Xbox Rewards resets MyVIP stats and changes terms, faces huge customer backlash

Xbox Live Rewards has apparently reset a lot of people's MyVIP rank, which is causing huge customer backlash as members who had accumulated as much as 5 "stars" in the program, find themselves being reduced to 0 stars.

For those who have never heard of Xbox Live's MyVIP feature, it aims to offer members a certain level of payback for every purchase they make in the Xbox store. The first payback is unlocked after you spend at least $150 in a year, which earns you a VIP star. As your star rank progressively grows, so does your payback percentage. The program is quite popular among Xbox Live Gold members as they earn double payback percentages on purchases.

Now, it appears that Microsoft has accidentally reset everyone's MyVIP star rank, infuriating a lot of people over on Reddit and the Xbox forums. Forum member DevoutPanther74 states:

Greetings! I've been a loyal Xbox gold member since 2012, over the years my ranking has gone up and I've also earned a VIP badge and 2 stars! 4% Rebate. Recently I've logged into my Xbox Rewards account and noticed that my 2 stars in VIP Status have gone down to 0 stars. Confused I've contacted XBOX SUPPORT with the issue. Upon doing so they linked me to this forum and provided me with a Ticket Number: 1302719564 to a note on my account regarding this issue.

The thing is that I don't think my VIP status is suppose to reset it self to 0 since I've been a gold member for sometime now. So here I am providing the necessary information to figure out this problem. Can you help me please.

Another change in the program has also been noted by Australian Reddit user lfcjohnk which claims that the requirements of the MyVIP feature have changed, and members will have to spend more money yearly for the same amount in the following way:

​As expected, reaction to this change hasn't been positive as users feel that they should have been informed beforehand, with some commenting that the program has now become "useless" and "pathetic". Xbox Forums member TheJackah states:

The program was already pretty pointless, only being rewarded for spending huge amounts regularly - now not only do we lose all of that, we have to spend even more??

You've done a great job at doing-over all your customers, Microsoft. Congrats.

Don't expect me to be buying ANY digital games until this change is reverted and I receive MyVIP status back.

The worst part is - I had to find out via reddit; you couldn't even email us a couple weeks before to inform us? Pathetic.

It seems strange that Microsoft did not inform members of the changes beforehand and it is still unclear whether the reset of the star rank for many members is due to a glitch in the system or perhaps something more serious, and if the company is aware of the issue. We have reached out to Microsoft and will update you as soon as we hear back.

Source: Reddit | Thanks for the tip, Jack Wilkinson!