Gift Card Blog - ScripSmart

Announcing ScripSmart's Gold Gift Card Score Badge

I'm happy to announce a new badge color for gift cards on ScripSmart: Gold. In short, this new badge will be the highest rank possible for a gift card. Gift cards with Gift Card Scores of 90 or more will be awarded the Gold Gift Card Score Badge.

Before today:

After today:

In words, we've split up the old green badge classification to make room for the gold badge at the top. Gift cards scoring between 80-89 will still receive the a green badge. There has been no change to ScripSmart's scoring algorithm.

Why We Did It

Gold is synonymous with first place, crème de la crème or best of the best. When browsing ScripSmart for the best gift cards, it was easy for consumers to know green was the highest level possible because we frequently display a Gift Card Score Key; however, outside of ScripSmart, it's not as clear. After all, there's no comparison of colors and let's be honest, green is not synonymous with first place.

The original notion of ScripSmart's color scheme had more to do with the colors of a stoplight than anything else. Our goal remains making gift cards easy for consumers to understand and the new gold classification helps us achieve this goal.

There is also a big difference between a Gift Card Score of 80 and 99. Furthermore, it's helpful to identify those who are a cut above the rest. If a gift card scores in the 90's it's one of the most consumer friendly gift card products available and it's less likely to have any gotchas a consumer will encounter.

I also believe the new gold badge will help make it easier for merchant's to adopt and strive for a gold ranking. While not every gift card will every be a perfect 100, I believe ScripSmart's product reviews give gift card issuers important feedback as to how their program compares with others.

Gift Card Score Everywhere

In the end, your going to start seeing Gift Card Score in more places. It will help consumers make better decisions and, in turn, improve the gift card industry for both consumers and merchants.

Cinemak has been an early adopter of embracing their Gift Card Score. The Cinemark Gift Card is a terrific program. Earlier this year, they let other know if by placing their Gift Card Score directly on their website using a widget ScripSmart developed. It's a small snippet of code which always reflects their current Gift Card Score. It's something ScripSmart provides to gift card issuers listed on ScripSmart free of charge and I'd say it demonstrates a commitment to deliver a gift card program which is consumer friendly.

Bass Pro Shops has also been an early adopter of Gift Card Score. They're going to be the first to display their Gift Card Scores in-store at locations nation wide. Bass Pro Shops truly understands the importance of offering a consumer friendly program and by displaying their excellent Gift Card Scores, with their help ScripSmart in well on it's way to accomplishing our mission of making gift cards better.

eGift Cards On ScripSmart Are Now Easier To Spot

When most of see an egift card option for a gift card, we simple think it's the same as a regular plastic gift card, only delivered by email. However, it's rather common for a company's virtual offering to have  different terms and features when compared to it's plastic counterpart.

For example, the DSW eGift Card is not redeemable in-store however it's plastic counterpart the DSW Gift Card can be use both in-store and online. That's an important detail and something every person should know before making a purchase. The DSW is just one of many examples and as a result, ScripSmart scores 'gift cards' and 'egift cards' as separate products with seperate Gift Card Scores.

Up to this point, ScripSmart has simply labeled a traditional plastic gift cards a 'Gift Card' and electronically delivered gift cards an 'eGift Cards'. For example there is both an Amazon Gift Card vs an Amazon eGift Card. However, simply labeling the card type is not enough to distinguish between egift cards and traditional plastic gift card reviews while browsing of ScripSmart.

The fact is, most of us simply look at the image of the gift card. For example, if you were looking for at the Christmas gift card category in ScripSmart, you'd see both egift cards and traditional plastic gift cards displayed and most of the web page is covered by images of gift cards. 

The Solution

Moving forward, egift cards on ScripSmart will be identifiable by three traits:

1) An @ symbol will be placed on each gift card image. We're using the @ symbol because most egift card are delivered via email.

2)  The product image will have square corners and traditional plastic gift cards will have rounded corners. 

3) It will still carry the label 'eGift Card' or 'Gift Card' in the product's name.

Below is an example, you should be able to distinguish the difference, now just by looking at the image of the product.

Yes, the image on the left is an eGift Card.

Hopefully, this makes ScripSmart just a bit easier for you to use. If you have thoughts or suggestions on how to make ScripSmart better, simply contact us to share your thoughts!

Do you think this is a good change for ScripSmart?

Why State Gift Card Laws Still Matter

August 22, 2010 was a big day for gift cards. It was the effective date of the gift card provision contained within the Credit CARD Act of 2009. The new Federal Gift Card Laws provided enhanced protection for consumers and today is the one year anniversary of the changes.

One of the key aspects of the legislation was including bank-issued gift cards. These are gift cards with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover logos. State gift card laws do not apply to bank-issued gift cards and they were among the worst when it came to fees and expiration dates.

After federal laws went into effect, some companies discontinued their bank-issued gift card programs because they were no longer profitable. Others, altered their programs to be even more consumer friendly than the law requires. In the end, it was a mixed bag, but I see the changes as a positive for consumers and the gift card industry.

State Gift Card Laws Still Matter 

In the end, gift cards are popular as ever. While the federal gift card laws enhanced consumer protection, there are several states with laws exceeding consumer protection provided by those set by the federal government. In other words, state gift card laws still matter and consumers should be aware of their rights.

For example, Oregon Gift Card Law was recently changed to allow consumers to receive a cash refund if the gift card has been used once and the balance is less than $5.00. These changes will be effective January 1, 2012. 

Expect more changes to come in the area of cash back laws. It's something not covered under the federal gift card protections, so it's an obvious enhancement. Also, here is a list of states offering cash back requirements for gift cards.

Gift Card Cash Back Advice - 5 Tips For Getting Your Money

Recently, I received a note from a Washington consumer named Van. In short, Van was looking for a little help in getting cash back for his Olive Garden Gift Card.

He writes:

"I called Red Lobster in Vancouver, WA and was told that the restaurant’s policy is to never refund cash remaining on a gift card, even if only a few dollars. This seems to be in opposition to state law."

Note: Darden Restaurants, Inc. owns Red Lobster and the Olive Garden; the gift cards can be used at any Darden owned location.

Van is correct, Washington Gift Card Law clearly states a consumer can receive cash back for their gift card if the balance is less than $5.00 and the gift card has been used at least once. Keep in mind, Washington excludes some types of gift cards from it's law; namely bank-issued gift cards, gift cards donated to a charity and free loyalty/promotional cards. In other words, there is a chance he may not have been entitled to cash back it the card was given away for free as a promotion or fundraiser.

5 Tips To Get Your Cash

If you come across a merchant who is unwilling to provide cash back for your gift card when the law provides you the option, Here are five steps to take:

1. Find out if they are unaware of the law or if there is another reason why they are refusing to give you cash back.
2. Print out the portion of the section code which state's you are entitled to a cash refund.
3. Ask to speak to a manager and be polite to all the employees during the process.
4. Contact the company's corporate headquarters to report the violation and request resolution.
5. File a complaint with your state's attorney general if #1-4 yield no results.

Here is what Van did:

"I decided to call their Guest Relations’ 800 number. A person named Justin said he would contact their legal department to review the law and, if true, to contact its Washington restaurants so that the personnel will be better educated about the laws governing cash back if less than $5. With your help, I was able to give him the number of the law referenced."

And shortly, Van received a response from guest relations:

"We do apologize that our employees was not well informed about your ability to cash out gift cards with balances of $5 or less in the State of Washington. Please be assured that we did some training in this area with our Vancouver, WA team. You should have no issue doing this on your visit."

So, in the end, the Red Lobster location was unfamiliar with Washington's gift card laws. I can assure you this will not be the last time a company/location will be unfamiliar with state gift card laws. 

It's great to see Darden Restaurants take the appropriate actions: training the staff and getting Van some cash. Cheers to Van for taking the time to go about this the right way and helping Darden identify an area of imporvement; I think Darden owes Van a meal! :)

First Data Gift Card Study - 4 Interesting Points

In March 2011, First Data published their 2010 Consumer Insights Gift Card Survey Results. If you're involved in the gift card industry, this is a great study and a worthwhile read.

Below are four points I found interesting:

1. Gift Card Design Is Not A Huge Selling Point

This seems to counter the trend of merchant's offering several gift card designs to consumers. In fact, only 1/10 consumers said they would not buy the gift card if they did not like the design.

2. "Gift Card Malls" Gain In Popularity

While this was not a surprise, the rate at which gift card malls are increasing in popularity (while eating away at the merchant's direct sales channel) was more surprising to me. If the trends continue, gift card malls will be the preferred method for purchasing gift cards.

 

3. Number Of Gift Cards Received Increased

On average, consumers received 3.4 gift cards in 2010. That's up from 2009's number of 2.9 gift cards received. I expect this trend to continue given the fact merchants are utilizing gift cards to pay consumers for goods.

4. Consumers Tend To Redeem Their Gift Cards Within 6 Months

Using a gift card sooner than later is one of the simplest things consumers can do to be smart with gift cards. It's great to see most people are finding a way to redeem their gift cards within 6 months of receiving them. The bottom three colors of the graph below indicate those who redeem within 6 months.

Again, I highly recommend taking a look at the full study. There are a lot of great insights into the world of gift cards. Cheers to the folks at first data for putting this together.

Gift Card Advocate - A Must Read Gift Card Blog

Gift Card Advocate has quickly become one of my favorite resources for staying on top of the gift card landscape.

Not only do they offer a comprehensive list of helpful resources for buying and selling gift cards. They've also done research on the percentages you'll pay and revive for gift cards in the secondary market. But most of all, I enjoy the blog. From gift card scams to industry analysis, I appreciate the frequency and variety of posts.

For example, Gift Card Advocate recently offered an insightful analysis of the secondary gift card market. In his article, Peter states there is a shift in the perspective of retailers from hoarding the value of unused gift cards, towards helping customers redeem gift cards in order to increase sales and reduce the dollar amount of gift cards which are turned over to the state as unclaimed property. He also questions if the trend will continue to the extent of retailers buying back their own gift cards, effectively cutting out the a middleman.

Bottom line: if you're following the gift card industry, be sure to bookmark Gift Card Advocate. In fact, I like what Gift Card Advocate is doing so much, I've asked them if they are interested in a partnership.