The gift of flight turned into a nightmare for a California woman when the Southwest Airlines gift card she purchased for her daughter was mysteriously canceled without notice, and then the funds vanished into thin air. [More]
gift card
Target Jumps On Gift Card Exchange Bandwagon; Offers Customers Less Than Cards Are Worth
By 12.28.15
With the bulk of the holiday celebrations having come and gone, you might be sitting around the dried-out Christmas tree counting up all those random gift cards you received. While you appreciate the generosity of your friends and family, you just don’t have any desire to make a purchase with said cards. To that end, a number of retailers are willing to offer you a trade; joining the ranks of Walmart, GameStop, and Coinstar this year is Target. [More]
Why Can't I Use Staples Gift Cards On Staples.com?
By 1.6.09
It’s a simple question, and a little shocking that we have to ask it. I mean, it’s not like Staples specializes in technology or anything. Our tipster was shocked himself when he discovered this curious fact. His full story, inside.
KB Toys Giftcards Will No Longer Be Taken After Tomorrow
By 12.31.08
According to an Anonymous insider from KB Toys, all locations of the bankrupt toy store will stop accepting gift cards starting January 1st, 2009. Run, Consumerists! Your Time is short!
Wendy's Annoying Gift Card Policy Keeps 'Em Coming Back
By 12.29.08
Lets start Monday off with some math: If I buy food totaling 20.84 from Wendy’s and pay with two fifteen dollar gift cards, how many gift cards should I have left? Puzzling answer inside.
Circuit City's "Advantage Protection Plan" Doesn't Live Up To The Sales Pitch
By 10.22.08
A reader signing off as “Sucker” wants to let the world know that Circuit City’s extended warranties/replacement plans aren’t living up to the sales pitch. When he bought his XBOX 360, the salesperson assured “Sucker” that if the XBOX broke (as they tend to) that instead of having to wait around for a replacement — he could get a refund in the form of a gift card. He accepted. Guess what didn’t happen?
Letter To Target About Incorrect Signage Results In Gift Card
By 11.15.07
Richard went to Target to purchase Call of Duty 4 and saw an offer for a free $5 gift card with purchase. When he inquired about the offer, the employees at Target said it was expired.
Amazon Fumbles Gift Card Order
By 3.4.07
Amazon failed to deliver a $75 gift card reader Michael purchased for a business associate in 2004. Michael was notified of the failure in 2006, and issued a claim code worth $75. When Michael tried to use the code, it came up as invalid. Michael called Amazon and went through three representatives before reaching a supervisor.
She eventually decided that the reason the claim code was not working was because Amazon had expired it after sending it to me, and there was nothing she could do. It didn’t matter that Amazon’s web site said that gift certificates sold to people in Massachusetts don’t expire. It didn’t matter that Massachusetts state law required that the gift certificate remain valid for a minimum of 7 years (or forever if it doesn’t clearly state an expiration date, which is what actually applies to this case). It didn’t matter that Amazon had never sent the gift certificate to the original intended recipient, it didn’t matter that Amazon had told me it was valid right before expiring it, what mattered was that the gift certificate had expired and so there was nothing that could be done.
The resolution, and Michael’s email, inside…
Apple's Website Has Conflicting Gift Card Policy
By 3.2.07
We recently posted a story in which an Apple customer was having difficulty buying an Apple computer with 8 gift cards that could not be combined or used together without visiting an Apple store 3 hours away, despite the fact that Apple’s website says there is no limit to the amount of gift cards that can be used when calling 1-800-MY-APPLE.
Gift Cards Are New Source of Scams
By 12.5.06
Thieves have been writing down the numbers of unused gift cards. Once the card has been activated, they take the numbers online and start shopping.
Don’t Do This: Best Buy Gift Card MP3 Player Can Be Returned
By 12.15.05
Reader “C” writes:
Suggestion: You mentioned that Best Buy was selling non-ipod MP3 players and offering a $50 gift card to boot. [We mentioned that here. -Ed.] I bought one and then found out the person I bought it for had just that day got one. So I returned it. Which left me with the $50 gift card. It puts me in a bit of an ethical bind as I’m not sure whether or not that’s stealing. But the less ethically challenged might want to think about doing that. Or that may be a bit beyond suggestions you are willing to make.
Yes. That’s going a bit far, even for us.
