Haven't tried combining them myself, but, I've heard AMEX will do it for you under certain conditions. For me it's been simple to deal with the remaining small balances since I got a bunch of the photo gift cards with various photo's of the 'little hawks' on them. Once they're down to a small balance, I just give them to family members for birthdays, Christmas and other such gifts. The small denomination GC's with photos on them given out last Christmas were a big hit.

Otherwise, I still think you can just ask whatever store you're at to run the cost up to the remaining value of the GC, then pay off the rest with another GC or CC.

Agree. It is one thing they lower the cashback. I don't mind that because it is their business decision and they can do whatever they see fit with their business model. I actually have not complained a word since the lowering of the CB. It is another thing that a representative comes here, talks BS, and wishes we all buy that idea. I am one of those who have casually taken my business away, and I am sure they don't care.

At one point, I jokingly told another FTer that we'd wait if GC.com reverts back to the old CB model after seeing the drastic decrease in its sales.... Or it may not care at all I gues...

Everyone needs to chill out. Mike it seems is here to clear some things up. He misspoke and everyone is jumping all over him. If you approach this the right way he might consider offering FT members a free shipping code as other sites have done. If you want to know who is to blame for this just look to the stars or in the mirror!

Care to offer an explanation why all of the rebate sites offering your gift cards all switched to flat, low-dollar incentives, all within a few weeks of each other?

The easiest way to deplete small amounts from cards is at gas stations. If you walk inside and ask them to authorize the exact amount remaining they are able to process the card in that amount, without the usual $75 hold from the pump

It isn't clearing anything up. The given explanation was misleading. Sure, BC or any other CB site can offer to pay whatever they choose, but they aren't going to pay more than what they're being paid. Just because BC could hypothetically offer a 700% rebate doesn't mean GC.com isn't actually controlling the available rebate by setting the wholesale rate.

All he had to say was that churning killed the deal, and everybody would understand.

As for deal killing, those who live in glass houses.....

Yah but have you noticed how Mike hushed right up after a LOT more people started chiming in with their thoughts on this whole thing? GC.com has been called out. It's simply not worth doing what we do on it any longer. So we must move on.

You just happen to be 100% wrong like most of your posts.

Perhaps we should all band together and tell not only GiftCards.com, but a whole slew of merchants and service providers, exactly what prices we'd like to see... and then give them a hard time, accusing them of being full of "BS", scam artists, etc., if they don't meet our demands. I can think of many places where I wish the prices were lower, and if they were, I'd shop there!

Mike said that the cash back sites determine how much to pay out, and he's absolutely correct. He didn't claim that they have no influence on how much commission they pay the cash back sites. Should they not be able to pay whatever they think is in their best interests without being accused of "BS"?

Definitely not worth it? To whom? Obviously to you, but is it possible that others might find it worthwhile to skip a trip to a store, make a few clicks and spend a few dollars, and meet a spending threshold on a credit card? You don't have to find value in something for others to.

Similar story here. While *you* and I presume many others no longer deem it "worth our time", there are plenty of people who do. Instead of complaining that GiftCards.com made a change that was probably *required* for them to remain profitable (and even if not, certainly their prerogative and probably a calculated move), why not help the OP by detailing some alternatives that are more appealing from the consumer side? If GC.com is so overpriced, it should be easy to find many competing businesses that will wisely step in and take their business by offering higher commissions - right? I'm guessing that no one in a similar line of business could remain profitable by paying out 3%+ cash back consistently, but if you feel otherwise, why not show us some places that do - or better yet, start your own competing company. @:-) Think how well you'd do by getting all the FTers to buy from you!

I typically take my GC's with $1 remaining to the grocery store. I go through self checkout and clear out a stack of $1 GC's before I put the remaining balance on my credit card. Seems to work well!

Hi Everyone,

I again appreciate all the responses, whether they be positive or negative.
I don't want to foster the idea that I'm playing anyone here for ignorant or stupid. This is certainly not the case. I'm aware that most everyone here is aware of how this cashback model works, and I'm not trying to be intentionally deceptive. I never stated that we didn�t change our referral structure, but our agreements with our partners and the revenue structure therein are proprietary, so I will concede that I have been intentionally vague at times. We did have the need to change this structure recently, which would naturally account for some cashback drop. Past this, I�m prohibited from providing more information.

I�m also well aware of the benefits the members of this forum receive by purchasing our products through our partner sites. My main reason for posting here is to convey the message that these steps were not taken to intentionally cut out or harm these types of relationships, but our cards were designed for customers looking to purchase gifts for others.

Again, I apologize to those of you who were negatively affected by these changes.

Thanks,

In other words, the new structure was something you deemed likely to enhance profitability. How dare you seek a profit from us!

(I'm kidding, but sadly, there are quite a few who actually think that way.)

The alternative to GiftCards is clearly your neighborhood chain supermarket (Safeway for me), drug store (CVS and Walgreens for me) combined with 5% quarterly bonus for Citi Dividend or Chase Freedom.

These store sell $500 cards with $4.95 fee - it is cheaper, faster and safer than GiftCards

To Mike at GiftCards:

• Thanks of responding, it worth something
• Your company made a business decision, we can appreciate this
• The manner which you made it with - without prior warning - raises the concerns (I mean that % cashback was still posted everywhere while you already switched to a flat one)
• You decided to charge $1.99 shipping fee for First Class mail shipping and you will not combine multiple shipping.
• Again, it's your choice - but sellers with such shipping policies would, for example, have a serious problems on Ebay
• Finally, your competitor (and a very large one) has lower fees/shipping than you now. If I were a business I would be gravely concerned at this point.

I believe I just used GiftCards.com and paid the same $4.95 fee you said the stores charge. The $1.99/card shipping was offset by the $2/card cash back, yielding the same total cost (actually, a cent less). I consider the quick online order easier, faster, and safer than going to a store, but you may feel differently.

Why on earth should they be expected to give prior warning about their price change, any more than an airline, burger joint, or hair salon would? You don't pay until you submit your order, and the charges are clearly laid out. Any incorrect cash back claims are the fault of the cash back provider, and you can and should hold them accountable.

Great Idea, I will even try that at Home Depot with self checkout.
I just placed a $5K order for Amex Gift Cards, 5.6% back Via Travelocity Amex and BigCrumbs. Will use them to buy Gold on Ebay with the Ebay cashback and Bigcrumbs, along with my Ebay gift cards that I have churned for months, Balance left over Amazon Payments. Bye Bye Gift Cards.com I Love FT!!!

JudyJFLA