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Sears Holdings Co. this week is reporting a strong initial response to its first-ever Christmas Club card, a prepaid gift card-based savings program for holiday purchases. Sears says it launched the program in response to recent research showing recession-weary consumers were concerned about having enough money for holiday gifts. Since announcing the program Monday, more than 17,000 employees of Sears retail stores and its Kmart subsidiary have activated the cards for themselves, a Sears spokesperson tells CardLine. The company did not disclose the total number of customers who have activated the cards so far. The magnetic stripe gift card, available in Sears and Kmart stores and also on the two stores' Web sites, enables users to earn a 3% bonus on funds they add to the card through Nov. 14 for future purchases. A minimum contribution of $5 is required to activate the card, and the maximum bonus each user can earn is $100. Users can load value onto cards with cash or credit cards in stores or online using a credit card, eBillme or PayPal. Participating customers must activate their cards before Oct. 31. Cardholders may redeem their Christmas Club cards, which carry no additional fees and never expire, at any retail outlet or Web site of Sears, Kmart or Lands' End. "Response so far has been very strong," says a Sears spokesperson. "In just the first few days many of our associates activated cards, and we expect the program will be very successful as customers discover it," she says.
