If you buy $300+ in Visa or Mastercard gift cards from Office Max by 12/27 you’ll get $20 back instantly. Valid in-store only.
If you buy 2 of the $200 gift cards in store you would normally pay $13.90 in card fees. In this case you’ll actually be making a $6.10 profit. But the real reason to do this is to use your Chase Ink Plus or Chase Ink Cash card and get 5 points per dollar spent or about 2,000 points.
Alternatively you can buy a $200 gift card and a $100 gift card or 3 of the $100 gift cards if there are no $200 gift cards to get a $20 credit.
Officially you can do this twice for $40 back in one transaction. But many stores will allow you to make as many transactions as you want…
As you’re paying $393.90 for $400 worth of gift cards you can use these everywhere and effectively earn 5 points per dollar everywhere on top of the 1.5% cash savings. You’ll never beat that cash back rate!
Want to just cash out the gift card instead of using it for everyday purchases?
The pin on the Visa gift card is the last 4 digits of the card number, no need to set anything, so Visa gift cards are the best way to go.
-You can load up to $5,000 per month onto a Target AMEX REDCard for free.
-You can cash out the Visa cards using EvolveMoney to pay bills like your mortgage, property tax, auto loan, health insurance, store charge card (Gap, Macy’s, Target, etc). There is no fee for this but you can only make 1 payment per biller per month month.
-You can load Visa cards to your Serve card with a Family Dollar cashier for no fee (though some stores won’t do this)
-You can load Visa cards to your Bluebird or Serve card at a WalMart ATM machine for no fee.
-You can load Visa cards to your Bluebird or Serve card with a WalMart cashier or customer service for no fee. Just say you want to use your debit card, no need to mention that it’s a gift card.
-You can buy a money order with the Visa card at any store that accepts debit cards as payment (except the post office). Such stores exist even in manufactured spend deserts like NYC.
-You can pay your credit card bill at WalMart with BillPay at Customer Service.
-You can swipe the card on an Amazon card reader for a 1.75% fee.
-You can gift a Visa gift card as a wedding gift instead of giving a check.
-You can… 
HT: MilesNpoints, via DDF and FM
Went to one OM in Miami area and was able to get it twice (despite the most annoying manager). Went to another one and they warned me at the door that no CCs accepted! Half the store was ready to walk out…:p
I know you can’t load BlueBird or Serve with MCGCs, but can you do anything to liquidate them like MOs or RedBird?
I got office depot to match the office max, but I got vanilla visa with the ink. But guess I forgot it doesn’t work on bluebird anymore…
@David R: Could you please explain how do u load visa gc at Walmart ATM. I tried but there was no option of loading money.
@Dan
I usually buy VGCs, but this deal was too good to pass up, and my local OM only had MCGCs (the only downside of living in a Chabad community ;-0). Is there any way to simply liquidate them like I do my VGCs other than spending them on Evolve or otherwise?
@Josh
Evolve allows Discover now, so that’s 1% back on your payments. You’d need a very large CL on your Discover though.
They say that they will be rolling out Visa and Mastercard payments at some point too.
You can’t “store” GC balance in Evolve, though, so that’s where the one payment thing hits you. You are limited to the size of the GC or the CL on your CC.
Dan – Thanks for that, one payment per month is fine as there are only a few very large properties. I make approximately 8 payments throughout a 12 month calendar of $150,000 each. Any ways to get some rewards, earnings in your opinion?
@Anonymous:
Been said earlier, why would you pay full price without asking?
@Dan: Now you tell me.
@MJ:
See 46.
@jw:
They can be loaded on REDCard.
The only thing that can’t be loaded to REDCard is Target gift cards. That comes up on their screen.
@Dave:
Yes.
@Josh:
Evolve limits you to just 1 payment per month.
@yy:
They need to scan the coupon from the scan sheet binder.
Just bought two $200 MC gift cards at my local OfficeMax and got no $20 back. Is this dead?
Dan – Long time reader, first time poster. Thank you
I run a property management company and when I saw that EvolveMoney can be used to pay property tax bills I thought there might be a way to generate a lot of CC spend. Annually I pay more than $1 million in property tax bills for my clients. It doesn’t matter how they get paid, as long as they are paid. Any thoughts on ideas here of ways to maximize rewards through CC spend or other methods?
Dan,
The manager at my office max let me buy as many transactions of $300 I wanted he just made me fill out a office max form with my personal info for security, so i am not laundering it, is this normal?
What can be done with mastercard gift cards? I once got a target cashier to load them onto my redcard but after that in many stores they told me that since it says giftcard on it they can’t load it on the redcard.
@Jason Smith: You can load $500 at the ATM with no problem. Perhaps right before you tried to load $500, you or someone else had loaded within the last few minutes. The ATM has a limit of how much $ you could load within X minutes and requires an override if the limit is exceeded.
I have blue bird should I switch to serve what are the benefits?
@Dan: so what do you mean by pin is the last 4 digits where does it chop a × ×¤×§× ×ž×™× ×
OfficeMax in our area (Woodinville wa) only sells $100 ones. When I asked the cashier about the deal, she had to ask around and found the scan code sheet but it says on the sheet “LIMIT 1” printend in big bold letter so I didn’t even try. 🙁
I guess call another stores around…
Red Card vs Bluebird. Thoughts?
I already have bluebird.
Can I brings own visa gift cards from staples and
Use in OfficeMax? Local staples closed a few months and last day manager said I could have
The few leftover cards
FYI This morning my om didnt have a scan code sheet. Manager gave me $40 credit back on my ink cc. This evening, cashier had scan code sheet, got ” $40 off $300 purchase” on receipt. Did it 4x………..
@CtownBin:
It’s about ROI.
With REDCard I can spend 10 minutes in Target, not be treated like a criminal, and have $10K in MS on 4 cards.
Repeat the next day for another 10K.
Serve just takes too much effort compared to REDCard with not enough incremental gain. Too much running around Walmarts, too much time wasted finding and then using slow ATMs.
Would be fine if there was no alternative, but REDCard works like a charm.
SBS is nice, but you can get pretty much unlimited credits as AUs if you want.
And many Softcard promos work without Serve. The $50 promo is also ending this month, so you can max it out and switch.
@Dan:
they did that and can’t find anything…not very sharp
@CtownBin: Are we sure that currently one can not load Serve at Target? Has anyone tried it?
@Dan:
Well, it’s not as clear a choice as it looks. Serve has many advantages:
1) $1500 in free credit card loading online, as well as an extra $500 of debit loading online
2) Participation in AMEX offers, including the biggie- Small Business Saturday
3) Integration with SoftCard, which allows for taking advantage of MANY promos and deals, not the least of which is the free $50 a month.
So, for people like myself who use the $5000 debit loading to take advantage of gift cards at bonus categories anyways, and would continue to do so even with the RedCard (since Target isn’t really a bonus category on any good cards), it wouldn’t be worth it to give up those 3 things just because Target is a bit more convenient to deal with than WalMart. Sure, WM can be a pain, but if you go at the right times it’s bearable. With that and FD, its not too tough to get by.
I’d be interested in hearing your rebuttal Dan…
In any event, here’s hoping that Serve will soon be loadable at Target just like it was at WM, and we won’t have to make the decision!
@paul Day:
Tell them to look in their coupon scan sheet binder.
om in buffalo ny knows nothing about this deal. can anyone help with a shot of coupon they scan or any other info to help?
I have found the Walmart ATM’s have a much better chance of working in the morning than later in the day. Usually, they set it in the morning and once someone messes it up, it is down for the rest of the day. I have a list of which walmart’s in my area have the Walmart ATM and every time I am in the area, I stop in at them, sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Also, DO NOT try loading a $500 gift card onto the bluebird at the ATM as that will require a manager override, split it into 2 $250 transactions.
I just received redcard today to replace my bluebird. Keeping serve card in spouse’s name. I have a paltry 5k limit on my Ink card so use that at office max for serve and plan to use credit card to directly load redcard.
@sfuzzi:
Why in the world haven’t you switched to REDCard yet?
i am in cle as well and for months could usually find a working Walmart ATM. For the last 2 months, I have tried maybe 10 walmarts without luck. Today I even, gasp, tried my backup on the west side. Still no luck.
Several of the ATM appear to be working but the touch screens don’t seem to work.
@Redcard flop:
All he or any cashier needs to do is swipe the card and follow the prompts. Not hard to prompt them to do that.
@just wondering:
Why would I list so many methods and not mention that if it were possible?
@Nyc:
GIYF.
@Avi:
Target requires the REDCard AMEX and WalMart works with Serve/BB.
Don’t see how you could have gone to both expecting positive results.
I went to both WalMart and Target in San Jose and both told me that they couldn’t load gift cards. The girl at Target said this was never allowed before. The WalMart cashier and her manager tried five times before giving up.
Where is o max in nyc?
can i cash out visa gift cards at any atm ?? it says on the pack you cant and if yes is there a fee?
I went to Target today to load $ from a credit card to my Redcard. The guy at the customer service desk had never seen the prepaid card (as they don’t sell it in my city) and called American Express (the # on the back of my card) to ask how it works.
They told him you can only load money using cash or a debit card. I know that wasn’t true, but didn’t know what to tell him, since he’d probably trust their word over mine.
I then tried one of the cashiers, but he told me to go to customer service.
Any suggestions?
@Jack
Rent a zipcar, go to Target in Aberdeen in Northern Maryland. It’s the closest Target to NYC/NJ that has the Target Red Card. There’s a Candlewood Suites in the same town that’s on Point Breaks at the moment so you can stay the night.
@Jack:
You have no relatives in any red states to mail you a card?
@Dan:
They always send me to customer service. But that may be because I am doing it in New Jersey. (Where prepaid RedCard has not been rolled out)
Eri@Eric:
CVS, Family Dollar, 7-11?
No, didn’t try and No.
Walmart cashiers started to refuse to load as well. 🙁
There is a Serve limit but even when they allowed it you reach the cashier’s limit much quicker. People should be careful not to annoy the cashiers. Load 2 or 3 cards and move on, then go back to another line and try again, otherwise you hold up the line and they will impose more limits (the same is true with Redcard BTW).
Ran to OM as soon as I could today and all the 200s were gone already. It’s annoying to liquidate 100s so didn’t bother this time.
@jt27mp:
There are plenty, but spelling them out here will only spell their demise.
Do some research on the forums.
@eric:
Get a Redcard!
@wolf:
Cash discount.
@Sola:
Lol…
Although the promotion terms (see picture linked below) say “2 offers per business/household,” my local OM said it’s a maximum $500 per person. When I asked to see that in writing, the manager wouldn’t show me anything and said it’s “Office Depot policy.”
They were out of $200 Visa GCs (plenty of MC left), but had $100 Visas. The cashier allowed me to do two $300 transactions, as I showed her I had Ink cards under two different businesses. I didn’t make much ($20 – (3 x $5.95 fee) = $2.15), but at least I can pad my UR.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B42PbO4IgAEGBfp.jpg
I see I’m not alone with the gift card loading @ walmart annoyance.
Does serve still allow loading gift cards at CVS, Family Dollar, 7-11? What is the process? the limits (not serve limits but employee stoppage limits)?
The 20 dollars are a credit or cash?
does it apply for officedepot as well?
@Ez: You are missing the experience of making a trip to Walmart for nothing because the ATM is down. You are missing the experience of being booted from the ATM by a meddling Walmart employee.
@Jack Smith: The Office Depot register does not allow credit card payment for the cards that can be loaded with a variable amount. If you buy a $200 card, you should be able to pay with a credit card, but some cashiers may not realize it or may misunderstand the guidelines.
In howel NJ and Bricktown NJ it is the same. the ATM does not work and the cashiers looks at you as if you had done some crime.
the other day before SBS i went to load my bluebirds with $31 each cash. they were in shock when i said cash. the guy even said “you guys usually load only with special cards” he was in disbelief that i was using cash… They have been extremely annoying! i don’t understand if all of this is 100% legitimate what do they care? whats there issue? can anyone explain why the manager or corporate would care? or what would be the issue? Thanks! i am European and the race profiling is starting to tickle back….
I went to OfficeMax at 7:30 this morning, all $200 visa/mastercard GC’s gone. I grabbed the last 3 $100 visas. I get to the register and the person in line is arguing with the cashier “what do you mean only 1 promotion per person!” then leaves. Well there were all the $200 visa/mastercard GCs! A stack of about 20 was sitting next to the cashier. I asked for 2, paid, then as I’m leaving I hear the guy in line behind me say “do you have any more $200 Visa GC’S?”
You’ve got to jump quickly when this deal comes around!
@EZ at my walmart, the machine isn’t working half the time. Other times the walmart employees stop you after a while. saying u need to fill out forms. One time they tried to get me to fill out a federal tax form, but the form was for transactions of over $10k cash.
Maybe it’s just my walmart but it is annoying.
Anyone else have this problem at walmart? anyone can suggest a more reliable method? maybe a card instead of bluebird (which i like because of the checks).
Dan,
Where are the places in NYC (Brooklyn & five towns especiallY) where you can purchase money orders with the gift cards?
yes i would likw answer to nicks question too
@Ez:
Yes, you are missing something. For whatever reason, the ATMs very often do not work- and this is often true all across the country. It is amazing how similar it is no matter where you are in the US- there is obviously a systemic issue with these ATMs that they don’t care too much about fixing. I know that here in CLE they only work about 30% of the time, I’m sure it’s different in different places. People don’t want to wait until the ATMs happen to be working- so that’s why they take their shots with the cashiers.
@Asd:
Most.
@Eric:
You load them at any cashier.
@Ez:
Not all Walmarts have ATMs.
@Nick:
Try it and let us know 🙂
Since its a limit of 2 per customer if i buy 3 $200 card for $620.85 will it give $40 off total or do they have to be seperate?
I don’t get it. Why would people risk getting turned down when loading their serve cards at wallmart with a cashier when they can just do it through the atm? And family dollar with their tightening up… Isn’t it an absolute guarantee that you will be able to liquidate these cards via a wallmart atm onto your serve card? Or am I missing something….
Good point!
I’ve been looking for info about listing gift cards to redcard. Does target have an atm like Walmart? How do you load gift cards?
Where can I read about it on official office max website?
How many of these manufacturer spending options work in nyc area?
@Jack Smith:
Hence the deal is for Office Max.
@yosefyosef:
So have American and USAir. Point being?
Online it says they merged?
My office depot ( I tried 2 of them ), dont take credit card for buying Visa or Mastercard Gift Cards.
No. Office Max only.
Will this work at office depot as well ?
Since the merger of office depot-office max, would this work in office depot also?