Frequently Asked Questions

Shop Local Rewards is a local rewards program. You earn reward points when you spend money at participating local businesses in your community, and you can use those points to pay for goods and services at any participating business in the network.

The businesses fund the rewards. They do it because the program brings them customers who might otherwise have shopped somewhere else.

Any consumer 18 or older residing in the United States can create a member account. Businesses join separately as merchant members.

Creating a member account is free. Some optional features carry a fee, and any fee is shown clearly before you sign up for it. You will never be charged for something you did not agree to.

Create an account at golocalrewards.org with your name and email address. During sign-up you will choose a cause you care about, which becomes the default recipient if you later choose to contribute part of your rewards.

Spend money at a participating merchant the way you normally would, then upload a photo of your receipt through your member account. Once the purchase is verified, reward points are credited to your account.

Most receipts are processed quickly, but allow a short review period. You can check the status of any submitted receipt in your account.

You earn on qualifying purchases at participating merchants. Each merchant sets its own reward rate, which is shown on that merchant's listing. Merchants may join or leave the program, and rates can change, so check the listing before you shop.

We are working on it. We plan to offer the option to connect a credit or debit card you already carry, so that qualifying purchases at participating merchants are recognized automatically and your points are credited without any receipt.

If we offer this, it will be entirely optional, it will require your clear permission, and you will be able to disconnect the card at any time. We would only ever see purchases you make at participating merchants — never your spending anywhere else, and never what you bought.

You will see the reason in your account. The most common causes are an unreadable image, a merchant that is not participating, or a duplicate submission. You can resubmit with a clearer photo.

Pay for goods and services with your reward points. (Excludes Sales Tax or Tips.)

You can use them at any participating merchant in the network — not just the one where you earned them.

Sales tax has to be remitted to the state in real money, so it cannot be paid with program value. Tips belong to the employee who served you and must reach them as real money — that is required by federal law and it is not something we would want to work around anyway.

Both are charged separately, either in cash or to the payment method you have on file.

Program rules regarding expiration are published in your account and in our Terms and Conditions. We will notify you before any points are at risk of expiring.

No. Reward points are a program benefit, not money. They have no cash value and cannot be redeemed for cash, sold, or transferred outside the program.

Yes. Points cover the goods and services portion up to your available balance, and anything remaining, along with sales tax and any tip, is paid separately.

When you spend reward points, you can choose to direct a small amount of your rewards to a local cause. It is set at 5% by default, and you can change it to any amount you like — including zero.

One hundred percent of what you direct goes to the cause you selected.

No. It is entirely voluntary and you control the amount every time.

Yes, at any time in your account settings.

Use the "Nominate a cause" link in your account and tell us about it. We reach out to organizations members nominate and add them where we can.

No. Reward points are a promotional benefit and are never treated as income to you. Because you were never taxed on that value, you cannot deduct it when you give it away. We do not issue tax receipts. If you have questions about your own situation, speak with a tax advisor.

Yes. Your account shows a running lifetime total of the amount you have directed to your cause.

No. If you save a payment method, the card details are handled and secured by our payment processor. We keep only a secure reference, the card brand, the last four digits, and the expiration date so you can recognize your own card.

Account details you provide, the purchases you submit or that are recognized at participating merchants, and standard technical information about how you use the site. The full picture is in our Privacy Policy.

No.

A participating merchant sees what it needs to confirm a reward transaction. Merchants never receive your card number.

Contact us and we will close it. Unused reward points are forfeited when an account closes, so use your balance first.

Browse the merchant directory in your account or on the site. You can search by category and see each merchant's reward rate.

Tell us about it, or tell the business about us. Merchants join by signing a merchant agreement and paying a monthly membership.

Contact us with the merchant name and the date. Participation can change, and occasionally staff are unfamiliar with the program. We will sort it out and make sure your points are intact.