Kohls gift card updates

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Did you buy gift cards when Kohls.com accidentally allowed discount codes to be applied?  Are you thinking of buying Kohl’s gift cards (maybe to take advantage of the Amex Sync offer: spend $50, get $10 back)?  In either case, here are some things you need to know…

$100 limit

I’ve written before that beginning in mid-August, Kohls.com seemed to be flakey.  The net result is that, I believe you can still earn portal points or cash back when buying physical gift cards (but not e-gift cards), but you need to know this:

  • Physical gift card orders over $100 do not credit to portals correctly.  Some have reported getting around this by putting multiple gift cards of different types in their cart, but I don’t have any proof that this works.  My recommendation is to always limit your gift card orders to $100 or less.  If you plan to make multiple purchases, make sure to go through the portal each time.
  • If you do not get portal points or cash back, there’s nothing much you can do.  When portal terms say “not valid on gift cards” (as most do with Kohls), you may still earn portal points, but if things go wrong you’re very unlikely to get help from customer support.  Most portals are mostly reliable, but shopping through portals is always a gamble.  Many things can go wrong, both on your end and on theirs.  With orders that meet the terms & conditions you can often get help by contacting the portal’s support team.  With something like this, though, you’re stuck.
  • The ability to earn points / cash back from portals for gift card purchases can change at any time.  One reader recently reported via the Frequent Miler Laboratory that he didn’t get points when buying Kohl’s gift cards.  Has the deal died already?  Most likely this was just a glitch, but it is something to keep in mind when gambling on buying gift cards.

Kohl’s 30% off gift cards glitch: don’t use/gift those cards!

In early November, through my Quick Deals page, I posted “A gift card price mistake!”  At Kohls.com, it was possible that weekend to apply 15% to 30% off discount codes to holiday gift cards (normally, no discounts apply to gift card orders).  On Monday morning, Kohl’s promptly cancelled all of those orders.  Afterwards, though, most people received the gift cards in the mail anyway.  If this happened to you, there are a few things you need to know:

  • Gift cards from cancelled orders have zero balance.  Sure, the note with the card may say that it’s worth $100, but it is most likely actually empty.  Go to Kohls.com to verify the balance of these cards. Don’t send these as gifts!
  • If you used Kohl’s gift cards to buy these gift cards, call to get your credit back.  If you used a credit card to pay, the charge most likely never went through all the way.  If you used a Kohl’s gift card to pay (something that’s not usually possible, but was possible that weekend), that gift card probably was not re-credited.  Find the order number and call Kohl’s to get your credit back.
  • If you went through an online portal to place these orders…  Congratulations.  Enough said.

30% off for Kohl’s cardholders: December 10-24

Every few weeks, Kohl’s runs a new promotion.  The latest one starts today.  If you’re a Kohl’s charge cardholder, use discount code XMAS30 for 30% off.  No, I don’t think it will work for buying gift cards Smile.

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