Who pays for this - merchant or Mogl?
Sorry off the grid for a while. Mogl gives you your promo cash back, and in many cases, the normal cash back depending on the time of purchase. So, the way it works (as I have spoken to the owners of many of the participating restaurant) is that the restaurant pays a flat rate per month depending on their earnings or whatever is negotiated, and in some cases, they pay the cash back that the customer is entitled to depending on the time of purchase. The promos each month rotate the participating restaurants, but many times some restaurants are consistently included in the promotions. I've purchased $100s to $1000s at many restaurants in the past when the T&Cs stated PER ACCOUNT. Now, it is PER PERSON, so I'm left with $10 X 2 or $20 X 2 per restaurant per day (me and wife).
So, I work with the owners to purchase credit if they don't sell gcs or certs. And, when needed, I just order the food in the future for myself or to donate. Some places require you to buy up-front, but once you get to know the managers or owners, they're pretty open to crediting for future use. I end up helping small businesses out and feeding the homeless, family, and friends while getting paid for it with points and cash back. I was able to double dip by using my freedom cards to get the 5X this quarter. Chase hasn't clawed back the 4 extra points nor the 1 ppd, but some of my other cards that I've used have clawed back the 1 point per dollar credited back. I probably will dispute that this is not a refund but a credit as they code as Mogl.com cash back and not a refund.
My thoughts are that the more people who participate in the promo and as long as the participating restaurant is part of the promo, it would be beneficial for not just the customer, but also the restaurant as our purchases would offset their monthly dues to Mogl and can even prove to be profitable for them.