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Staples has been giving us so much lately (see “Is Staples the perfect PPM?”) that it’s hard to believe they’ll give more. However, it appears that they want to do just that. Unless this is an elaborate April Fools joke, it looks like Staples is testing a new rewards program where they will give 5% back (in Staples Rewards) on all purchases. Today, they only give rewards for certain purchases (ink and toner, for example) so most of the big Free After Rebate opportunities don’t qualify. You can see their promo page for the new policy here. Even though this page is publicly available, the extra rewards seem to be only given to people who were targeted.
Wouldn’t it be nice…
If Staples were to roll out this program nationally, think about what this would mean: Staples has been averaging close to $1000 worth of FAR (Free After Rebate) software products each month. 5% Staples rewards would mean about $50 of free Staples’ stuff every month! Or, you could use the Staples rewards from prior months to pay for part of each new month’s FAR deals. When the check’s roll in, you would be making money on these deals! Over the course of a year you could theoretically earn about $600! It would be like Staples paying for a new iPad or laptop every year…
Please, Staples, please!
Please roll this out nationally!
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[…] April I reported that Staples was testing this program in select markets (see “Staples ups the ante (targeted)“). I assume that this new email means that the program is now available to all rewards […]
Sephora was at 20x via the Freedom portal today. The Sapphire Preferred portal still had it at 5x. Good time to stock up on nice sunblock and such for summer.
Hello, thank you for all the pointers! i’ve definitely learned a lot since i’ve started visiting this blog. i have been taking advantage of the rebates on Staples. The first one i submitted was on March 30th. Do you know how long it takes to receive the rebate? The status still says validation pending.
Thank you!
Monica: Be prepared to wait 6 to 8 weeks.
Check the coupons for your Staples account. Mine had a $25 off coupon (3260827154122985) on delivery of an order over $100 that was good on my order for the above product. That means I will make $25 on my order after I get the rebate check.
Carol: Thanks for the tip!
What about this deal: http://www.staples.com/McAfee-AntiVirus-Plus-2012-1-User-Download/product_398471
It looks very similar to the other downloadable Trend Micro soft rebate posted a few days ago. Do you know how many copies we can purchase and still get the rebate?
Grant Thomas: That one is a mail-in rebate and only allows one per household. It’s up to you whether you think it is worth the trouble.
Rick: I don’t think anyone besides Staples has easy rebates. Others require mail in forms, as far as I know.
Can Office Depot FAR deals be done like the Staples FAR deals?
@hao – I have that problem. I have purchases from Feb that haven’t posted. I’ve emailed staples cs to ask. I will report when I hear something
Jeez, time to check the mailbox for the first time in a week (just like Christmas, eh?)
Worldtraveller2: That’s the prevailing opinion in the slickdeals thread I referenced earlier.
what makes you think it is targeted? and doesn’t just start on 4/1/12 like the link says: http://www.staples.com/5instant
@dennybob thanks for letting me know that there is no code on the postcard. Perhaps I should just use my rewards number on a few orders and verify if the 5% is there.
FM, i read the T&C and it didn’t say no to the use of gift cards…should i double check on that by calling Chase?
Ryan from MA: No, Chase reps won’t know. If the T&C doesn’t say, then the only way to find out (that I know of) is to try it. Usually if they don’t specifically say “no gift cards” you’ll be OK, but there are cases where that’s not true (magazines.com for example).
I tried adding previous purchases to Staples Rewards…it says that it takes 5 business days but its been at least 20. Any one have a similar problem?
I received a card in the mail last week.
It says: “As of 4/1/12 Staples Rewards members receive 5% Instant Savings when making purchases…Your Staples Rewards number is staying the same. Keep using your current card to take advantage of your new benefits.”
There is no code to enter and it appears to automatically apply to all Rewards members.
Check out staples.com/5instant to see if you are covered