I was wondering if you ever black out parts of your receipts if you have a rewards card with a company. I have had a few shops where they have not stated you cannot use it. I was just wondering if having a rewards number on a receipt is a problem. Do the companies black them out? Should I?

I love all the information this forum has!

DAWR - I would make two recommendations:

1. Don't black out anything on the receipt you have. Submit it as is with your report, and explain what happened either in the report comments or in separate communication with the company. Perhaps the client has a cash out system that pulls up your rewards number if you use a debit or credit card to pay out. Find out the particulars on this and be guided accordingly. Hope for the best on this shop, and if it's not accepted mark it up to the cost of education.

2. On any shop, if asked if you have a rewards card, always say no. I have seen this instruction in so many shops that I now automatically say no and pay cash at any location where I actually have a rewards card.

We all have a learning curve. I've been shopping about three years and I'm still climbing the curve. You'll be fine.

All the shops I've done they have asked that you say you have no Rewards card.

Sometimes I find that the receipt is a long piece of linear paper. I-----------------I (e.g. post office receipt and receipts from grocery store)

And with this comes a receipt thatis too long to be copied in its entirety on a copier or to be cropped in a photo scan. What I do is, if the excess after "I pay" is nuisance reporting on a receipt, I fold it up. Usually the bottom of the receipt have information the client may want to see, so I fold and tape up to that point.

QC and/or editors have to see the receipt before they submit the report to the client. If there is a problem they will get back in touch with me. They have yet to question me.

If the guidelines says to keep the reward card out of sight until asked, then I just wait. Whether your the reward card is used or not it is indicated on the beginning of the receipt, even when the cashier asked at the end of the transaction. The register is set up like that. The guidelines, I have seen, only want to know if the cashier ASKED. (Part of their training.)

I pay for everything cash but MDAVISNOWELL may be talking about a credit card. I accept her recommendations but this is what I do.

Aren't your CC number the last exed four digits?

Sojo - I also pay cash on these shops and tell them I have no rewards card.

I think IF a debit card or credit card is used, their system may pull up the rewards number automatically. This may be what happened to DAWR. We don't really have enough information to know what went wrong on this shop that resulted in the rewards number being printed out on the receipt.

Just speculating.

On almost all reward cards you can submit missing receipts later and get your points after the shop if it does not specifically say no.

Thank you for your input. I am so used to paying by credit card that I just did not think to use cash. Both were for retail shops where I normally shop and have customer information in their systems. The first shop it must of pulled off my credit card and I e-mailed the MSC and they said it was okay. The instructions had said to say that I did not want to give my last name. I always have wondered how just my last name which is fairly common could pull up the information in the past. I think the credit card must really be the trigger and they are double checking when they ask your last name because this time I declined to give it and it still had my information. It must have happened before because the MSC just said to submit the shop.

The other one happened today and I gave them my card without thinking it through. The instructions never said that I could not give them my card. I do get rewards points towards cash on the card. There was no reimbursement for the purchase and it was a scenario that you could buy and return if you wanted to. I needed something from the store, so I figured I would do the shop while getting what I needed. The MSC did not say anything when I submitted, but I got to thinking about my receipts for these two shops. Since my rewards number is sitting right there for the company to see, I was just curious.

Also, in theory if you pay with a credit card can they just pull up a transaction number and see your information? I see why cash is better, but it would be easier if I could use my credit card.

Whether I pay with cash or a card, which reveals my associated reward ID on the receipt, depends on the shop. Some MSPs send a receipt, listing a reward number, along to the client, who then sends it to the store. Bad. There's no protection of identity for a card-paying shopper. Coming to mind, is a very careless pizza client, who has deactivated many, strictly due to payment method, as it was shared at the store level. Other shops send the receipt to the client, who would never jeopardize the shopper's identity by sending the receipt to the store. Overall, shoppers don't know specifics of the detail shared at the store level. Inquire. MSPs have always told me what level of protection is needed, and what level of protection the client offers the shopper. This information determines whether I pay with cash or card. Also, guidelines are typically clear as to whether a rewards can even be used.