Consumers Union (CU) filed a petition with the FTC Thursday to protect consumer gift card holders more when retailers go bankrupt. For as long as the stores remain open, CU wants companies to have to hold gift card funds in a secure trust, unless bankruptcy courts say otherwise. Currently…
gift cards
Morning Deals
By 9.11.08
- Apple: Refurbished iPod touches on sale, 8GB for $180, 16GB for $240, 32GB for $320
- Amazon: Rewards points upgrade for existing Amazon.com Visa holders
- Apple: Free Select iTunes TV Shows in HD (requires iTunes 8
Highlights From Dealnews
- Travelocity: United Airlines Sale: Round-trip flights from $108
- Amazon.com: Amazon.com Men’s Watch Deals: Timex, Marc Ecko, more from $40 + free shipping
- Sears: Seven7 Women’s Jeans for $18 + $6 s&h, more
Highlights From Buxr
- Budget Truck Rental: $50 Gift card when paying w/American Express
- Reverie: T-Shirt Sale: Buy 1 TEE get 1 free TEE
- BestBuy: Westinghouse 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV and portable DVD Player for $749.99 + shipping
Highlights From Dealhack
- Drugstore.com: New Customers: Save $5 or $10 off First Order
- Vann’s: Panasonic FZ28 10.2MP Digital Camera $340 Shipped
- Amazon: Get Savings of up to 75% off Bargain Books
Target Has 79-Year-Old Taken In For Mental Evaluation After She Demanded Cash Refund
By 8.14.08
79-year-old Christina Brown had a sales receipt and bank records showing that Target had taken cash from her bank account, but the retailer refused to give her a cash refund — offering a gift certificate instead. Christina refused. She wanted her money, and said she’d stay at the Target all day if she had to, but she wasn’t leaving without $30. Target told her she was trespassing and that they would call the police. Christina said that was fine with her and called 9-1-1 herself. When the police arrived, Target had Ms. Brown hauled out of the store on a stretcher and taken via ambulance to a hospital for a mental evaluation. Does wanting a cash refund mean you’re potentially mentally ill?
Rival Restaurants Say They Will Accept Bennigan's Gift Cards
By 8.7.08
Texas Roadhouse says that it will accept now-defunct Bennigan’s gift cards, even though the chain’s parent company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. We’re not sure if this offer applies to all Texas Roadhouse locations, so you’ll want to call first and confirm. The offer ends August 30th.
Help! Macy's Gave Us An "Invalid" $120 Gift Card
By 7.21.08
Nate and Ashley got some duplicate gifts from Macy’s and attempted to exchange them for store credit. The trouble is, when they tried to spend the gift card they’d be given — they found out that it had never been validated. They’re pretty much resigned to the fact that they’re not getting the $120 in store credit back, but they’d like to let Macy’s know that they were treated very rudely by several employees.
Best Buy Agrees To Hand Over $100 Gift Card That Manager Denied
By 6.17.08
A few days ago we reported that Cliff didn’t receive a $100 gift card when he purchased a PS3 bundle from Best Buy, despite an unpublicized corporate memo that seemed to say otherwise. The manager at Cliff’s Best Buy said “You can buy any other PlayStation and you can get the gift card, but not on that one.” This didn’t match up with what others were reporting, so Cliff sent an email blast to the executive level asking why the offer wasn’t honored. Yesterday a Best Buy rep called Cliff and said that they’d be mailing him a $100 gift card. We’re impressed the Best Buy resolved this so quickly.
Best Buy Responds (Partially) To $100 Gift Card Story
By 6.15.08
When Cliff sent us his story about the denied $100 gift card from Best Buy, he also sent it to over a dozen addresses at Best Buy HQ. A few hours ago we got this email cc’ed to us from a VP of Executive Customer Care:
Best Buy Ignores Internal Memo, Doesn't Honor $100 Gift Card Promo On Metal Gear Solid Bundle
By 6.14.08
According to this conversation over at the SlickDeals forum, Wal-Mart was offering a $100 gift card with any Blu-ray player purchase, including the PS3—and Best Buy Corporate issued a memo saying they would match Wal-Mart’s deal and offer $100 gift cards as well. Cliff tried to take advantage of this unadvertised special when he purchased a Metal Gear Solid PS3 bundle a couple of days ago, but the manager of the store refused, saying the bundle was off-limits: “You can buy any other Playstation and you can get the gift card, but not on that one.” Oddly, though, other members of SlickDeals were reporting success with the very same bundle around the country.
Why Would Anyone Bid $55 For A $50 Target Gift Card?!
By 6.8.08
The ever-thoughtful economists over at Freakonomics are stumped by eBay member lpinok, who bid $55.71 for a $50 Target gift card.
Apple Escorts You From The Store For Trying To Purchase An iPhone With Cash
By 5.12.08
As loyal readers already know, Apple doesn’t accept cash for the iPhone — a policy they say is designed to discourage resellers from getting their grubby little hands on the precious cellphone. This policy does have a tendency to backfire every now and then when a legitimate customer wants to purchase an iPhone with cash. Meet Alex Palen– he was refused an iPhone because he doesn’t have a credit or debit card and was escorted from the store when he asked another customer to accept cash in exchange for charging the phone to their card.
"Dell Is Chasing Me Into The Arms Of Steve Jobs"
By 5.9.08
Reader Julia writes in to say that Dell owes her a $70 gift card and when she didn’t get it they simply told her “too bad.” She’s wondering if any other Dell customers were similarly “cheated.” She sent an EECB to Dell and a quick summary of her problem to us:
Trends: Kroger Offers You A Bonus If You Put Your Stimulus Check On A Gift Card
By 4.17.08
Kroger is getting into the stimulus bonus action! Unwilling to be outdone by Sears, Kroger is offering a bonus if you put your stimulus check on a Kroger gift card. They have Kroger gift cards? My what a sexy gift. Honey, you shouldn’t have.
Sears Offers 10% Bonus To People Who Convert Stimulus Checks Into Gift Cards
By 4.16.08
Sears is pretty desperate for that stimulus check money. They’re offering a 10% bonus to anyone who converts their stimulus check into a Sears Gift Card.
Retail Bankruptcies Threaten To Wreck Economy, Empty Your Local Mall
By 4.15.08
As the cost of food and gas begin to crowd out other expenses, and access to credit is limited by the mortgage meltdown, a “widening wave of bankruptcies in American retailing” is threatening the economy, says the NYT.
On The Radio, FiOS Free TV Promotion Changed To Free Gift Cards
By 3.17.08
Further distancing itself from its problematic free TV promotion (which for some customer has so far been lacking in free TVs), a reader in the Bronx reports that Verizon FiOS triple-play bundle ads on the radio are now offering $200 gift cards for Circuit City. As previously noted, the TV ads are now touting free Samsung digital cameras.
UPDATE: Apple Will Sell You A Computer If You've Got Too Many Gift Cards
By 3.13.08
Here we go again! Rhys wrote back let us know that Apple says that its system can handle 7 gift cards in one transaction. It just took a little effort.
Apple Still Won't Sell You A Computer Because You've Got Too Many Gift Cards
By 3.11.08
Yes. You can use up to six cards when making a purchase at a retail Apple Store and up to four cards at the online Apple Store
That’s too bad for reader Rhys. Rhys, like Charlie, has 7 gift cards and no access to the Apple Store.
Brookstone Will Let You Use Your Sharper Image Gift Card As A 25% Off Coupon
By 3.11.08
Brookstone says they will accept your Sharper Image Gift Card. Sort of.
