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1. Staples started offering fee free $200 Visa Gift Cards yesterday. The deal runs through Sunday, and is limit 5 per day (which really means per transaction). These are Metabank gift cards and they’re getting harder to liquidate, especially at Safeway, Albertsons, and related stores. Make sure you have a plan before going big on this one.

Use a card that bonuses at Office Supply stores like the Chase Ink Cash, US Bank Business Cash Rewards, or American Express Business Platinum with the 5x offer attached. I understand that some of you aren’t currently in a position to get a business card. In that case, check out the Huntington Voice Credit Card, which earns 3x on office supply purchases up to $2,000 per quarter. Bonus: This is a no-annual fee card that doesn’t pay anyone commissions, so it probably won’t be pushed on everyone only to devalue its benefits any time soon.

2. Yun let me know that the Rakuten Visible deal was up to $40 or 4,000 Membership Rewards back on service on Saturday, though as of this writing it’s back down to $20 or 2,000 Membership Rewards. Check the current rate at this link. Yes, this is manufactured spend even if it doesn’t seem like it at first blush: You’ll spend on cell phone service and earn miles and/or cash back and a $100 Mastercard after two months of service. I did a few of these this weekend and Rakuten auto-attached $15 off of the first month, making the deal even better (especially if you join any Party Pay group for free to knock $15 off of the monthly bill). This deal can scale.

3. Kroger has a coupon for $3 off of a fixed value Visa or Mastercard running between now and May 25. It can be used multiple times, just make sure you add the coupon to your Kroger account first in the mobile app or at the web site. These are US Bank issued gift cards, which in most cases will work better and at more places than Metabanks. Stack this deal with another coupon for 4x fuel points on fixed value Visa and Mastercard gift cards, though that one expires tomorrow.

A picture of a woman with red hair and a blue shirt walking into a pole at a playground.
Trying to liquidate Metabank gift cards at Safeway.

American Express has a few “no lifetime language” (NLL) card offers kicking around. The great news is that if you got the Unicorn Platinum card around when it came out in November, your 90 days is up and you’re eligible for another American Express charge card. As a reminder, if you apply for an NLL card and American Express doesn’t give you a popup saying you’re ineligible to receive a bonus, you should get it after meeting the spend requirements.

The best wisdom out there is to avoid obvious manufactured spend on American Express welcome bonus spending, though you can ignore that advice and probably be fine if you can’t gin up spend in any other way (just like you can drive without a seatbelt and probably be fine, but you may also die.)

Bonus tip: Check here to see if you’re eligible for 40% off up to $40 back, when you pay for an item sold buy Amazon and use at least 1 Membership Rewards point.

A Gold American Express card with the text "Click It or Ticket" overlayed on top.
American Express’s failed joint safety campaign with the US DOT.

1. Honestly, I really hate to cover this deal because it’s been overplayed everywhere else; that said, it’s a good enough deal that you need to do it. So, make sure you check your AmEx Delta, Hilton, or Marriott personal cards for offers on dining statement credits through 12/31/2021. For the business Delta, Hilton, or Marriott cards, check for offers on wireless services, and check your higher annual fee cards first because they have better options. You can find more details at this AmEx press release. Now, can we all agree to stop making this news? Kthxbai.

2. Ditto for #2, everyone is writing about Brex and there’s a good chance you’ve seen it all over the place already. It’s also worth it though, so if you have an LLC you can get get 90,000 points through Brex by signing up and spending $3,000. With more hoops, you can get 110,000 points. After you do it you can transfer the point to several foreign carriers’ frequent flyer programs and then you can close the thing and be done. I personally would use it for FlyingBlue or Cathay Pacific as my transfer targets. If you want a more glorified write-up, see the Frequent Miler. Bad news: I cannot find an affiliate free link for signing up for this promo.

The AmEx deal is as overdone as this toast.