"Visa Online Shopping Spree" Sweepstakes Official Rules

THE SWEEPSTAKES IS INTENDED FOR VIEWING AND PARTICIPATION ONLY IN THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND EVALUATED ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. PLEASE DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU ARE NOT A LEGAL RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE TIME OF ENTRY.
NO PURCHASE OR OBLIGATION NECESSARY. NON-PURCHASE ENTRIES AND PURCHASE ENTRIES HAVE AN EQUAL CHANCE OF WINNING.
1. To Enter: The Sweepstakes begins August 1, 2001, at 12:01 A.M. Pacific Time (PT) and ends August 31, 2001, at 11:59 P.M. PT ("Sweepstakes Period"). There are two (2) ways to enter:
a) An eligible Visa® cardholder automatically receives one Sweepstakes entry for each purchase made during the Sweepstakes Period with his/her individual Visa card at any one of the following Participating Online Merchants: 1-800-Flowers.com, alaskaair.com, Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, BananaRepublic.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Beyond.com, Bluefly.com, buy.com, CDNOW, Cooking.com, Dell.com, eBay, FTD.COM, gap.com, LLBean.com, netflix.com, oldnavy.com, PETsMART.com, RedEnvelope.com, sharperimage.com, Tickets.com, Toysrus.com and Zales.com (collectively "Participating Merchants"). Only purchases made with a Visa card that is in good standing and issued in the U.S. by a participating financial institution, and processed through Visa U.S.A. Inc.'s transaction-processing system during the Sweepstakes Period, are eligible for automatic entry. Cash advances, balance transfers, non-U.S.-dollar purchases, purchases authorized by entering a PIN (Personal Identification Number), and convenience-check, ATM, and Interlink®-processed transactions are excluded from entry. Cards that are stolen, fraudulent, tampered with, or otherwise altered are not eligible for automatic entry.
b) To enter without purchase or obligation, hand-print your name, street address, city, state, zip, day and evening phone numbers, and the words "Visa Online Shopping Spree" Sweepstakes on a 3" x 5" card, and mail in a stamped #10 envelope to: "Visa Online Shopping Spree" Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 4008, Grand Rapids, MN 55730-4008. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by August 31, 2001, and received by September 10, 2001. Enter as often as you wish; however, only one entry per stamped envelope will be accepted. No mechanical reproductions permitted. Entries become the property of Visa U.S.A. Inc. ("Sponsor") and will not be returned.
2. Eligibility: Sweepstakes is offered only in the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia, and is open only to legal U.S. residents, eighteen (18) years of age and older as of August 1, 2001. Commercial card eligibility is subject to employer policies regarding Sweepstakes participation. Employees of Participating Merchants, Visa U.S.A. Inc., Visa International Service Association, their respective Member financial institutions, their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, and advertising and promotion agencies, including FAC Services Group, L.P. ("FAC"), Frankel & Company ("Frankel"), their parent, its affiliates, related companies, and subsidiaries, and the immediate families (spouse, and parents, children and siblings, and each of their respective spouses, regardless of residence) and persons living in the households of such individuals, whether related or not, are not eligible to participate. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
3. Prizes: One (1) Grand Prize: A Visa stored-value card in the amount of $50,000. Prize will be awarded as a check, if the winner so chooses.
Two hundred fifty (250) First Prizes: A Visa stored-value card in the amount of $100.
4. Odds: Estimated odds of winning any prize are 1:24,082; however, actual odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible transaction and non-purchase entries received during the Sweepstakes Period.
5. Prize Restrictions: Prizes are non-transferable. No substitution of prizes permitted except at Sponsor's option. Federal, state, and local taxes, and any expenses relating to the acceptance and use of the prize not specified herein are the responsibility solely of the winner. Visa stored-value cards awarded as prizes will be subject to regular Visa card conditions. Limit one prize per person or household.
6. Drawing: On or about September 15, 2001, a random drawing will be conducted under the direction of FAC, an independent judging organization, from among all eligible entries received.
7. Winner Notification/Prize Awards: The Grand Prize winner will be notified by a traceable method of delivery, and will be required to complete, sign, and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability Release and, where legal, a Publicity Release, which must be returned within 14 days of date of prize notification or prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. If the prize is won by a person who is not of the age of majority in the state of residence ("minor"), the prize will be awarded in the name of the winner's parent or legal guardian. The prize will be awarded approximately twenty-one (21) days following verification of the returned Affidavit/Release(s). If a prize notification or prize is returned as non-deliverable, the prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.
Each First Prize winner will be mailed a $100 Visa stored-value card approximately six to eight weeks from the date of the drawing.
8. Additional Terms: By participating, entrants (or, if minors, their parents or legal guardians) agree to: a.) the Official Rules and the decisions of the judges and the Sponsor which shall be final in all respects; and b.) release, discharge, and hold harmless Participating Merchants, Visa U.S.A. Inc., Visa International Service Association, their respective Member financial institutions, their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, and employees, including FAC, Frankel, their parent, its affiliates, subsidiaries, and related companies, and the respective directors, officers, and employees of the foregoing entities (collectively "Releasees") from any liability, claims, or damages arising out of their participation in the Sweepstakes and the acceptance, use, misuse, or possession of any prize. By accepting a prize, winners (or, if minors, their parents or legal guardians) agree to, where legal, Sponsor and/or its designees' use of their names, photo, and/or likeness for advertising and publicity purposes without compensation and, upon request, will provide consent to such use in writing.
9. Limitations of Liability: Releasees are not responsible for printing or typographical errors in any Sweepstakes-related materials; for stolen, lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, or illegible entries or mail; or for transactions and online entries that are processed late or incorrectly, or are lost due to computer or electronic malfunction. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or participating Web sites; to be acting in violation of the Official Rules; or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person. Any use of robotic, automatic, programmed, or similar entry methods will void all such entries by such methods. Sponsor is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by participating Web-site users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes; any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications-line failure, theft, or destruction or unauthorized access of participating Web sites; or any injury or damage to participants or to any other person's computer(s) related to or resulting from participating in this Sweepstakes, or downloading materials from or use of the participating Web sites. If, for any reason, the Sweepstakes cannot be conducted as planned by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Sweepstakes, the Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend this Sweepstakes or any drawing(s), and may select the winner from among all eligible entries received prior to the action taken. IN NO EVENT WILL THE SPONSOR, PARTICIPATING MERCHANTS, AND/OR RELEASEES, AND THE RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, OR EMPLOYEES OF THE FOREGOING ENTITIES, BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE PARTICIPATING WEB SITE OR THE DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM SAID SITES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING ON THIS SITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE AFOREMENTIONED LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY. SWEEPSTAKES IS GOVERNED BY LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES WITH VENUE IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA FOR THE RESOLUTION OF ALL CLAIMS AND DISPUTES. CHECK LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR CONDITIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS AND/OR EXCLUSIONS.
10. Winners List: For the names of the winners, mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope to "Visa Online Shopping Spree" Sweepstakes WL, P.O. Box 8049, Grand Rapids, MN 55745-8049. Requests must be received no later than September 30, 2001, or they will not be honored or returned.
Sponsored by Visa U.S.A. Inc., P.O. Box 8999, San Francisco, CA 94128, and administered by FAC Services Group, L.P., 111 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601.