This week Staples is (once again) giving away free money (through today).
Combined with the Chase Ink card that gives 5x on money spent at office supply stores, this is a great deal. Staples typically sells $100 and $200 gift cards, so there are several different options
Option 1 – 2 $200 cards
Best option (if you can find them) is 2 $200 cards. There’s a $6.95 activation fee on both, so it’s a money maker of $6.10, plus if you’re paying with the Chase Ink, that’s 2000 Chase points
Option 2 – 1 $200 and 1 $100 cards
You can also get a $200 and a $100 card for $300 total. Your out of pocket will be slightly less, since the $100 cards only have an activation fee of $5.95, making it a moneymaker of $7.10, but you only get 1500 Chase points (when paying for the Ink)
Option 3 – 3 $100 cards
If your store is out of $200 cards (probably likely), you can get the $100 ones. There’s a $5.95 activation fee on all 3, so it’s still a slight money maker, plus if you’re paying with the Chase Ink, that’s 1500 Chase points
What I did
I live in a fairly major city (Cincinnati) that has several different Staples stores near me. I have 2 within about 2-3 miles of me, including one that I literally pass by a Staples store every day on my way to / from work. Normally I would just stop by that one, but the last time I did, they had a sign saying that “Gift Cards are not able to be activated at this time”.
On Wednesday, I was in the area of the other nearby Staples store and so I thought I would stop by. Unfortunately for me, they did not have any $200 Visa gift cards. So I was left with a dilemma about what to do. Because this deal is limited to 1 per household, do I take the guaranteed deal now, or try to come back later at this (or the other) Staples store? Or just bag the promotion entirely?
After I left the store, I thought this would be an interesting question for a larger audience. What would you do? Taking the 3 $100 gift cards means no additional time, and 1500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points plus about $2 money maker.
Going to another store would cost me a few extra minutes, but if they had the $200 gift cards, that would be an additional 500 Ultimate Rewards points plus an additional $5. Of course, I then run the risk that they might not have any $200 gift cards either, in which case I’d have spent extra time for no additional value.
So what would you do?
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 
Recent Comments