — though it made no mention of the CCAA proceedings.
Personal finance and travel expert Barry Choi said this is the “worst-case scenario” for customers in a loyalty program, as they could lose all their points if Hudson’s Bay collapses.
“Hudson’s Bay does not have any transfer partners,” said Choi. “You can’t really use your points for anything, and essentially you’ve lost that money.”
There’s a chance that the rewards system could be revived if the Bay avoided being insolvent, added Choi. “But it’s not something I would really bank on.”
Betts has been using the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard for 10 years. In recent years, it has been operated by Neo Financial.
Rachel Hamill, 37, from Calgary, has been in the VIP tier of the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard points program for the past decade and was “incredibly sad” to hear about the retailer’s crisis.
“It brings back so many memories of being a kid, and we were from the country,” said Hamill. “We used to drive to the city as a family and go to the mall and walk around department stores.”
Luckily, as a “spend as you go” type person, she redeems her points frequently and only has $50 in her rewards balance.
“I’m not holding my breath that I’ll be able to use my points,” she said. “I probably will cancel my credit card with Neo Financial.”
Neo Financial has posted a Q & A section about the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard, reassuring customers that their card remains fully functional and is not affected by Hudson’s Bay’s CCAA filing, even if they can’t currently view or redeem their rewards points.
“To ensure they continue earning valuable rewards, Neo is introducing a cashback enhancement. Starting mid-March, and until further notice, cardholders will earn 2 per cent cashback on purchases at Hudson’s Bay and 1 per cent cashback everywhere else,” the spokesperson of NEO Financial told the Star.
This is on top of the cashback customers already earn — up to 10 per cent at thousands of partners in the Neo cashback rewards network.
Choi said the biggest takeaway for consumers is that they shouldn’t hoard points, as there’s always a possibility they could vanish if a company goes out of business.
