Buy Local Bonus is your chance to be rewarded for spending your dollars locally this holiday season! Starting November 28, 2025, and while supplies last, spend $100 or more on gifts at any retail business in the City of SLO and receive a $25 gift card to another local business.  

How to get your gift card: 

1. Shop Locally

• Spend $100 or more on gifts at local retailers in the City of San Luis Obispo on or after November 28, 2025.  
• Receipts must be readable and itemized. Date, name of the business, and the full total must be included. 
• Receipts may be cumulative but can only be redeemed within the duration of the program.  
• Taxes, delivery fees, and shipping are not eligible for the purchase total. 
• Only purchases of retail items qualify.  

2. Bring your receipt(s) to the SLO Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center at 895 Monterey Street by 4 PM on 12/24/2025. 

895 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Sunday - Wednesday, 9:30 AM - 5 PM
Thursday - Saturday, 9:30 AM - 6 PM 
(805)-781-2777

3. Get your gift card! All gift cards must be picked up in person from the SLO Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center at 895 Monterey Street.

Shoppers can qualify up to three times through Christmas Eve or until the program sells out. However, while multiple receipts may be used to qualify for a single entry, one receipt cannot be used for more than one entry. 

New this year: If you qualify to receive three gift cards, you may only select up to two gift cards from the same participating business. The third gift card must be from a different participating business.

This update helps uphold the spirit of Buy Local Bonus — by limiting gift cards from one business, we help spread the “bonus” across more local businesses and introduce more customers to more small businesses.

Please note: Only receipts from businesses located within San Luis Obispo city limits qualify for the Buy Local Bonus. The following business types do not meet the requirements for receipt qualification: Restaurants or dining, big box stores, convenience and drug stores, grocery or  supermarkets, lodging, fueling or gas stations. Payments for services ( for example, business services, medical services, recurring memberships, auto services, receipts for lodging or hotel stays, gas or fuel receipts) do not qualify.

If you have additional questions, please contact us at supportslo@slochamber.org 

Thank you for your interest in participating in Buy Local Bonus. We've had an incredible response this year, and are no longer accepting additional businesses into the program.

In order to qualify for this program, the business must: 

• be a local retail, restaurant, fitness, or personal service business in the city of SLO  
• hold a current San Luis Obispo city business license  
• have a physical location or storefront within city limits  
• have the ability to sell and redeem gift cards/certificates    

If your business qualifies, you will be contacted by the SLO Chamber of Commerce with a confirmation and asked to deliver your twenty-five $25 gift cards to the Visitor Center at 895 Monterey Street with an invoice for payment.

The spirit of this program is to support small local businesses. If you own an eligible local business—or have a favorite local business you’d love to see included—please share this opportunity with them and help spread the word!

Help Spread the Word

Please help the City spread the word about supporting local businesses with this media toolkit- in it, you will find everything you need to communicate with your customers about how to shop small this holiday season! From printable fliers to ready-to-use social media and email content to updated parking and event information – we've got you covered! 

Resources included are for the following programs:

• Buy Local Bonus 
• Downtown SLO Holiday Happenings
• Parking during the holidays

Please note: Only businesses located within San Luis Obispo city limits can participate in Buy Local Bonus. The following business types do not meet the requirements to participate: Big box stores; Convenience + Drug Stores; Grocery/Supermarket; Lodging; Fueling or gas stations.

• This program is not limited to a defined list of businesses. Shoppers may purchase goods at any local retail shop in the city of San Luis Obispo, other than big box stores, convenience and drug stores, and grocery or supermarkets.
• The following business types do not meet the requirements for receipt qualification for Buy Local Bonus: restaurants or dining, big box stores, convenience and drug stores, grocery or  supermarkets, lodging, fueling or gas stations. Payments for services ( for example, business services, medical services, recurring memberships, auto services, receipts for lodging or hotel stays, gas or fuel receipts) do not qualify.

Each person may qualify up to three times for Buy Local Bonus. 

New this year: If you qualify to receive three gift cards, you may only select up to two gift cards from the same participating business. The third gift card must be from a different participating business.

This update helps uphold the spirit of Buy Local Bonus — by limiting gift cards from one business, we help spread the “bonus” across more local businesses and introduce more customers to more small businesses.

• No, receipts are cumulative, so you may turn in more than one receipt to reach $100. However, a single receipt can only be used once for qualification.

• Shipping/delivery fees and taxes do not contribute toward the $100 minimum total.

• After you shop local, bring your receipt(s) into the Visitor Center located at 895 Monterey Street during business hours to qualify.

• All gift cards must be picked up in-person at the Visitor Center located at 895 Monterey Street during business hours. Gift cards will not be mailed.

• Gift cards are limited and selection is subject to what's available on-hand at the time that you pick it up. Gift card selection must be made at the time of redemption.

Purchases on anything other than retail goods do not qualify for the Buy Local Bonus promotion. This includes, but is not limited to:

o food and beverage from an eatery
o personal care service such as a manicure or haircut
o business services
o recurring memberships
o auto services
o lodging or hotel stays
o gas or fuel 

The following business types do not meet the requirements for receipt qualification for Buy Local Bonus: restaurants or food and beverage establishments, big box stores like Best Buy, Costco, or Target, convenience or drug stores, grocery or supermarket, lodging, fueling or gas stations. Payments for services do not qualify. Examples of those include: business services, recurring memberships, auto services, receipts for lodging or hotel stays, gas or fuel receipts.