Sc4Freak

I've found (by trying it) that VGCs and Staples gift cards don't earn bonus points at Staples when shopping via Shop through Chase. Are there any retailers that sell gift cards which earn bonus points via Shop through Chase?

tomasdev

I just realized I have this offer on my Chase Portal and I don't have an Ink.

It says not valid on gift cards, but do we have DPs on past experiences?

bigshooter

You won't get 5x points.

Mary2e

I have shopped via the UR portal as well as shop thru UA at Macy's and have always received points for my purchases. If I returned any items, points were deducted for the return, as expected. I generally returned to my local store. I did not shop there because they often don't have the items I want.

Anyway, The last I received any points via UR was in March, and in the usual manner - points applied and any returns deducted.

I have not received any points since despite making 3 fairly large purchases. I am certain I shopped via the portal and used my CSR. Chase confirmed that I entered the portal on the dates of the purchases.

Apparently Macy's has changed the T&C. It now includes this line

So now my purchases are ineligible - except for the last one which had no returns.

I also seem to not be getting the usual "you earned points through the UR portal" within a week or so of receiving my purchase. So I doubt I'll be getting the points for the most recent purchase without having to jump through hoops.

What a crappy policy... Some stores are not very large and the only way to get some items from Macy's is to shop online. Of course, if I return via mail and pay, the purchase would still be eligible.

I checked a few other department store merchants and it appears many of them have the same policy... Nordstrom, JC Penny, Saks. Eddie Bauer and Ralph Lauren also have the same policy. A few do not. That leads me to believe this is a Chase policy and not necessarily from the merchant.

mia

A way to check will be to see if these department stores have the same policies on other shopping portals.

Mary2e

I only checked UA for Macy's and they have the same terms as well. I didn't look at other merchants.

I think it's a Chase thing. Perhaps they have several different agreements & prices for appearing on the portal.

I did discover that Macy's now offers free returns if your purchase was over $99. Since all of mine are, I will be mailing back going forward.

FTNNBP

This appears to also be part of the terms for other mileage/points portals and Macys so it's not just limited to Chase.

"Any return, exchange or other adjustment made at a physical store location for an on-line purchase may result in your purchase being deemed ineligible."

- United MileagePlus Shopping
- Citi Bonus Cash Center
- Ebates
- Plenti
- Barclaycard Rewards

Mary2e

Hmmm.... I only checked Chase because I don't have any other cards.

But it seems to be pretty widespread and fairly recent.

Is it possible an outside company is managing these portals and making the agreements?

Happy

These portals are always managed by a 3rd party company, not the banks. You do not realize this?

Google Cartera Commerce - they are the big player in this field. Last I know it handles both AA and UA shopping portals. There are some major fiascos in the past when the airlines ran some promotions a few years back.

Mary2e

I actually never gave it much thought. I guess that's my bad.

But since this has to do with the T&C, I thought it had to do with the merchant and not the portal or it's operator.

serpens

Sorry I'm dense, but what is the difference between having the purchase be ineligible and having the points deducted when the item is returned? Are you saying future purchases are ineligible?

Mary2e

No, I'm saying the entire purchase, even the items that were kept, is ineligible if the some items are returned to the store.

If you mail them back, it continues to work the way it did - purchase credited and points deducted for any returns.

serpens

Thanks for clarifying that, Mary2e. That does suck.

What if you only bought one item per check-out? Then you could only return one item per purchase.

Appleman

Would a workaround be to buy each item separately through the Mall?

Mary2e

It could be, except many retailers offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount, so it would be counterproductive to pay shipping to get that single item... unless it was more than the free shipping requirement. I think for Macy's it's $99. For other retailers it's less.