As long as 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) $20
2) $300
3) Visa
4) Staples
5) Visa gift card
In case you didn’t follow along, if you buy $300 in Visa gift cards this week at Staples, you’ll get a $20 prepaid Visa gift card, by Easy Rebate (limit 1 per household). Here’s the weekly ad (it’s on page 10).
Making the most of 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. But it’s still worth doing once, if you’re not worn out from the instant rebate version at Office Max / Office Depot from a few weeks ago!
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 deals out there!
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 never know what to do 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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little fyi, when your local staples appears to be out of stock of the $200 cards, ask them to check to see if they have any more. (often times the display stand itself will have a stash of them, just inside the door)
Separately, anyone know just what purchase amount triggers an automatic need for a manager override. I’ve long been in a habit of buying five per month, a $1k purchase, all at once…. and each time, no matter the Staples store, it triggers the need for a manager override…. (and all the delays, q’s, and awkwardness that causes) If I’d be buying say two or three at a time, would that avoid the need for the manager involvement?
Thanks for the idea. Sometimes I do that, but most of the time it seems like they look around and I have to wait around the store for 10-15 minutes while they look and then they still have none :-). Though last time I was at Office Max they did find some