Points Posting From Staples Visas

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the news that Staples is selling $200 Visa Gift cards. In that post, I showed how you can earn big points by purchasing these cards online and then how to use it.

Ordering Visa Gift Cards from Staples Online

After I ordered them, they arrived about a week later. They each came in a separate paper within the envelope. Before the cards came, a letter came from Staples with the activation codes (do not throw this out!). Once the cards arrived, I went online to activate them and was ready to go right away (though some have mentioned that some cards may not be activated for a day or so). It was a bit of a pain with some cards as the system kept timing out. But once the codes were accepted, it was all set.

Points Posting!

I also received an e-mail yesterday from the Ultimate Rewards Mall telling me that I received my bonus points for purchasing the gift cards through the Ultimate Rewards Mall shopping portal. Thanks to it offering 2X points, I received 2,070 Ultimate Reward points (5 x $200 cards and $6.95 fee per card = $1,035. Multiple that by 2 to get the 2,070 points). Some people opted to go through other programs that offered cashback. Because there was some uncertainty as to whether those portals were paying out the points gift card purchases, I opted to go through the Ultimate Rewards mall at 1% less because I have had good success with receiving points for gift card purchases. Besides, for those who wish to travel with programs that Ultimate Rewards transfer to, I can get a lot more value out of 2X points than I would with 3% cashback (a difference of 1% if looking at straight cashback). Of course, if you are looking to get the cashback, then go with a portal that gives the higher value.

Loading Bluebird With Visa Gift Cards

Now that I have the cards, I have taken them to Wal-Mart to load them onto my Bluebird card. To do that, you give your Bluebird card to a cashier and tell them you would like to load it. Give them the amount ($200 per card) and then swipe your debit Visa gift card and enter your pin. (For the pin number, register your card and choose a pin or call the number on the back to set it.) The amount will instantly be loaded to your Bluebird card! You can load $1,000 per day using this method.

Have you purchased your Visa gift cards? What portal have you gone through to purchase them? Love to hear of your deals you have received!