Gift Cards

Amazon is hoping that five bucks will get you in the door to its local deals site, AmazonLocal. Amazon.com Inc. will be selling $10 gift cards for $5 on Tuesday to people who visit AmazonLocal.com, the online retailer's answer to deals sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial. It's a crafty move from Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, as it works to distinguish its local deals service from a bevy of competitors. Mike George, vice president at AmazonLocal, said the company wants to draw in both new and existing customers with the gift card.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent Dependable Cleaners has ched its annual Read to Ride campaign, which gives youths age 6 to 15 a chance to win a bicycle or another prize for each book they read. The program, which runs through Aug. 13, is intended to foster a lifelong love of books by encouraging children to stay in the habit of reading over summer vacation. Children in the program have read more than 59,000 books since it began in 1999. "Studies show that children who develop a love of reading early in life often see more success in school and in life,"...

Q. I spent $2,805.73 at Jordan's Furniture during their heavily promoted "Monster Hit Bounceback," where a Jordan's sign was placed in Fenway Park. If a Red Sox player hit the ball on the sign, everyone who bought furniture at Jordan's would get their money back and if nobody hit the sign, you'd get 20 percent of your total qualified purchases back as a credit toward a future purchase. I received a coupon in the mail for $561.15. Awesome. The coupon expired on Feb. 29th.

First lady Michelle Obama is honoring military mothers and wives for being "outstanding role models" for their children, communities and country. The first lady and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, hosted an afternoon tea at the White House on Thursday to recognize the mothers. The tea celebrated both Military Spouse Appreciation Day and Mother's Day. Youngsters wearing their spring best— from girls in bright, flowered sundresses to boys in pastel dress shirts and suits— slipped into the State Dining Room for a few minutes to make gifts for their mothers.

AUGUSTA, Maine — The former head of the Maine Turnpike Authority purchased nearly $200,000 in gift cards at upscale hotels and restaurants to give to charitable and civic groups for fund-raisers, according to state officials who said yesterday that they could document only $15,000 of those cards going to the groups. On the advice of his lawyer, Paul Violette declined to answer questions while being grilled about the gift cards by members of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee.

PORTLAND, Maine - Remember those $50 gift cards from Target and J.C. Penney that Aunt Irene and Uncle Harry gave you two Christmases ago? The ones you slipped into your sock drawer and forgot? If the cards were purchased in Maine, the state is claiming $60 of their $100 combined value under the state's unclaimed property law. Other states have used similar laws to tap the value of unused gift cards issued by in-state companies, but state Treasurer David Lemoine believes Maine is the first to seriously pursue national retailers.

NEW YORK - You know that Sharper Image gift card you got for Christmas? Right now, it's worthless. And other gift cards in your wallet could lose their value, too. As more retailers file for bankruptcy or go out of business, more than $75 million in gift cards are at risk of becoming worthless this year. "If I knew this was going to happen, I would have used them right away," said Jon Tapper, a public relations executive from Boston who received two Sharper Image cards as business gifts just a few weeks ago. Their total face value is $50. "I love gift cards, but now this makes me...

ATLANTA - Mall operator Jones Lang LaSalle pledged yesterday to back retailer gift cards in order to reassure shoppers concerned about chain store bankruptcies. The company, which operates 120 malls and shopping centers, said it will guarantee gift cards between Friday and Jan. 21 sold by national retailers that are its tenants, if they declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Cards that no longer hold value will be replaced with a mall gift card of equal value by Feb. 1, the company said.

NEW YORK — Conventional wisdom holds that gift cards are the perfect present for picky teens. But not all teens agree. Reasons include logistical hassles in using the cards, lack of interest in the store or brand, a preference for cash, or even a wish for something personal. Often the cards pile up unused, but some teens sell them for a portion of their face value or even create a black market and trade them for lunch money. Allie Sakowicz, 16, of Park Ridge, Ill., says she has “a whole envelope of gift cards sitting on my desk.’’ Her reasons for not using...

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve yesterday proposed rules to protect consumers from unexpected costs or restrictions on gift cards. More than 95 percent of Americans have received or purchased gift cards, the Fed said. Under the proposed rule, consumers would have at least five years to use gift cards before they expire. The Fed also said service or inactivity fees could be imposed only under certain conditions. Such fees could be charged if the consumer does not use the card for at least a year, if the fees are clearly disclosed, and if no more than one fee...

There have been times when 12-year-old Bennett Stefanowicz's illness has made it impossible for him to eat and he has had to get nutrition through a feeding tube at night before bed. Through it all, the goal of his mother, Leslie, has been not only to keep him healthy but to make sure he and his two sisters have "normal" childhoods — playing sports, going on family vacations, going to school, laughing with friends. Last year her children submitted two essays and a drawing to let the judges of the annual Millis Mother of the Year know how neat their mom is. And she won. ...

Q.I have $100 in Piccadilly Pub gift cards. The chain abruptly shuttered its restaurants earlier this spring. My attempts at contact have met with no success. My latest attempt of an e-mail to their posted e-mail address was returned as undeliverable. Can you help? Or is there no hope? Richard Morin, Hudson A. Several readers have written in recently about problems with restaurant gift cards. The problem is always the same: The restaurant - or the company issuing the gift cards - went out of business.

"Oliver!", the Broadway musical based on the Charles Dickens novel "Oliver Twist," will be performed by a cast and crew of some 100 middle school students at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. next Sunday in the Hopkinton Middle School auditorium. The performances of the musical, which brought to light conditions in London's workhouses for poor children, will also serve as a fund-raiser to benefit Project Just Because, a Hopkinton charity serving families in need. Tickets are $12, or $10 for students and seniors; there will be a $2 discount for anyone who makes a donation...

The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday that Walgreen Co. will pay $7.9 million to resolve allegations it illegally tried to get federal health care beneficiaries to switch their prescriptions to Walgreen pharmacies. The Justice Department says the Deerfield, Ill., company offered inducements to people who get their health care from government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the Defense Department's Tricare program. Walgreen offered $25 gift cards to people who transferred their prescriptions to Walgreen pharmacies.

PAYING IT FORWARD: After a routine mammogram led to a diagnosis of breast cancer in March 2011, Lexington resident Megan MacInnes took six weeks off from her job as a certified nurse-midwife at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge to recover from surgery. Two months later, she began chemotherapy at Mount Auburn Hospital's Hematology/Oncology Center. She continued to work, but had to rest for four days following treatment sessions, which were every other week for four months. The support that MacInnes received at home was complemented by that of her "second...

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent Pair arrested on gift card fraud charge Two Dorchester men were arrested on Friday afternoon after allegedly stealing several thousand dollars worth of items using fraudulent gift cards. According to police, K-Mart loss prevention officers alerted police on April 6 of a possible fraudulent transaction. As a result, officers stopped the men as they drove down Grossman Drive and onto Union Street. Eleven gift cards, all believed to have...

WASHINGTON -- Banks should fully inform gift card purchasers about the cards' terms and conditions of use, regulators said yesterday. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Treasury Department division that regulates nationally chartered banks, also urged banks to avoid practices that could mislead consumers regarding gift cards. The issuance of the guidelines come less than two weeks after a federal judge ruled that state consumer protection laws don't apply to bank-issued gift cards sold by giant shopping mall manager Simon Property Group . The judge in the New...

Rhode Island college students are collecting gift cards to donate to Vermont victims of Tropical Storm Irene. Twenty students from Salve Regina University are participating in a two-day trip next month to Brattleboro, Vt., where they will assist clean-up efforts organized by St. Michael's Catholic Church. Church pastor, the Rev. Rich O'Donnell, is requesting help collecting gift cards. The school says the most needed gift cards are from grocery and household supplies stores and multipurpose Visa/Mastercard cards.

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey will soon begin requiring gift card sellers to obtain ZIP codes from buyers so it can claim the value of cards not redeemed after two years. At least one major seller, American Express, has pulled its cards from shelves rather than attempt to comply. Shoppers would still be able to redeem a card after two years, if it hasn't expired. But if the state has already laid claim to the money, businesses might have to jump through administrative hoops to get reimbursement - and therefore stop selling gift cards altogether to avoid the hassle.

Q. I spent $2,805.73 at Jordan's Furniture during their heavily promoted "Monster Hit Bounceback," where a Jordan's sign was placed in Fenway Park. If a Red Sox player hit the ball on the sign, everyone who bought furniture at Jordan's would get their money back and if nobody hit the sign, you'd get 20 percent of your total qualified purchases back as a credit toward a future purchase. I received a coupon in the mail for $561.15. Awesome. The coupon expired on Feb. 29th.