Office Depot Rewards changing 7/1/13

[skincarekathy- (admin)]

Starting July 1, you can earn points in so many ways:

Shop: 10 points for every $1 spent on ink, toner, paper and copy/print/ship services.

Connect: Points for letting us get to know you. Complete your member profile today!

Recycle: Points for recycling your ink & toner cartridges. Get 200 points ($2) per cartridge limit of 10 per month when you make a $10 qualifying purchase in that month (calendar). "Qualifying Purchase" is anything except postage, gift cards, etc.

Choose:Achieve Choice Member status when you spend $200 on almost anything we sell within a quarter. You'll get 5 points for every $1 spent on the 5 additional product categories you choose the following quarter.

Enjoy: 1,000 points = $10 Rewards Certificate Rewards Certificates are issued monthly.

Entire FAQ is here: www.officedepotrewards.com/loyalty/customerService/wlrFAQ.do#wlrFAQ1121

BASICALLY

You earn 10 points for every $1 spent on ink, toner, paper, copy/ship/print.

If you spend $200 on anything (except postage, gift cards, etc, exclusions are in the FAQ) in a quarter you will be a Choice Member. You can then choose 5 additional categories (beyond ink, toner, paper, copy/ship/print) to earn 5 points per $1 on those categories. So if you are going to shop for Kcups or toilet paper, one of those categories should be breakroom supplies. You can change those categories whenever you want and your changes will be available in the next quarter. You see.

The $200 required quarterly for Choice Membership can be on items that are free/cheap after reward, but anything you buy with a reward certificate does not earn any points nor does it count toward the $200 needed quarterly to maintain Choice Membership.

If you do not want to be a Choice Member you can still take advantage of the recycling program so long as you make a $10 qualifying purchase each month and it does not have to be just on ink anymore. You have to watch this one, though because any points under 1000 you have at the end of the quarter will expire. So make sure to shop wisely so you don't lose any points!

Anyone have anything for discussion? I am just starting Office Depot again in July on my journey to free/cheap stockpile paper items and Kcups. Those are budget-busters for me!

[lotsacoups]

Boy that sounds confusing. I feel like I would need a big calendar to remind me what to spend and when. I can't even think of where there is one by me so I may have to go with Staples or Office Max.

[skincarekathy- (admin)]

At the simplest, you can double your money just by inkjet recycling.

Recycle 10 cartridges, spend $10, get $20 in rewards. I recently bought 250 empty inkjets on Ebay for $42.50, shipping included. That's 17c each, so your investment would be $1.70 in cartridges + $10 spend = $11.70. So MM $8.30. Is not worth the opportunity cost if you have to drive far. My store is right next to Menards so I will just do my work there when I am at M to get papers.

Officemax & Staples both have spending guidelines too. OM is yearly, I haven't delved too deeply back into Staples yet.