Just a reminder on a few current opportunities:

Instant Rebate on Visa Gift Cards at OfficeMax Stores

This week, OfficeMax is giving an instant rebate on the purchase of Visa gift cards through tomorrow, Saturday, August 29.  The rebate is for $15 off in-store purchases of $300 Visa gift cards.  There is a limit of 2 orders per customer so you can purchase $600 in Visa gift cards at once and receive an instant rebate of $30.  There should be a sign in the store advertising the sale.  I have not had a chance to stop by OfficeMax this week but will try tomorrow.

This is a good way to earn some extra points and meet minimum spending requirements provided there are any $200 or even $100 denominations left.  These are the same gift cards that are sold at Staples and can be loaded to Bluebird and Serve.

Rebate on Purchase of American Express Gift Cards at Staples

Staples has not had a rebate on gift cards in a while but starting Sunday, August 30 through Saturday, September 5, there is a rebate on the purchase of American Express gift cards.   If you purchase $300 in American Express Gift Cards in-store, you receive a $20 Staples gift card after Staples Easy Rebate.  There is only one rebate per household.

American Express gift cards can’t be used to load Bluebird or Serve.  I personally won’t be taking advantage of this offer but others might find it useful.

Plastiq

Plastiq is a website that allows you to pay bills with a credit card.  The fee is normally 2.50% but they have a special offer right now.  They have a limited time promotional rate for new customers where the fee is 1.99% for paying with MasterCard or American Express cards.  Also for anyone that schedules 6 or more utility payments, there is no fee when using a MasterCard (only useful if your utility provider normally charges a fee for credit card payments otherwise can pay directly with a credit card).