It’s been longer than usual, but Staples is offering a rebate on MasterCard gift card purchases this week. The rebate is valid for in-store MasterCard gift card purchases from October 4 through October 10.  If you buy $300 or more of MasterCard gift cards at Staples stores you will receive a $20 Staples gift card after easy rebate. There is a limit of one rebate per household.

$20 is more than the fees you would incur for purchasing $300 of MasterCard gift cards so you would be earning some extra profit on top of points for using a credit card.

How Much Can You Earn?

How much points you earn depends on the credit card you will use. The best cards to use are cards that earn 5% in office supply stores but you come ahead even if you use another credit card.

The amount of money you earn will depend on what gift card denominations you purchase. Staples offers MasterCard gift cards in $100 and $200 denominations with fees of $5.95 and $6.95 respectively.

To minimize fees it would be best to buy the highest denomination MasterCard gift cards you can find. Ideally Staples will carry $200 MasterCard gift cards (which is not always the case) so the best choice is to purchase 2 $200 denominations.

Here is a breakdown of how much money and how many points you can earn depending on which denominations you choose:

Option 1: Two (2) $200 MasterCard gift cards

• In my opinion this is the best option and would earn the maximum number of points.
• Fees equal $13.90 so you would net a profit of $6.10 after rebate.
• If you use a card that earns 5% at office supply stores you will earn 2,069 points, if you use a typical 1% credit card you will earn 414 miles/points.

Option 2: One (1) $200 MasterCard gift card + one (1) $100 MasterCard gift card

• This would be the best option if you want to earn most profit. You will earn slightly less points than option number 1.
• Fees equal $12.90 so you would net a profit of $7.10 after rebate.
• If you use a card that earns 5% at office supply stores you will earn 1,564 points, if you use a typical 1% credit card you will earn 313 points.

Option 3: Three (3) $100 MasterCard Gift cards

• This option has the highest amount of fees and lower profit margin but might be your only choice if your Staples store does not stock or has run out of $200 gift cards.
• Fees equal $17.85 so you would net a profit of $2.15 after rebate.
• If you use a card that earns 5% at office supply stores you will earn 1,589 points, if you use a typical 1% credit card you will earn 318 points.

How Do Staples Rebates Work?

For anyone unfamiliar with the Staples Easy Rebates process here is how it works:

1. Buy at least $300 in MasterCard gift cards using your credit card at a Staples store. The cashier will hand you a rebate form with your receipt. There is only one rebate per household so you could use the address of a friend or family member to earn more than one rebate.
2. Complete and submit your rebate form. I like to do mine online at stapleseasyrebates.com and it only takes a minute or two.
3. A few weeks later you will receive your $20 Staples gift card by mail.