Reader Rena commented on another post about a Point debit card deal to share a data point which is worth being aware of. She bought gift cards from Kroger online last week using her Point debit card and didn’t end up earning any points for the transaction.
This is worth being aware of because Kroger doesn’t process payment for gift card purchases online – Blackhawk Network does. That suggests that Point has deliberately excluded Blackhawk Network purchases from earning points. Blackhawk Network also owns (and processes payments for) GiftCardMall and GiftCards.com, along with other gift card sites that are powered by them like USPS’s gift card site and Office Depot’s.
The Point debit card isn’t going to be the best card to use for everyday purchases from those sites, but they could be a good choice if you’re looking to easily knock out the $1,000 spend requirement to get the $100 bonus when signing up for the Point debit card using someone’s referral link.
Note that it’s just my theory at the moment that Point won’t award points for other Blackhawk Network sites. Perhaps they’ve only excluded Kroger’s site somehow and for some reason. Just be aware of this potential issue before making any large purchases from Blackhawk Network sites using a Point debit card.