Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of These Terms

By creating an account, joining our waitlist, purchasing or redeeming a Gift, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, both of which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

These Terms contain a binding arbitration provision and a class action waiver in Section 16. Please read them carefully, as they affect your legal rights.

2. What Cheers Is and Is Not

Cheers is a platform that lets you purchase a drink or other menu item for another person, called a Gift, which the recipient can redeem in person at a participating bar, restaurant, or venue by presenting a unique QR code.

• Partner Venues, not Cheers, are the sellers of all food and beverages. Cheers facilitates the purchase and redemption of Gifts. The Partner Venue is solely responsible for preparing, serving, and lawfully providing the item, including verifying the recipient's age.
• Cheers is not a bank, money transmitter, or money services business. We do not hold, store, or transmit your funds. All payments are processed by our third-party payment processor, Stripe, Inc.
• Gifts are not gift cards, stored value, or cash equivalents. A Gift is a limited, non-transferable right to redeem a specific item at a Partner Venue during the Redemption Window described in Section 5. Gifts have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for cash except where required by law.
• Cheers does not manufacture, sell, or serve alcohol. All alcohol service occurs at licensed Partner Venues in accordance with applicable law.

3. Eligibility

To create an account or use the Service, you must be at least 21 years of age, reside in the United States and use the Service only where it is available and lawful, have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract, provide accurate registration information, and not have been previously suspended or removed from the Service.

You may be required to verify your identity before purchasing or redeeming Gifts. Identity verification is performed through Stripe and may include providing your legal name, date of birth, and other identifying information. We may deny, suspend, or limit your use of the Service if we cannot verify your identity or eligibility. We may require recipients to create an account and satisfy the same eligibility requirements before redeeming a Gift.

4. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately at support@cheersapp.com if you suspect any unauthorized access to or use of your account. We are not liable for losses arising from unauthorized use of your account that occurs before you notify us. You may not sell, transfer, or share your account.

5. How Gifts Work

Purchasing a Gift. When you purchase a Gift, you select a Partner Venue and an eligible item, designate a recipient, and pay the listed price plus any service fees and applicable taxes disclosed at checkout. Your payment is processed by Stripe at the time of purchase.

Notifying the recipient. The recipient will be notified of the Gift through the Service or by the contact method you provide. The recipient must have or create a Cheers account and must meet the eligibility requirements in Section 3 to redeem the Gift.

Redemption. To redeem a Gift, the recipient presents the unique QR code at the Partner Venue during the venue's operating hours. The Partner Venue will verify the QR code and the recipient's age with a valid government-issued photo ID before serving any alcoholic beverage. Each Gift may be redeemed only once.

Partner Venues reserve the right, and in some cases have the legal obligation, to refuse service to any person, including persons who are underage, visibly intoxicated, or unable to present valid identification. If a Partner Venue refuses service, the Gift remains unredeemed and will be handled under our Refund Policy.

Redemption Window and expiration. Each Gift must be redeemed within 30 days of purchase. If a Gift is not redeemed within that Redemption Window, it expires automatically and the purchase price is refunded to the purchaser's original payment method in accordance with our Refund Policy.

Substitutions and availability. If a purchased item is unavailable at the time of redemption, the Partner Venue may offer a substitute item of equal or greater value. If the recipient declines the substitute, the Gift remains unredeemed and will be handled under our Refund Policy.

6. Fees and Payments

Prices for items are set in coordination with Partner Venues and are displayed in the Service. We may charge a service fee on each Gift purchase, which will be disclosed at checkout before you complete your purchase. All amounts are in U.S. dollars and include applicable taxes where stated.

By making a purchase, you authorize Stripe to charge your selected payment method for the full transaction amount. Your use of Stripe's payment services is subject to Stripe's terms and privacy policy. We may change our fees at any time on a prospective basis; changes will not affect purchases you have already completed.

7. Refunds

Refunds are governed by our Refund Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. In summary: you may cancel an unredeemed Gift at any time for a full refund, unredeemed Gifts are automatically refunded when they expire, and redeemed Gifts are final and non-refundable.

8. Alcohol and Responsible Use

You agree that you will not purchase or attempt to purchase a Gift containing alcohol for any person under 21 years of age, purchase a Gift for a person you know or reasonably should know is intoxicated, redeem or attempt to redeem a Gift on behalf of another person, resell or transfer a Gift or QR code to anyone other than the designated recipient, or use the Service in any manner that violates alcoholic beverage laws or regulations.

We are committed to the responsible consumption of alcohol. Partner Venues have sole discretion and responsibility to refuse alcohol service in accordance with applicable law. Please drink responsibly.

9. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to provide false or fraudulent information, impersonate any person or entity, use the Service for unlawful financial activity, copy or attempt to redeem a QR code more than once, harass or abuse any person through Gift messages, interfere with or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, scrape or reverse engineer the Service, circumvent fees or redemption controls, or use the Service for any unauthorized commercial purpose.

10. Suspension and Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account or your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms, engaged in fraud or abuse, created risk or legal exposure for us or Partner Venues, or if required by law. Upon termination, any unredeemed Gifts you purchased will be refunded in accordance with our Refund Policy, except where the Gift or account activity is connected to fraud or abuse.

You may close your account at any time by contacting us at support@cheersapp.com. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination will survive.

11. Intellectual Property

The Service, including all software, designs, logos, trademarks, text, and other content, excluding content provided by Partner Venues, is owned by Cheers LLC or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for its intended personal purposes. If you provide us feedback or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use them without restriction or compensation.

12. Third-Party Services

The Service relies on third-party services, including Stripe for payment processing and identity verification. Your use of those services is governed by their own terms and privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their acts or omissions. Partner Venues are independent businesses, and we are not responsible for their products, services, premises, or conduct.

13. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure. We make no warranty regarding any item sold or served by a Partner Venue, including its quality, safety, or fitness for consumption. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CHEERS LLC AND ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE. Our total aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of $100 or the amounts you paid through the Service in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Cheers LLC and its members, managers, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or relating to your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, your violation of any law or the rights of any third party, or any Gift you purchase or redeem.

16. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration; Class Action Waiver

Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at support@cheersapp.com and give us 30 days to work with you to resolve the dispute informally.

If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, you and Cheers LLC agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. The arbitration will take place in Champaign County, Illinois or remotely by videoconference at your election. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Section.

Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court or seek injunctive relief in court for infringement or misuse of intellectual property rights. YOU AND CHEERS EACH AGREE THAT DISPUTES WILL BE RESOLVED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A CLASS ACTION, CONSOLIDATED ACTION, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing support@cheersapp.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, stating your name and your intent to opt out of arbitration. Opting out will not affect any other provision of these Terms.

17. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. For any dispute not subject to arbitration, you and Cheers LLC consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Champaign County, Illinois.

18. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or through the Service before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. The "Last updated" date above reflects the most recent revision.

19. Miscellaneous

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Cheers LLC regarding the Service. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

20. Contact Us

Questions about these Terms can be sent to support@cheersapp.com.