How Bonusly employees spend Bonusly points: vacations, donations, and pets, oh my!

Here’s a riddle for you: What do dogs, donations, and vacations have in common? They’re all items Bonusly employees have purchased with their Bonusly points!

If you’re new to Bonusly, we’re a fun and easy-to-use rewards and recognition platform that allows teams to recognize each other from anywhere. Each recognition is a mini bonus that employees can redeem for hundreds of options once they rack up enough points. 

We recently asked Bonuslians (Bonusly employees) to tell us how they spend their Bonusly points. With a Reward Catalog with over 600 brands globally and more than 40 donation options, we knew we’d hear creative redemption stories and the Bonusly team delivered. Without further ado, here’s a peek behind the Bonusly curtain at how some of the Bonusly team likes to use their Bonusly points. 

Pets 

Adopting a new puppy can cost hundreds of dollars, buying one, even more. The experience of owning a furry friend? Priceless! 

• Betty and Amber from the customer success team used their Bonusly points to purchase the ultimate reward...their dogs. How? They cashed out their Bonusly points for PayPal dollars and used those funds to cover puppy costs. That’s pawsitively amazing, if you ask us.

Gifts

This next category is all about brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of Bonusly employees’ favorite things! 

• Andrea from the marketing team has a swoon-worthy Bonusly redemption story: “I wanted to surprise my husband with something nice after he did some projects around the house. I noticed that he needed a new winter jacket and I found one at Macy's, but it was way over what I had budgeted. While in the store, I was trying to justify the price tag and then it hit me to redeem some of my Bonusly points to cover the extra amount. I was able to redeem points for a Macy's gift card from the Bonusly app at the store so my husband could have a nice gift and I didn't have to break the bank.” 
• Like Andrea, Daniel from the engineering team loves using his points to give gift cards to friends and family for birthdays or just for fun! 
• Rachael from the sales team brightens her daughters’ days with holiday gifts funded by Bonusly points. 💝
• David from the sales team used his Bonusly points for a Top Golf gift card to take out his buddies for their birthday. Points well spent, David! That’s a hole in one, if you ask us.

Donations

Did you know: Bonusly users have collectively donated more than a million dollars (and counting) using Bonusly’s platform? Bonusly users can use their points to donate to over 40 organizations doing great work in their communities. We can speak from experience that giving small (or big) donations regularly and visibly gives us warm and fuzzy feelings. 

• Here’s some philanthropic motivation from Traci on the engineering team. Traci uses her points to support others by donating them at the beginning of each month to charities like Black Girls Code, The Trevor Project, and many more! That’s the spirit, Traci! 💚 #GreatWorkSupportsGreatWork

Vacations

Having a clear line between work time and playtime can help employees perform better at work and aid in motivation. These Bonuslians are using points to help fuel their time off.

• Sara on the customer success team is delivering on vacation inspo. Sara saves her Bonusly points until she goes on a vacation and then cashes out with PayPal for some extra vacation spending cash! 🌴💵 Sounds like love at first flight to us. ✈️
• Similarly, Vanessa from the marketing team (and author of this blog) recently used Bonusly points to purchase Airbnb gift cards to go on a winter retreat. She thought it was time to break out the snow shoes and puzzles and we couldn’t agree more! 

If you’re curious about more experiential reward ideas, we have those too! 

Adventure Gear

Even though we’re a remote-first organization, Bonusly is headquartered in Boulder, CO. Many members of the Bonusly team enjoy the 300 days of sunshine per year that Colorado has to offer. Here’s how folks use Bonusly points to fuel their alfresco adventures. 

• Number one on the list is all about….socks! Laura on the marketing team regularly redeems her points for REI gift cards so she can get her hands (well, feet) on her favorite Darn Tough socks. May your feet be warm and your points be plentiful, Laura! 🧦
• Brad of the design team shares a product he recently bought with Bonusly points. Here’s what Brad said: “I do most of my trips by foot or bike, and often need directions and also like to listen to podcasts. Unfortunately, listening to normal headphones or looking at your phone on a bike is a little dangerous around traffic—so my first Bonusly point splurge was towards a pair of open ear (AfterShokz) headphones from REI. Now I can hear the cars coming.” Points well spent, Brad! 🎧

WFH Comfort 

Bonusly employees have been working partly or fully remote since March of 2020. In addition to noise canceling headphones and lumbar support pillows, we’re all craving some comfy work clothes like Bonnie from the sales team. 

• Bonnie from the sales team used Bonusly points for a mini birthday shopping spree at Athleta to buy herself some deluxe athleisure wear to hunker down for another winter of WFH. Beyond comfy clothes, which are essential, we have many, many more ideas for how to optimize hybrid work in this guide. 

Gaming

When the Bonusly team isn’t working, you might very well find them gaming. That’s definitely true for Albert and Helen from the marketing team. 

• Albert and Helen from the marketing team use their Bonusly points to get their game on. Albert recently bought Age of Empires 2 on the Steam Store (via Paypal). He plays regularly with a few folks he met at Bonusly. Helen saved up and bought a Playstation 5 with her points. Game on, Albert and Helen! 🎮 

If all of these reward ideas have you feeling excited about Bonusly, we get that. We recommend you connect with one of our employee recognition and rewards experts by scheduling a call. 

Do you already use Bonusly? Tell us your favorite way you’ve used Bonusly points in the comments.