Yes they will refund the google play gift cards, they will credit your Google play account. You would have credit on Google play that you would then be able to use elsewhere in the playstore.
They better hope someone in their club reads and posts on this forum I guess. I had to register on the forum so myself and members of my club had their voices heard. Supposedly as said in other thread, most teams should see rewards within 24-48 hours. I will believe this when I see it.