Useless rebate cards are a SCAM

Here is the list of merchants:

https://www.pointspot.com/index.aspx?SiteName=firestone

I was declined several times before I figured it out. If your
purchase amount is over $50 you have to pay the difference FIRST, then
when you have a $50 balance you can use the AMEX card.

I contacted Firestone and am going to contact the better business
bureau as well. the definition of a rebate is a return of a partial
payment for a service or merchandise. the return of our own
money.check it out yourself at dictionary.com for the definition of
REBATE. They have false advertising and it is misleading. if anyone
wants to file a class action law suit. I'm in on it. I'm extremely
angry that we can't use our own money wherever we want to and I
couldn't find which places I can use it at. The lady I spoke with from
the toll free # on the card said there was a list that came with the
card. I didn't see it. The lady from the card said it wasn't Firestone
but the people who were promoting the rebates that are telling us
where we can use the cards and they aren't dollars as we were lead to
believe. They are one dollar for every point. C.Hodge and no I am not
afraid of putting my name up here. My next message is going to The
BBB. Hope others will join me there.

They aren't a scam. Admittedly they are a game, and one that
consumers often don't find out the rules to until they go to play.

The old adage that there is no such thing as a free lunch is so very
true. Companies want to entice you to buy their products, but that
doesn't mean that they will make it easy by just dropping prices or
that they can't make the discount have a million strings attached. If
you want the cheap prices, sometimes it means doing a little more work
on your part, say by clipping coupons, using rebate programs like this
or maybe by utilizing credit card rewards programs.

Yes, it can mean you save lots of money, but the expectation that you
should just GET the money and not work for it isn't necessarily
realistic in this situation. Again, it's their game and you should
always make sure you understand all the rules before you get in the
middle of it with no recourse like this.

The reason I am writing this is not because its not an AMEX gift card.
thats FINE. The point I am trying to MAKE is that you can't use this
card like a credit card. Its not a card that can be used EVERYWHERE
amex is accepted, it can ONLY be used where firestone WANTS you to use
the card. Wal Mart takes AMEX and it was declined. Its very
frustrating when companies make it so purposely diificult to use your
rebate. Why can't they give you a REAL gift card and not these dumb
cards that can only be used at a handful of places? Its extremely
decieving. It says I get an American Express gift card on the rebate
form. Not an american express gift card that has so many limitations
on where you can use it that it makes it almost impossible to use
anywhere other than novelty stores where I don't shop.

out of curiosity... didn't the fine print of the rebate state that
the refund would be in the form of an amex card?


if it was stated in the fine print, it's not a scam.
it may not be what you like, but as long as they specifically stated
what form the refund would be in, then there's nothing scammish about
it.

AMEX Gift cards can be used anywhere AMEX is taken, but: They are
treated just like a credit card that cannot go over limit. If the card
is worth 50 dollars, a total of 50.01 will cause a decline, no
information is given to the cashier other than the decline message.
You have to tell the clerk that the card is only worth a certain
amount, most places can split the tender (part cash/part card) but not
all places have that ability.

By "select locations" they mean where AMEX is taken, they charge
higher interchange fees so many places dont take amex.

At the very least use it online and buy someone a gift. Least it will
save you money on that.

1800 flowers, banana republic, brookstone, pottery barn, and a bunch
other stupid places that I will never shop.

I would have to ask what the terms of the offer were.

If they advertised "$50 cash rebate" then that sounds like false
advertising. It is hard to believe that they would do that, as it
would doubtless result in consumer complaints.

Are you certain the terms of the offer were not available to you, and
that you didn't see them for some reason?

Perhaps some of those "other stupid places" carry an item you can use.