2.1 To participate in the Program, you must (a) be at least 18 years of age, (b) hold a valid GC Prep Account, (c) have accepted the GC Prep Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and (d) not reside in a jurisdiction where Program participation is prohibited by law.
2.2 The Program is offered for personal, non-commercial use. Bulk-purchased accounts, accounts created via automation, and accounts associated with prohibited use (per §7) are not eligible.
2.3 Eligibility does not constitute a contractual right to earn or spend GC Points; MasonByte may withhold, deny, or modify access to the Program at the Board's discretion (see §8).
3.1 Eligible Earning Events and the corresponding award amounts are published in the GC Prep application and may be revised at any time at the Board's discretion (see §8). Current rates are documented in _data/earning-rates.json and viewable in the GC Prep admin Configuration tab.
3.2 All Earning Events are processed server-side by MasonByte's authoritative ledger. The published earn rates are guidance, not a contractual commitment to award any particular quantity for any particular action.
3.3 Points become available in your Account balance only after the server-side ledger has recorded and confirmed the award. Client-side displays of pending or unconfirmed points are non-binding.
3.4 Daily and per-session rate limits apply. Any award flagged as duplicative, automated, or otherwise non-compliant with the Program's anti-fraud rules (per §7) may be reversed without notice.
4.1 Eligible Spending Events (in-app cosmetic unlocks, convenience features, etc.) and their corresponding cost in GC Points are published in the GC Prep application.
4.2 Spending Events are processed server-side. Once a spending transaction is confirmed, GC Points are deducted from your balance and the corresponding benefit is granted to your Account.
4.3 Spending is final. Confirmed Spending Events cannot be reversed, refunded, or unspent except where (a) MasonByte determines the transaction resulted from a system error attributable to MasonByte, or (b) applicable law requires a remedy.
4.4 Spending costs may be modified at any time at the Board's discretion (see §8). A modification to the cost of a previously-purchasable benefit does not retroactively affect benefits already redeemed.
5.1 Legal tender. GC Points have no equivalent in U.S. dollars or any other currency, fiat or otherwise, and cannot be tendered as payment for any debt, public or private.
5.2 Real money or a money substitute. No exchange rate exists between GC Points and any currency. GC Points may not be cashed out, withdrawn, or otherwise converted into fiat currency or any goods or services offered outside the GC Prep product.
5.3 Transferable. GC Points are personal to the Account that earned them. Participants may not assign, transfer, gift, sell, or otherwise convey GC Points to another Account, person, or entity, whether for consideration or as a gift.
5.4 Refundable. GC Points may not be exchanged for refunds, credits, replacement subscriptions, or any goods or services. No claim for refund of earned or spent GC Points will be honored.
5.5 Subject to chance. Earning is deterministic and depends solely on completion of verifiable user actions. The Program does not involve any chance-based earning mechanism, lottery, raffle, prize draw, or similar element. Spending is direct (no random loot drops or chance-based reward distributions).
5.6 Purchasable. GC Points cannot be purchased with real money. Real-money transactions on GC Prep are limited to product entitlements (state sims, lifetime bundles, etc.) and never grant GC Points directly.
5.7 Subject to interest, dividends, or appreciation. GC Points do not accrue interest, value, or any other monetary benefit while held in your Account.
5.8 Property of the Participant. GC Points are a license to access in-Program benefits, revocable by MasonByte under these terms. No ownership interest or property right in GC Points transfers to the Participant.
6.1 Inactivity threshold. GC Points associated with an Account that has experienced forty-two (42) consecutive months of Inactivity will be forfeited and removed from the Account balance. MasonByte will not provide individual notice of pending expiration.
6.2 Rationale for the 42-month threshold. This period is calibrated to exceed the longest single contractor Recertification Cycle plus any standard late-renewal grace period currently offered by state licensing authorities served by GC Prep (presently 3 years + 6 months in the longest jurisdiction). A Participant who returns to GC Prep to prepare for a renewal cycle will retain their accumulated GC Points so long as any Earning or Spending Event occurs within the 42-month window.
6.3 Refresh by activity. Any single Earning Event or Spending Event resets the Inactivity counter to zero. Read-only Account access (signing in without earning or spending) does not refresh the counter.
6.4 Forfeiture for breach. GC Points may be forfeited in whole or in part if the Account is closed pursuant to §7 below (anti-fraud / Terms violation).
6.5 Forfeiture upon Account closure. Voluntary closure of the GC Prep Account by the Participant forfeits any remaining GC Points balance. See §10 for the data-handling implications.
6.6 No revival. Once forfeited, GC Points cannot be restored, replenished, or credited back, even if the underlying Account is subsequently reopened.
7.1 The following activities are strictly prohibited and constitute grounds for immediate forfeiture of GC Points and termination of Account access:
7.2 MasonByte reserves the right to investigate suspected violations, to suspend an Account during investigation, and to reverse points awards retroactively where fraud is confirmed.
7.3 MasonByte's determination of whether a violation has occurred is final and binding. Participants may contest a determination by submitting a written appeal to proposals@masonbyte.com within 30 days of the suspension or forfeiture.
8.1 Unilateral modification right. The Board may modify any aspect of the Program at any time and without prior notice to Participants, including:
8.2 Suspension or termination. The Board may suspend the Program temporarily or terminate the Program permanently at any time and without prior notice. Upon permanent termination, all unspent GC Points will be void and Participants will have no entitlement to compensation, refund, or substitute benefit.
8.3 Revaluation. The Board may revalue existing GC Points balances upward or downward without notice if necessary to maintain Program economic balance or to respond to anti-fraud findings.
8.4 Notice of material changes. While MasonByte is not required to provide individual notice of changes, material changes will be reflected in the published Program Terms with the "Last Updated" timestamp at the bottom of this document. Continued use of the Program after a material change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.
9.1 MasonByte does not consider GC Points to constitute taxable income to Participants. GC Points have no fiat value (§5) and no legally recognized cash-equivalent.
9.2 Notwithstanding §9.1, any tax liability that may arise from a Participant's receipt or use of GC Points is solely the Participant's responsibility. MasonByte does not provide tax advice. Participants should consult a qualified tax professional with any questions about the tax treatment of in-app loyalty mechanics.
9.3 MasonByte does not issue IRS Form 1099 or any equivalent tax form for GC Points awards.
10.1 Two independent erasure paths. A Participant may request erasure of Program data through one of two distinct paths:
The Participant requests deletion of all GC Points data (current balance, transaction history, cooldowns, audit log entries tied to the Program) WITHOUT closing the GC Prep Account or affecting other Account data (study time logs, certificate records, quiz session history, profile information).
Submit a Points-Only Erasure request to mmason@masonbyte.com with the subject line "GC Points Erasure — [your email]". Request will be processed within 30 days. The Account remains active; the Participant resumes from a zero GC Points balance and may re-enroll in the Program.
The Participant requests deletion of the entire GC Prep Account per the procedure documented in the GC Prep Privacy Policy. Full Account Deletion cascades to GC Points data automatically.
10.2 Why these paths are separate. A Participant may wish to dispose of accumulated GC Points (for example, to reset their loyalty trajectory or to comply with employer/agency restrictions on receiving loyalty awards) without forfeiting their study progress, completion certificates, or examination history. Path A supports this. Path B supports the broader right to be forgotten.
10.3 No partial erasure. Within Path A, a Participant may not request deletion of only a portion of their GC Points history. The Path A request erases the complete Program record for the Account.
10.4 Audit-trail retention. Notwithstanding §10.1, MasonByte may retain aggregate, de-identified records of total points issued and total points redeemed across the Program for accounting, anti-fraud analysis, and regulatory purposes. No Participant-identifying information will be retained in the aggregate record after a Path A or Path B request is processed.
10.5 Voluntary forfeiture. Path A constitutes voluntary forfeiture of the GC Points balance and is final, consistent with §6.6.
10.6 Right to be forgotten under applicable law. Nothing in this section limits a Participant's rights under applicable data protection law (including but not limited to the California Consumer Privacy Act, Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, Maryland Online Data Privacy Act, and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation where applicable). MasonByte's Privacy Policy governs the full scope of data subject rights.
11.1 The Program is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or accuracy.
11.2 MasonByte does not warrant that the Program will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any defects will be corrected.
11.3 MasonByte does not warrant the availability, accuracy, or persistence of any GC Points balance, transaction record, or in-Program benefit beyond the term of these Program Terms.
12.1 To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, MasonByte's total liability arising out of or related to the Program shall not exceed fifty United States dollars (USD $50.00), except where a higher minimum is mandated by applicable law.
12.2 In no event shall MasonByte be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, including without limitation damages for lost profits, lost goodwill, lost data, business interruption, or any other commercial damages or losses, arising from or related to the Program — even if MasonByte has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
12.3 Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. In those jurisdictions, MasonByte's liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
13.1 These Program Terms are incorporated by reference into the GC Prep Terms of Service. The governing law clause in GC Prep Terms of Service §16 (Governing Law) and the arbitration / class action waiver in GC Prep Terms of Service §19 (Arbitration and Class Action Waiver) apply equally to disputes arising under these Program Terms.
13.2 In summary (subject to the controlling text of the master Terms of Service): Maryland law governs; disputes are resolved in Prince George's County, Maryland or the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland; binding arbitration applies per JAMS Arbitration Rules; class actions are waived.
14.1 If any provision of these Program Terms is held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
14.2 Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 survive termination of these Program Terms or of the Participant's Account.
15.1 Affirmative acceptance. A Participant accepts these Program Terms by (a) clicking the "I agree" button presented in the GC Prep application before earning their first GC Point, or (b) earning or spending any GC Point on or after the Effective Date below.
15.2 Implied acceptance for existing Participants. Participants who held a GC Points balance before the Effective Date of this version of the Program Terms accept the updated Program Terms by any subsequent Earning or Spending Event on or after the Effective Date.
15.3 Refusal to accept. A Participant who does not accept these Program Terms must refrain from any Earning or Spending Event. Such Participant retains access to all non-Program features of GC Prep but will not accumulate or spend GC Points. To remove existing GC Points data, see §10.
Questions, appeals, or notices under these Program Terms:
Email: mmason@masonbyte.com
Subject lines:
General questions: "GC Points Inquiry — [your email]"
Appeals under §7.3: "GC Points Appeal — [your email]"
Path A Erasure requests under §10.1: "GC Points Erasure — [your email]"
Postal: MasonByte LLC · Accokeek, MD 20607
(Full street address available on request; published address is Accokeek, MD per MasonByte communication policy.)