10 February 2010: Results from eBucks' inaugural Valentine's Survey of Love show that the majority of the people who took the poll will be making romantic plans for Valentine's Day, proving that Valentine's Day is still something we love to celebrate.

A substantial 76% of people who completed the survey said that "Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to show my other half that that I love them", while the remaining 24% said that "lovey-dovey Hallmark moments don't do it for me".

eBucks CEO, Jolande Duvenage, who believes that people should show their love as often as possible, said the survey revealed that 28% of respondents plan on spending up to R250 on their loved ones, while 29% plan on spending between R250-R500 on showing their love to that special someone on Valentine's Day.

"Interestingly," she says, "20% of survey respondents said that they didn't intend spending anything on their partners, but that they expected their significant others to buy them large gifts."

On this year's shopping list for those celebrating Valentine's Day, romantic dinners, weekend getaways, chocolates, flowers and jewellery look to be the most popular choices with perfume and gadgets (such as iPods, computer accessories and even a car) also making it onto the list of gestures that say "I love you".

Worst Valentine's Day gifts ever

"When it comes to the worst Valentine's Day gifts, there certainly was a wide variety of hits and misses that, in some cases, resulted in relationship break-ups," Duvenage says.

"On the list of worst Valentine's Day gifts, scary or disturbing stuffed animals were the order of the day, including giant stuffed gorillas, cross-dressing teddies and toys from arcade claw crane machines."

Fake flowers, stale chocolates, ill-fitting lingerie and 'nothing', all featured highly on the list of worst Valentine's Day gifts, while kitchenware such as blenders, foam frothers, mugs and oven mitts also made it onto the list.

"It is however encouraging to see that many of the respondents said they had never received a bad Valentine's Day gift, which means that people are putting a lot of effort into showing their love on this particular day by finding out what really makes their partners smile," Duvenage explains.

A few respondents also suggested that you don't need an event like Valentine's Day to show your significant other that you love them and that you should do this every day of the year.

"Regardless," she adds, it appears that the overwhelming majority are indeed romantics at heart, who can expect a Valentine's Day filled with gifts, secret admirers and loving gestures."

As South Africa's leading rewards programme of choice, eBucks gives you the opportunity to stock up on your Valentine's Day goodies from a wide variety of partners, as well as the opportunity to earn while you spend when using a qualifying bank product from First National Bank or RMB Private Bank to pay for your purchase.

"Whether it's flowers and chocolates from NetFlorist, gadgets from Makro, jewellery from Arthur Kaplan, a fragrance from Ascot Direct, or even a tank of petrol from Engen that floats your boat, eBucks gives you the opportunity to make the most of Valentine's Day so that you can afford a little something extra for your loved ones on the 14th of February," Duvenage concludes.

Notes to editors:

• 262 South Africans answered this survey, of which 74% are female, and 26% are male
• Relationship status of those surveyed are:
• 17% are single
• 26% have a boyfriend/ girlfriend
• 8% are engaged
• 49% are married
• The South Africans who answered this survey come from:
• 2% Bloemfontein
• 13% from Cape Town
• 9% from Durban
• 54% from Johannesburg
• 3% from Port Elizabeth
• 19% from other towns
• Age of those surveyed:
• 63% are aged between 18 and 35
• 26% are aged between 35 and 50
• 7% are aged 50 and above
• 4% are aged 18 or under

About eBucks:

eBucks, the rewards programme offered by First National Bank (FNB) and RMB Private Bank, is acknowledged as one of South Africa's leading rewards programmes with highly active members spending in excess of 80% of the eBucks earned in any given month.