Recently, $500 Visa gift cards have started showing up at Office Max/Depot stores, with activation fees of $5.95 or $3.95.
Office Max/Depot supports Apple Pay, so you can use Apple Pay with Discover it to earn 11% or 22% cash back. However, since the Apple Pay bonus from Discover has not yet appeared on the most recent statement, it is still unclear whether buying gift cards will qualify for the extra 10% or 20%. A safer approach is to use Chase Ink at Office Max/Depot to earn 5x UR. That means buying one $500 gift card would earn 2529 UR points, still worth about ~$40 even after subtracting the fee. Also, while Staples has traditionally only carried $200 Visa gift cards, $300 Visa gift cards have recently appeared in the Staples Online Store, with an $8.95 fee. If you buy them with Chase Ink, you can also come out ahead by about ~$19. For ideas on how to liquidate the gift cards you buy, see our other article on manufactured spending. Have $500 gift cards shown up at the Office Max/Depot near you? Share your DP!