one embodiment of the purchase card system is shown in fig1 . in this embodiment the purchase card process begins with an offer to purchase a gift card at step 100 . the offer may be in any suitable form that would notify prospective purchasers 105 of the availability of the purchase card . for example , a written solicitation may be mailed or otherwise distributed to potential purchasers 105 . the offer may also be in the form of oral notification , for example , a telephone call to prospective purchasers 105 . alternatively , the offer may be published over a computer network , for example , on an internet web site . other forms of offering the sale of a purchase card are also possible . in one embodiment of the invention , offers are made to prospective purchasers who already have a financial relationship with the offeror . other potential purchasers may also be offered the opportunity to obtain a purchase card . the offer may be accepted by a purchaser 105 by notifying a customer service center 110 . the acceptance may be in any form acceptable to the customer service center 110 . for example , the purchaser may mail , fax , or otherwise transmit a written acceptance , telephone an acceptance , or electronically transmit , for example , via web site , an acceptance by computer or other suitable device . at step 120 , the customer service center 110 receives pertinent information to identify the purchaser 105 and the purchaser &# 39 ; s desired spending limit for the purchase card . for example , the customer service center may identify the purchaser 105 by name , address , credit card account number , social security number , other unique identifiers or a combination of identifiers . at step 130 , the customer service center 120 is checked to verify that the caller or purchaser was included in the solicitations for this program . if the caller or purchaser was not originally solicited , customer service 120 determines whether to extend an offer in step 135 . if the caller or purchaser was solicited 130 , certain purchaser 105 information may be accessed at 140 . if , for example , the purchaser wishes to pay for the purchase card with a credit card , the purchaser &# 39 ; s credit card account information may be accessed . for example , the purchaser &# 39 ; s available credit limit may be accessed at 145 to verify that sufficient credit is available to cover the spending amount of the purchase card . if the available credit is insufficient , the purchaser 105 may be so informed at 150 . the purchaser 105 may be given the opportunity to modify the purchase card spending amount , at 155 , in order to ensure that the purchase amount does not exceed the available credit . the process may terminate at 160 if , for example , the purchaser 105 does not wish to modify the purchase amount . after it has been determined that the purchaser &# 39 ; s available credit is sufficient , a transaction may be posted to the purchaser &# 39 ; s credit card for the amount of the purchase at 170 . in another embodiment of the present invention , a purchaser may use a check , cash , or other financial methods to obtain a purchase card . regardless of the purchasing method , the issuer of the purchase card must determine whether the purchaser has sufficient funds to purchase the card . when the purchase card is paid for by credit or bank account , the purchaser &# 39 ; s account balance is updated at 175 to reflect the purchase . the account balance information , as well as information identifying the purchaser 105 and the recipient , may be stored in a retrievable and accessible fashion . for example , the information may be stored in computer database 180 . after the purchaser 105 has paid ( or authorized payment ) for the purchase card , and it is posted to a credit card account , the acceptance process is complete and the acceptance process terminates at 160 . an account for the purchase card is created at 190 . this may be performed by a third party processor that establishes and manages purchase card accounts . for example , at 200 . creation of the purchase card account may comprise various actions , such as , recording the recipients 215 name , address and phone number , imprinting a card with an account number , a recipient name and an expiration date , encoding the card to record the purchase value stored thereon , and other actions , such as , for example , preparing account fulfillment documents ( e . g . card carrier activation , etc .). when the purchase card account is complete , the card is delivered . in one embodiment of the invention , card may be affiliated with a particular network , such a credit network , or debit network . for example , a card may be affiliated with the visa ® network . the delivery may be to the purchaser 105 or to the recipient 215 , as shown at 210 . the place of delivery may be arranged during the initial purchase of the card or other suitable time before delivery . information regarding an account is sent to account file 220 , where an account can be monitored . in one embodiment , account file 220 allows monitoring of the current balance of an account , any activity in the account , including debits and credits , transaction updates , and the like . other information about an account , such as purchase dispute resolutions , the history provided by the customer , and account status , may also be monitored . before the purchase card can be used to make purchases , it must be activated as shown in fig2 at 230 . activation may be accomplished in any suitable manner . for example , the recipient 215 of the card may place a telephone call to an activation center 240 . activation center 240 may act as a telemarketing vendor by verifying information about the recipient ( i . e . name , address , telephone number , etc .) before the purchase card is activated . the activation center 240 may then transmit the data about the recipient to data service 200 to activate the purchase card for use . activation center 240 may also modify information about a recipient , such as , for example , a change of address . other forms of activation , such as by computer network may also be used . during activation certain verifications may be made at 250 to ensure that the intended recipient 215 is the person attempting to activate the purchase card . these security checks 250 may entail questions about personal information ( e . g ., name , address , telephone number , etc .) or may utilize other well known methods of authenticating the recipient 215 . if the person attempting to activate the purchase card does not pass the security check 250 , the purchase card will be denied activation at 255 and the activation process may terminate at 260 . if the person attempting to activate the purchase card passes the security check 250 , they may be prompted at 252 for more information . the information may be used for subsequent security checks , should they be required , or to verify or complete the purchase card account information . after activation the purchase card is ready for use . in some embodiments of the invention the activation process will end at this point . the recipient 215 may now use the purchase card to make purchases where ever , for example , visa ® cards are accepted . each time a purchase is made using the card , the amount of the purchase will be debited from the card &# 39 ; s available balance . the purchase card will continue to operate as long as a positive balance remains on the card . some embodiments of the purchase card may have the capacity to have additional purchase value added to them after they have been activated . if the recipient of a purchase card is someone other than the purchaser , the issuer of the card may notify the purchaser regarding various aspects of the card . for example , in one embodiment of the invention , the issuer could notify the purchaser that the purchase card has been received and activated by the intended recipient . an issuer may also notify a purchaser where the purchase card is being used , or what products are being purchased with the purchase card . some embodiments of the purchase card will include an expiration date . after the expiration date has passed the purchase card will be de - activated and cease to operate . in another embodiment of the present invention , a recipient or a purchaser of a purchase card may add to the balance of the purchase card account . this may take place in a manner substantially similar to the original purchasing of the purchase card . for example , a recipient of a purchase card may request that an amount be posted to the recipient &# 39 ; s credit card and that the same amount then be credited to the recipient &# 39 ; s purchase card account . other methods of adding to the balance of a purchase card account may also be used . another embodiment of the invention allows the recipient 215 to convert the purchase card into a credit card . conversion may be accomplished in the following manner . the recipient 215 calls the activation center 240 to activate the purchase card and the security check 250 may be performed in the usual manner . after passing the security check , the age of the recipient 215 is determined at 270 . if the recipient 215 is an adult ( e . g ., over the age of 18 ) an offer to convert the purchase card into a credit card may be extended at 271 . at step 275 the recipient 215 may decline the offer to convert , in which case the process may terminate at 280 . if the recipient 215 elects to convert the purchase card to a credit card the activation center 240 may capture additional data 285 from recipient 215 , in order to complete a credit card application . at step 290 the credit card application data is forwarded to a credit decisioning office 300 . the credit decisioning office 300 may make inquiries to a credit bureau 305 , for example , obtaining a credit report on the recipient 215 . at 310 the decision is rendered whether to approve the credit card application . if the application for a credit card is declined at 315 , the recipient 215 may be notified at 320 . notification may be in any suitable form , for example , a letter explaining the declined application may be mailed at 320 to the recipient 215 . other forms of notification may also be used to notify recipient 215 of the declined application . even though the credit card application is declined at 310 , the purchase card is activated for use . at 330 , the account settings allowing a card to be used at merchants are sent to the data service 200 and the card will be activated as a purchase card account . information pertaining to the purchase card account is stored in a retrievable and accessible manner . for example , the purchase card account information may be stored in a computer 332 . if the decision at 310 is to accept the application for a credit card , the recipient 215 may be notified at 340 . again , notification may be in any suitable form , for example , a letter or other suitable notification . regardless of the decision whether to convert the purchase card into a credit card , the purchase card is activated at the end of the activation call . if the purchase card is not already active , it may be activated at 345 . at 350 the purchase card is converted to a credit card . the credit card will function in a manner usual for such credit instruments . for example , a credit limit may be assigned , periodic account activity statements may be generated and finance charges may be applied to any outstanding balance . in one embodiment , any remaining balance from the purchase card account may be transferred and applied to the credit card account . at 355 an update is sent to a retrievable data storage system , for example , computer 360 . the update 355 sends credit card application decisions into a database . in another embodiment of the purchase card , a financial institution ( e . g ., a bank ) issues a credit card to a cardholder . the card may be a co - branded card issued in cooperation with a sponsor . in this embodiment , the sponsor offers a rebate to the cardholder based upon the dollar value amount of purchases made with the co - branded credit card . the rebate may apply to all purchases made or just to purchases made from the sponsor . the rebate may be calculated in a manner specified by the terms of the cardholder agreement or other disclosures to the cardholder . in one embodiment of the invention , disclosure about the rebate is provided to the cardholder in a separate form included with the cardholder agreement . for example , the sponsor may offer a flat percentage rebate for purchases made . in one embodiment of the invention , the card issuer calculates the rebate due the cardholder based on the balance paid . in another embodiment , the sponsor notifies the financial institution of the amount of rebate to be awarded to the cardholder . the financial institution will then issue a purchase card for the amount of the rebate . the purchase card may be used for purchases in the above described manner , for example , everywhere visa ® is accepted , or the purchase card may be used for purchases solely with the sponsor or other designated entities . other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . the specification and examples should be considered exemplary only . the scope of the invention is only limited by the claims appended hereto .