A while back, I purchased a new phone to replace my aging Blackberry. As with many phones, this one came with a $50 rebate…and instead of actually sending a check (because that would make sense), AT&T sends out these pre-loaded credit cards. In my case, $50.

I know why they do it. In addition to trying to get people who are too lazy to send the rebate in, or who make a mistake on the rebate form or who's form gets lost in the mail…now they're trying to get people a different way by putting their rebate on a card that expires in 3 months where it's almost impossible to spend the entire thing because of the little bit of change at the end. So they only have to pay out $48 instead of $50, and all these people not using that little bit adds up.

Well not me! My card has 98 cents left on it and, darn it, I'm going to use it! So I need to find something that costs exactly 98 cents…hmmm…

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