Deal History
- April 7-13, 2024: Mastercard
- March 17-26, 2024: Visa
- March 10-16, 2024: Mastercard
Office Depot / Office Max is offering a limited-time promotion of an $15 instant rebate on purchases of certain gift cards of at least $300. This deal alternates between Visa GC’s and Mastercard GC’s, so check the Deal History at the top of the page to see which is currently active. Now let’s dive into the details and explore how you can maximize your rewards.
What You Need to Know
This one’s pretty easy, just the Staples GC deals every month or so. Just follow these ridiculously easy steps to earn some free money:
- Purchase a multiple of $300 worth of either Visa or Mastercard gift cards at Office Depot or OfficeMax (this can be in any combination of denominations).
- Receive a $15 instant discount applied directly at checkout. Yep, instant rebate.
That’s it. Seriously. It’s that easy.
The $15 rebate you receive will offset the $7.95 per card activation fee that you’ll have to pay for each GC, essentially earning you credit card points for mere pennies. There are also datapoints showing that you’ll receive the $15 rebate for every multiple of $300 that you buy in a single transaction (post in the comments below if you can verify this!)
Maximizing Your Rewards
This promotion presents an opportunity to earn credit card points and miles on your everyday spending. Here are some strategies to consider:
- Credit Card Rewards: Use a credit card that offers bonus points or miles on office supply store purchases. This stacks with the $15 instant rebate, essentially giving you a discount on points/miles earning.
- At the time of this writing, there’s a Chase credit card cash-back offer for 10% back on Office Max/Depot purchases you can utilize for an added bonus.
- The Amex Business Gold card offers a $20 monthly credit for office supply stores you could use for further savings.
However, the best card for the Office Supply Store bonus category is the Chase Ink Cash card. It offers a hefty 5x points per dollar spent at these stores (up to $25k spend per cardmember year), has no annual fee, and a generous 75,000 Ultimate Rewards Sign Up Bonus for new applicants. Learn more about this card by checking our Best Offers page.
- Rewards Program Synergy: If you frequent Office Depot/OfficeMax and participate in their rewards program, you can potentially earn points on both the gift card purchase and on any other qualifying items you buy alongside them.
- Dosh is another portal option that may offer up some extra cash-back for your purchase. While gift cards are specifically excluded in their terms, there are datapoints showing it still sometimes works.
Important Considerations
It’s not always sunshine and rainbows when venturing into your local Office Max / Office Depot. For whatever reason, they’ve always been a little too power-happy (is that even a phrase?) on the points and miles crowd who tries to buy GC’s like this. Don’t look suspicious, and just go about your business as normal. A few other things…
- Gift Card Fees: Be mindful of any fees associated with purchasing Mastercard gift cards. As previously stated, the fee for these GC’s is now $7.95 each.
- Deal Limitations: Check with your local Office Depot or OfficeMax to confirm any specific limitations or restrictions on this promotion. Like Staples, this may be location-specific based on how the manager / employee feels that day.
- Meeting Minimum Spends: This offer is particularly attractive if you’re aiming to meet minimum spending requirements for credit card rewards bonuses. Don’t go too crazy and max out your credit card with all gift card purchases. You don’t want to draw any negative attention to yourself.
Getting to the Point
This Office Depot / OfficeMax GC deals offer a simple way to earn additional points and miles on your everyday spending. By strategically combining this promotion with your preferred rewards credit card, loyalty program, and other bank-specific discounts, you can significantly enhance your points and miles accumulation for little to no actual additional cost.
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