After trying my luck by buying another $50 gift card to see if I got another 1000 bonus points (I didn't), I decided to to check with Kobo support to get clarity on why not. I waded through the help menu and after exhausting the usual obfuscatory options, I was STUNNED to discover that there's a listing of ACTUAL PHONE NUMBERS TO CALL!

Clearing up my issue by talking with someone was almost worth the disappointment of not getting a "free" 1000 points. Here are the Anglophone countries' numbers
Call Us
Canada / US : 1-800-368-5390
Australia : 1-800-612-739
New Zealand : 0-800-466-458
Ireland : 1-800-902-221
United Kingdom : 0-800-404-9511