NATS PLUS membership program

[Mathguy]

For the Nationals office, selling full season plans (and letting the buyer get his own partners) is a lot easier than selling partial season plans

It frustrates me that benefits can't be based on the total a person spends with the Nationals, rather than being on the number of games in a single plan regardless of price or quantity.

I have one partial plan and have a partner share in another full plan, plus I purchase tickets a la carte, yet for my partial plan I now get screwed on benefits like exchange privileges.

[maxrum]

You are right about lack of resale values this year.

This year Nats started aggressively selling available inventory on StubHub. Several times I went on Nats website to get tickets for a game and when they showed me seat numbers I checked prices on StubHub  and the same seats were available there. After all fees ticket prices were equal to the SPHTIX code prices.

[Baseball is Life]

So, I got my renewal/postseason strip package in the mail today.

They are some greedy dirty cheatin' bastards.  They (correctly) break out how many games can be played:  1 Tiebreaker, 1 Wild Card, up to 3 NLDS, up to 4 NLCS, and up to 3WS.  On a separate sheet, they give the pricing for each section for each round, with separate prices for full/half season ticket holders versus partial plan holders.  All Ok so far.  There is an invoice for what you owe (which is the same as what you see when you click through the online process for purchasing your postseason strips).  When you work through the math, which you have all the info to do, guess what... they are charging for 4 WS games.  Even though they acknowledge there is no possibility of a fourth game actually being played at Nats Park.

Of course, we won't end up actually being charged for unplayed games, and the amount will be either credited against 2015 renewals, or if (and according to them, only if) you've already paid for 2015 in full, refunded.  So, they are so greedy for a few months of interest free loans from their fans, that they intentionally overcharge and bury that they're doing it.

I'm livid for now over how dirty and unnecessary it seems, but I really shouldn't be surprised at this point.

The way to work around them holding your money is to go on the installment plan where you pay once a month.

Option #2: 8 Month Grand Slam EZ Payment Plan (credit card only)*
Visit nationals.com/mytickets or click below to enroll. Your credit card will be charged 12.5% of your 2015 Season Plan balance upon enrollment. All subsequent 12.5% payments will be made on the first of each month of the closest Monday if the first falls on a weekend.

[machpost]

You can select one of two combinations, either Abe + George or Tom + Teddy, no other combinations.

That sucks. We have Teddy and George this season, the Saturday- and Sunday-heavy packages, respectively. If I can't get that combination, I guess I'll just scale it back to 20 games again and buy more tickets on StubHub, saving money in the process.

Claiming that they value their most loyal, longtime fans is a big joke. They value your money, and that's it. Loyalty plays absolutely no part in it. Customer service has been in decline over the past year, in terms of responsiveness to issues or questions that arise, which makes it clear that they don't really care about individual fans after they have your money.

[PowerBoater69]

For the Nationals office, selling full season plans (and letting the buyer get his own partners) is a lot easier than selling partial season plans

Good point.  A ticket rep told me a few years back that the Nats have an unusually high percentage of partial plan holders, likely due to the benefits being nearly as good as for full season plan holders.  Reducing the total number of plans without reducing total sales would allow the team to cut the sales staff.

[PowerBoater69]

It frustrates me that benefits can't be based on the total a person spends with the Nationals, rather than being on the number of games in a single plan regardless of price or quantity.

I have one partial plan and have a partner share in another full plan, plus I purchase tickets a la carte, yet for my partial plan I now get screwed on benefits like exchange privileges.

I'm in the same position, I have the cheapest possible partial plan in my name for the benefits but spend a lot of money on a share of a full season plan.  If they cut 21 game plan benefits there isn't much incentive to keep my own plan.   

[PowerBoater69]

Has anybody found online the 2014 postseason prices by round / section?  My invoice hasn't arrived yet and I am trying to let my partners know.

Also, anyone notice there is a new "dugout box premier" pricing group next year, seemingly the first few rows of 116, 117, 128, and 129.  $100 a seat.

It's different based on whether you have a partial plan or half/full.  What section are your seats in and I'll list the prices.

[CALSGR8]

My email to my ticket Rep.

I know it wasn't YOUR idea but this NATS PLUS program is really elitist!  You can't tell me that someone who just signs up for a full plan or Half season plan THIS YEAR is MORE of a fan than like My friend and I who have been Season Ticket Holders since the get-go (signed up in 2004) !!!!  There was a column in the Sports Bog how they aren't in it for the money!  LIARS!  Those Plans cost more!   So of course they are in it for the money!  Some of us can ill afford to go to that many games a year.  NO!  I don't want to manage having people on my account taking games and the whole draft and lottery and dividing points and such.  It's a major head ache.  Why don't they reward those who have been Season Ticket holders the longest, and then the number of games?!
 
BTW, is this NATS PLUS program REPLACING THE ACCESS and REWARDS SYSTEM?  Because if so, they are subtracting the number of games we can swap AND the amt off items in the store goes from 15% to 5?  Not in it for the money my Butt!
 
I thought Mr. Pfeffer was a bad CFO.  This next person is WORSE.  Mr Pfeffer was always concerned with age Demographics.  Dumb dumb doesn't know that BASEBALL IS AGELESS.  So you have to appeal to the Child and Older person as well as his 20-40 yr old DEMOGRAPHIC.  Like the Baseball Hall of Fame says; it's about Connecting Generations and not discounting one generation from another.
 
You know we asked someone with the Eastern Women's Baseball League why they don't hold an International tournament at NATS PARK?  I was told because the NATIONALS have a Reputation as "hard to work with".  Really?  Is this why they haven't announced the HOCKEY WINTER CLASSIC venue yet?  Because everyone says NATS PARK is the THE best place to hold it.  Everyone assumes it will be NATS PARK.  Yet I don't hear any announcement.  Why NOT?
 
Baseball is supposed to be for everybody!!!!  Why should we give MORE advantages to the Rich who never use their seats than those faithfull that rarely miss a game.
 
I'm sorry, but all this stuff has me ticked off!

[PowerBoater69]

Here's a gem:

This year partials in the lower RF terrace are $19 a seat.

Next year the entire terrace is off limits to new partial plans, and single game prices for the whole terrace are $12.

Current partial plan holders can renew their partial plans, but at $19, not $12.  So for the privilege of staying in a plan, I have to pay a 50% premium over the guy off the street sitting next to me.

In what reality does that make sense?

In addition to dropping the price to $12 a seat they increased the 400 level to $22 for single games, effectively moving a whole lot of people from the 400s over to right field.  My guess is that they want to concentrate concession sales for games with low attendance over to the area from the Shake Shack around to 222.

The cheapest plans are now $15 for a full season in the 400s, which can't be a big seller. Considering the low demand for weekday tickets I imagine that it will be a very good time to be a StubHub buyer next year.

[PowerBoater69]

My email to my ticket Rep.

I know it wasn't YOUR idea but this NATS PLUS program is really elitist!  You can't tell me that someone who just signs up for a full plan or Half season plan THIS YEAR is MORE of a fan than like My friend and I who have been Season Ticket Holders since the get-go (signed up in 2004) !!!!  There was a column in the Sports Bog how they aren't in it for the money!  LIARS!  Those Plans cost more!   So of course they are in it for the money!  Some of us can ill afford to go to that many games a year.  NO!  I don't want to manage having people on my account taking games and the whole draft and lottery and dividing points and such.  It's a major head ache.  Why don't they reward those who have been Season Ticket holders the longest, and then the number of games?!
 
BTW, is this NATS PLUS program REPLACING THE ACCESS and REWARDS SYSTEM?  Because if so, they are subtracting the number of games we can swap AND the amt off items in the store goes from 15% to 5?  Not in it for the money my Butt!
 
I thought Mr. Pfeffer was a bad CFO.  This next person is WORSE.  Mr Pfeffer was always concerned with age Demographics.  Dumb dumb doesn't know that BASEBALL IS AGELESS.  So you have to appeal to the Child and Older person as well as his 20-40 yr old DEMOGRAPHIC.  Like the Baseball Hall of Fame says; it's about Connecting Generations and not discounting one generation from another.
 
You know we asked someone with the Eastern Women's Baseball League why they don't hold an International tournament at NATS PARK?  I was told because the NATIONALS have a Reputation as "hard to work with".  Really?  Is this why they haven't announced the HOCKEY WINTER CLASSIC venue yet?  Because everyone says NATS PARK is the THE best place to hold it.  Everyone assumes it will be NATS PARK.  Yet I don't hear any announcement.  Why NOT?
 
Baseball is supposed to be for everybody!!!!  Why should we give MORE advantages to the Rich who never use their seats than those faithfull that rarely miss a game.
 
I'm sorry, but all this stuff has me ticked off!

Nice letter, you are right about the Winter Classic, the NHL is looking at alternate venues.

I wish they would get rid of all these stupid benefits and just offer the tickets at a reasonable price.  They are jacking up the prices for the seats behind the dugouts, pretty soon those will be half empty just like the embarrassment of the President's Club where it always looks on TV like there are hardly any fans in the park.

My favorite line from the renewal letter is the the Nats are enjoying "unprecedented success".  I know that Valerie is new, but all she has to do is look around Nats Park to see all the 2012 banners, I don't see anything unprecedented this season, in fact pitchers loosing 2-1 games seems like typical Nats baseball to me.

My other favorite line is "Our most passionate fans enable us to keep a competitive team on the field, provide a first-class game experience, and give back to the community. We recognize everything you do for us and now it's time to provide you with the status you deserve." Credited to Matt Williams? Matt Williams my ass. Maybe Matt Williams should be taking some management 101 courses instead of sitting in on marketing meetings worrying about season ticket holder's status.

[djnrook]

It's different based on whether you have a partial plan or half/full.  What section are your seats in and I'll list the prices.

Thanks.  Full season dugout box, but no worries - I sent the email to my folks and just gave them the total.  We'll all pay half and reconcile after we pick games in September. 

[PowerBoater69]

Thanks.  Full season dugout box, but no worries - I sent the email to my folks and just gave them the total.  We'll all pay half and reconcile after we pick games in September. 

$70 for tie-breaker; $125 for wild card and NLDS; $175 for NLCS; and $275 WS

[djnrook]

Thank you kind sir.   I too can confirm we were charged for 4 World Series games.   

Also emailed my ticket rep and got an immediate response.  Dugout box premier is first 5 rows of 128 and 129 (and the first five rows of the two sections on the visitors side too)

[Baseball is Life]

Thanks.  Full season dugout box, but no worries - I sent the email to my folks and just gave them the total.  We'll all pay half and reconcile after we pick games in September. 

I am going to get the cost for each PS game game, hold a draft before Sept. 5, and each partner will pay for what they draft.

[varoadking]

Why should we give MORE advantages to the Rich...

Is this really a question? 

[Baseball is Life]

Is this really a question? 

This capitalism thing is really a difficult concept for some.

[Mathguy]

I think her point is valid here - the Nats need a broad population base from all social-economic classes to fill seats for 81 games.  This isn't the NFL or even the NBA, in terms of marketing strategy

Is this really a question? 

[varoadking]

I think her point is valid here - the Nats need a broad population base from all social-economic classes to fill seats for 81 games.  This isn't the NFL or even the NBA, in terms of marketing strategy

Pay more...get more.  It's not rocket science...

[PowerBoater69]

Thank you kind sir.   I too can confirm we were charged for 4 World Series games.   

I was told that the computers were programmed before the All Star Game and that they weren't able to change them. The sales staff seemed embarrassed by the charge and didn't manage to appear convinced that they had any faith in the company line on that one.

[PowerBoater69]

Is this why they haven't announced the HOCKEY WINTER CLASSIC venue yet?  Because everyone says NATS PARK is the THE best place to hold it.  Everyone assumes it will be NATS PARK.  Yet I don't hear any announcement.  Why NOT?

I was told that the Winter Classic will be at Nats Park but that after Caps, Wizards, and Mystics plan holders there won't be any tix left for the Nats.

[Baseball is Life]

I got post season prices from my ticket rep at the park. Infield Club prices are $55 for the tiebreaker, $80 for the WC and NLDS, $140 for the NLCS, and $275 for the WS. I have two tickets here on a full plan.

For my baselines box seats, prices are $50 for the tiebreaker, $75 for the wild card and NLDS, $110 for the NLCS, and $225 for the WS. I have four tix here on a full plan.

I'm going to buy the strips for all my seats (6 total) and use the 50/50 payment plan. You pay half when you purchase and half if they they advance to the NLCS. Games not played will be credited toward my 2015 plan. That works just fine because I pay using the monthly installment plan. The credit will kick in way before I'm paid up. The whole extra WS game won't be an issue.

[PowerBoater69]

Here's a gem:

This year partials in the lower RF terrace are $19 a seat.

Next year the entire terrace is off limits to new partial plans, and single game prices for the whole terrace are $12.

Current partial plan holders can renew their partial plans, but at $19, not $12.  So for the privilege of staying in a plan, I have to pay a 50% premium over the guy off the street sitting next to me.

In what reality does that make sense?

They are not allowing any new plans in the RF Terrace, that section will be used for group sales.  Single game tickets will start at $12 with variable pricing based on the game.

[Baseball is Life]

I have two full season plans (one with 4 tix and one with two tix) and I'm trying to figure out how to best distribute postseason tickets. I was going to do a draft head of time and get people to pay right away but it's hard to do without knowing which games are actually going to be played based on seeding.

The four ticket plan has 10 partners and the two ticket plan has eight partners.

The goal is to distribute tickets fairly but I also want to make sure I don't end up having to put any huge money out of my own pocket. My strips for four ticket plan will be $7690 and the two tickets strips will be $4070.

All ideas are appreciated.

[CALSGR8]

I talked with my Rep last night.  It is NOT replacing the Red Carpet rewards program. 

They have a lot of Partial Season ticket holders.  They are trying to attract 1/2 and full.  Fine, but don't denegrate the season ticket holders that you already have!

[rbw5t]

I'm trying to compare 2015 season ticket pricing to 2014, but the team has taken down the 2014 info from the website. Does anyone have it?  Specifically, I'm interested what Infield Box, which will be $55 for a full and $70 for a half, cost in 2014. A chart would be even better though, bc I'm interested in seeing what changed and where.

Thanks!