Monday, February 25, 2013

Redeeming Kohls Cash

Part 2 of the Kohls Cash trilogy. Redemption!

I'm going to break it down to what you can do with your Kohls Cash, and what you cannot do. But first I must emphasize this. Kohls Cash is a COUPON. NOT an actual tender.

What you CANNOT do:

1. You CANNOT use Kohls Cash to buy a gift card. Gift Cards need to be purchased with a legal tender. Not a coupon.

I had a woman come up once and wanted to buy 3 gift cards. Each with $25 to be put on them. After I rang them up and told her the total, she put $80 worth of Kohls Cash on the counter. I told her we couldn't do that since gift cards can't be purchased with a coupon. Plus, it states that on the back of the Kohls Cash. I had to void the transaction and discard the cards since they had been scanned.

2. You CANNOT use Kohls Cash to pay off your Kohls Charge Card. Surprisingly, I haven't had anyone try this, but I thought I'd put it out there.

3. You CANNOT use Kohls Cash to buy any of the Kohls Cares for Kids merchandise. Which is those plush toys and books at the front of the store. The reason? Those are charity items! You can't use a coupon on charity items.

4. You CANNOT use EXPIRED Kohls Cash. The company put this in effect last Fall, 2012. You can only use the Kohls Cash coupons within the dates printed on the front. If you want to use it, but can't make it in, you can use it online. I'll get to that feature later in this post. So if you hear someone tell you that you can use expired Kohls Cash, they're very misinformed. If you are even one day over the printed date, it will not be accepted. But again, try not to fret if you didn't get to spend it. There are always new earning periods. Seems like one or two every month. And again, it's just a coupon. Not real money that you're losing.

5. You CANNOT use Kohls Cash on prior purchases during or before the earning period.

6. Finally, you CANNOT redeem your coupon for actual cash. Again, it states this on the back of the coupon, but I must put it out there.

What you CAN do:

1. You CAN use your Kohls cash on everything else in the store! Whether it's on sale, clearance, regular priced, etc. You can use it on electronics like vacuums, you can use it on luggage, clothing, jewelry, cookware, fragrances, shoes, frames, wall art, handbags, anything that wasn't excluded above. (recap: gift cards and charity KCK items)

2. You CAN use your Kohls Cash online! That's right. After you go through the billing information and proceed to your order summary before you put the purchase through, you come to a screen (both online and on the in-store kiosks) where you can add gift cards, Kohls Cash and promotion codes for discounts. Go to the Kohls Cash section and type in the numbers below the bar code on the back of your coupon. Then type the 4 digit pin on the right of that number to validate the Kohls Cash and submit.

You don't have to spend all your Kohls Cash at once to use it. Say you have $30 worth of Kohls Cash. But you only want to buy about $20 worth of merchandise. That's just fine. The cashier will simply run your coupon through the check reader and it will print your remaining balance. In this example, you have $10 left available.

You don't have to spend the Kohls Cash. Again, it's just a coupon. And like any coupon from any department store, it has an expiration date. You don't have to spend your coupon if you don't want to. It's not like you're losing actual money. Plus, if you're not sure you'll be keeping all your merchandise that you bought to EARN it, I would suggest waiting. The returns are where it gets a little tricky, but it does make sense.

Oh no! You had Kohls Cash, but you already checked out! If you forgot your Kohls Cash at home and wanted to use it on a purchase during the redemption period, or you had it and forgot to use it during check out, have no fear. Just go to Customer Service and they can adjust it for you. But keep these two things in mind.
1. If you had a % off, the computer will deduct your Kohls Cash from the purchase first, then reapply the % off of the new total. So if you had a 30%, and had a $10 coupon to apply, you will get $7 dollars credited to your account. Please, don't panic.The $10 dollars gets taken off first, then the 30% is applied to the new total.
2. Adjustments are recommended to be done at the same store as the receipt. If you take your Kohls Cash and receipt to a different store than the one you got the merchandise from originally, have some patience. The person at customer service has to key in your entire receipt as a return, then repurchase.

In the next post, Return Policies with Kohls Cash. Probably the most frustrating part for my customers, but a lot of them understand once it's explained. So once more, I'll do my best.

Any questions on REDEEMING Kohls Cash, please post. I'll answer to the best of my abilities. :) Until next time folks.


27 comments:

  1. I just overheard the checker tell the gal in front of me just a few months ago, that they they DO take expired Kohl's cash, so I asked her when she was checking me out, just to be sure I heard correctly, and she said that yes, the'll always take it, expired or not....at least the Kohl's by me, does. Too bad I had just thrown away $40 of expired Kohl's cash a few days before : /

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    1. Where was that at? Someone gave me expired Kohls cash and wrote a note that says Kohls cash is still good online.

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    2. I tried to use expired Kohls cash last week online and it wouldn't accept it.

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    3. As far as I know, most Kohls will take your expired Kohls Cash as long as it's within a reasonable amount of time. It will not work online apparently only in stores since the cashier has to check to make sure the balance is still available.

      On a side note regarding Kohls online: I have recently made a couple different orders on Kohls.com website. The first order was just one item, a ring for $300. I had no discounts so after sales tax I paid $316.50 (5.5% tax rate) When I received the ring, it wasn't as pretty as it was on the website so I went to the store to return it. I was only refunded $298.50 and my receipt showed that there was a $1.50 discount and NO sales tax paid! Nobody can explain to me how that could possibly be! They opened a "ticket" and said they would credit me within 14-30 BUSINESS DAYS! That is ridiculous! For just $18.00 they shorted me! Neither the store nor customer service online could resolve it immediately! This is going on 3 weeks now so 15 business days! I am still waiting for an $18.00 credit!

      A week or so ago I tried to order 11 shirts off Kohls.com website. I clicked to x out of the website because my computer was not responding. I went back to Kohls website and redid my order. It looked to me that it was correct so I paid and received an order confirmation. When I see the confirmation I notice that I was charged for 22 shirts NOT 11! Somehow my entire order doubled! Not only this, but I only had a 20% discount and when I went to the store to return the DOUBLES I had been charged for, somehow the registers rang up two shirts as if I paid zero dollars! There is something wrong with ordering lately from Kohls.com! In an attempt to see if this was a glitch on the Kohls side I made a second order last week. When I received a confirmation receipt it showed that I received a 38.91% discount!!?? Again, I only used a 20%! There is no such thing as a 38.91% discount with Kohls! I don't know what is going on and nobody can explain it to me but as soon as I receive my order, I am returning every piece so that I can ensure that ALL of my money is refunded to me!

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    4. GOOD LORD! I am sorry to hear that Johnny! That doesn't make sense at all. I do know that during September, however, Kohls.com went through some updates/changes and that in turn caused a wave of frustration. I couldn't help any of my customers order online at our in-store kiosks because we would get an error message or it wouldn't show the item we scanned with all it's color options, etc. Also it would take kohls cash but the order would not go through, thus erasing all value on the coupon. I had that happen with a woman. We called the help center and they were going to credit her account, plus I reactivated a new kohls cash for her patience. Again, I am sorry you had such bad experiences with the online portion. I am hoping they get those bugs straightened out because as an employee, I am just as frustrated with the service right now....though I haven't tried using for a almost 2 weeks now....

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    5. Karin, it seems the policy keeps changing, and whether or not the kohls cash will be accepted after the dates in-stores depends on the store itself now. Where I work, we started accepting kohls cash within 1-2 days after the expiration date a few months after the policy changed. Other stores (I have heard) accept them way after that which is what we were suppose to stop doing last Fall. From now on just ask, but if a new Kohls Cash earning/redemption period has started and you find a kohls cash from two weeks prior, then it is too late to use it.

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  2. I lost my kohls cash but have the receipt that shows it was activated. Can I use that?

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    1. Unfortunately Saron, the store more than likely won't be able to use the number off the receipt. It may have the number for your Kohls Cash, but the receipt does not have the 4 digit pin needed to validate. You can ask if they will activate you a new one but it may be a question for a manager.

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  3. I disagree with the post about how if you don't get to use your Kohl's cash it's just a coupon so no big deal. This is an big incentive used to get me to buy merchandise from the store to begin with and then they only give you a 12 day window to use it in right after you just made a purchase. This is ridiculous. I am only a few days past my exp date. And buying only does't help because then you have to pay shipping costs which basically negates the coupon unless you plan to make a big purchase which I had already done, that's how I earned the coupon. I don't need another $100 worth of stuff a week later.

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    1. Although I agree with you that it is an incentive to buy more merchandise, it doesn't mean you HAVE to use it. If you don't need to spend money or the coupon on something you don't want or need, then don't. Many have different takes on this subject. Either they love the concept of coming back to spend the coupon or they just ignore it. I work there and I either forget to use it (not like I really needed anything) or I just didn't see anything I liked enough to buy. Only a few days past? Then just ask if they can honor it. I was told we were suppose to crack down on the dates but now it seems we'll accept a few days past, so just ask. The worst they can do is say no, but it all depends on the store.

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  4. Rachel, can you explain to me why there's even an exp date on Kohl's cash?

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  5. Hi Rachel. I need help here fast as my Kohl's cash expires tomorrow. I'm Canadian and I've decided not to use it because Kohl's doesn't ship to Canada and I'd have to go through a broker. As I have $90 and it can be used on line, I would like to donate it to a US charity benefitting young people. Can I do this? And may I ask what charity you would recommend? Please answer asap as it expires tomorrow. Thanks.

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  6. I am fed up with KOHLS. I used to be a great, loyal customer but the prices are getting so much higher than anywhere else that the coupons and Kohls cash incentives are not worth in any longer. I am so done! And I have been a card holder since 1986!

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  7. If I buy a shirt for my brother from out of state, can I get a gift receipt for him to exchange if need to? When I use my Kohl's Cash $

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  8. Can I give my Kohls cash to someone else to usr?

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  9. can you use kohls cash twice? like can you use it once online and then go and use it in the store?

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  10. Don't tell me that Kohl's cash is a coupon...it is something I earned by shopping at Kohl's and spending money in the store...Kohl's may not have the 'loyalty' program like other retail stores, pick one everyone has them now...and those points...aka loyalty cash for shopping at their establishment is meant to get us back in the store to at a later date. Not 2 days after I just spent $600 in the store. I earned that $10 "cash" coupon as you call it...do you mail them out, does Kohl's give them away in the Sunday paper, no, as customer's we EARN them for spending money in the store. This is not a coupon but a customer loyalty incentive to get us to come back...the problem Kohl's wants us to visit when we don't have to or want to...

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  11. If you return an item later they reduce the return amount by the Kohls cash received though, how is it even legal for them to not accept the kohls cash at any time? For example, I buy 4 pairs of jeans and pay $100 ($25 for each pair) and receive 20 Kohls cash. I return 2 pairs of jeans a month later and I only get refunded $40 unless I have the Kohls cash to prove I didn't use any of it. If you return something you bought with Kohls cash you get a different amount as well.

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  12. I have two (2) $15 khols cash coupons total of $30, will I be able to use both coupons in one transaction? .

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  13. Geez, just be thankful they even offer a great incentive like this. It's a free incentive but you're still going to bitch about its technicalities...If you spend $600 at walmart (on needs, not wants) you don't get squat.

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  14. At Kohls, it is up to the cash register if it takes expired Kohls cash. If it scans, it's good. An employee told me last month that it is usually good for 4-5 days after the expiration. I checked before I shopped!

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  15. I had kohls cash plus a 25% off coupon. They deducted the kohls cash from the subtotal, then they took 25% off that new subtotal. The 25% discount was less than $3. Why? That is so misleading. I'm thinking I'm gonna get 25% off, and then use my kohls cash to pay the balance. I know I still got a deal, but I feel like I got tricked.

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  16. What if I am using Kohl's cash online and don't use the full amount? I also am a Kohl's credit card holder. Will they know I still have cash left?

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  17. It is a big deal if you dont use them. Especially if you have 70.00 worth. You could buy lots of items with 70.00. Why would anyone say its not a big deal. Also, I couldn't get to the store so 2 days have past on the coupon and I just Lost 70.00 worth of purchases. You know how much was spend to be able to get 70.00 and now I can't use them because they expired 2 days ago.

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  18. HOW CAN ANYONE THINK THAT KOHLS IS A GOOD CHEAP PLACE TO PURCHASE ANYTHING??? This place is legit a rip off! Clearance items are WAY TOO MUCH! They don't have a good selection of sizes either, for all Men, women and children! Kohls sux so bad!! The kohls cash isn't worth it!! Yuck, boycott Kohls!! Lol!

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  19. HOW CAN ANYONE THINK THAT KOHLS IS A GOOD CHEAP PLACE TO PURCHASE ANYTHING??? This place is legit a rip off! Clearance items are WAY TOO MUCH! They don't have a good selection of sizes either, for all Men, women and children! Kohls sux so bad!! The kohls cash isn't worth it!! Yuck, boycott Kohls!! Lol!

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