What do I have to do to receive the $150 gift card for the Education purchase of Macbook Air 15?

After going through the process (including chatting with sales support specialists) I was led to believe that a "qualified" education purchase of a Macbook Air 15 would entitle me to a $150 Apple Giftcard. However - now that I've received the new Macbook Air and set it up, no Apple Gift Card... Called customer service and have been told to return the computer and repurchase it from Apple.com/education to be eligible for the gift card - even though it had been purchased directly through the Apple Education portal. Was also told that there was nothing else that could be done other than to return and repurchase. I'm having trouble understanding why that would be the ONLY solution. And it's so difficult to imagine Apple Customer Care would not care about the caring for the customer.

Given the HUGE hassle of returning and repurchasing (not to mention the computer for Apple would now become "used"), is there anything else that can be done to receive the gift card without having to go through that? It would be a win-win if we can resolve this without further frustration or difficulty. Any help would be greatly appreciated...