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I bought a highend graphics card from BestBuy. Nvidia offered a game on the card. The invoice didn't have an expiry date at all or a website to refer to regarding terms and conditions.

I tried the code and it didn't work. I contacted customer support and they told me the promo expired and they cannot help me.

What does the law of the USA say regarding informing me as a customer with the expiry date?

Do they have the right to make my coupon expire without any prior notice?

Again, there is no reference to the sentence of "terms and conditions apply or visit a website for more information" in the invoice.

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  • I've found that these expiration dates are often printed on the box itself. You have the same problem with the Vudu video service and buying the Disc + Digital copies, you have to look on the back of the case for the "offer expiration date".
    – Ron Beyer
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 20:23
  • It is bundled as serial on invoice not on a card inside the box.
    – Abkarino
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 20:37

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There are kinds of gift cards which people buy, and there are laws governing them. At the federal level, there is the CARD Act of 2009 which in §1693l–1(c) says

it shall be unlawful for any person to sell or issue a
gift certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card that is subject to an expiration date.

but it does allow an exception if

the expiration date is not earlier than 5 years after the date on which the gift certificate was issued, or the date on which card funds were last loaded to a store gift card or general-use prepaid card; and the terms of expiration are clearly and conspicuously stated.

However, a "card" or piece of paper which entitles you to install free software would probably not satisfy the legal requirements of being a "gift card" in this sense. As I understand the situation, you purchased a piece of computer hardware, and as a promotional bonus they allowed you to install a game. The terms of the law are defined in subsection (a). A "General-use prepaid card" is among other things "issued in a requested amount", and not "for a specific thing". A "gift certificate" is likewise "issued in a specified amount", as is a "Store gift card". The definition excludes "loyalty, award, or promotional gift card", which is what you seem to have been offered. If you had purchased a certificate of some kind that entitles you to get this software (not gotten a certificate in connection with buying something else), then it cannot expire in less that 5 years, and the expiration date has to be conspicuous. But that law does not apply to "bonuses" that you get when you buy another thing.

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