Ironically, I could see people actually paying for this service by splitting the "gift cards" etc. that are found.
Essentially, it's an automated service to find all of the places where programs give you free stuff for little or no work, and then their system just watches your email and does it for you, splitting the final values in some fashion.
Despite the extreme security issues around it, I could many people signing up for this.
I don't remember what it was called, but there was a service that did exactly this for price drop protection. They'd scan your purchases by monitoring your email, and when the price of something you purchased dropped within the protection period, they'd automatically file a claim with the credit card company, taking 20%.
I really like the idea of automating these things, I am pretty sure I miss out on a ton of free deals and good opportunities to save money. However, the amount of trust I'd have to have in any system where they can scan all of my email with impunity.... Hooo boy. Ain't going to happen anytime soon.
It's a zero sum game though... if everyone did this then the price you pay in the first place will go up or they would be cancelled. These benefits only work because most people don't take advantage of them.
Some credit cards will refund the difference in price within a certain period of time. It's one of those spiffs like airline miles or vague "points" that some cards use to hook new customers.
Essentially, it's an automated service to find all of the places where programs give you free stuff for little or no work, and then their system just watches your email and does it for you, splitting the final values in some fashion.
Despite the extreme security issues around it, I could many people signing up for this.