SanDisk rebates — the latest twist
In the latest slimy twist on the usual rebate hassles (see May 1 2007 entry), SanDisk rebates now arrive as a VISA debit card which you must sign and activate, along with the usual tiny print, and an expiration date only 4 months from issuance. This is an improvement over a check which can be deposited or turned into cash and spent at one’s leisure? No, the debit card is a deliberate move to benefit the issuer by making it harder to actually spend the full value of the card.
The fine print also gives SanDisk the right to collect and disclose information about you and your purchases under a variety of circumstances including to “our employees, auditors, affiliates, service providers or attorneys, as needed”. And the Feds, etc. Heck, anyone is an “affiliate” these days. So don’t use it for Governor Spitzer-like “services” guys and gals!
Try using the card at amazon.com—there’s no way I could find to “split” a transaction so as to empty the card of its full value ($90 in my case)! This is the goal of course—one can’t buy something for $90.01 with the card, so you buy something for $83.50 or $87.90, leaving the balance of the card unused, a balance small enough you simply won’t bother further, thus adding dollars to the bottom line of SanDisk (even a few dollars per card adds up to real money for SanDisk). Since the “S” guys are being prosecuted these days (Spitzer and Scruggs), can’t we do something nice along those lines for SanDisk?
The SanDisk rebate is now plastic
Update: reader Mary S reports having submitted rebates for three 4-GB SanDisk cards that should have yielded an $80 rebate for the 3 UPC symbols, but received only a $20 rebate (the amount for a single CF card):
The real surprise came when I attempted to call the rebate center, was directed to dial 0 for a customer service rep, and had the phone ring 3 or 4 times before being cut off. I attempted to call back 3 times today with the same result.
Mary, that’s no surprise! It is the way these rebate centers operate, based on my own experience (multiple times) and that of others who’ve written me.
Update 2: Reader Jim N offers these tips:
Local merchants know that you can use up to 3 Visa cards for a single purchase. The trick is to find a clerk who knows the "advanced" technique... This won't work at "big" stores, the clerks don't know how to do it... You still end up with a card with a small balance. I knew the balance left on the cards I had, so I went to Starbucks and asked "Please add $5.76 to my Starbucks card using this Visa card." I thus converted the expiring cards to something that doesn't expire.
