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Frequently Asked Questions |
HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?
Merchants sell the Bonus Bucks Program gift cards at a discount. For instance, Jewel sells gift cards to the Bonus Bucks program at a 4% rebate, or $96 for a $100 certificate. The Bonus Bucks Program, in turn, sells them to parish families at face value. So, you pay $100 for a $100 gift card and the $4 rebate goes into a savings account with your name on it. A portion of the earned rebate is then controlled and directed by you for your family’s use. Each merchant offers a different rebate percentage back to our program.
DOES THE GIFT CARD I PURCHASE HAVE FULL VALUE?
Yes! You pay $100 for a $100 gift card. The card works as you would expect, the same as cash and for full face value, at the merchant’s store location or online (unless otherwise stated).
WHERE CAN I USE MY REBATE?
This program is incredibly flexible and the best part is that you, the purchaser, can choose where your rebate will go. It allows you to address your family’s financial goals and/or your family’s stewardship goals. You can use toward any school tuition or fees for yourself or anyone else -- college, high school, elementary, parochial, public, or continuing education. Use your rebate toward St. Peter Religious Education expenses. Donate your rebate to any St. Peter ministry, including Youth Ministry, St. Peter Food Pantry, the Guardian Angel Tuition Assistance Fund, the St. Peter Emergency Assistance Fund that assists those in need in our parish, or many others. St. Peter School families can choose to earn tuition or BASE (Before or After School Care) rebates or donate your rebate to another family for their expenses. A family of four that regularly uses the Bonus Bucks program can earn $600 or more in tuition credit per school year. There is no catch! If you dream it, we can probably find a way to make it happen.
HOW DOES MY REBATE GET PAID?
Twice per year, every January and June, we take your rebate money and distribute it. We direct 70% of the rebate to your chosen direction, 20% goes back to St. Peter, and 10% goes back into the program to help us pay expenses and gain new users. If your rebate is directed within St. Peter Parish we will actually move the money for you. If your chosen direction is outside of our parish, we will make the check out to your desired payee and mail the check to you to include with your payments.
CAN I BANK OR SAVE MY REBATES FOR THE FUTURE?
Yes! You can save your rebate for a future educational expense (i.e grandchild or child’s expected college expenses). Twice per year -- every January and June -- when we distribute rebate money, we will check with you to see if you are ready for distribution. If you are not ready, we will roll your rebate balance over to the next rebate period.
DO I GET THE WHOLE REBATE AMOUNT?
We direct 70% of the rebate to your chosen direction, 20% goes back to St. Peter, and 10% goes back into the program to help us pay expenses and gain new users.
WHAT STORES CAN I BUY CARDS FOR?
Hundreds of regional and national retailers participate in the Bonus Bucks program, some you might even be surprised at. In addition, our program also partners with local Tri-City retailers who offer generous rebates.
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Local restaurants:
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Local salons and spas:
Local specialty stores:
Local grocery stores:
And many more! |
The most through list of merchants and the rebates they offer to our program is available when you enroll at www.shopwithscrip.com and sign in.
HOW DO I ORDER CARDS?
Bonus Bucks orders for plastic gift cards should be placed by Monday mornings at 11:00 AM. Orders can be placed at www.shopwithscrip.com.
Many merchants also offer electronic cards called ScripNow or reloadable cards called Reload/ReloadNow. These cards may be ordered online and you can receive them for use almost immediately or within 24 hours.
Many merchants also offer electronic cards called ScripNow or reloadable cards called Reload/ReloadNow. These cards may be ordered online and you can receive them for use almost immediately or within 24 hours.
DO I HAVE TO ORDER EVERY WEEK TO GET MY REBATE?
Nope. Order as often as you like, but your rebate is always yours. Some participants use this program primarily for holiday and gift shopping. Every purchase helps St. Peter! The most benefit is gained in this program for yourself and St. Peter when you order frequently and consistently. You’ll be surprised how your rebate will grow.
HOW DO I PAY FOR MY PURCHASE?
The quickest and easiest way to pay for your order is by using our PrestoPay feature, available through your ShopWithScrip account. This allows you to pay for your order with direct debit against your checking or savings account. More and more of our users are paying this way. It is safe and extremely convenient. You will find that you will order far more frequently when you can pay electronically and don’t have to get a check to us.
Should you decide to pay by check, you should deliver the check, made out to "St. Peter Bonus Bucks," to the Parish Office or St. Peter School by the 11:00 AM Monday deadline.
At this time, credit cards are not accepted for payment.
At this time, credit cards are not accepted for payment.
HOW DO I PICK UP MY PLASTIC GIFT CARDS?
Cards for parish families will be ready for pickup at the Parish Office by 2:00 PM on Wednesdays. If the Parish Office hours are not convenient for your card pickup, please contact the Bonus Bucks Coordinators and we will make arrangements to get cards to you. St. Peter School families may choose to participate in the convenient "Red Bag" program. In this case cards will be sent home with their St. Peter School student on Wednesdays. St. Peter families will receive their cards in their Red Bag unless otherwise arranged. Religious Education families may choose to participate in the convenient "Blue Bag" program. In this case, cards will be sent home with their RE student on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Arrangements should be made with the Program Coordinators for appropriate delivery.
DOES THIS PROGRAM RUN ALL YEAR LONG?
Yes, but with some variation. This program is run weekly during the school year. The ordering schedule does vary during the holidays and summer months. During the summer months, orders are generally placed twice monthly. Please consult the Program Coordinators for the current schedule.
HOW DO I MAXIMIZE MY REBATES?
In the Bonus Bucks Program, there are hundreds of merchants from which to choose. We encourage people to take the time to look around on the system and see all of the merchants.
Many merchants include a Reload/ReloadNow program for your gift card. Reload cards allow you to add money to your gift card and that money will reload overnight and be available for your use the next morning. ReloadNow cards allow you to add money to your existing gift card and that money is available immediately for your use.
Even more merchants offer a relatively new product called ScripNow, which allows you to order an e-card online, pay for it using PrestoPay, and receive it electronically within 15 minutes! So when the hot water heater goes out at home, you can order ScripNow, print it on your printer, go straight to Home Depot or Lowe’s and buy another one and still earn rebates!
When you get really good at this, you can go to www.myscripwallet.com and download the "app" onto either your Apple or Android device so you can buy e-cards while you are in the store shopping and have them available for use right on your phone.
In order to take best advantage of these features be sure to sign up for the PrestoPay feature. This allows you to pay for your order with direct debit against your checking or savings account. More and more of our users are paying this way. It is safe and extremely convenient. You will find that you will order far more frequently when you can pay electronically and don’t have to get a check to us.
Another great way to increase your rebate is get friends and family involved to help you earn. We can establish a separate account for them whether they are in town or out of town and point their rebate to you. If you own a business, consider opening an account for your business purchases and we can direct that rebate to you as well.
Some of the best rebates are offered by many of our local merchants. Select the button below for the whole list, and remember these stores and restaurants for your next shopping trip.
Many merchants include a Reload/ReloadNow program for your gift card. Reload cards allow you to add money to your gift card and that money will reload overnight and be available for your use the next morning. ReloadNow cards allow you to add money to your existing gift card and that money is available immediately for your use.
Even more merchants offer a relatively new product called ScripNow, which allows you to order an e-card online, pay for it using PrestoPay, and receive it electronically within 15 minutes! So when the hot water heater goes out at home, you can order ScripNow, print it on your printer, go straight to Home Depot or Lowe’s and buy another one and still earn rebates!
When you get really good at this, you can go to www.myscripwallet.com and download the "app" onto either your Apple or Android device so you can buy e-cards while you are in the store shopping and have them available for use right on your phone.
In order to take best advantage of these features be sure to sign up for the PrestoPay feature. This allows you to pay for your order with direct debit against your checking or savings account. More and more of our users are paying this way. It is safe and extremely convenient. You will find that you will order far more frequently when you can pay electronically and don’t have to get a check to us.
Another great way to increase your rebate is get friends and family involved to help you earn. We can establish a separate account for them whether they are in town or out of town and point their rebate to you. If you own a business, consider opening an account for your business purchases and we can direct that rebate to you as well.
Some of the best rebates are offered by many of our local merchants. Select the button below for the whole list, and remember these stores and restaurants for your next shopping trip.
Also, check out this list of tips many of our participants have learned and can share with you to help earn larger rebates...
HOW DOES MY BUSINESS JOIN THE PROGRAM & BECOME A MERCHANT?
As a local merchant, Bonus Bucks is a scrip program designed to promote buyer loyalty for you and raise funds for our school and parish. In a nutshell, you sell gift cards to our parish at a discount. We sell them to our participants at face value. The difference represents funds raised! Our school and parish families place orders weekly. When they order gift cards for your store, we call you and request those cards. One of our volunteers will bring a check and pick them up early that week. We promote your business and you support our parish family and our program. While we sell gift cards for many national merchants, we especially like to encourage our parishioners to patronize local businesses. In the past 24 months, our families have ordered over $18,000 worth of gift cards from our local merchants. Local merchants generally offer discounts ranging from 10% to 25%. Each of our business partners tells us the denomination and discount percentage they would like to offer. We publicize their participation, and, hopefully, our families purchase them!
Won’t you consider joining our list of participating merchants? If you still have questions, please feel free to use the contact form at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, please consider filling out the Local Merchant Enrollment Form...
Won’t you consider joining our list of participating merchants? If you still have questions, please feel free to use the contact form at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, please consider filling out the Local Merchant Enrollment Form...
CAN I GIVE SOMEONE A BONUS BUCKS GIFT CERTIFICATE?
Yes! Gift certificates are available and serve as a terrific option when you are not sure what gift card someone would appreciate. You purchase a Bonus Bucks gift certificate in a certain denomination and we will give the gift certificate to you to provide as a gift. Gift Certificates can be ordered online or you may contact the Program Coordinators to create a custom gift. When the recipient is ready to redeem their gift certificate they can contact the Program Coordinators to choose their card(s) and we will work out delivery details with them. Rebates earned for the recipient's purchase will be directed to the recipient's rebate account.
What can I do if my favorite store doesn’t participate?
Bonus Bucks is a scrip program designed to promote buyer loyalty for local businesses and raise funds for our school and parish. Please feel free to contact your favorite store owner and negotiate their participation in the Bonus Bucks program. After you introduce the program to them, contact the Program Coordinators with the name of the business, the contact person and their phone number or e-mail address and we will contact them to “close the sale” and get them on board. As an alternative, if a business is not a participant in the Bonus Bucks program, we also offer Visa and American Express gift cards. Both gift cards are accepted at all merchants that accept a VISA or Amex credit card and the gift cards provide a rebate.
What if I need something this week?
If you find that you have forgotten to purchase a gift card, have a last minute party or you are making an unexpected trip to the grocery store or out for dinner, call us. We keep an inventory of our most popular cards in stock and available for immediate delivery. Contact the Program Coordinators and we can arrange to meet you. We also will be selling cards after some Masses. Watch the bulletin and Flocknote for sales dates.
Are there reasons keeping you from participating?
MY CREDIT CARD EARNS MILES
For those of you who like to charge everything on your credit card so you can earn free airline miles, we suggest you consider the percent rebate you earn on your credit card. Most cards give 1% or 2% in rebate. Many of our Bonus Bucks merchants rebate 8%, 10% and some as high as 25%! For those who like to see how far their money can go, it might be worth it to consider evaluating your opportunity. You can use both and save big!
CARD PICKUP TIMES DON'T FIT MY SCHEDULE
If the Parish Office hours are not convenient for your card pickup, please contact the Bonus Bucks Coordinators and we will make arrangements to get cards to you. Don't let that stop you from participating! Also, many merchants include a Reload/ReloadNow program for your gift card. Reload cards allow you to add money to your gift card and that money will reload overnight and be available for your use the next morning. ReloadNow cards allow you to add money to your existing gift card and that money is available immediately for your use. Even more merchants offer a relatively new product called ScripNow, which allows you to order an e-card online, pay for it using PrestoPay, and receive it electronically within 15 minutes! In these cases there is rarely a need to pick up a plastic card.
I HATE ORDERING ONLINE
Bonus Bucks is a program that everyone uses differently. We can help place orders to make things convenient for you. Also, we keep a selection of our most popular cards in stock and are happy to meet you at a convenient time to deliver. Contact the Program Coordinators for ideas on how to make the program fit your life and benefit both you and St. Peter.
I FORGET TO ORDER
We send weekly reminders on Sundays in Flocknote to help you remember, complete with tips and specials for the week. Some of our participants prefer a Monday text to remember to place their order. If you’d like to receive a text on Monday morning we are happy to provide that service for our customers. Contact the Program Coordinators to be added to the list. If you’d like to receive a text on Monday morning we provide that service for many of our customers.