The Discover Card does something similar: for periods ofHere are a few months they offer special rewards for special categories of products - for one period it might be groceries, for another period it will be gasoline, for another period it may be home repair stores, etc. However, to get the reward, I need to visit the Discover web site and make a couple clicks to get the reward. I do find it irritating and don't always remember to do it.
I think they do this for a variety ofpossible reasons:
As already mentioned in mhoran_psprep's answer, the card provider can save money if people don't sign up, while continuing to advertise that they give a 5% rebate (or whatever benefit).
Every time I visit their site IThey may use this to get asked questions which have the potential of helpingyou to do things that help them. For example, for the time being we preferthey may ask you to electronic billing if you still receive paper bills, but every time I visit through the Discover web site I am asked to switch to electronic billingmail.
Their web site also serves up advertisements forThey may try to get you to use their other products and services, and sometimes those of their "partners" (companies they team with to provide some of these discounts, rebates, etc.). Exposing customers to these ads makes it more likely that those customers will use those products and services. Thus it benefits the company to have their customers visit their web site every month or so.
