Instant $10 Discount on $100+ Mastercard Gift Card Purchase at Office Depot/Max

Office Depot and OfficeMax have a new gift cards deal running from 8/16 till 8/22/2020. You can get an instant discount of $10 when you purchase $100 or more in MasterCard gift cards.

These offers are a good opportunity to earn Ultimate Rewards points if you have any of their locations nearby. MasterCard gift cards have an activation fee, but during this promotion, you can buy one $200 Mastercard gift card and make an instant profit. That is the largest domination they carry, and it’s the best option because you can also earn 5x in rewards with cards like Chase Ink Cash/Plus or Amex SimplyCash Plus. There’s a limit of 1 discounted offer per transaction, but in most locations you should be able to do multiple transactions.

The promotion is not in this week’s ad, but has been posted in stores.

Offer Terms

Offer valid 8/16 – 8/22/20
Limit 1 discounted offer per transaction.
Discount applied at register.
Offer valid in-store only on Mastercard® Gift Cards.
Product not available in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Mastercard® Gift Card is issued by U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Mastercard® International.

Maximizing The Offer

Office Depot and OfficeMax sell $200 MasterCard gift cards that have an activation fee of $6.95. To get the $10 instant discount, you need to spend at least $100. To maximize credit card rewards, it’s best to purchase one $200 MasterCard gift card, which will cost you $206.95. Take off $10 at the register and you’re paying just $196.95. You already make a $3.05 profit, but let’s also look at the possible rewards that you can earn.

If you have a Chase Ink Plus or the no fee Chase Ink Cash card, you would earn 985 Ultimate Rewards points. You can also use an Amex SimplyCash Plus card, if you still have one, which earns 5% cashback at office supply stores as well. That would give you $9.85 in cashback. However Chase Ink Plus/Cash would be my choices as UR points are more valuable than cash and Amex has been cracking down on gift card purchases.

So in total you are making about $13 per each card you buy. And that is if you just value Ultimate Rewards points just 1 cent each.

Also check the Dosh app for a possible 2% back on Office Depot purchases.

How To Liquidate Gift Cards

Mastercard Gift Cards are not as easy to use as Visa. You can still use them at Walmart to purchase money orders, but you need to quickly hit cancel on the keypad after swiping to switch to debit and it doesn’t always work. You can also use them for bill pay at Walmart and Kmart. Also check out smaller local stores near you that sell WU money orders.

And if everything else fails, you can always use them for everyday spend everywhere Mastercard is accepted.

Guru’s Wrap-Up

This is a sweet deal from Office Depot and OfficeMax. The $10 discount wipes the fee and gives you a small profit right away. Since it requires only a $100+ purchase, you can buy only one $200 Mastercard gift card to trigger the instant discount. Some people prefer Visa gift cards, as they’re often easier to liquidate. But this Office Depot Mastercard deal is one of the best we see, so it should be worth a trip to your local store. It’s a good opportunity to earn more Ultimate Rewards as many 5X avenues have been drying up.

HT: DoC