[Expired] Staples: No Activation Fee on $200 Mastercard Gift Cards (11/14-11/20), Limit 5 Per Day

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• A deal sweetener, I am getting a $10 off $20 coupon with every large GC purchase (GC excluded from coupon). most things are overpriced, but I have been finding items worthwhile to buy at 50% off with each visit.

• That was not easy.

• Off-topic, but ODOM has their $15 off $300 for VGC this week too. Just purchased 2 at my local OD to see if discount would show up, and it did. Cashier didn't know how to split tender though.. 😔

  No sign was up promoting the sale, so YMMV.

  @will @chucksithe

  • Is the staples vgc deal still going ln?

    • Staples is MCGC this week.

      @guest_1283183

  • Thanks for the heads up. Much prefer OD’s deal over Staples.

  • Incredible! OD and Staples are in a race to see how many VGCs they can sell!

• Is Barclay's strict about buying gift cards? Trying to get to Mosaic status. Thinking of buying $1k.

• I have a ton of VGCs with small remaining balances. Any ideas on the easiest and fastest way to use up those small balances? Amazon reloads are a time consuming option.

  • Try your cable/internet or insurance or healthcare bills. Spectrum/Time Warner and Geico allow prepay even <$1. If you have any healthcare bills pending, I am sure your can only pay small amounts at a time.

    • thats the same as reloading on Amazon...

  • Costco. Swipe and auto-drain. I have used as many as 15. My Wal-Mart requires me to give the balance of each card

    • Could you elaborate what does auto drain means? TIA!

      • This means the remaining balance on the debit gift card is automatically applied to the purchase without having to type in the amount.

    • WM limits 4X of these debit transactions per purchase, while Costco appears not to have a limit.

    • Thanks for the Costco auto-drain tip. WM requires more process and button presses per card.

  • Use at Costco

  • Grocery store or other self checkout

    • Exactly what I am doing now. WM self checkout looks like the best option at this point.

  • Personally, I use cards with small balances at stores that auto drain VGC. Costco and Albertson’s both do so.

• haven't this been running for 2 weeks already? Chill Staples

  • MCGC sales are not as often as VGC sales right now for some reason.

  • No that was visa.. this is MasterCard

    • It was visa they just fix it to Mastercard

• Amex gets level 3 data on purchases. I can look at my statment and see in more info "$200 VISA + $6.95 FEE" for my staples purchases. If I buy visa giftcards at staples will this still count towards my SUB spend requirement? Any chance of clawback / shutdown? I mix in other buyer group purchases.

  • Yes, chance of clawback / shutdown

  • The best way to avoid a shutdown/clawback is don't do something that Amex purposely changed their TOS to tell people not to do.

• Not worth it. Had major problems with MCGC bought at Staples over the years. Nightmare to finally get sorted out.
  OTOH have purchased over 75k of Metabank VGC at Staples and never had a single problem.

  • 75k !? How do you drain those cards ? And do you usually pay the activation fees? Would love to learn more about your strategy.

  • Right, but the Mastercards used to be issued by US Bank, which had major problems. Now the Mastercards are issued by MetaBank as well just like the Visas, so you'll have no further problems anymore just like the Visas where you never had one.

    • Wow, THANKS, I missed the news that the MC are now Metabank, that's a game changer, THANK YOU!

  • Were they issued by U.S. Bank or Metabank? The old U.S. Bank ones were problematic but the Merabank ones are pretty much like the Metabank Visas.

• fantastic. just got approved for new cap 1 venture X this morning.

  anyone know if cap 1 expedites their shipping?

  • mine shipped via fedex, arrived in 3 days.

  • Are they OK with buying GC to meet SUB? Or do they have a RAT team too?

    • @guest_1281623 I assumed it would be ok, but maybe I shouldnt.