(EXPIRED) $200 Mastercard GCs with a $1.95 fee at Staples next week

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Starting Sunday, October 21st, Staples will be offering an instant discount of $5 off when you buy $200 in Mastercard gift cards. That should stack with the Current Amex Offer on some business cards for 10% back at Staples (assuming you haven’t already overdone it and gotten offers clawed back — go easy). Even without those offers, this can be a good deal if you’re using a card that earns one of the Best Category Bonuses at Office Supply Stores to make for some very cheap points indeed.

a close up of a gift card

The Deal

  • Instant discount of $5 off when you buy $200 in Mastercard gift cards at Staples (in-store only) from 10/21/18-10/27/18
  • Direct link (on page 6 of next week’s ad)

Key Terms

  • Valid 10/21/18 to 10/27/18
  • Valid in-store only
  • 1 per customer (YMMV as to whether or not your store allows more than 1 transaction)
  • Issued by US Bank National Association

Quick Thoughts

These cards are PIN-enabled, though some people have had trouble using them that way at Walmart. Still, they should work as debit elsewhere.

The activation fee is $6.95, meaning that you’ll pay $201.95 after the instant $5 discount. That’s a decent deal since there are a couple of opportunities to pick up cheap points:

  1. Use an Amex business card with the offer synced for 10% back at Staples. Net cost per $200 card = $181.76. Nothing quite like printing money.
  2. Use a Chase Ink Cash or Chase Ink Plus (no longer available for new applicants). Pay $201.95 per card and earn 1,010  Ultimate Rewards.

Either of those options are pretty good. Obviously, coming out eighteen bucks ahead before considering rewards is a stellar deal. If you don’t have the Amex Offers, the Chase Ink Cash or Plus angle is still solid. Assuming your liquidation cost is $1 (it may well be less), that’s like paying less than 3/10 of a cent per Ultimate Reward point, which looks like a win to me. It’s certainly as good as fee-free, but it beats paying full cost.

Remember that this doesn’t begin until Sunday, so set a reminder on your phone. In some areas, I expect the $200 Mastercards may sell out early on, so you don’t want to forget to head to the store.

H/T: Miles to Memories

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