The rebate has mated with the gift card to produce a super-strain of super-sucky rebates. By adopting the gift card’s”dormancy fee,” your rebate’s value now shrinks over time. In many cases it’s only a few months before it starts to lose value, reports The Red Tape Chronicles. Some cards will even ding you for an activation fee, or charge you for checking your balance.

So add “loses value quickly” to rebates other loveable attributes, like “hassle to complete”, “take forever to be paid,” and “are designed to encourage maximum breakage”.

What can you do? Spend the rebate card soon after you get it, or avoid rebated products all together. — FREE MONEY FINANCE

Watch Out for Leaky ‘Rebate Cards’ [MSNBC Red Tape Chronicles]
(Photo: Getty)

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