(EXPIRED) $5 off Visa Gift Card activation fees at Staples 4/11-4/17

Staples will be offering reduced-fee Visa Gift Cards starting Sunday, April 11, 2021 through Saturday, April 17, 2021. This time around, they are offering $5 off the activation fee, so you’ll still pay a couple of dollars for each gift card. That’s not as good as recent fee-free promotions, but you’ll still come out ahead as long as you use a credit card that earns a good category bonus on office supply stores.

The Deal

• Staples will be offering $5 off the activation fee when you buy a $200 Visa Gift Card in-store from April 11, 2021 to April 17, 2021

Key Terms

• Limit 5 per customer per day
• Available in-store only

Quick Thoughts

While it is of course disappointing that these gift cards are not fee-free, it’s nice to see Staples keep the limit at 5 per customer per day. That means that if you buy five $200 Visa Gift Cards in one trip, the math still works out well:

• 5 x $201.95 = $1,009.75
• Cost = $9.75
• Rewards (at 5x) = 5,048.75 points (if using a Chase Ink Cash card)

While free is better, getting more than 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points for $9.75 is still a big win considering that that points could get you a Category 1 Hyatt stay or could be used to pay yourself back for a grocery, home improvement, or dining purchase of $75.73 if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

We’ve seen Staples run these $5 off sales in the past, so I am not terribly concerned that these will replace the fee-free promotions that we all know and love. I’d prefer a fee-free deal, but this will do. Personally, if I were passing a Staples store, I still wouldn’t pass up this one — which is doubly true in 2-player mode.

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