Free money… that was easy!
It’s….. BACK! I first read about this on Frequent Miler – it’s More free money at Staples this week. As always, I prefer to announce this as a Mad Lib, because these deals are pretty much all the same, with a few minor changes.
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) $20
2) $250
3) VISA
4) Staples
5) Visa gift card
In case you didn’t follow along, if you buy $250 in Visa gift cards this week at Staples, you’ll get a $20 Visa gift card, by Easy Rebate (limit 1 per household). Here’s the weekly ad (it’s on page 14).
How to maximize the Staples free money deal
Because you get your gift card by mail via Easy Rebate, it’s not a super attractive deal, as there is no way to scale it. On the positive side though, maybe that will mean that the $200 cards actually stay in the store more than a few hours 🙂
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, not to mention the fact that you can get 2 free airport lounge visits – read our report of the Club at ATL that we got into for free!
I would also 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 am always torn when I show up at the store and Staples is (inevitably) out of the $200 Visa 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 Visa card,s you’ll spend $413.90, but then receive:
- $400 back on the actual card
- $20 Visa gift card in the mail by Easy Rebate
- 2070 Chase Ultimate Rewards
Definitely worth a stop to Staples this week!!
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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 
Seems like a lot of effort for $6.10. Unless I’m misunderstanding the math. Granted, it’s “free money” but if I burn a gallon of gas to get to Staples, on a good day I’m netting $4. An hour of my time seems worth more than $4.
I’m probably not the best person to talk to about the time value of money but sure if you’re burning a gallon of gas to get to Staples that can change the equation. Personally I have a Staples literally on the way to my job.
Also for me the big bonus is the 2000 Ultimate Rewards rather than the six bucks