Update 3/22/21: Better not ask me for the lottery numbers this week. I shared yesterday about how eBay and Lowe’s gift cards (and Google Play) had been removed from the Slide app and I predicted that they wouldn’t return.
Well, it looks like that was a temporary situation as all three brands are back in the app. h/t Dee
You go down slides and unfortunately the Slide app has also gone down in its usefulness.
I published a post the other day sharing how you can get a great deal on gift cards in the app by stacking with cashback from the Extrabux shopping portal, along with referral bonuses if you’re new to Slide and/or Extrabux.
Two of the most popular brands for people to purchase are eBay and Lowe’s and Slide has sadly removed them from the app in the last 24 hours. Dee commented this evening on the post I wrote about the Extrabux/Slide deal on Frequent Miler, noting that they couldn’t find eBay in the app. I checked my app and it was still appearing there, so I figured it was just a glitch.
Shortly after that I received an email from EW giving me a heads up that eBay and Lowe’s had disappeared from the app. I was about to reply to say that it might’ve been a temporary glitch, but I checked Slide again and sure enough – eBay and Lowe’s had indeed disappeared.
Slide has form for this when it comes to high value gift card brands. Soon after they first launched they carried Walmart gift cards, but those swiftly disappeared. Kroger gift cards came and went within a day or two, never to return. iTunes gift cards were carried in the app, then Apple gift cards replaced them when the branding changed, but Slide then went and removed Apple gift cards last month too.
It’s now the turn of eBay and Lowe’s. I suspect the reason for this is that those two brands were getting bought in large quantities and so Slide was having to pay out 4-5% cashback in the app, 8-10% cashback via Extrabux as well as whatever commission Extrabux themselves and the affiliate networks earn. That could amount to ~20% cashback overall which might not be an issue on brands like Fanatics but is too costly for brands like eBay and Lowe’s.
Will these brands return to Slide? If the past is any guide to the future, I wouldn’t be holding out too much hope. It’s been more than a month since Apple gift cards disappeared and far longer since Walmart and Kroger gift cards paid fleeting visits. I guess eBay and Lowe’s could return, but I think it’s far more likely that they’re gone permanently.
There are still some higher value brands available in the app such as Uber, Uber Eats, GameStop and YouTube TV. With that latter brand, EW discovered that those gift cards can be added as Google Play so that’s a good way to buy those gift cards seeing as Google Play gift cards aren’t listed in Slide otherwise. I think they used to be, but that seems to be another brand that’s gone.
Google Play disappeared a few hours after Lowe’s and Ebay.
Thanks for confirming that. It looks like it’s back now, so their removal seems to have only been temporary.
Lowe’s was still showing up today (3/22) in Slide under “Popular”, so I quickly bought a pair of $200 using my existing Slide balance. YMMV.
Looks like ebay is gone again
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll keep an eye on this – hopefully it’s just temporary.
Ebay, Lowes, Uber, google play, etc – all gone again.