The other day I was filling out a rebate form and it got me thinking. Rebates are a great way for companies to make people believe that they are getting a deal on a product. The reality from what I’ve read, is that most people don’t bother filling out rebate forms or fill them out incorrectly and don’t receive the rebate thereby making rebates just a marketing gimmick. Years ago, the minority of people that received rebates got checks that they could deposit.
At some point, companies decided to switch to prepaid gift cards that are more difficult to redeem. The gift cards expire within a few months and it is hard to use up the last few dollars of the cards since many vendors don’t do split payments across multiple payment types. After thinking about this for awhile (yes, I think about strange things), I came up with what I consider a brilliant solution. As a frequent Amazon shopper, I figured that I could just buy an Amazon gift card and apply it to my account. Amazon lets you purchase a gift card in any amount (not sure if it is whole dollars only) and then have it sent to yourself. Apply it to your account, it doesn’t expire, and there is no need to worry about spending the last bit of the card.
Next time you get one of those prepaid gift cards, go ahead and buy an Amazon gift card and either send it to me or apply it to your account! You’ll thank me for not having to deal with that piece of plastic for more than a few minutes.
I usually use the rebate cards at Walmart for groceries, most of the cashiers know how to enter the amount (even if it is 0.99) and then I use my debit card for the balance. I don’t let them cheat me.
Hi Bill,
Unfortunately it isn’t always that easy! I don’t shop at Walmart all that often and typically forget to bring the gift card whenever I leave the house (I keep the number of cards in my wallet to a minimum). In general I just don’t like rebates, but if one is offered I’m definitely going to cash in on it!