As long as some of the office supply stores keep giving away free money, I will share the news here! And until someone gives me a better one, I will continue to use the Mad Lib construct to announce them.
Solve the Mad Lib
Save _____ (amount) when you buy _______ (purchase amount) in _______ (type) Gift Cards at _______. Refund will be given in ___________
This time, the Mad Lib answers are:
1)Â $20
2) $300
3)Â Mastercard
4) Staples
5) Staples Gift Card
To follow along, if you buy $300 in Mastercard gift cards this week at Staples, you’ll get a $20 Staples gift card by Easy Rebate in the mail.  It’s in this week’s weekly ad on page 2
Making the most of the Staples free money deal
A Staples gift card is the worst of the 3 different types of these free money deals (best is instant rebate, and next is Visa gift card).  Even discounting the $20 you’ll get back from Staples, I do think that this deal is probably worth doing. The hardest thing I have is remembering to use my $20 gift card (since I usually am using a CC for points when I spend).  You could also sell it online if you want.
Definitely I would recommend using a Chase Ink or other card that gives 5x points on office supply stores. I love the Chase Inks for exactly this reason, and it’s one of the reasons that I think Chase Ultimate Rewards are the best points out there!
I always recommend 2 $200 cards (if they have them) – the activation fee is $1 more than the $100 cards, but IMO that is worth the 500 extra points you’d get.
I never know what to do when I show up at the store and Staples is (inevitably) out of the $200 gift cards. Do I just buy the $100 cards, even though the deal isn’t as lucrative, or do I try stopping back later at another store. I even wrote a poll about this (how much your time is worth) awhile back, and the consensus seemed to be to just buy the $100 cards in the store that you’re in, and not go back.
Doing the math
If you find and buy 2 $200 Mastercard cards, you’ll spend $413.90, but then receive:
- $400Â back on the actual card
- a $20 Staples gift card
- 2065Â Chase Ultimate Rewards
I’d say it’s definitely worth a stop to Staples this week!!
This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
And do you liquidate the cards some how or just use them to purchase groceries (or other things)?
Liquidation strategies are probably outside the scope of this post but you can use them to just buy other things certainly
Is this on store only?
Yes