Through Saturday, March 25th, Staples is offering a $20 Staples gift card rebate on $300 or more in Mastercard gift cards. Staples gift card rebates are an easy win as you can earn 5x with a card like the Chase Ink Plus or Ink Cash and get a rebate worth more than the activation fee on the card.
The Deal
- $20 Staples gift card rebate by mail when purchasing $300 or more in Mastercard gift cards
Key Terms
- Valid 3/19/17 to 3/25/17
- In-store only
- Only one rebate per name/address/household
The Math
This week’s rebate is a Staples gift card, so you will be limited to using it at Staples (and you can not use it to buy a gift card). However, current resale rates for a $20 Staples gift card can still wipe out the activation fees if you do not regularly shop at Staples:
To maximize rewards, you’ll want to buy two $200 gift cards. Assuming you are selling the Staples gift card, the final math would look like this:
$413.90 (total cost for two $200 gift cards with activation fees)
-17.10 (rebate value in cash if Staples gift card is sold)
$396.80 net cost for $400 in Mastercard gift cards + 2,069.5 Ultimate Rewards
Conservatively valuing the Ultimate Rewards at 1.5 cents each (the rate at which they can be redeemed for travel if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve), the points are worth at least $31, but you may get quite a bit more value with transfer partners.
These cards are issued by US Bank and should contain a PIN in the packaging. Of course, the PIN can not be used to withdraw money from an ATM, but should work for buying a money order in some locations. Note there has been some discussion in the Slickdeals thread about recent issues with Staples Mastercard gift cards being hacked. If you buy these gift cards, you might consider using/liquidating them sooner rather than later out of caution.
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How do you liquid gift cards? Besides MO, better options?
The activation fee is $6.95 per gift card?
Can I buy only one gift card of $300?
Thanks.
No, $200 is the largest denomination Staples carries.
The hacking on these is a real issue. It happened to me last December. It seems to be a risk for all U.S. Bank issued mastercard gift cards (Not just those sold by Staples). The one I had hacked was purchased at Meijer, and it was hacked only about 1 week after I purchased the card. Fortunately for U.S. Bank, it was caught before the thieves completed the theft (they had put through a $1 authorization, which caused the card to be declined when I tried to use it for the full $200). I called immediately to report, and have faxed their requested information repeatedly. But I am still getting the runaround from U.S. Bank on getting reimbursed, even though they didn’t lose a dime. About ready to file with CFPB. I would still do this deal, but I would use the gift cards immediately.
Same here. Had two hacked last Nov barely getting the funds this month. I heard its best to register the cards online right after purchase. I personally drain them the same day just to be safe