We initially reported that people with RadioShack gift cards would have to use them up by March 5 or lose the entire balance. Great news if you happen to have found one buried in the far corner of your junk drawer: RadioShack has extended the period that they’re accepting gift cards to March 31. [More]
gift cards
Police: Former Amazon Employee Siphoned Off $18,000 In Gift Card Balances
By 3.9.15
When you send someone a gift card, you do so under the assumption that no one with access to the card has been draining any of the balance. That’s what we assume when having a card sent to the recipient, or when mailing it ourselves: why check to make sure the whole balance is there? Police say that a woman fulfilling Amazon gift card orders took advantage of this for a few years, draining $18,000 in Amazon gift card balances to her own cards. [More]
Use Your RadioShack And Deb Gift Cards Right Now
By 3.2.15
Do you have gift cards lingering in your wallet from RadioShack or Deb? If so, put down the device you’re reading this post on and head over to the store right now to spend that card. That’s only slightly hyperbolic, but card holders will need to get to RadioShack before March 5 and to Deb before March 8 to cash in their cards before they’re worthless. [More]
Restaurant Bonus Gift Card Promotions Mean Discounted Meals
By 1.30.15
Sure, gift card bonus deals are meant to induce you to buy even more gift cards, maybe keeping the smaller one for yourself. While giving gift cards can be problematic, In the case of a restaurant or store that you already plan to visit or visit regularly, gift card deals area a great way to take advantage of these promotions. [More]
Walmart Offers Gift Card Trade-In Program If You Don’t Mind Getting Less Than The Card Is Worth
By 12.29.14
Although consumers were warned several times this year that gift cards might not be the best option when buying something for their loved ones, some likely continued buying the plastic cards as gifts. If you found yourself on the receiving end of a not-so-wanted or needed gift card, you now have the option to trade it in for a Walmart gift card – and a couple of big catches. [More]
Reminder: Don’t Buy Gift Cards From People Standing Outside Walmart
By 12.19.14
With just a few days remaining to finish your holiday shopping, you might feel compelled to buy a gift card and call it good. While that gifting idea might be suited for your needs, authorities are reminding consumers that you shouldn’t purchase the cards from a stranger standing outside a retailer — or a stranger walking around anywhere shilling gift cards, for that matter.
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Rite Aid Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit Claiming It Used Gift Cards To Lure Pharmacy Customers
By 12.4.14
The feds say they’ve settled a lawsuit against pharmacy chain Rite Aid filed by a whistleblower who claimed the company used gift cards to lure Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to switch their prescriptIons in a bid to gain business. [More]
Subway Franchisee Sentenced For Hacking Registers, Stealing $40K In Gift Cards
By 11.25.14
A former Subway franchise owner was sentenced to 18 months in jail for his part in remotely hacking the restaurants’ computer systems in order to obtain more than $40,000 in gift cards. [More]
Why You Should Rethink Buying Gift Cards This Year
By 11.21.14
Giving people gift cards has many advantages: you can take a loved one out to dinner from hundreds or thousands of miles away, or you can buy someone new clothes or shoes without guessing at their size. However, gift cards and prepaid debit cards aren’t always the one-size-fits-all gift option that they seem to be, since they can have some serious drawbacks. [More]
GM Using $25 Gift Cards As Incentive For Consumers To Get Their Recalled Vehicles Fixed
By 11.5.14
General Motors’ social media campaign to coax consumers to fix their recalled vehicles doesn’t appear to be getting the job done. With just about half of the 2.4 million vehicles recalled for an ignition switch defect having been fixed, the car manufacturer has turned to dangling money in front of consumers to get the potentially dangerous cars off the road. [More]
Most People Don’t Really Want Gift Cards This Holiday Season
By 10.30.14
Every year, the super-consultants at Deloitte LLP ask people whether they’re interested in receiving and giving any gift cards this holiday season. We used to love the concept: Back in 2007, 69% of people said that they were interested in receiving the plastic cash replacers. This year, that number is down to 37%. [More]
Man Hacks Gift Card Database: Was It For Research, Or To Score Free Stuff?
By 8.1.14
Running out of funds on your store gift card is a total bummer. While most of us would just pay with our own cash or buy another gift card. For a Virginia man, there was another option: circumvent a computer database
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Trade In Your Unwanted Gift Cards To GameStop For A – You Guessed Right – GameStop Gift Card
By 7.21.14
Apparently, there are no shortage of unique business ideas over at GameStop. Earlier this year we reported that the retailer was operating as a sort-of bank, and now customers can trade-in their unwanted gift cards for one they actually want – you know, one to GameStop. [More]
Coinstar Wants To Cash In Your Gift Cards
By 5.1.14
Do you have any gift cards sitting around that you would rather turn into cash? Now that I’ve mentioned it, do you want those gift cards gone right now? Coinstar will be happy to make that happen for you at any of their more than 400 instant-gratification Coinstar Exchange kiosks. [More]
People Loaded $4 Billion On Starbucks Gift Cards Last Year
By 1.24.14
Starbucks announced its quarterly earnings information yesterday: revenues are up, and the company earned a profit of $540.7 million. One piece of information in the report caught our eye, though: $1.3 billion was loaded on Starbucks Cards in the last quarter of the year, with $4 billion in Star Bucks loaded on cards during the past year. [More]
The Gift Card I Bought At Walmart Is Blank. What Should I Do?
By 1.7.14
If you buy a prepaid debit card at Walmart as a gift and only receive a blank Starbucks card in return, who is responsible for getting you your money back? One family in California learned a very inconvenient lesson: customers who buy empty gift cards must go to the company that issued the gift card, not Walmart. [More]
Target Will Honor Gift Cards It Failed To Activate During Holiday Season
By 1.2.14
Hot on the heels of a massive data breach that compromised credit and debit card information for some 40 million U.S. customers, Target has confirmed reports that some gift cards sold during the recent holiday shopping season were not activated properly by the retailer. [More]
