Get 7.5% back on all your spending, 11% back on gift cards

(extra $50 travel card code expires today, July 28)

Bonus savings for today only: Enter code TRAVEL to get a $50 hotel cash card redeemable here.

A couple posts ago, I talked about how you could get 4.2% back on any spending category using a combination of the American Express SimplyCash card and the American Express Prepaid card.  Today, I'm sharing a similarly diabolical way to get 7.5% back on all your spending, this time involving any of the American Express Small Business cards.  American Express has a program called OPEN, which gives small business card holders a statement credit rebate for certain merchants such as Hyatt hotels, FedEx, Hertz, and OfficeMax.  Last month, American Express changed its rebate terms on OfficeMax, getting rid of rebates on in-store purchases but upping rebates to 10% on purchases over $250 at OfficeMax.com.

But we can buy only so much toner at inflated prices.

What we prefer to buy is money at a discount.  So get an American Express Small Business card if you don't already have one.  I recommend cards like the American Express Starwood Card, the American Express Premier Gold Rewards card (especially if you can get in on a 75,000 account opening bonus), the American Express SimplyCash card, and the American Express TrueEarnings Costco Business card.  All of these are great cards on their own, and the SimplyCash card even carries no annual fee.  Don't worry about having a small business--you can just put your name as your business name.

So follow these steps to get your cash back:

1. Go to OfficeMax.com, and buy at least $275 worth of OfficeMax gift cards.  These should arrive about a week later via USPS Priority Mail.  Do not buy just $250 worth of cards.  You must buy $275 or more, otherwise you will get only 5% back from OPEN if you buy $250 or less.
2. When the gift cards arrive, go to your OfficeMax store and shop their gift cards.  They have $200 Visa gift cards that carry a $6.95 service charge.  They also carry gift cards to Amazon.com, Nordstrom, Apple iTunes, and many more.  Some cashiers might say you can't buy a gift card with a gift card, but I usually just tell them to try it and see if it works, and it has always worked for me.  You might need to visit a few different registers or stores if you get shot down.

In a couple of days after your initial purchase, you will get a 10% OPEN Savings statement credit.  On top of this, you will have earned whatever your card's core earnings program gives you -- 1% cash back for SimplyCash and TrueEarnings, 1 Starpoint per dollar spent (certainly worth more than 1% back), or 1 Membership Reward points per dollar spent.  So your earnings are as follows on a $200 purchase (I choose this amount because that's the largest Visa gift card size, but remember you need to buy >$250):

• Visa gift card: 10% off $200 in OfficeMax gift cards = $20 statement credit, plus you get an additional 1% back or $2.  $22 in rewards less $6.95 in fees is 7.5% off a Visa gift card.
• Other gift cards: If you are purchasing something at other stores like Amazon, you can trade in $200 in OfficeMax gift card for $200 worth of Amazon.com gift cards.  Your net rewards would be $22, with no fees whatsoever, for 11% off any gift card that they carry.

Think of the possibilities.  For example, you can pay your tax bill with a 1.89% fee, so you can make a 6 point spread on your taxes.  Or, get a free Square card reader and pay a 2.25% fee for a 5 point spread ($10.50 per $200 gift card).  It's hard to spend money on $200 gift cards and keeping track of balances, so the Amex Prepaid deal can be more convenient for large purchases.  But this deal is very rewarding--it's free money.  Don't risk getting stuck with thousands of dollars in OfficeMax gift cards.  If you already have an Amex small business card I recommend taking advantage of this deal today for the $50 hotel credit!