Update on the Omaha Steak fiasco…. many people never received their rewards codes, or when they did, it ended up being for $25 off a $100 purchase. Others who took advantage of the “free” offers received e-mails from Omaha Steak after their orders had been confirmed and payments had been processed stating that they would not be receiving the free items.

I found this link which provided some explanation (I’m including the explanation from this blog below, too): http://beyondthegarden.org/2008/10/22/everybody-likes-free-cheap/#comments

For those of you who promptly responded to the offer that I was able to get in on with Omaha Steaks, but you were not – this is what happened.

I recieved an email that informed me anyone I had referred to the promo could no longer get “in on the action”. Evidently, Geico made a mistake of great magnitude. First of all – they were not to offer the $25 in the form of a ‘gift card’ (which indicates cash value), but rather a “rewards card”. Geico also did not follow instructions per Omaha Steaks that a person needed to purchase $100 worth of product before being able to use the “rewards”. Nor was anything said, because a gift card DOES indicate cash value, that the free burgers and ‘rewards card’ cannot be used together. So, after receiving an email, myself, today – I called customer service at Omaha Steaks.

Omaha Steaks bit the bullet and honored the promo for those of us who made the order before 10:00am this (Wednesday) morning, which was when Geico changed their links and exemptions to the program. Evidently this little mishap cost them a whole lot of money. I post this as a form of explanation as to why those of you who tried, did NOT get back a ‘gift card’ code via email.

This link also discusses the customer service issue: http://www.startupstoryradio.com/omaha-steaks-social-media-marketing-turned-internet-reputation-debacle/#comment-12893

This is an AWESOME deal! I got 18 Omaha steak burger patties, a cutlery set, and a cutting board shipped for only $3.98!

To access this deal, here’s what you need to do:
1. First, click on the link below and register for Geico Privileges. You don’t have to be a Geico customer. Within an hour or so they will send you an email with a gift card code for $25 off any Omaha purchase.

http://www.geicoprivileges.com/members/home.php?sid=26XXdKrlo2601

When you click on the link for the gift card code from your e-mail, it will take you to the Geico Privileges site. If you are not logged in, it will say that there is a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase. Log in, click on the link in your e-mail again, and you will be able to access your $25 code.

2. If you are an ebates member, click here:
http://www.ebates.com/search/all.htm?store_name=omaha+steaks

Then, click on the link that says: “Save up to 65% PLUS 3 FREE Gifts from Omaha Steaks.“

If you haven’t joined Ebates.com yet, now is the perfect time to join! If you join through this link, you will get a $10 bonus added to your account and you will also get 6% back on your Omaha Steaks purchase!
http://www.ebates.com/refer-a-friend/0809promo.htm?referrerid=%2BKE12Ia0hiKNhNAjtiRDTQ%3D%3D

3. At Omaha steaks put anything into your cart that equals at least $14.99. You can get 12 four ounce Omaha steak burgers for $14.99. You also get a bonus 6 free burgers, a 6 piece cutlery set, and a cutting board if you order through the ebates link above.

4. Go to checkout. You will see a charge of $13.99 for shipping, but your $25 gift card code will cover most of that!

Apply your gift card code. My remaining balance was $3.98. You can make the remainder of your payment using a major credit card or a Paypal account.

My burgers should be here within a week. I’m so excited!

TIP: If you did this last night, and you don’t get your code until this morning, make sure you open up a NEW tracking ticket through Ebates (using the 65% off link above) or you may not get credit