- Staples Seeks $2.1 Billion Deal for Parent of Office Depot by Bloomberg.
- Amex Gone Crazy? Random Hilton Free Nights Posting After Downgrades by MtM. Also reported on reddit. Suspect this will be fixed by Amex quickly.
- Aeroplan adding Virgin Australia partnership by Frequent Miler.
- Awhile ago we linked to a post about using Treasury Direct to trigger bank account direct deposit requirements. Sometime recently Treasury Direct has made it more difficult to add/ bank accounts you have to print, notarize, and mail a form to add new bank accounts. Previously this could be done online.
Deals starting/expiring at the end of today or starting today (view the full deal calendar here):
- Chase/BofA/Others: Amazon Prime Get $5 Back When You Spend $12.99+
- [Targeted] Kroger: 200 Bonus Fuel Points When You Purchase Select Giftcards (Lowe’s, Visa/Mastercard & More)
- H-E-B: Purchase $150 In Giftcards & Get $30 H-E-B Giftcards (Delta, Southwest, Hotels.com & More)
Deals starting/expiring at end of tomorrow:
- Chase IHG Premier 140,000 Points + $50 Signup Bonus With $3,000 Spend, AF Waived
- [Update] Chase Freedom/Freedom Unlimited: $200 Bonus + 5% Back On Groceries (Up To $12k) First Year
Popular posts from yesterday:
Treasury Direct requires Form FS 5512 to redeem C of I’s too. Thought that that would have been easier but it requires medallion too.
If you are trying to connect an online bank to Treasury direct, then do you have to bring paperwork into a local bank (which you have an account at, too) and get them to do the medallion signature guaranty? Or is the medallion signature guaranty something that the online bank might be able to mail you?
You can get a medallion signature guaranty by mail from BofA but it is an absolute nightmare, takes weeks, and requires a visit to their physical branch at one point. I doubt you’ll be able to find any bank that will authenticate your signature without actually seeing you sign it but do let me know if I’m wrong as it’d be useful when I’m abroad.
The Treasure Direct is an absolute joke. They opened an account for me last year then suspended it when I tried to actually buy a note there, then asked for some notarized crap and only after I called them. The rep made it clear they do not want retail customers. In fact, they do not want any customers. I think, they got a plum government non-job so they do not want to bother with doing actual work.
Maybe they want the medallion signature guaranty, instead of the notarization?
“Sometime recently Treasury Direct has made it more difficult to add/ bank accounts you have to print, notarize, and mail a form to add new bank accounts. Previously this could be done online.”
I opened a treasury direct account 12 years ago and it required a bank medallion stamp on a paper form to add a bank account. So this isn’t “recent” unless they changed it to be online and then changed it back.
I opened a TD account more than 12 years ago, but I added a new bank account (Ally) maybe five years ago, and no medallion stamp or other paperwork was required for my transaction.
I have read about this requirement on other sites for a few years now, though, so it doesn’t seem brand new. And perhaps it was only applied in some cases. E.g., if you add a new bank account every five years, it was considered a normal pattern, but if you do it every three months, they didn’t consider that normal.
In any case, now the site says:
“As part of our efforts to provide additional security for your investments, you must complete and mail a Bank Change Request Form FS 5512 E to add a new bank or edit an existing bank.
You must sign the form in the presence of an authorized certifying official available at a bank, trust company, or credit union and mail it to us for processing. Certification by a Notary Public is not acceptable.
Your request will not be processed until we receive and approve your form with any necessary supporting documentation. We will notify you by e-mail when your transaction has been completed.”
You could do it online
SODOM just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Staples or Office Depot.
The name of the rewards program will be SODOMy Rewards.
lol
For folks who like to buy Visa and Mastercard gift cards at office supply stores, Staples buying Office Depot would be bad news. But the idea that it should be illegal on antitrust grounds is like arguing that JC Penney could be prohibited from buying Sears. Consumers may actually be better off it it means Staples will survive outside of Chap. 11.
So staples buys ODP and then closes every OfficeDepot. Getting rid of their competition. Just like Walgreens did with RiteAid and airlines did when they bought out AA Continental NW and the rest. Reduced to just a few competitors or in Staples case none.
there are still Rite Aids around where I live. In a short sighted sense, I wish they were Walgreens because Walgreens has been having a lot of good sales.
Rite Aid sold half their stores to Walgreens after the failed Albertsons merger.
I would say the implications for MS are unknown. If this advances, it will take years to complete; it would be foolish and expensive to rebrand all ODOMs as Staples; and we don’t know whether GC deals will continue or which set of regular offers. Yes, it is possible that it all comes to an end, but many have been facing that already with the shift in liquidation opportunities. It will be interesting to see, but this offer is the first of many dominos that will have to fall before MS is affected by this news.
Staples is facing bankruptcy thanks to Sycamore Partners leveraged buyout and then refinancing and pocketing $1B of the refinancing as a dividend.
And it has nothing to do with them giving out free paper for years every single week? You don’t think that has anything to do with their profit margin?
You don’t think it has to do with their poor service? No one wants to buy paper from a big box store or faceless website. You want the customer service of a local paper company, even if it is significantly more expensive.
You are so right, Dwight. Long live Dunder-Mifflin!
Bro, with how often Staples offers the no fee $200 visa gift cards… I’m all over this! more locations!! there is only 1 staples in Houston! but a LOT more OD/OM!!
Personally, I find OD/OM more lucrative than Staples when paired with Dosh
> Sometime recently Treasury Direct has made it more difficult to add/ bank accounts you have to print, notarize, and mail a form to add new bank accounts.
It’s not just notarize, they require a medallion guarantee, which is kinda difficult to get if you use an online bank 🙁