January 7th, 2013
Today’s Escapades
Update #2, 01/07: Got all of my Staples gift cards that I’ll probably flip to Cardpool. A couple of them were slightly smaller than what I expected, but still not bad at all for a deal that paid out $$$ for gift cards that earned tens of thousands of Ultimate Rewards points at 5 points per dollar and helped me complete the signup bonus threshold spending for my Chase business 3BM that netted over 125,000 signup points.
Update, 11/13: Staples has gone crazy and I’m all-in! I’m currently due some $1,170 in Staples gift card rebates (which can be liquidated via Cardpool for $983 or used for rebate items) and have earned over 31,000 Ultimate Rewards points just in base spending on my Ink card, not even counting the 50,000 point signup bonus threshold help. Amazon Payments works perfectly to cash out the Visa and Mastercard gift cards as described below.
So here’s where it gets crazy. If you buy 3 of the $200 prepaid gift cards the system processes it for $135 in staples gift cards. The fee on these cards is $6.95 each, so for $20.85 in fees I’ll earn over 3,100 points plus $135 in Staples gift cards (which can be liquidated for $113.40). It’s probably a glitch, but I’ve got screenshots and printouts so they’ll be hard to argue with. Below are some of the combinations I tried on Monday.
In other news I continue to love CVS for bringing the Vanilla love to Cleveland and for having dozens of stores nearby 
You’ve made meeting my spending threshold on my recent App-O-Rama full of 4BMs and 3BMs easier than ever!
—————————————————————————-
This was originally posted on 11/11:
Related posts:
-Want To Boost Your Credit Score? Spend On Business Cards Instead Of Consumer Cards.
-A List Of Gift Cards Sold By Office Supply Stores
-Chase Ink Offers Being Updated
-Is Bluebird The Next Dollar Coin Churn?
—————————————————————————-
Cleveland, home of the original Office Max, isn’t blessed with an Office Depot. The nearest ones that I could find are a couple hours away in Columbus, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.
In case you’re living under a rock, people have been stalking Office Depots for the past few weeks waiting for their latest supply of Vanilla Reload cards. The card costs $3.95 and can be cashed out at full value via Bluebird. Plus you earn 5 points per dollar with any Ink card. So for a $3.95 fee you earn 2,500 points, or 0.158 cents per point, or $127 at those rates to fly round-trip to Israel with United.
The current rumor is that Vanilla Reload cards have been pulled from Office Depot, but you can still get $500 gift cards at Office Depot for a $4.95 fee and then use that to buy a Vanilla Reload at one of dozens of stores that still carry them. That brings the fees up to $8.90 for 2,500 miles or 0.356 cents per points, or $284.80 for that round-trip to Israel with United. Or just use the gift card for your everyday spending and earn 5 points per dollar everywhere.
Escapade #1:
As for me I went to a CVS and stocked up on Vanilla Reload cards to meet a spending threshold. It’s not nearly as lucrative, as there is a $3.95 fee and you only get 500 miles. Still buying miles at 0.79 cents is a great deal. The really nice thing though is to use that to meet a spending threshold. If you need to spend $5,000 to get 50,000 points then doing it like this will just cost you $39.50 and you’ll get those 50,000 points plus the 5,000 purchase points and you can use Bluebird to pay off your bill. You can use 40,000 Starpoints and transfer those to Flying Blue who can book you on Delta to fly to Israel with no fuel surcharges, though availability can be tough with Delta. At .79 cents per point that would run you $316 round-trip to Israel, though if you are getting points for opening a card and just need to meet a spend threshold then the cost will be much less than that.
I’ve already added the funds to my Bluebird account and can now cash it out for free.
Some DDF members have had success at Walgreens as well, post your experience in a comment.
Escapade #2:
I was browsing the DansDeals Forums on my Galaxy Nexus while I was out and read a post by member “DP7″ that when you buy $100 in Visa or Mastercard gift cards at Staples you get a $15 Staples Gift card. The promotion runs through 11/24.
I happened to be passing by a Staples so I went in and they had plenty of those gift cards. You can get that rebate on up to 10 gift cards per address. So I plunked down $1,059.50 (The $59.50 were gift card fees) and had $1,000 in prepaid Mastercards.
-I used my Ink card, so first of all I got closer to a spending threshold bonus and I also earned 5,298 Ultimate Rewards points at 5 points per dollar.
-When I got home it took me less than 2 minutes to fill in my online easy rebate and receive confirmation with a tracking number. I’ll get $150 in Staples gift cards in the nest 4-6 weeks.
-I can now cash out those gift cards for free via Amazon Payments or I can also go buy Vanilla Reload cards and cash them out via Bluebird.
-When you add a gift card to Amazon Payments it does a $1 authorization that stops you from being able to completely cash it out until the authorization drops. One way to get around that is to use an incorrect expiration date when you add it to your Amazon account and then correct it right afterward. Then you will be able to spend the full gift card amount without having to wait for the authorization to fall off.
-Assuming I just use Amazon that’s $59.50 for $150 in Staples gift cards AND getting $1,000 closer to a spending threshold, AND getting 5,298 points that are worth about $100 to me.
-I can also sell the $150 in Staples gift cards to CardPool for $126 cash. That would leave me with 5,298 points that I paid $59.50 for but received a cash rebate of $126, so that’s negative $66.50 which means cash going back into my pocket for “buying” those points. Good luck figuring out the cost per mile on that one!
-Staples also runs promotions for free stuff after rebate fairly often, so that would be another way to cash out those gift cards if you didn’t want to take the 16% haircut that CardPool takes.
Not bad for a short weekend drive.
1
November 11th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Dan – you said you could cash out those staples gift cards via amazon payments. How do you do you do that exactly?
2
November 11th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
@Pretzel:
The Mastercard gift cards can be cashed out via Amazon Payments.
The Staples gift cards would have to be cashed out via CardPool if you don’t have anything you want to buy from Staples.
3
November 11th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Can u explain this: I can also go buy 2 Vanilla Reload cards and cash them out via Bluebird
?
4
November 11th, 2012 at 7:42 pm
@david:
I have $1,000 in prepaid Mastercards. If I wanted I could buy 2 Vanilla Reloads of $500 each at one of the dozens of Vanilla Reload stores and then transfer the Reload to Bluebird to cash it out.
Not the most effective way to cash out though.
5
November 11th, 2012 at 7:43 pm
I was down in MIA a few weeks ago and purchased 2K worth of Vanillas reload cards with my Ink card. One thing that wasn’t mentioned is you have to open a “my vanilla” acccount first online b/c it takes them 7-10 days to send u the card. So I can’t fund anything to my bluebird until I receive my vanilla debit card in the mail. Just something to keep in mind to get the card before you buy the reloads so you’re not sitting on 2K worth of cards for a few weeks
6
November 11th, 2012 at 7:45 pm
@Vanilla Chilla:
Incorrect.
I have a Bluebird card that I got for free from bluebird.com and today I transferred funds from my reload cards on Vanilla’s site to my Bluebird account.
I never opened a My Vanilla account.
7
November 11th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
So how does that work exactly becuase the way I assumed to get from vanilla to bluebird was going into bluebird account and funding from debit card. So that’s when I realized I need the vanilla debit card. So how can I get all these reload cards I have into my bluebird account w/o a vanilla debot card? From the vanilla site ?
8
November 11th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
@Vanilla Chilla:
Yes, you can load right from Vanilla Reload:
http://www.vanillareload.com
You just enter the bluebird number as the card to be funded and the reload pin.
9
November 11th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
@Dan: I tried unsuccessfully adding a visa gift card to amazon payments. Is there any different that you have to do than with a regular cc?
10
November 11th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
@Anonymous:
I had no problem adding my Mastercard Gift Card to Amazon Payments.
I do one thing differently though with gift cards, and I’ve added that to the post.
11
November 11th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Can you please elaborate a little to explain the difference btwn the Vanilla reload and the 500 vanilla gift card. Can I just buy the gift cards from cvs and fund BB 500? Why is the reload necessary for the BB trick?
12
November 11th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
BH thx Dan , just loaded 1K directly to my BBird account ! They have a daily limit of 1K so ill have to do the other vanilla cards tomorrow.
Gut Vuch Brother.
13
November 11th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
@chocalate:
Only the reload card can be added to Bluebird.
The only point of buying a $500 Vanilla gift card would be at an office supply store to get 5 points per dollar and then to use that gift card to buy vanilla reload cards at another store to cash out via Bluebird.
@Vanilla Chilla:
Enjoy!
14
November 11th, 2012 at 8:22 pm
@Anonymous:
I went ahead and used one of my new $100 Mastercard gift cards just now via Amazon with the trick I wrote about in the post.
Worked without a hitch, $100 cashed out with no fees.
15
November 11th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Does it make sense to purchase Vanilla Reloads at CVS with a credit card which pays a premium for charges are drug stores, like Hilton Amex (6x)?
16
November 11th, 2012 at 8:25 pm
@Al:
You’d be better off buying prepaid cards at a store like Office Depot with an Ink card, but barring that it could make sense depending on how you value Hilton points and assuming you have no other spend thresholds to meet.
17
November 11th, 2012 at 8:28 pm
Does cashing out gift cards via Amazon use up your $1000 monthly limit?
18
November 11th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
@Dan: What happens if CVS doesnt have any Vanilla Reload cards when I get there? What do I do with the Vanilla Gift Cards I just bought at OD?
19
November 11th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
@Dan:
I am still a little confused about the bluebird. Correct me if I am wrong= is the best way to use BB by paying bills not currently able to be paid by credit cards such as rent, and then funding the BB account by buying a Vanilla Reload at CVS and paying for the Vanilla card by charging a credit card that I am currently trying to meet the spending minimum with? (sorry for the run-on sentence)
20
November 11th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
How do you spend so much at Amazon payments with that limited list of available businesses?
21
November 11th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
how can the reload card be reloaded after purchase?
22
November 11th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
Dan, did you buy 10x$100 GCs or 5x$200 GCs? It seems (according to SD), you can buy $200 Visa and get $30 Staples GC as a rebate. If it is correct, will purchase of five $200 GC be cheaper (in terms of activation fee) than ten $100 GC?
23
November 11th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
@fradl:
and am I correct in saying that it is more profitable to use the vanilla/bluebird combo to meet minimum spending than to get 5x rewards with an ink card?
24
November 11th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
@Al:
Of course.
@Al:
So confirm that your local CVS has them right before doing that.
@fradl:
Something like that, though you can also use it to just get a check or pay off your credit card bill.
Though using it for Rent or Mortgage is probably safer.
@So What:
Huh?
@m:
It can’t.
@jk2:
I did 10x$100.
Didn’t know that 5x$200 would work, though obviously that’s better even though the $200cards cost $6.95 each instead of $5.95 each.
Of course they can always catch onto that and correct it.
@fradl:
Don’t know what you mean by that.
25
November 11th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
@Dan:
By buying a vanilla using an ink card, you only get 5x/rewards, whereas by buying a vanilla card using a credit card that you are trying to reach the minimum spend amount to get say 50,000 miles, you get more bang for your buck, right?
26
November 11th, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Citibank dividend has 5% cash back at electronic stores for this quarter. does office depot qualify as one?
27
November 11th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Dan i dont think CVS will take a prepaid Mastercard to purchase vanilla Reloads card to use fund the BB.
28
November 11th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
CVS around me doesn’t have VR (yet?)
29
November 11th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
Is it hard to get approved for an ink card?
30
November 11th, 2012 at 10:52 pm
@fradl:
Or use an Ink card that you just opened to kill 2 birds with one stone.
@realistic:
I doubt it.
@david:
Why wouldn’t they?
Either way I’ll just use Amazon, but why would they take a credit card and not that?
@chocalate:
It’s still being rolled out at CVS.
@dave:
Nope.
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/25391
31
November 11th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
Do you need to have a ss number for bluebird
32
November 12th, 2012 at 12:13 am
Dan i dont think the take credit cards for vanilla reloads thats what i have read someplace ppl saying
33
November 12th, 2012 at 12:13 am
@yg yes the ask for SS but its not a credit check
34
November 12th, 2012 at 12:18 am
@david:
Funny because they took my credit card yesterday without making a fuss.
35
November 12th, 2012 at 5:34 am
Dan, i think this Deal is only live until the 17th , can you please Check …l
36
November 12th, 2012 at 7:14 am
Is it known if you get a single $150 Staples Gift card or ten $15 GCs? Because if it is latter, you cannot sell them to cardpool since they accept $25+ GCs only.
37
November 12th, 2012 at 7:51 am
why dont you buy just one big 5k vanilla reload card? are you able to?
38
November 12th, 2012 at 10:33 am
I can now cash out those gift cards for free via Amazon Payments
well can you explain how you do that how do you use gift cards to make a amazon payment
Thanks
39
November 12th, 2012 at 10:57 am
Dan Walgreens register said Cash only for Vanilla Reload card couldn’t buy it, means I have nothing out of the BB
40
November 12th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
@Jr:
It’s through 11/24.
@jk2:
When I track my rebate online it says “Staples Gift Card for $150.00″
@rots5:
$500 is the max.
@Lazer:
Because they are Mastercard gift cards, you just pinput them as you would any credit card.
@david:
Walgreens is YMMV for credit cards.
41
November 12th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Hey Dan,
Quick questions. Most GCs are not associated with an address or a name. Does that mean you can put what ever you want when you are adding the GC into Amazon Payments? Can you add any types of GC as in Amex/MC/Visa?
42
November 12th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
@jk2: based on past rebates from staples you should get one gift card value at $150, buy the way ebay daily deals has today officemax $50 gift card for only $40 shipped!
43
November 12th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Dan, If staples sends you 10 $15 gift cards, you will not be able to sell them to cardpool as thier minmum offer for staples right now os $25 card
44
November 12th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
@Mihah:
Again, it should be a $150 gift card.
I bought all 10 cards in one transaction.
45
November 12th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Dan i purchased gift cards from staples it has only one rebate offer number on reciept and does not let me enter it again so i can get for all 6 cards i purchsed a staples gift card it shows i get only one , please advise how you did it, thanks
46
November 12th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
@staplescards:
You only need to enter it once online.
When you go back to track it soon it will say how big of a gift card they will be sending you.
47
November 12th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Dan so what are my other options loading a BB card if i cant get it with credit card as walgreens only accepts cash for vanilla reloads?
48
November 12th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Is there any reason that you bought mastercard gift cards and not visa? Do amazon payments not work with Visa Gift cards?
49
November 12th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
@david:
Look at their site for other merchants.
@ely:
No reason.
50
November 12th, 2012 at 2:27 pm
One point here I don’t get. Whats the point in purchasing prepaid MC just to buy VR with it ; If the CVS your going to allows cc to purchase VR why not just use a normal CC and get points for it and cash out the MC via AP!
51
November 12th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
@realistic:
Correct, that’s what I’m doing.
52
November 12th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
How do I see how much my rebate from Staples is from? When I go to track my rebate it just says 15 dollars on purchase of 100 or more on visa or mc gift cards, not a total amount
53
November 12th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
can i get more then 10 staples gift cards to another address?
54
November 12th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
sorry meant m/c gift cards then the staples rebates
55
November 12th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Dan,
We we go around the 1 per household by buying multiple GCs and have different people with different addresses submit the rebate? Can this be scaled up?
56
November 12th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
or they may see i paid with same credit card and wont allow even to different address?
57
November 12th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Anyone have any luck buying the MC or visa in NYC today
58
November 12th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Is this for any staples? or are some stores not participating in this deal?
59
November 12th, 2012 at 6:14 pm
I bought 5 $200 visa GC’s @ staples and paid 34.75 in fees
60
November 12th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Spoke to a manager at Staples. She confirmed the $200 cards are eligible and will print a rebate form. The promotion is for the value purchased, not dependent upon the number of gift cards it takes you to get to $100. So a $200 gift card counts as 2 of the 10 limit. Let’s hope she is right.
61
November 12th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
how do u feel about buying the gc online?
62
November 12th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
I see there are a bunch of over loadable prepaid cards like green dot. What’s so special about the vanilla variety? Why can’t I use those too for blue bird?
63
November 12th, 2012 at 10:16 pm
Anyone find that they cant get onto the rebate website to submit rebate? is there any reason to panik?
64
November 12th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Just went to staples. They didnt carry any $200 visa or mastercard, only amex. Oh well.
I did get a few $100 cards though
65
November 12th, 2012 at 10:35 pm
@S: Are you able to access the website and input rebate info?
66
November 13th, 2012 at 7:41 am
How did you get more than 10 GC?
Is there really an issue with getting onto the rebate website now?
67
November 13th, 2012 at 7:46 am
Good lord, who has time for all of this? Does anyone have a full time job? Kids?
68
November 13th, 2012 at 8:39 am
dan how did you get around the 10 per address
69
November 13th, 2012 at 8:53 am
I thought I the max amount is 10 repairs per household.
Dan are you sending those all to the same address or are you using other addresses as well?
I only did 10x$100 once. I would like to do it again, will the same address work?
Tia
70
November 13th, 2012 at 9:00 am
hey dan, does the staples rebate have to be done in different peoples name and addresses or am I allowed to do as many as i want?
71
November 13th, 2012 at 9:06 am
Dan, Im assuming you are having the rebates sent to different addresses?
72
November 13th, 2012 at 9:17 am
@DAN
are you sure that you will get the $135 for 3 $200 gift cards
if you look below the rebate status it reads
* This rebate amount is an estimate. Returns and exchanges will also affect the eligible rebate
amount.
73
November 13th, 2012 at 9:31 am
Is Staples considered an office supply store for the 5X points?
74
November 13th, 2012 at 9:33 am
Dan, I don’t understand what does “Staples gone crazy” mean. I am sure you are aware that number of rebates is 10 per household. You can only achieve this by submitting rebates for different mailing addresses. Is it what are you doing?
75
November 13th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Dan- how did you do more then 10?
76
November 13th, 2012 at 10:50 am
@Matza: Then get off the site and stop wasting your time commenting!
77
November 13th, 2012 at 10:56 am
How do you add funds to amazon payments. It only gives me option to do so with a checking account?
78
November 13th, 2012 at 11:03 am
how long does it take for STATUS to update to show the amount you will get? or Estimated amount?
79
November 13th, 2012 at 11:14 am
@Ddawg: instead of trying to add funds go to send money and it will ask if you want to send with cc
80
November 13th, 2012 at 11:22 am
@ely: No
81
November 13th, 2012 at 11:25 am
Can I use bluebird to pay an Amex cc bill(business or personal cc) and will this trigger a red flag?
82
November 13th, 2012 at 11:29 am
@Anonymous:
Thanks! but then I can only do 1k a month correct?
83
November 13th, 2012 at 11:47 am
The staples I went to only had amex. I put 3k worht of cards? Can I fund all 3k to my amazon payments account for no fees and from there fund to my bank account?
84
November 13th, 2012 at 11:56 am
When is the Staples deal over? It is not in the flyer.
85
November 13th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
@Big Boy:
The rebate itself says you can get 10 Staples gift cards with the rebate so it can be read that a $150 staples gift card is just 1 out of ten.
Otherwise start finding more addresses if you want to play it safe.
@Hannah:
Read the post.
86
November 13th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
im very confused whats this deal all about.
87
November 13th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
How much are the Bluebird cards?worth to get a starter kit from Walmart?
88
November 13th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
@David:
Just signup on bluebird.com for free.
89
November 13th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
got some amex gift cards in home depot (with my ink bold card). tried buying vanila reload cards at family dollar but their new system requires your vanila card to be swiped. is there a 1k limit for these cards to be funded to amazon payments to avoid the fees?
90
November 13th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Dan check it out – I bought 4 $100 cards, at first the rebate showed a $60 gift card, now i just got another update email from them and somehow it was bumped up to a $120 card!!
91
November 13th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
can anyone help? i wana a piece of the action!! whats the deal with the staples cards?
92
November 13th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
In the Bronx A CVS store did not allow a purchase of Vanilla reloads withe a CC. It’s Cash only.
93
November 13th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
How are you do $1170 in rebates? Are you able to buy multiple sets of giftcards and get the rebates even though the limit is 10?
94
November 13th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
@ dan where can i see how much the rebate is for? After i submitted my rebate i checked but it does not say an amount. all it says is submission received. It also does not say which products where purchased
95
November 13th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
the $200 card is not available online do they have it in store?
96
November 13th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
the blue bird looks like a bust if it is Cash only
97
November 13th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
i called bestbuy and asked them to match the staples deal with bestbuy gift cards and $150 back. so I paid only $50 for $200 bestbuy gift card
98
November 13th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
@sam: Please explain what you mean?
99
November 13th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
I’m having the same issue as Mo.
100
November 13th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
I just was in Walgreens & in a CVS in Brooklyn. It is CASH only for the reloadables.
101
November 13th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
To answer my own question. It takes an hour or 2 until it is processed. Then you receive a email where all of the info is available.
102
November 13th, 2012 at 5:43 pm
Please explain add a gift card to Amazon. I tried it and it failed.
103
November 13th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
@bb:
Which CVS in Brooklyn? Has anyone tried Kings Highway and Nostrand?
104
November 13th, 2012 at 7:54 pm
where do you get 200 dollar giftcards, online they only have up to 100
105
November 13th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Bought 15 $200 visa gc today at staples with my ink card. Then walked across he street twice and purchased $1k in VR for CVS in 2 transactions and paid with the gc. Totaled $3k today and already loaded $1k onto BB and $1k to AP. tomorrow is another day -:) thanks Dan…
106
November 13th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
I can’t seem to load money to amazon payments with visa gift card can anyone clarify how it’s done? It keeps saying pending and then failed????
107
November 13th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
@ Steveo: So when you bought VR at CVS the system was smart enough to deduct $200 from each card until the whole bill was paid? Excellent!
108
November 13th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
@simi:
In store.
@Steveo (one word):
Nice!
@Ddawg:
Did you follow my instructions?
109
November 13th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
If I need to spend 12k in the next 2 months what’s my best option now between bb and staples? which way is easier? Cheaper?
110
November 13th, 2012 at 10:14 pm
@Dan: I think so. I added the card with wrong expiration. Then switched it to correct. Then used it to send 100 dollars to someone. Now it’s pending. What did I do wrong?
111
November 13th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
@dan@Dan: I didn’t realy get your trick on amazon payments can you elaborate how you reenter? thanks
112
November 13th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
@JACKL-yup!
@DAN–BE CAREFUL. i only got one $15 rebate per card-even though it was a $200 Visa GC bec it was all on same receipt and its 10 per household. the offer clearly states that its a one time $15 rebate PER CARD OF $100 or more. that DOES NOT mean that you will get 2 $15 rebated per one $200 GC. i tried fighting for it but it was a no go. so…be careful…it is best to buuy the $100 GCs and only 10 per receipt. that way you will maximize the rebates. Good Luck to all.
113
November 13th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
@simi online orders are NOT valid for rebate. i ordered $1000 worth of cards on my ink but immediately cancelled them….
114
November 13th, 2012 at 11:16 pm
@shmu: yes if anyone has experience please share
115
November 14th, 2012 at 1:04 am
@ddawg:
get bestbuy to match staple’s $1k gift purchase and get $150 deal.
you may get $1k bestbuy gift card for only $850.
116
November 14th, 2012 at 1:05 am
@Steveo
Can you please tell me which CVS you went to that allowed you to purchase a VR with a CC.
Thank You
117
November 14th, 2012 at 1:15 am
Sorry Dan, but i think this Deal is only valid until 11/17
Look here : http://weeklyad.staples.com/Staples/BrowseByPage?storeid=2623257&promotionviewmode=2&promotioncode=Staples-121111&listingid=0&sneakpeek=N
So Wehre do you get the other Date ?
Thanks
Jr
118
November 14th, 2012 at 1:37 am
wal mart charges 5 dollars for the bluebird card starter pack but you cant add a reload till you get the rgular card in mail so for this purpose just register online for free
119
November 14th, 2012 at 4:41 am
The deal at Staples doesn’t show up the weekly circular for NYC. Is this a regional thing?
120
November 14th, 2012 at 9:15 am
@Jr:
11/24 was the sign in the store.
I can post a pic if you want.
121
November 14th, 2012 at 10:48 am
@bacc
I bought in New York at 2 stores and the rebate shows on the receipt when you pay.
122
November 14th, 2012 at 11:32 am
When I did the rebate online it says
Submission received.
Validation in progress.
How long does it take?
123
November 14th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
@Hudi
Wait and see; no need to ask so many questions.
Oh by the way you should have it by now as it is three hours later
124
November 14th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Can you please elaborate on the date trick for loading to Amazon? Is the first date you enter today, way down the road? Same question for the re-renter date.
125
November 14th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
With amazon payments are you limited to $1000 per month per recipient or $1000 per month total?
126
November 14th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
@HELLO- i was in Staten Island.
@DAN-Additionally, i have had major issues trying to purchase VR in CVS at 3 different locations. i ended up calling CVS corp and explained to them that although i had a visa/MC GC-the VR is NOT A GC as it cannot be spent like a reg GC/CC. She agreed and told me that although i CAN use it to purchase VR cards its all dependent on the store manager. Sometimes there is a block on the GC end but if the manager lets and once swiped it goes through-you’re good to go. The problem is trying to allow you to swipe it. To them, MC/Visa GC is the same thing as VR cards….Its all luck. FYI…all the ‘heimishe’ Staples and CVS’s are completely sold out of GCs and VR cards. so….we really need luck
127
November 14th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
@DAN i also purchased another $3k today from staples in GCs; on my INK. besides meeting my spending threshold, i will have gotten a whopping signup of 80K UR points and $1250 in Staples GCs. Thanks man.
128
November 15th, 2012 at 12:16 am
@ddawg:
bestbuy to match staple’s $1k gift purchase and get $150 deal.
you may get $1k bestbuy gift card for only $850.
129
November 15th, 2012 at 1:08 am
seems like deal is dead. all rebates have been dropped back down to the price they should have originally been
130
November 15th, 2012 at 2:36 am
@Steveo (one word):
nice job!
131
November 15th, 2012 at 11:09 am
Dan you ARE the MAN! Thank you for all you share. I always use your links to apply and hopefully you get something for the referrals. Is it ok to use a different name at same address? Daughter, wife – or will the rebate be denied? I had a 5K minimum spend to do on my INK so this was great timing! I have 10 in my name now have 10 more purchased but haven’t put in for rebate yet until I know what not to do. I can figure out what TO do.
132
November 15th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
I bought a $200 visa card last night. I tried entering the rebate online (rebate no. 12-28680) and the website says the rebate is not longer valid for online redemption. I think Staples has noticed us. I will fill out the rebate via mail, but its a PITA.
-Hamken
133
November 15th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
yeah same here………
134
November 15th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
I think what they are addressing is the glitch leading to higher payouts
135
November 15th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Another blog comment elsewhere said EZ rebates is working again for this deal. If so, it was probably a fix to the payout like smay said. I don’t have my rebate in hand to try it out.
136
November 15th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
I just bought three $200 Visas, rebate form says “Quantity you purchased: 3″ then further down “Rebates you’re eligible for using this rebate redemption form: 1″. Dan, did yours say that too? Or did something change?
I submitted online and there are no details yet as to what I purchased or what they’ll send me (like there are in Dan’s screen shots). How long before that shows up?
137
November 15th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
why the emphasis on Vanilla? what about other prepaid cards? thanks for your input!
138
November 15th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Staples easy rebates is back up…I was just able to submit
139
November 15th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
me too!!!
140
November 15th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
@Joe – Don’t fret Joe thats what it says and they send you an email in a few hours or less.
141
November 15th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Excellent, just checked again and easy rebates is showing that I will get a $135 Staples gift card.
Thanks Dan!
142
November 15th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
I tried it again and it works.
Thanks
143
November 15th, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Just picked up (10) of the Visa cards from Staples, no problem there, but when I went to my local Walgreens to convert them to Vanilla Reloads they would not accept the Visa Gifts cards. They were willing to try swiping the card, but it would only allow the $3.95 activation fee to be payed via the Visa Gift Card. I’ll try my local CVS instead and hopefully will have better luck with them. Worst case scenario, I’ll use Amazon Payments to liquidate them.
144
November 16th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Dan,
can you please respond to all the queries regarding doing rebates multiple times with different addresses.
Did you used same card for all the rebates or you have used different cards for all rebates?
Did you different addresses for all the rebates or is same address with different name.
145
November 17th, 2012 at 10:19 am
@Enigma – see post 85.
146
November 17th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Any inside for the 200 USD card. Do we think it is glitsch or is it Support to work that Way ?
147
November 18th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Hi Dan, I posted on the forum also but didnt get a response
Any idea about the max number of rebates per person if you get the 135$ gift card. it says 10 staples gift cards per person max. since each 3x $200 gives a single $135 staples GC, wouldnt it stand to reason you could do that 10 times?
thnx!
148
November 18th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
According to Dan’s post #85 yes he does think so. If you aren’t confident about that then use different addresses.
149
November 18th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
thanks smay, i must have missed that but multiple addresses is a good idea.
only problem is all cards bought w the same credit card
150
November 19th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
I am not clear on the amazon payment thing. You put the credit card in as payment but how do you get the cash back? Or do you have to spend that money on amazon? Help.
151
November 19th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Anybody else get an email from staples that the rebate has been calculated wrongly and they are correcting it. And only sending out the correct amount?
152
November 19th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
I also received a email from staples abt rebate has been calculated wrongly and they are correcting it.
153
November 19th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Yes, wondering if Mr. Dan has thoughts on this??
154
November 19th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Anybody else??
155
November 19th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
I also got an email from Staples saying there was a mistake & the amount will be corrected on the card!!! Dan….why are u silent?
156
November 20th, 2012 at 2:25 am
Did Anybody who bought five $200 giftcard in one transaction and suppose to get $150 in rebate, also received a email like this. Wanted to confirm people people who did “5″ $200 giftcards are going to receive $150 or $75.
157
November 20th, 2012 at 10:04 am
@Dan, I got this email from staples… any thoughts ??
Dear Valued Staples Customer,
We have identified you as one of the consumers who may have visited the
Staples Easy Rebate site to track your rebate. Upon tracking your
submission, you may have noticed that the value of your rebate might
have calculated incorrectly.
Please know that we are working to correct this issue. When you
receive your Staples gift card in the mail, it will be loaded with
the correct reward value.
We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
As always, thanks for shopping at Staples.
Sincerely,
Staples Rebate Team
158
November 20th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
@Mo: How long after submitting the rebate for the 3 $200 Visa Gift Cards did you get the email from staples about the mistake?
159
November 20th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
I submitted the Easy Rebate on 11/13, and received the email on 11/19. (I purchased 3 x 200 and 1 x 100). I hope this email means that I’m getting a $105 Staples GC, and not just $60.
160
November 20th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
@David I would say almost a week later
161
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:45 am
Is this still working?
162
November 26th, 2012 at 4:35 pm
I’m slowly closing in on this. I ordered a Bluebird card, which I understand is, like Amazon payments, a way of paying money for bills, such as the credit cards we’re running up here. What I don’t get is why vanilla reload (and how you get that to begin with; I’m in NYC and can’t buy it in Office Max).
Can you not load up bluebird from the card, say, AMEX Starwood, and then use it to pay the same AMEX Starwood? Too simple?
163
December 10th, 2012 at 8:38 am
Is there anywhere near Lakewood that takes CC for Vanilla Card? All the stores I went to have a sign only cash for gift cards.
164
January 7th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
So even though everyone was so nervous that staples caught on they still sent out the full rebates anyway?
165
January 7th, 2013 at 11:55 pm
i got 6 90 card instead of 6 135 card.
166
January 8th, 2013 at 11:45 am
Would anyone be interested in selling their gift cards for a lower price? I am looking to buy some things at Staples and it would be a big help
167
January 8th, 2013 at 11:47 am
@Yitzi:
How much do you need and what are you offering?
168
January 8th, 2013 at 2:32 pm
does anyone know of a place near monsey that one can get vanilla reloads for a credit card? also how long do british airways miles last if i close the card. can i close the account once the miles post as they are automatically transferred to the airline?
169
January 8th, 2013 at 11:45 pm
@chani cvs in suffern indian creek plaza has the vanilla reloads and lets you charge a cc. be careful to pick the correct card!!!!!
170
January 9th, 2013 at 12:09 am
Dan,
If I want to reach a 30k spending threshold, is it possible to do it using vanilla reloads exclusively? Or better not to even start.
171
January 9th, 2013 at 9:34 am
thanks savta.
172
January 10th, 2013 at 2:02 am
@dan
Ill buy your staples gift cards @ 84%. Please lemme know if you’re interested. I left my email in the box above.
Thanx
173
January 10th, 2013 at 3:30 pm
I am still waiting for. 2 out of mine 4 rebates. Anyone else still waiting ?
174
January 16th, 2013 at 1:35 pm
Dan can anybody make money (through points) by simply buying the vanilla card on a credit card with rewards that will give you points for the purchase and then pay off the credit card with the cash from the gift card.
175
February 5th, 2013 at 6:54 pm
Hi Dan,
Just a quick clarification. I can use AMEX/Mastercard/Visa gift cards to liquidate on amazan payments.Is that rite?
Also does the liquidation count towards receiving amount or sending amount on amazon payments?
Thanks so much in advance