A rebate card is a
debit card that provides funds promised by a business as a
rebate. They are often offered to those who make a specific purchase, or for
loyalty to a company by accumulating a certain amount of money or number of points worth of purchases from a particular company.
While some rebate cards are valid anywhere where a major
credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
is accepted, others can be used at a more limited number of locations, such as certain companies,
business types,
[ or localities, or at participating retailers.
]
Criticism of rebate cards
Rebate cards have been criticized for not offering consumers the full amount of their value. With many of them, it is impossible to know exactly how much is remaining on the card at the point of sale. A purchase for less than the amount remaining can be made with the card, but a purchase for even one penny above this amount will be declined. Very few stores will allow split-tender transactions (transactions in which the rebate card is used for part of the purchase, and some other form of payment for the remainder. Due to the likelihood of a purchase being equal to the remaining amount being so low, most consumers do not get every penny that can be found on a rebate card, and the companies offering them pocket the remainder.[http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/09/28/when-a-rebate-isnt-a-rebate-its-a-ripoff/?icid=main, htmlws-main, dl9, link4, http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F09%2F28%2Fwhen-a-rebate-isnt-a-rebate-its-a-ripoff%2F]
Rebate cards often have expiration dates, allowing very little time for consumers to use them.eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
, or Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark began the ...
, where consumers can receive cash or cash equivalents for their rebate cards.
Laws regarding rebate cards
Use of the term "rebate card" has been outlawed in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
See also
*Bait and switch
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, customers are "baited" by merchants' advertising products or services at a low price, but when customers visit the store, they discover that the ...
* Entrust Bankcard
* Frequent-flyer program
*Gift card
A gift card also known as gift certificate in North America, or gift voucher or gift token in the UK is a prepaid stored-value money card, usually issued by a retailer or bank, to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a parti ...
*Loyalty program
A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features and ...
References
{{Customer loyalty programs
Cashback and rebate
Customer loyalty programs
Debit cards