StaplesRewardsCenter.com: The Staples Rewards Program

The Staples Rewards program is great to join if you have a small office, business, or buy a lot of office supplies. Staples reward customers by applying a percentage of their purchases toward a rewards account. For example, a shopper who buys $50 for printer ink and reams of papers will have 10% ($5) added to their rewards account. If the customer earns a total of at least $10 or more by the end of a 3 month quarter, they will be able to use those rewards toward a future purchase.

Things That Earn Staples Rewards

Items that earn rewards in Staples Rewards program are printer ink and toner cartridges, printer or copy paper, printing and copy work done by Staples. Customers receive 10% of the net purchase. Customers who shop more are upgraded to Premier status.

Staples also has a separate way of rewarding customers through their ink and toner cartridge recycling program. Staples Rewards members can earn $2 for each recycled ink or toner cartridge. (Maximum is 10 recycled cartridges per calendar month.) Learn more about how to get rewarded from Staples ink recycling here.

The Staples Rewards program is free to join for customers 18 years old or more who have a valid U.S. mailing address and an email address. Customers may join by completing an application in any Staples store, by calling the Staples Rewards member services toll free phone number, or by applying online at www.StaplesRewards.com. Only one membership is allowed per person or mailing address. Commercial or corporate accounts are not eligible for the program.

Once the application is completed, customers may begin accumulating rewards. Customers should make certain their Staples Rewards member number or the phone number on their account is recorded for all qualified purchases whether made in the store, online, or on a phoned in order. **Purchases made on HP supplies are excluded from getting rewards.

Staples Rewards are issued monthly when you have earned at least $10 in rewards. If you do not meet the minimum of $10 by the end of the month, the reward amount will rollover into the following month until the end of the calendar quarter.

What this means is that the Staples Rewards program runs on a quarterly, calendar time period. (i.e., Jan. to March, April to June, July to Sept., and Oct. to Dec.) So, you must earn a minimum of $10 during the quarter, but Staples does not make you wait until the end of the quarter to be issued your reward if you meet the minimum early in the quarter.

For example, If you earn $15 in January, the minimum will have been met. So, you will be issued a $15 Staples reward by the end of February. If you earn another $10 or more during February, you will be issued that reward by the end of March. Any additional rewards earned during the quarter that total less than $10 (once you've met the minimum once for the quarter), will be issued approximately 30 days after the end of the quarter. In this example it would be by the end of April.

Another example: If you earn $5 in January, that $5 will rollover into February. If you earn $6.50 during February, it will be included with the $5 earned in January. The minimum will have then been met, so you will be issued a $11.50 reward at the end of March. Any additional rewards earned during March will be issued approximately 30 days after the quarter ends.

Third example: If you earn $7 in January, that would not meet the $10 minimum. So, the balance will rollover into February. If the balance does not meet the minimum by the end of February it will rollover into March. If you still do not earn any additional rewards by the end of March, unfortunately the $7 will not be issued to you.

Once a Staples Rewards is issued, customers have 60 days to redeem it. Expired or lost rewards can not be reissued. Issued rewards can be used on store purchases, online purchases, and telephone orders.

Staples Rewards members who spend $1,000 (This excludes taxes, delivery, coupons, gift cards, prepaid phone cards, and postage stamps) or more within a calendar year will be automatically upgraded to Premier status. This means more benefits for them. (Staples Rewards Premier status will last for a calendar year and members must re-qualify for it the following year.)

Premier members have a lower threshold to meet in order to be issued rewards. They have longer to meet the minimum. Also, once they are issued rewards they have a longer period of time to redeem them.

• Premier members must earn a minimum of $5 or more to be issued their Staples Rewards. Earned rewards that are less than $5 will rollover into the following month until the end of the calendar year. Issued rewards will not expire until 5 months after they are issued.
• Premier members may enjoy "Premier Members" only in store events, special offers, free products and services.
• Premier member also receive extra benefits regarding Staples ink recycling program. They can earn rewards for recycling up to 20 ink and toner cartridges per month.

Knowing the terms and conditions pertaining to the Staples Rewards program is one way to be sure you will get the earned rewards due. Here are some others things you should do to avoid losing out on getting your rewards.

• Be sure to present your Staples Rewards membership number at the time of purchase and that the member number is recorded on the receipt..
• Hold on to your receipts. It is very important to keep receipts just in case errors are made at the register. It's amazing that many customers do not keep their receipts. Information on the receipt might be needed if something goes wrong later.
• Make sure your account information is kept up to date including the address, phone no., email address, etc.
• Keep up with changes to the rewards program, by checking the website and emails regularly. It is not unusual to get wrong information from store clerks regarding the rewards program. Their main job duty is to assist customers regarding in store matters. They may not be up to date on recent terms or changes to the rewards program.
• Contact member services promptly regarding any questions or problems regarding your account at www.StaplesRewards.com or 800.793.3320 .

As with many things in life, some things may seem to be a good deal, but as the old saying goes, "read the fine print". Staples, just as every other rewards program has terms and conditions that must be followed. For this reason, some people refuse to be bothered with any kind of a rewards program at all. They think it is a waste of time. I believe that any program that gives a little something back to reward customers is a good thing.

Actually, Staples Rewards is a good program when compared to others. Read the article, Staples Rewards vs. Office Depot Rewards. Reward programs and their terms and conditions change quite frequently. Some change for the better and others for worse. At the moment, the Staples program appears to be better. It is definitely worth joining.