TWA Rewards Terms

These terms govern TWA Rewards, the reader rewards programme run by The Waikato Advocate. By joining TWA Rewards you agree to these terms, alongside our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Notice.

Joining and your account

TWA Rewards is free to join. You sign in with your Google account — the same account you use for comments — and a rewards account is created for you automatically. You must provide accurate account details and keep your sign-in credentials confidential. One rewards account per person; duplicate or fake accounts may be removed and their tokens forfeited.

How tokens are earned

Tokens are earned through genuine engagement with The Waikato Advocate:

• Daily visit — tokens for visiting the site each calendar day (once per day).
• Reading stories — tokens for reading articles, up to a daily limit.
• Completing the quiz — tokens for finishing the front-page quiz (once per day).
• Voting in polls — tokens for voting in reader polls, up to a daily limit.
• Referring friends — tokens when a friend signs in through your personal referral link, up to a daily limit.
• Subscribing to email updates — a one-time token award when you join our email list with your sign-in address.
• Following us on Facebook or Instagram — a one-time token award per network when you follow our page and confirm it on the Rewards page. We cannot check follows automatically, so this runs on trust — abuse is covered by the fair-play rules below.
• Writing a letter to the editor — tokens when a letter you submit through the Rewards page is approved by our staff. Letters must be your own words about something you genuinely care about; approval is at the newsroom's discretion and declined letters earn no tokens.
• Publishing a classified ad — tokens for each paid classified ad published under your sign-in email address, verified automatically.
• Gifting a koha — a one-time token award when you support our kaupapa with a koha and confirm it on the Rewards page. Koha payments are handled on a separate secure page, so this runs on trust under the fair-play rules.
• Following The Ngāmotu Advocate — a one-time token award when you like our sister site's Facebook page and confirm it on the Rewards page.

The current token values and daily limits are shown on the Rewards page under "How to earn tokens" and may change from time to time. Each earning action is recorded once per uniqueness window (for example, once per article, once per poll, once per day) — repeating the same action does not earn additional tokens. Tokens are credited by our systems after the action is verified; automated, scripted or otherwise artificial activity does not earn tokens and may result in removal from the programme.

Your membership card and tiers

Every member gets a virtual TWA Rewards card showing their name, join date and membership tier. Tiers are based on the total tokens you've ever earned: Rewards Starter from day one, Rewards Silver at 250 lifetime tokens and Rewards Gold at 1,000. Spending tokens on prize draws never lowers your tier. You can add a photo to your card — it's stored privately and only shown to you — and save an image of the card to your phone. We plan to offer savings and specials with local retailers for card holders; any such offers will be described on the Rewards page when they launch, and retailers may ask to see your card image as proof of membership.

What tokens are — and are not

Tokens have no cash value, cannot be bought, sold, traded or transferred between members, and cannot be exchanged for money. They are not a financial product, gift card or stored value. Tokens can only be used to enter prize draws offered through TWA Rewards. We may adjust balances to correct errors or reverse tokens earned through abuse.

How prize draws work

• Prize draws open from time to time and are shown on the Rewards page with the prize, entry cost in tokens and closing date.
• Entering a draw spends the stated number of tokens from your balance. Entry costs are not refunded, including if you do not win.
• Each draw closes at the date and time shown; entries after closing are not accepted.
• Winners are drawn at random from all eligible entries after the draw closes. The draw is conducted by The Waikato Advocate staff and recorded in our audit log.
• Winners are contacted through the email address associated with their sign-in account. If a winner cannot be contacted or does not respond within 14 days, we may redraw.
• Some draws include consolation ("you were close") prizes of bonus tokens, credited to the winners' balances for use toward future draws.
• Prizes are as described in each draw and are not exchangeable for cash unless stated. Staff of The Waikato Advocate and their immediate households are not eligible to win.

Fair play

We may suspend or remove accounts, cancel entries and forfeit tokens where we reasonably believe there has been fraud, abuse, use of bots or scripts, multiple accounts, or any attempt to manipulate the programme or a draw. Our decision on these matters is final.

Your data and leaving the programme

We store your token balance, activity history and referral information to operate the programme, as described in our Privacy Notice. You can delete your rewards account at any time from the Rewards page; this permanently removes your balance and history and cannot be undone. Deleting your rewards account does not delete your sign-in account or comments.

Changes and contact

We may change, suspend or end TWA Rewards, these terms, token values or any draw at any time; material changes will be signalled on the Rewards page. New Zealand law applies. Questions about the programme: news@waikatoadvocate.co.nz.