BAMS Customer Rewards Program and BAMS Paw Program

One of the advantages to creating an account on the Bears Against MS Store website is that once you do so, you are automatically enrolled in both the BAMS Customer Rewards Program and our BAMS Paw Program.

Under the Customer Rewards Program, you will earn Reward Points for most purchases. The number of points to be awarded is shown on each bear's listing page below the bear's description as well as within the BAMS Paw Benefits / Reward Points tab. You can later redeem your earned points for free bears (you just pay shipping and sales tax if applicable). The number of points required for redemption is shown on each eligible bear's listing page within the BAMS Paw Benefits / Reward Points tab as well as near the "Add to Cart" button at the top of the page (the latter will only show if you are logged into your account).

Please note, when redeeming Reward Points for a free bear, the shipping charge will be based on the original adoption fee of the bear, even if the website figures you are paying zero and so calculates a lesser fee or no shipping charge at all. If you contact us ahead of check-out and let us know for which bear you are interested in redeeming your Reward Points, we can advise you ahead of time how to pay the correct amount at check-out. If you check out paying the incorrect shipping charge amount, we will invoice you later for any difference. Also, please note, there is no "free shipping" when Reward Points are used. Please see the Fine (Paw) Print below for more details.

If you are new to the BAMS Customer Rewards Program, you can ignore this paragraph and just continue reading below. However, if you were a Bears Against MS Customer Rewards Program member prior to September 11, 2021, please continue reading. The BAMS Paws that you used to receive for each adoption and which each had a certain value are being replaced by the Reward Points mentioned above. The value of any unused paws that you had at the time of the conversion to this new program have or will (depending on if you have already created an on-line account with us or not) be converted to Reward Points and added to your on-line account. These Reward Points are what you will now redeem for free bears. You will also continue to receive BAMS Paws but they no longer have any monetary value. Instead, they now provide added benefits which are listed below. This is just a brief explanation of the changes to our Customer Rewards Program but if, after reading the rest of the information on this page, you would like any further explanation or if you wish to know how the changes specifically affect your account, please feel free to contact us (using the link in the left side panel or you can email me at [email protected]),

The BAMS Paw Program is different (from the Customer Rewards Program) and BAMS Paws are awarded separately, one per paid eligible adoption. They provide added benefits such as:

After you have collected your first 5 BAMS Paws – You become a BAMS Cub and receive a “Congratulations” gift.

To make your birthday beary special, after you qualify as a BAMS Cub, any purchase made by your friends and family and delivered to you during the 2 weeks prior to your birthday can count towards your BAMS Paws (assuming the person making the purchase does not wish to earn the paws for themselves). You may also receive the Reward Points associated with the purchase but special billing needs to be arranged so the friend or family member should not check out without first contacting us and arranging for that special billing through a Customer Specific Special Order. If they check out without first contacting us, the Reward Points will automatically be awarded to their account (rather than yours) and cannot be reversed.

After you have collected your first 10 BAMS Paws – You become a BAMS Bruin and receive extra benefits.

As a BAMS Bruin, the deposit requirement for pre-ordering an Isabelle Collection bear is waived.

As a BAMS Bruin, you'll receive early notification of any special purchases made by Bears Against MS and offered in limited quantities to our collectors.

Once you become a BAMS Bruin, if you don’t have enough Reward Points to get a bear you want for free and wish to pay the difference, you can do so  You will need to contact us prior to completing the purchase to determine the amount you need to pay and to arrange for billing through a Customer Specific Special Order. In addition to the Reward Points you use being deducted from your account, 10 BAMS Paws will also be deducted from your account for each such purchase. So you can make this type of purchase no more than once every 10 paid adoptions. 

After you have earned a total of 100 BAMS Paws – You become a BAMS Silver Bruin and will receive bonus Reward Points on certain bears.

After you have earned a total of 200 BAMS Paws - You become a BAMS Golden Bruin and receive the ultimate benefits including reduced point redemption requirements on some bears and deep discount shipping rates on larger bears.

Depending on the number of BAMS Paws you have, there may be additional benefits offered such as free gifts or limited time special offers.

We maintain a database of all BAMS Paw Program members and the number of BAMS Paws each person has. If you wish to know how many BAMS Paws you have, please feel free to contact us (using the link in the left side panel).

The Fine (Paw) Print:

By joining our Customer Rewards Program and the BAMS Paw Program, you agree to receive email notifications from us and be added to our e-newsletter mailing list. While you can unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time, you MUST stay a subscriber to our e-newsletter mailing list to remain a BAMS Paw Program member. If you unsubscribe from our mailing list or change your email address and don't advise us of the change, your membership will automatically be cancelled.

BAMS Paws and Reward Points are not transferrable. On the other hand, they do not expire. There is no set time period during which points or paws must be earned or used. We want you to be able to adopt your bears as quickly or as gradually as fits your circumstances.

To qualify for BAMS Cub status, at least 3 of the 5 paws collected must be for the adoption of full size bears. To qualify for BAMS Bruin status, at least 7 of the 10 paws collected must be for the adoption of full size bears. (In other words, you can't just buy key chains or Travel Buddies to qualify.)

Currently BAMS Paws are only awarded for the adoption of Charlie Bears (at RRP), including the Plush Collection, the Bearhouse Collection, the Baby Safe Collection, the Alice's Bear Shop Collection, the Isabelle Collection, and the Minimo Collection, as well as Clemens Bears (at RRP) and Dean's Bears (at RRP). 

BAMS Paws are not awarded for adoptions when Reward Points are used. 

The "Thank You" gift that comes with all Charlie Bears, Clemens Bears and Dean's Bears is not included when Reward Points are used. 

When redeeming Reward Points, you are responsible for any sales tax, if applicable, on the regular price of the bear. 

Free Shipping is not available when Reward Points are used. If you contact us prior to check-out, we can advise you how to pay the appropriate shipping charge when you check-out. If you check out before contacting us and it shows free shipping at checkout, please note that you will be invoiced a separate shipping charge which will need to be paid before your order is processed.

If you are redeeming Reward Points for an item that normally has a flat rate shipping charge, since you are paying zero dollars for the item, unfortunately the website defaults to the lowest flat rate shipping charge which is $7.50 even if the item should have a $10 or $12.50 shipping charge. Again, if you contact us prior to check-out we can let you know how to pay the correct amount. If you check out before contacting us, you will be invoiced later for the additional charge which will need to be paid before your order is processed. 

Bears with discount pricing do not qualify for BAMS Paws or Rewards Points. Secondary market bears of all kinds, including Charlie Bears that were bought by us at retail, and Boyds Bears generally do not qualify for either program, with only a few exceptions. Some artist bears may qualify for BAMS Paws. If you are interested in a particular artist bear, you can contact us (using the link in the left side panel) to ask if that bear qualifies and if so under what basis.

eBay purchases do not qualify for BAMS Paws or Reward Points. While we may have a similar bear that is not listed on eBay, we are not able to sell any specific bear listed on eBay outside of eBay while the listing is current.

Quantities of any special purchases available may well be less than the number of BAMS Bruins receiving first notification, so allocation will still be on a first come, first served basis.

To remain a member of the BAMS Paw Program, we ask that you please notify us if you change any of your contact information (email, snail mail or telephone).

While we will try to notify all program members in advance of any changes to the BAMS Paw Program and/or the BAMS Customer Rewards Program, we reserve the right to change any benefits, terms and conditions by updating this page, without member notice.