Merchant gift cards on discount

Both chains periodically discount third-party gift cards — restaurant, retail, airline and streaming brands — usually as "buy $X in gift cards, get $Y off" or a percentage back in rewards. These stack with the 5x, so a 15%-off Southwest card bought on an Ink Cash is effectively 20% off.

Unlike the Visa and Mastercard deals, these do show up in the weekly ad circular, which means they're findable in advance. They don't follow the 28-day cycle — they cluster around gifting season and back-to-school.

Why these are lower risk

A merchant gift card can't be liquidated, which is exactly why nobody polices them. There are no purchase limits worth worrying about, no money orders, and no bank-shutdown exposure. If you were going to spend at the brand anyway, this is free money with none of the downside.

The Amex Business Gold monthly credit

The Business Gold carries a $20 monthly statement credit at FedEx, Grubhub and office supply stores — $240 a year, enrollment required. Office supply is not one of the card's six 4x categories, so this credit is the only reason the card appears on a site about office supply at all.

The problem with a $20 monthly credit is that it expires monthly. Miss it and it's gone, and most people don't need $20 of paper clips twelve times a year.

Turn it into something you'll actually use

Both chains keep racks of third-party gift cards by the checkout. Buying one of those with the Business Gold triggers the office-supply credit, which converts a use-it-or-lose-it $20 into a brand you'd have spent money at anyway. Reported working: Uber, Airbnb, Target, and most of the mainstream restaurant and retail brands on the rack. The credit typically posts within a few days.

Practical notes:

• Ring it up separately. One small gift card as its own transaction on the Business Gold. Don't try to split a big prepaid-card run across two cards — split payment is cashier-dependent in-store and unsupported online.
• Match the amount. A $20–25 card captures the credit cleanly. Go much higher and you're spending real money to claim $20.
• Do it early in the month. The credit doesn't roll over, and stock on the rack varies.
• Twelve separate months. You can't stack them — it's $20 per calendar month, not $240 in one go.

Rewards programs

Office Depot's rewards program pays a percentage back in store credit on certain categories, and it stacks on top of the credit card earn. Staples runs a similar program. Neither is worth chasing on its own, but if you're standing in the store during a gift card week it's free to have the account.

Recycling and trade-in promotions

Office Depot has historically run ink cartridge recycling rewards and periodic "$2 per cartridge" style promotions with a monthly cap. It's small money and requires qualifying purchases, but it's a known niche.

The affiliate angle nobody uses

Worth knowing if you're reading this as an operator rather than a shopper: gift cards earn zero affiliate commission at both chains — it's written into both programs. Everything else in the store earns normally, 0.5% to 6% by category. Paper, ink, toner and furniture all pay. Gift cards never will.

Where the cycle logic goes next

The same 28-day pattern detection applies anywhere a retailer runs recurring gift card promotions. Grocery and drug chains are the obvious expansion — Kroger, Safeway and CVS all run fuel-point and gift-card multiplier events on schedules, and unlike office supply, those deals are published in the weekly circular. That makes them far easier to confirm in advance.

The Kroger monitor is the first step in that direction.