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: A Season of Mists

Gift Certificates & Connecticut

By Alan

Connecticut has a gift card law preventing gift cards and gift certificates purchased by shoppers in CT from expiring.

Two interesting things I learned about this today.

First, the law does not apply to bank cards such as gift credit cards issued by a bank or multi-store mall cards issued by a bank.

Second, the law does not apply to reward certificates.

Why was I curious? I found an old, expired reward certificate from my Amazon.com credit card. Even though the certificate says that the expiration date does not apply to CT, Amazon.com refused to accept it. When I e-mailed Amazon.com, they said to call up the bank. When I called the bank, I spoke with a Supervisor and was informed that the expiration date was valid (even with the exception on the certificate itself) and she claimed the law was inapplicable because the bank is based out of Delaware. I then called up the CT Department of Consumer Protection and learned the above points.

Oh well.

I s'pose I learned a third thing ? don't trust the exceptions listed in an Amazon.com reward certificate (or any reward certificate, for that matter).

Full post as published by A Season of Mists on October 12, 2007 (boomark / email).