I got too frugal over the last month or so. With all these fee-free Visa deals at Staples, I quit ordering Visa gift cards online. I got so tied up with the idea of fee-free that I’ve missed at least two months of opportunity to buy these gift cards at a very reasonable price. And, they are $300 gift cards not $200’s like you get in the store fee-free deal.
Reader Kirk reminded me that the hardest part of this gift card/money order transaction is the face-to-face buying money orders. I’d much rather buy fewer $300 than the tiny little $200’s. Thanks Kirk.
Saving time vs. money
So $8.95 for a $300 Staples is my added cost. Less any shopping portal bonus if they should miraculously happen (gift cards are excluded for shopping portal bonuses with Staples). The added cost is less than 0.6 cents per point.
But I mitigate some of that added cost by not having to go out and buy the gift cards. Ariana put me back on track last week. I can make an order from the comfort of my living room chair and have them delivered with no shipping to my front yard mailbox.
It’s then just a one-stop process of buying the money order from my friendly grocery store clerks. Then mobile depositing them to one of my three bank sources. I found two MO outlets with “good ink“. And they are $300’s instead of $200.
In my laziness I forgot I’ve got a $75,000 purchase opportunity each year with my Ink card ($50,000) and a buddy lets me do $25,000 on his 5X card. I fell victim to not seeing the forest for the trees.
In my frugalness trying to save a buck, I’ve added time and effort to my task for a very limited cost and possibly put at risk my opportunity to make it to my maximum of 75,000 at 5X.
Final thoughts
I can’t count on Staples having enough fee-free weeks to get me to my $75,000. I need to go back and look at my total gift card spending to date and get my back side back in my comfy chair and make some online orders to make sure I hit the max. That’s the new goal, which I never should have forgotten, in my frugalness.
In years past I left far too much on the table. This year I am maxing everything. I have two Chase Inks that I’m maxing out at 50k spend each. I do 4+k per month to “even it out” over the year. Not sure I need to but that’s what I do.
I do a mix of Staples 300s on line and fee free 200s if available. I pair a 300 with a 200 in grocery stores to max out the 500 MO through split transaction (they auto drAin so no need to tell clerk).
If fee free not available I buy “everywhere dining” for $5 fee per $200 card (slightly less cost than the $300 on line) to pair with the $300 card.
I’m really struggling with the Amex Gold now. I need to do another $7500 spend at grocery stores and at the same time max the 4x Sam’s club (+Dosh) promo by year end. I’ve been hitting up Sams 4x per week (and look on line everyday to see if I got shut down yet).
So much to do!
Kirk, Check your Dosh today before you go to Sam’s Club. It disappeared on four of our accounts yesterday.
With the Amex offer its still worth it but don’t want you disappointed after it doesn”t post. Let us know if your area got killed with Dosh too
Kirk, Check your DOSH and Sam’s Club. It came off our Dosh yesterday
Thanks. Didn’t know.
In a way I’m glad. Now I’ll do a few thousand per trip rather than $500 to max Dosh.
Thanks for reminding me of this in the first place in prior posts. I wasn’t even going to renew my Sams membership before I read Dosh plus 4x.
Thanks. Didn’t know.
In a way I’m glad. Now I’ll do a few thousand per trip rather than $500 to max Dosh.
Thanks for reminding me of this in the first place in prior posts.
Thanks. Didn’t know.
Also thanks for the reminder to do this in the first place in prior posts.
Thanks.
I’m actually a bit relieved about this Rick. I do a lot of this just cause I can. It’s more cause I don’t want to leave it on the table than I really need to do it. It’s an obsessive behavior, granted.
Kirk & Rick I, I assume both Visa and Mastercard giftcards from Sam’s are drained by money order only, aren’t they? Cause they are Vanilla brands. Pls correct me if my info is wrong.
I hate vanilla mastercards. They don’t act the same. I’m stay with visas BUT we just lost Sams on Dosh
Thanks Rick. Didn’t know.
In a way I’m glad. Now I’ll do a few thousand per trip rather than $500 to max Dosh.
Thanks for reminding me of this in the first place in prior posts. I wasn’t even going to renew my Sams membership before I read Dosh plus 4x.
Rick, the 300 vgc you get online from staples are they meta bank or sunrise?
MIne are all Metabank
Rick, HappyGuy Card that is issued by MetaBank, do you know if it can be offloaded at Walmart for MO? TIA.
Hi Rick,
Which “three bank sources” do you use for mobile deposits of the MOs?
Thx
What’s the right size order to place? And how often? Thanks
Hey Jim, I do 6 $300’s in an order and about twice a month is my maximum. That gets me close to the first $50K in a years time
Best of luck
Rick
Same
buying staples gift cards online counts as office supplies on the ink? i know officemax/depot doesnt
Correct on both. I also made the OD mistake.
Rick, Thanks on Sams Dosh. Didn’t know.
In a way I’m glad. Now I’ll do a few thousand per trip rather than $500 to max Dosh.
Thanks for reminding me of this in the first place in prior posts. I wasn’t even going to renew my Sams membership before I read Dosh plus 4x.
Separate note: having issues leaving comments at times. Don’t post. Tried posting this as a reply above but nogo.
Anyone else having issues posting comments? Many of mine won’t post. I know they’re not censored.
Hey Kirk, sorry I just came across this comment which somehow ended up in the trash. Along with over 130 others. No idea why, but I’m restoring them now. Looking into what prompted this because usually only first-time comments get held in moderation and never trashed.
Rick, you earn 1500 UR points for $8.95 (1 $300 gc using your Ink)…do you consider that low cost because you could fly RT economy to Europe for effectively $300? Or, are you looking at it another way? TIA
UR can be transferred to Hyatt for $.02 value. We pay appr. $0.0006 to get that or 3x what we pay. Another way to look at it is a $100 Hyatt place for 5,000 points cost $30 with this method. 70% discount.
Carol, I don’t fly round trip to Europe in Economy. That’s a bad redemption in my mind as ticket prices in economy are so low. I usually fly business or first. But we use most of our Ultimate Rewards for high end Hyatt stays.
Sorry $0.006.
Rick and Kirk – just so I have this correct: Staples allows you to buy gift cards online for $300 delivered to your house and it counts as manufactured spend at 5x the rate? Granted, there is the 8.95 fee . But no gas involved which for the equivalent of 9 cards (9*200 = 3*600) – would be 9 trips to Staples and gas involved. Thanks! My area still has Simon Malls but its a 10 miles drive to and from – granted, no 5X the return. I will have to ponder this and really start budgeting better in 2020. I guess, the more you learn, the more you know. Thanks guys 🙂
Mostly correct, but I can buy up to five $200 visa everyday dining per trip, not just one. So 2 trips for me.
“five $200 visa everyday dining” ? Can these cards be used or drained at other places outside of restaurants? That’s a lot of eating out. I’m confused.
They can be used to buy MOs at WM or grocery stores just like other Visas.
I buy them cause the fee is less than the “ordinary “ visa gcs.
BTW, “everyday grocery” works the same.
Woohoo, new method of MS.
great info. Thanks..
Hi Kirk, I’m located in Seattle and I’m no longer able to buy MO at WM and other grocery stores. Please advice!! Thank you.
Move?
Seriously, I don’t know. Some people use WM bill pay but I never have. Too much risk getting sd by cc companies.
I think you’re SOL. Have you checked every grocery store chain and individual stores?
Look up Western Union in your area and call them all to see if they accept debit.
You do know to not tell them you’re using a gc don’t you? Only say debit when using.
Hey…new to MS, but is there a reason not to buy VGC’s on Amazon? Limit 2 per order, but 6.95 and free same day/next day shipping for prime? I haven’t come across much mention of Discover in my initial research, but 5% category is Amazon this quarter so seems like a good option?
Jake, I’ve never tried it. Let us know how it posts.
Thanks
Rick
… that’s barely above break even.
Unless you got the 4X Sams club MR bonus through 12/31. Then add 2x for biz blue cash
Oops. I thought you were talking about Sams. Sorry
How is that breaking even? Discover’s 5x on $1K Amazon VGC is $50,. Still great profit minus the card fee. Am I missing something here?
Spend $40 to make $50. Not worth the effort.
I thought Jake said “Limit 2 per order, but 6.95 and free same day/next day shipping for prime”, that would mean the fee is 6.95×2 for $1K purchase, No?
In the context of the article and time value of money it only involves l. Buy online, 1 trip to Walmart to get MOs and the mobile deposit with bank.
Not saying it’s scalable but intent is to hit 5% quarterly bonus on card. Works out to around 1.3% net with limited effort.
Seems in line with the Staples approach in article.
All new to me so just testing the waters so any insight is appreciated.
$200 cards are the largest denom Amazon sells.
Yikes, my bad….. Sorry, I should’ve checked Amazon first on its GC pruchases.
Hi…that’s what I’m trying to understand, in the context of this article around time value of money return is comparable to the example in the article no?
Order online, no shipping, cards arrive same/next day. Only time is to Walmart to do 2 MOs. 8 cards @ 6.95 per + MO fee @ 1.36 (0.68 *2). Mobile deposit (doesn’t seem to be an issue). 1.3% return. Is that reasonable on 5% category bonus + limited use of my time or is there a better way?
Process doesn’t need to be scalable as it’s just about hitting the quarterly bonus