Staples is giving a rebate on the purchase of Visa gift cards this week. If you buy $300 or more of Visa gift cards in store through March 18, 2017 you will receive a $20 Visa prepaid card after easy rebate.

Here are the details of the rebate:

•  Buy $300 or more of Visa gift cards at Staples stores
•  In store only
•  Valid 3/12/17–3/18/17
•  Limit of one (1) rebate per household
•  Receive a $20 Visa prepaid card by mail after easy rebate.

How Much Can You Earn?

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

The amount of money you earn will depend on what gift card denominations you purchase. Staples stores sell Visa 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 gift cards you can find. Ideally, your local Staples store will carry $200 Visa gift cards (which is not always the case) – if they do the best way to maximize is to purchase 2 of the $200 denominations.

The best cards to use are those that earn 5% in office supply stores but you come ahead even if you use another credit card.

Here is a breakdown of how much money and how many points you can earn if you can find 2 of the $200 Visa gift cards which is the ideal scenario:

• Cash Earned: Profit of $6.10 after rebate ($20 less $13.90 for fees).
• Points Earned: 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 points.

These gift cards are pin enabled and I’ve been able to load them to Bluebird and Serve at Walmart successfully in the past. You might be able use these gift cards as a debit card to purchase money orders.

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 Visa gift cards using your credit card at a Staples store. The cashier will hand you a rebate form with your receipt.
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 Visa prepaid card by mail.