originally appeared in USA Today:
Starbucks lovers, don't choke on your latte. The $450 Starbucks card is here.
Just in time for the holidays, the trend-setting coffee behemoth on Wednesday will be at the forefront of what could be yet another cultural hot button: the super premium gift card.
The Starbucks Metal Card isn't made of plastic, but steel. Each specially etched card, loaded with $400, costs $50 to make, which Starbucks says explains the $450 price tag.
Starbucks will make only 5,000 of them. But you can't buy them at any Starbucks store. They'll only be sold via the luxury goods website, Gilt.com. The card comes with gold-level Starbucks card membership benefits, such as gifts and freebie refills on brewed coffee and tea.
Some stores will never even see this card, according to vice president of card and payments at Starbucks.
But not everyone is impressed. This is a card for the 1%, according to a well-known cultural anthropologist. It's all about status, and to tell you the truth, I don't know if I'd want to be seen with one of these.
The move by Starbucks blends two growing trends: consumer love of gift cards and upper-end exclusivity. The costly gift card follows another recent, pricey rollout: a limited brew coffee sold in 46 Starbucks stores, which fetches $7 for a 16-ounce cup.
I won't be at all surprised to see other retailers follow according to National Retail Federation vice president of operations.
Its appeal is exclusivity, according to executive vice president at Gilt.com, When you're waiting in line at Starbucks, the next person in line won't have it.
On Thursday, Starbucks members will have first access to the card on Gilt.com's website before it's available to all on Friday.
For collectors, it could be huge. Some limited-edition Starbucks cards have sold on eBay for thousands of dollars.
Showing posts with label Gift Cards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gift Cards. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Friday, November 27, 2009
Fed Seeks Consumer Protections For Gift Cards
Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed new regulations aimed at limiting fees and expiration dates associated with retail gift cards.
The rules would prohibit retailers and banks issuing network-branded cards, such as those bearing the MasterCard or Visa logos, from levying fees on recipients who have used their cards during the previous year.
The rules won't go into effect in time to affect cards purchased this year. The initiative is part of an overhaul of credit-card restrictions passed by Congress earlier this year and scheduled to take effect in August 2010.
Americans spent $88.4 billion on gift cards in 2008, but left $6.4 billion unused, according to TowerGroup, a consulting firm. That was less than in 2007, when $97 billion in gift cards were purchased and $8 billion was left unused.
Some issuers currently penalize consumers for not using their gift cards for extended periods, by deducting fees from their available funds. The proposed Fed rules would limit card issuers to charging no more than one inactivity, dormancy or service fee a month, and require funds linked to cards be usable for at least five years after a card is issued or last funded.
The National Retail Federation expects the changes will hit banks harder than retailers, which already have pulled back from expiration dates and various fees. "It really won't have a big impact on the retail industry," spokesman Scott Krugman said. "It's the bank-issued cards that tend to charge fees, and at this point, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a retail store-issued gift card that has an expiration date."
The rules could thwart some states that collect the value of unused gift-card credit from issuers after a period of two to five years. Many state governments consider unused cards to be abandoned property, similar to dormant bank accounts and safety-deposit boxes that aren't accessed.
The Fed regulations wouldn't apply to prepaid cards not marketed or labeled specifically as gift cards or gift certificates, or to cards earned through reward programs.
The central bank opened its proposal to public comment, so it may be altered before final approval. Some lawmakers want the provisions in place sooner than next August.
"These rules are the right step, but it would be far better for them to take effect in time for this holiday shopping season," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.). He said he would continue pushing the Fed to implement the gift-card regulations more quickly.
The rules would prohibit retailers and banks issuing network-branded cards, such as those bearing the MasterCard or Visa logos, from levying fees on recipients who have used their cards during the previous year.
The rules won't go into effect in time to affect cards purchased this year. The initiative is part of an overhaul of credit-card restrictions passed by Congress earlier this year and scheduled to take effect in August 2010.
Americans spent $88.4 billion on gift cards in 2008, but left $6.4 billion unused, according to TowerGroup, a consulting firm. That was less than in 2007, when $97 billion in gift cards were purchased and $8 billion was left unused.
Some issuers currently penalize consumers for not using their gift cards for extended periods, by deducting fees from their available funds. The proposed Fed rules would limit card issuers to charging no more than one inactivity, dormancy or service fee a month, and require funds linked to cards be usable for at least five years after a card is issued or last funded.
The National Retail Federation expects the changes will hit banks harder than retailers, which already have pulled back from expiration dates and various fees. "It really won't have a big impact on the retail industry," spokesman Scott Krugman said. "It's the bank-issued cards that tend to charge fees, and at this point, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a retail store-issued gift card that has an expiration date."
The rules could thwart some states that collect the value of unused gift-card credit from issuers after a period of two to five years. Many state governments consider unused cards to be abandoned property, similar to dormant bank accounts and safety-deposit boxes that aren't accessed.
The Fed regulations wouldn't apply to prepaid cards not marketed or labeled specifically as gift cards or gift certificates, or to cards earned through reward programs.
The central bank opened its proposal to public comment, so it may be altered before final approval. Some lawmakers want the provisions in place sooner than next August.
"These rules are the right step, but it would be far better for them to take effect in time for this holiday shopping season," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.). He said he would continue pushing the Fed to implement the gift-card regulations more quickly.
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