Consumer complaint received 2023-10-01
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Problem with rewards from credit card
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (MD)

I was preparing to make a {$4600.00} purchase from the store Crate & Barrel. I used XXXX to find out if there was any financial benefit for me in opening a Crate & Barrel credit card and using that for my large purchase. I found that I could earn approximately 10 % cash back if I used a Crate & Barrel credit card. I obtained the card from Synchrony Bank and made the purchase on XX/XX/2023. Almost a month later on XX/XX/2023, after I paid my first credit bill in full, I received an email notification that I had earned a {$460.00} reward certificate and that it expired approximately three months later, on XX/XX/2023. I assumed that this reward worked like other major credit card rewards programs and did not read the fine print in full. 

The fine print stated : " Valid for one-time use on merchandise purchases made with your Crate and Barrel Credit Card and XXXX Credit Card account and/or Crate and Barrel Mastercard and XXXX XXXX account ( Account ) at U.S. Crate and Barrel and XXXX stores and online at crateandbarrel.com and XXXX. Subject to credit approval. Not redeemable for Crate and Barrel or XXXX gift cards, gift certificates or any third-party gift cards. Not valid on past purchases. Rewards Certificates are not refundable or transferable for cash, credit, or other rewards. No photocopies or replications will be honored. Lost, stolen or expired Rewards Certificates are not replaceable. Rewards Certificates have no cash value and may not be redeemed for cash or its equivalent, and any unused portion will not be returned as cash. Rewards Certificates may not be used as payment on your Account. If the value of a purchase is less than the value of the Rewards Certificates being redeemed, then any remaining Rewards Certificates balance will be forfeited. Rewards Certificates are valid for 90 days from the issue date. '' On XX/XX/2023, I was shopping on Crate & Barrel 's XXXX app and selected {$110.00} worth of merchandise that I wanted to buy. From the app, I was able to select my rewards certificate as a form of payment and opted for in-store pickup. Nowhere in this purchase process did it state that I would be forfeiting the {$340.00} remaining of my rewards. A few days later as I made my way to the Crate & Barrel store for pickup, I checked the app to see how much remained in my rewards, and I was astonished to see that I had {$0.00} rewards remaining. I called the bank 's customer service line at XXXX and described the problem and asked how they could help me fix it. The customer service representative said she could not help me because their policy is that Rewards Certificates are one-time use only. I said that wasn't clear to me and asked if I could return my XX/XX/2023 purchase and get my full {$460.00} rewards back. She said that was not possible. I asked to speak to someone else, and she connected me to a supervisor. He said there was absolutely nothing they could do, that I had used my Rewards Certificate and under no scenario could a certificate be reinstated.