Privacy Statement
Last revised February 10, 2005
This Privacy Policy (also referred to herein as our "Policy") has been created by Alliance Data Systems Corporation ("Alliance Data," sometimes also referred to herein as "we" or "us") to demonstrate our commitment to on-line data protection and privacy. Because our web site includes areas in which you may provide personal information, we have developed this Policy to inform you of Alliance Data's practices concerning information we collect about you on this site. To make this Policy easy to find, it is available on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be obtained. If you have additional questions about this Policy, please contact us at webmaster@alliancedata.com. This Policy governs the URL http://www.alliancedata.com, and describes what information our site collects about you, how it is collected and how it is used. This Policy does not apply to the treatment of personal information collected off-line, or to web sites found at other locations, including any web sites operated by entities affiliated with Alliance Data. For information concerning privacy practices of web sites operated by other entities, including entities affiliated with Alliance Data, please consult the privacy practices posted at those web sites. We encourage you to read this Policy before using our web site. Your use of the web site signifies that you agree with all terms of this Policy, so please do not use our web site if you disagree with any part of this Policy.
Information collected about you
Alliance Data's web site collects certain personal information about you whenever you send an e-mail to Alliance Data or investor relations or complete one of our on-line forms, such as the document request form. The personal information you provide can identify you and your business, and may include such items as your name, your employer's name, e-mail and US mail addresses, and office and home telephone numbers and fax numbers. We provide the capability to submit resumes to Alliance Data via e-mail. Any resume we receive will be held in confidence and used only for the purpose for which it was submitted.
Alliance Data also collects or logs other information that cannot identify you personally when you visit our web site. This information includes your computer's Internet Protocol ("IP") address and your domain name. An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer by the Internet Service Provider ("ISP") computer through which you access the web, and a domain name is the name of the ISP computer itself through which you access the web.
Alliance Data logs IP addresses and domain names and aggregates them for system administration purposes and to monitor the use of our site. We use the aggregated information to measure the number of visits to our site, the average time spent on our site, the number of pages viewed, to monitor various other site statistics and to diagnose problems with our server. This monitoring process helps us continuously improve the content we provide. Alliance Data does not share these statistics with outside parties and does not link IP addresses or domain names with any personally identifying information, which means that a visitor's session will be logged on our servers, but the visitor will remain anonymous.
We also may retain information concerning the web sites that users access by means of links at our site, and the web sites from which users link to our site. This information does not include personally identifiable data concerning those users.
Information placed automatically on your computer - cookies
When you view our website, we may store certain information on your computer. This information is stored in the form of a small text file called a "cookie," and is used by Alliance Data in certain cases to record the Flash plug-in version installed on your computer. This information helps us ensure that your browser can read graphics used at our web site.
Cookies also can be used for other purposes, such as to store user IDs and passwords so that visitors do not have to reenter that information each time they visit a site. These and other cookie functions may be enabled by our web site as appropriate.
Cookies are read only by the server that placed them and cannot execute any code or virus. With most Internet browsers, you can erase cookies from your computer hard drive, block all cookies or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. Please refer to your browser instructions or help screen to learn more about these functions. Please be aware, however, that some features of our web site may be unavailable to you if cookies are erased or blocked.
How your information is used
We use the information you have provided to us in an on-line form to respond to your request for information about Alliance Data or comments you may have about our web site or other services provided by Alliance Data. If you so request, you may be added to our e-mail, US mail or fax distribution lists.
We will disclose personal information as required to comply with valid legal processes such as a search warrant, subpoena or court order, or to protect our rights and property or the rights and property of our customers, web site users or other parties. Alliance Data also may provide personal information to a purchaser or successor entity in connection with the sale of Alliance, a subsidiary or line of business associated with Alliance Data, or substantially all of the assets of Alliance Data or one of its subsidiaries, affiliates or lines of business. Except as permitted by this Policy, Alliance Data does not disclose personal information provided to us on-line to third parties.
How your information is protected
Alliance Data takes measures to prevent unauthorized intrusion to its web site and the alteration, acquisition or misuse of personal information by unauthorized persons. However, Alliance Data cautions visitors to its web site that no medium of communication, including the Internet, is entirely secure. Accordingly, we cannot be responsible for loss, corruption or unauthorized acquisition and use of personal information provided to our web site, or for any damages resulting from such loss, corruption, unauthorized acquisition or unauthorized use.
Links to other sites
We provide links to external sites as a convenience to our users. The inclusion of any link does not imply our endorsement of the external site company, its web site, or the products and services it promotes and sells. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such web sites. We encourage users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each web site that collects personally identifiable information.
Changes to this Policy
This Policy is the sole authorized statement of Alliance Data's practices with respect to the collection of information through Alliance Data's web site and the subsequent use and disclosure of such information. Any summaries of this Policy generated by third party software or otherwise (for example, in connection with the "Platform for Privacy Preferences" or "P3P") shall have no legal effect, are in no way binding upon Alliance Data, and shall not be relied upon in substitute for this Policy, and neither supersede nor modify this Policy.
Alliance Data may revise this Policy from time to time. You should bookmark and periodically review this page to ensure that you are familiar with the most current version of this Policy. You can determine when this Policy was last revised by checking the "Last Revised" legend at the top of the Policy.