Update: I failed to mention this in the original post, but fellow blogger Christine was able to buy Vanilla Visa gift cards at the Office Depot store across the street from the Chicago Seminars venue. So even if you can’t get Metabank Visas’s at OfficeMax, it’s worth checking out Office Depot for Vanilla Visas (if you live near a Family Dollar store and are able to load these cards to Serve)
When one manufactured spending opportunity ends, another one opens up. Well here’s a throwback from 2013 when Office Depot was selling Vanilla Reload cards and everyone was going nuts, clearing out the racks. You’ve got Karyn to thank for the latest discovery: OfficeMax is selling $500 Visa and MasterCard gift cards for $5.95. The exciting part? You can use a mile-earning credit card, including the Chase Ink Plus, which pays out 5x points per $1!
OfficeMax was bought out by Office Depot back in 2013. I personally haven’t seen one since, but apparently they’re still around. If all you have access to are Office Depot stores, then you might as well give it a try. If it works, you’ll have an easy new manufactured spending source.
Amol, who I believe is in Southern California, has confirmed he was able to purchase the Visa cards without problems, so chances are this isn’t just regional. Both he and Karyn reported issues with purchasing MasterCard gift cards. This isn’t a big deal because the Visa gift cards, which are issued by Metabank, cost the same.
Purchases are limited to $2,000 per person per day. This will set you back $23.80 and earn you 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points. The strange thing is that both Amol and George have reported that they paid just $3.95 per card.
I’m in Chicago right now and according to @gbplesh, who started calling local OfficeMax stores to ask about availability, they’re replenishing their stock tomorrow…when I’ll be on a plane for five hours. The good news is that it seems stores are replenishing their stock on Monday. Hopefully the ones in my area aren’t going to be wiped out by the time I make it there.
For some reason, no one is as excited about this as I am. I keep hearing things like, “I don’t know if it’s worth it for me to drive 10 minutes” or “I prefer mail-order gift cards.” What kind of jaded soul doesn’t jump out of their shoes over the possibility of earning 10,000 miles per day for less than $24? I literally can’t wait to get home so I can start hitting up every OfficeMax/Office Depot store on the way home from the airport.
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I have yet to find an Office Depot or Office Max that will accept a credit card here in FL.
where did you try in FL? did you try OMax? i know that OD is cash only. Never been to OM because it is far away.
thanks!!!
Miami, both OD and Om said cash only and the manager actually said that it was state law.
Hi, are these $500 visa gift cards pin-enabled? Can you liquidate them in walmart with Bluebird?
Thanks
Yes to both.
Yes. These are the same ones that Safeway sells, and I’ve had no issues liquidating them in Walmart when Kate is actually working (which is about 3 days per year :P).
Yes, they’re the same ones.
I wish Redbird was still alive!! 🙁 Definitely more difficult to liquidate at Walmart in the Bay Area, but still worth a try! I just can’t do as much volume as I did before. 🙁
This IS interesting (as in superb) news, thank you Ariana. (Glad I’m still on your mailing list) Timing is interesting too. Last week, we have Staples (on-line anyway?) upping it’s gc game to start carrying $300 vgc’s — albeit for $8.95 each. This will be a much better deal for those with access to stores that carry them. My nearest Office Depot/Max stores are about 60 or miles away, on the way to my favorite airports. (RIC & IAD) So….. I’ll make plans. 🙂 (esp. as I’m contemplating adding the new Amtrak card onto a new Brit Airways card — lots of ms needs)
To clarify, I’m not seeing these cards on line via Office Depot, right?
Nope, just in-store.
Do you think Office Depot will sell them too? Not sure if OD and OM usually carry the same gc/inventory? Thanks!
Definitely worth a try. I know they carry Vanilla Visas.
I love you.
Lol! Enjoy cleaning out the racks in the bay.
My local OD have been always been carrying $500 VGC but are cash only, only the $200 ones accepts CC.
Same here. OD will only accept CC for the fixed value ($200 max) and the registers are hard coded for Cash only on the variable reloads. Unless things have changed recently. Besides, they are closing all the OM’s where they is an OD nearby.
I see nothing has changed and never will. So sad indeed. “When one manufactured spending opportunity ends, another one opens up.” Huh! try: when 20 deals die in a couple months, one opens up and people still gotta yap about it til it dies. Geesh.
Relax, it’s just gift cards. No one leaked a top secret NSA file.
Man that is a sorry excuse for the continuation of speaking about MS deals in public. Shame that the entire community has to pay for the recklessness of all bloggers who continue to talk MS out in the open. Ariana’s lackadaisical attitude toward the prolonginf of MS is just as off putting.
I’m not offering an excuse – just explaining that this isn’t at the top of my list of things to have a hissy fit about. By “the entire community” you mean a few selfish people who want these deals for themselves. I’ve never cared for self entitled types and will definitely not be adjusting blog content to make them happy.
Way to go Ariana! This is YOUR blog and you are the boss of it!
🙂
Well spoken, Ariana. “MisterMister” is the epitome of a selfish bratty curmudgeon, who considers internet venues like flyertalk as “private,” and outside that quaint, code laden sphere, “public.” What rubbish. In this case, Karyn and you were the first to “discover it,” and even the elite “private” club has benefited from “public” vetting and checking … to see just where the deal works, at OM and/or OD, etc. More power to you for resisting such arrogance.
Exactly Will! They benefit from”stalking” awesome sites like Ariana’s so someone else could vet for them but selfishly want to keep the knowledge for themselves. And when they personally know of something, they don’t share it as well, just “take”, “take” “take”.
I know some of these posters have gone so far as to threaten bloggers, not just insults but orders to stop blogging or else. To them, it’s not a game. Many are too lazy to find a job or cannot. So MS is their life. Sad. Marathon Man who was famous for his large MSing, would bully bloggers religiously. His self absorbed manifesto comments were exhausting reading. Haven’t heard from him in awhile since he was blacklisted from the Old Amex Blue.
I know at least one blogger who’s received death threats. Everyone just needs to chill around this stuff in general. A lot of times the same people who get upset when a deal ends don’t realize that it’s “their kind” (heavy churners) who drew the most attention to it and likely caused it to end.
Which store in SoCal did you go? I tried several stores in SoCal, they have $500 GC available but cash only. Thanks
I didn’t, Amol from TravelCodex did.
Your’e right on. Case in point, Old Amex Blue. The heavy hitters drew attention when they were spending in the high 6 figures at 5% cash back. Some were doing it for years, no outside employment necessary. Amex closed the accounts of those folks in one swoop over a 2 month period just over a year ago. The saga was on FT and was interesting to read, see the panic. Me, I was doing very little MS but I was doing it and Amex did nothing to me, didn’t see me as a threat, as abusive. Some of those heavy hitters were pissed that other people were introduced to this card like it was some sacred secret. It was their deluded belief that bloggers ruined their lifestyle. Fact is they ruined it themselves. Hogs do get slaughtered and Amex had enough.
Couldn’t agree more.
what do i do with them once I have them?? Target is dead. My bluebird is dead.
Use them to purchase money orders at Walmart.
I found the Mastercard ones only at OM, but I didn’t buy one. I wasn’t sure the Mastercard ones would work at Walmart for Serve. Have others used these?
The Mastercard did not work for Bluebird as the registers processed it as a credit card and not debit.
The story that I have heard from reps at OfficeMax and OfficeDepot regarding these is that variable load cards are cash only.
That’s definitely the case at some stores. However, my friend Christine was able to buy Vanilla Visas at the Office Depot across the street from the Chicago Seminars venue. YMMV, but it’s definitely worth checking at your local stores.
My local OD has always sold variable $20-500 gift cards. But those are cash only. Only fixed value cards can be bought with a cc.
I’d try again – they may have changed their policy. This isn’t going to work everywhere, but I’m going to check a couple of places as soon as my replacement Ink card comes in the mail.