I heard somebody mention adding xp, but IMO thats excessive. I didn't have any debt at the time either, but even if I did, that doesn't benefit everybody. And you're right about the free playtime...not much worth there.
There's really not much they can do about it, as compensation for our overwhelming boredom. Although, I'm thinking, a quest along with adding some story to it would be cool...maybe something like the Day (or however many it turns out to be)Time Was Lost (I'm not a writer here, forgive silly title :)), and a quest to find out what happened causing everyone to lose a day, and why.
Just a thought...material rewards would be insignificant if everyone got them, so story rewards would be fun.
Pooka