Staples Visa Gift Card Rebate Deal
Two weeks ago Staples held a Visa gift card rebate promotion, this week they are holding a Mastercard rebate promotion and next week they are bringing back a new Visa gift card deal. It’s raining 5X at Staples. Let’s take a look at the new deal which will begin on Sunday.
The Deal
- Get a $20 Visa Prepaid Card by rebate when you buy $300 in Visa Gift Cards.
Key Terms
- Deal valid from 11-06-2016 through 11-12-2016
- In-store only.
- Limit 1 rebate per household.
If you would like to see the full terms, the deal is advertised in next week’s ad (page 12).
Maximizing the Deal
This deal is best maximized by using a card that earns 5X at office supply stores like the Chase Ink Plus or Chase Ink Cash. You can also use an Amex SimplyCash Plus which earns 5% cashback at office supply stores.
Using the Chase Ink, the optimal strategy is to purchase 2 of the $200 cards which cost $206.95 each. Here is the math:
- Cost: $413.90
- Minus Rebate: $20
- Final Cost: -$6.10
- UR Points Earned: 2,070
You could also purchase a $200 card and a $100 card, but the savings of $1 on fees doesn’t justify the loss of 500 Ultimate Rewards points on the extra $100 in spend.
Liquidate the Visa Rebate Card
The rebate will come in the form of a Visa gift card that IS pin-enabled. As I covered before, I have successfully loaded a Staples rebate card to a Bluebird/Serve type card at Walmart. The PIN number is the last four digits of the card number. Note that lately a few readers have had issues trying to use this card’s PIN, so YMMV. Worst case you can utilize my previous liquidation strategy or simply use it for normal spend.
Conclusion
It is nice to see these deals come on a regular basis. Between these regular Staples deals and the occasional Officemax/Office Depot promotion, there really is a ton of opportunity when it comes to earning bonus points at office supply stores. Happy 5Xing!
New Card - Capital One Venture X Business 150K!
Capital One Venture X Business earns 2X miles on everyday purchases plus up to 10X in bonus categories. You also get access to Capital One lounges plus an annual travel credit & anniversary bonus. Right now you earn bonus_miles_full.
Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
I used $200 VCGs from Staples to buy MOs at my local USPS a few weeks ago without a problem. Today, I went and it rejected both of the $200 cards I bought last week. Not sure what that data point means, but it’s a data point nonetheless. I called the # on the back of one of the cards afterwards to check the balance (wondering if it got held for the transaction) and the full $200 is available. I take that to mean that the PO never even tried to authorize it — it must have been the system rejecting it. That’s a bummer as I just ordered some more Meta VGCs and was planning to liquidate easily at the local PO. Guess I’ve now got to hunt around for other options….
One WARNING!!!
These VGC’s from Staples are from Meta Bank. And dont have any “name” on them. (The rebate card will, but not the $200 VGC you buy).
So, that means that:
i) No using the USPS to buy a MO there. They are hard coded to reject Meta cards. AND
ii) WM will generally not allow these cards to be used any more to buy a MO, as they want to see an ID and that it has to match the name on the “Debit” card.
Sooo, IF you dont have a BB or Serve to load these onto, dont imagine you can get a MO at USPS or WM with them. YOU CANT!!!
Buyer be AWARE.
I always like a good warning and think people should ALWAYS be cautious and have Plans A, B & C on how to liquidate before buying, but I do want to counter your comment with two things.
1. In some areas of the country Meta cards are still working at USPS. It varies by region and sometimes by location within the same region.
2. Some/many Walmarts still allow people to use cards without their name on them. This also varies by region/store/cashier, but I know of many people who use cards like these at Walmart regularly.
I’ve taken the “Dining Everywhere” and the 5X VGC’s to a WalMart Superstore near me. They don’t have my name on them but I’ve had no issue getting MO’s from them.
I have only had an issue at the post office with the mastercards but not the visas for what it is worth
So I guess I’m a little thick. What’s the liquidation for the $300.00? MO?
MO or load to BB
I used to link to my liquidating resource in these posts, but guess I forgot at some point. Here is a link.
https://milestomemories.boardingarea.com/visa-gift-card-prepaid-mastercard/
Thanks!