Connections^SM

Privacy and Security Policy

Connections^SM (www.connections123.com) is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build user’s trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. This Privacy and Security Policy covers the site www.connections123.com. Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, we have partnered with TRUSTe to provide you with a secure and enjoyable member experience.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy and Security Policy, you should first contact Member Savings at membershipservices@connections123.com. If you do not receive acknowledgement of your inquiry about this Privacy and Security Policy or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with Connections^SM to resolve your concerns.

Connections^SM uses the domain www.membershipme.com to provide online access to program benefits. Therefore, this online Privacy and Security Policy for Connections^SM is also applicable to Connections^SM customers who access and utilize our online landing pages under the domain www.membershipme.com.

What information is collected?

Generally, we gather two types of information. The first type of information is the personally identifiable information ("Personal Information") that you expressly provide when you enroll in Connections^SM. This information includes your name, mailing address or e-mail address or some other unique personal identifier (e.g. city of birth or mother’s maiden name) that we can use to confirm sales and billing information (e.g. credit card number). Occasionally, we may request other information from you that may be used by our Membership Services department to confirm enrollment, update your account or confirm your order. From time to time, we may offer you optional surveys that may ask you for your opinions or demographic data (e.g. age and gender) so that we can improve our program and offerings.

The second type of information is technical and statistical information that is collected automatically whenever you visit our Web site. This type of information may include things such as your IP address, operating system, type of browser and Web site activity. We collect this data to help us improve the quality of our Web site and make your visits to the site easy, convenient and meaningful.

We do not link aggregate user data with personally identifiable information.

Who is collecting the information?

Connections^SM is marketed and distributed by Adaptive Marketing LLC^®, a leading marketing solutions company. The information collected on the site is owned by Adaptive Marketing LLC^® and/or its marketing partners depending on who offered you membership in the program.

How do you use the information collected?

We use the Personal Information you provide to service your membership. For example, we request your mailing address so we know where to send the merchandise certificates, gift cards and other benefits that you may purchase, and any other information you may request. We also may send you additional membership information such as updates about our program and special offers. We use your credit card information to bill you for the membership fee and any benefits you may purchase. We use your e-mail address to notify you of program updates, special offers and promotions. If you prefer not to receive e-mail notifications from us, simply visit our Contact Us page, select “Unsubscribe to future marketing” from the drop-down menu, and e-mail us your request. Be sure to include your name and membership ID number as well as the e-mail address to remove from our list.

The Personal Information that is collected may also be shared with other groups within the Adaptive Marketing organization, and with Adaptive Marketing’s affiliates and /or marketing partners, to bring you additional information and special savings offers.

The technical and statistical information that is automatically collected from your computer whenever you visit Connections^SM is used to help us improve the site and the member experience. From time to time we may disclose general statistical information about our Web site and its visitors such as the number of visitors, the number and type of products purchased, etc.

Do you share Personal Information with third parties?

Connections^SM may share Personal Information with third parties whom we employ to perform functions on our behalf and with whom we have contractual relationships. For example, Connections^SM uses a third party to verify and process your credit card information in order to charge you for requested benefits or services. All such third parties are contractually obligated to use your Personal Information only for the purpose for which it is given. Connections^SM is not responsible for the information practices of third parties outside of such contractual relationships. The collection, use and disclosure of information by third parties are subject to their respective privacy policies, which may differ from our policy.

From time to time, we may also share Personal Information with our affiliates and/or marketing partners who offer products and services that we think will be of interest to you. If you prefer not to have your Personal Information shared with our affiliates and/or marketing partners, please indicate what offers you are not interested in receiving on the E-mail Preferences page, if available, or by sending us an e-mail using the Contact Us page. If you are enrolling online, you may also opt-out of receiving e-mails from third parties outside of Connections^SM by de-selecting the check box on the enrollment page. If you accept a third-party offer provided via or linked to from our Web site, you consent to our providing your Personal Information and/or billing information to the third-party marketer that offered the product or service so they may process your acceptance of the offer.

We may also disclose your Personal Information when required by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process.

As we continue to develop our business, we may buy or sell assets. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets. Also, in the unlikely event that our company or substantially all of its assets are acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets. In the event that customer information is transferred as described in this paragraph, members will be notified via e-mail and given the opportunity to opt-out of having their Personal Information transferred to any new entity.

How do I change/modify my information?

You can change, modify or update your member information by sending us an e-mail from the Contact Us page. You can choose at any time to inform us of your e-mail preferences by sending us an e-mail from the Contact Us page or, if available, by going to the E-mail Preferences page where you can indicate what offers you are not interested in receiving.

What are Cookies and how do you use them?

A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user’s computer for record-keeping purposes. We use cookies on this site. We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our site. Some of our business partners (e.g., advertisers) use cookies on our site. We have no access to or control over these cookies. This Privacy and Security Policy covers the use of cookies by this site only and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.

We use persistent cookies. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. We use persistent cookies on the login page to store your Membership ID and for re-direction of members to membership enabled Web sites. You can remove persistent cookies by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” file.

Most Internet browsers will allow you to erase or block cookies. Instructions for disabling cookies may differ from one browser version to another. Please refer to the Help section of your browser for instructions to assist you in these processes: preventing your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. However, cookies allow you to take full advantage of some of our sites features, so we recommend that you leave them turned on.

If you reject cookies, you may still use our site, but your ability to use some areas of our site, will be limited. We do not use cookies for the shopping cart.

What are pixels and how do you use them?

“Pixels" or "pixel tags” are tiny graphic images placed on certain pages of our Web site but not on your computer. When you access these pages, pixel tags generate a generic notice of that visit; at no time is your Personal Information collected by the pixel tag. Pixel tags allow us to measure and improve our understanding of visitor traffic and behavior on our Web site. We may also utilize pixel tags provided by our affiliates and/or marketing partners for the same purposes.

How can I disable my pixel tags?

You can disable pixel tags by changing your browser settings to omit images. Alternatively, there are some commercial software packages available that can omit pixel tags.

How do you secure member information?

We work to protect the security of your information during transmission by using Secure Socket Layer (SSL). When you place an order online, the SSL scrambles or encrypts your information before it is sent to us over the Internet. This protects your credit card information from being read while it is transferred through cyberspace. When we receive your order, the information is kept encrypted until we are ready to process your request. SSL is supported by Netscape 2.0+, Microsoft IE 3.0+ and most frame-enabled browsers. You will see a small key or padlock in the bottom right corner of your browser if you are using Netscape or Microsoft browsers, indicating that your transaction is secure. In addition, we meet all of the stringent requirements of the VerisignTM security seal for all online transactions.

Internal access to member information is protected and can only be accessed by password. We also contract with industry experts to institute and review Web security on a periodic basis.

Do these same policies apply to third-party Web sites that I access through Connections^SM ?

No. The Privacy and Security Policy appearing on this Web site relates to Connections^SM. You will notice that our Web site may contain links to other sites such as our benefit providers. We cannot be responsible for the privacy and security practices of other Web sites that you may access through our site, even if displayed within a frame on our site. As an online consumer, you should always review a particular Web site’s privacy and security policies when linking to that site before revealing any Personal Information to that site.

How do you update your Privacy and Security Policy?

We will notify you if there is a material change in our privacy practices. We will take commercially reasonable measures to obtain written or active e-mail consent from the member if Connections^SM is going to be using the information collected from the member in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection. We will also post the changes in our Privacy and Security Policy prior to a change.

How do I contact the Web site?

If you have any questions about the practices of this Web site or your dealings with this site, you can send us an email through our Contact Us page or write to us at Membership Services, Connections^SM, 8420 W. Bryn Mawr, Suite 700, Chicago, IL 60631.