OfficeMax MaxPerks Bonus Rewards week of 03/03/2013: 100% back in rewards on select office supplies

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bpvh's UNOFFICIAL MAXPERKS FAQ (vers. 2013.01.10):

This is a work in progress.


01. Is membership in a MaxPerks Rewards program required to take advantage of these bonus offers?
02. What are MaxPerks Rewards and what can MaxPerks Rewards purchase?
03. Can only businesses and teachers join the MaxPerks Rewards programs?
04. If a bonus rewards item is paid for with rewards will the bonus rewards still be awarded? Do rewards "roll"?
05. Does using coupons impact the rewards payout?
06. Any other payment concerns?
07. How many rewards card can be used on a single purchase?
08. What timezone does OfficeMax.com use to date purchases?
09. What "date" does the MaxPerks Rewards site use as the date of record for online transactions?
10. Are online orders for in-store pickup considered online or in-store purchases for rewards purposes
11. The offer is not advertised in my region. Is the offer valid in my region?
12. The item's online price does not match the item's price in the advertisement. Will the rewards payout be the advertised price or the purchase price?
13. If an item paid for with rewards is returned, how will the refund be paid out?
14. When will the rewards be noted on the rewards account?
15. How and when will the rewards / bonus rewards be paid out?
16. Do rewards expire?
17. Can rewards be used to purchase gift cards?
18. What is the best way to cash out the Rewards?
19. Does the purchase of an item with an 100% back in rewards or a fixed value rewards offer count toward the purchase requirement for the ink/toner recycling program?
20. The terms and conditions of the MaxPerks Rewards for Business program appear to have a $500 purchase requirement before rewards payout? Do I have to purchase $500 worth of items at OfficeMax before MaxPerks pays out the bonus rewards?


01. Is membership in a MaxPerks Rewards program required to take advantage of these bonus offers?

Yes, membership is required. To join fill out an application in-store or online at www.officemaxperks.com [officemaxperks.com].


02. What are MaxPerks Rewards and what can MaxPerks Rewards purchase?

MaxPerks Rewards are effectively OfficeMax store credit with an expiration date. MaxPerks Rewards can be used to purchase most items in-store, online and by phone except they "are not redeemable for gift cards, general use pre-paid cards, phone cards and are not redeemable for cash unless otherwise required by law."**


03. Can only businesses and teachers join the MaxPerks Rewards programs?

Anyone who meets the following requirements can join: "MaxPerks is open to legal residents of the 50 United States (and D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) age eighteen (18) years and older who have internet access to manage their MaxPerks account."**

Teachers may sign-up for the MaxPerks Rewards for Teachers program. The main advantage of the Teachers rewards program is the higher standard rewards payout ($10 for every $75 in qualified purchases for Teachers versus $25 for every $500 in qualified purchases for Business). The main disadvantage of the Teachers rewards program is that the rewards are paid out quarterly.

Everyone else should sign-up for the MaxPerks Rewards for Business program. Where the business application requests "Business Name" enter first and last name.


04. If a bonus rewards item is paid for with rewards will the bonus rewards still be awarded? In other words, do rewards "roll"?

Yes, to date, with one exception.

Paying for percentage back in bonus rewards (e.g. 100% back in rewards on a specific item), $0.01 after bonus rewards and fixed value (buy X, get $Y in rewards) bonus rewards offers with rewards have earned rewards so at least for those three types of bonus rewards offers, MaxPerks rewards have "rolled".

The one type of bonus rewards offer that does not roll is "Get X% Back in MaxPerks Rewards on most everything". The offers' terms noted the exception:

"*20% MaxPerks Bonus Rewards offer valid in-store from June 20, 2010 thru June 26, 2010. Saving pass, phone promo code or online promo code and member's MaxPerks ID card must be presented at time of purchase. No Bonus Reward adjustments will be made after purchase. Not valid on computers, gift cards, general use prepaid cards, phone cards, purchases with a Retail ConnectSM card, sales tax, OfficeMax private label ink, toner and ink refills, Sprint® monthly price plans and purchases made prior to enrollment and purchases with a MaxPerks Reward Card."

Note: Some MaxPerks customer service representatives are under the erroneous impression that rewards do not roll. This can be a problem if the system does not automatically award the rewards.


05. Does using coupons impact the rewards payout?

It depends on the type of bonus rewards offer:

---- if it's a percentage back bonus rewards offer, then using a coupon will reduce the rewards payout to the extent the coupon is applied to the item at the offers percentage rate (ie. coupon amount applied to item multiplied by the percentage rate of the offer). Dollar off coupons are still useful in reducing the initial outlay, the eventual rewards payout, and the amount of sales tax paid if applicable.
---- if it's a net $0.01 after bonus rewards offer, then using a coupon will reduce the rewards payout to the extent the coupon is applied to the item. Dollar off coupons are still useful in reducing the initial outlay, the eventual rewards payout, and the amount of sales tax paid if applicable.
---- if it's a fixed value (buy X get $Y in rewards) bonus rewards offer, then using a coupon has not impacted the rewards payout regardless of the change in wording in the Bonus Rewards issued sentence from "percentage-based Bonus Reward" offers to "Bonus Rewards" offers.

For both in-store purchases and online orders (and presumably phone orders), coupons are pro-rated to all items in the purchase/order.

Note: Some MaxPerks customer service representatives are under the erroneous impression that coupons reduce rewards payout regardless of what type of rewards offer. This can be a problem if the system does not automatically award the rewards.


06. Any other payment concerns?

Cash, credit cards, gift cards and merchandise : Earn both bonus rewards (100% back offers, $0.01 after rewards, buy X get $Y in rewards offers) and standard rewards (business: $25 for every $500, teacher: $10 for every $75)

Rewards cards: Earn bonus rewards (100% back offers, $0.01 after rewards, buy X get $Y in rewards offers) but NOT standard rewards (business: $25 for every $500, teacher: $10 for every $75)


07. How many rewards card can be used on a single purchase?

In-store and phone: According to the program's terms, up to three Rewards Cards can be used on a single transaction for in-store and phone purchases. The last time I tried using more than three Rewards cards on a single transaction in-store -- admittedly this past June -- the cash register did not prevent using more than three.

Online: The limit is one rewards card (or gift card) per transaction.


08. What timezone does OfficeMax.com use to date purchases?

Central. All purchases through OfficeMax.com are dated according to Central time.


09. What "date" does the MaxPerks Rewards site use as the date of record for online transactions?

The MaxPerks Rewards site generally uses the date the item ships as the date of record (the "Transaction Date") for an online order. If this date falls outside the offer period it is possible that the system will not automatically credit the reward. If the reward is not automatically credited, contact MaxPerks Rewards customer service to have the reward credited.


10. Are online orders for in-store pickup considered online or in-store purchases for rewards purposes

Online orders for in-store pickup -- at least those paid for online -- are considered online purchases for rewards purposes.


11. The offer is not advertised in my region. Is the offer valid in my region?

This appears to be YMMV. Some have reported that non-advertised bonus rewards offers worked for them while others have reported that they have not. My experience is that bonus rewards offers are not valid outside of the targeted region(s).


12. The item's online price does not match the item's price in the advertisement. Will the rewards payout be the advertised price or the purchase price?

Some offers have a "maximum reward amount" attached but to date it does not appear that the maximum award amount is being enforced.

Otherwise, for 100% back in rewards offers the rewards payout has been the purchase price regardless of whether the purchase price is less than or greater than the advertised price.


13. If an item paid for with rewards is returned, how will the refund be paid out?

Refunds for items paid for with rewards should be refunded via a merchandise cards. Merchandise cards do not have an expiration date.


14. When will the rewards be noted on the rewards account?

Please note that the transaction might update in stages.

For an in-store purchase, the transaction information for the purchase should update within several days of purchase. The rewards for the transaction might not update for several days after that.

For an online purchase, the transaction information for the purchase should update within several days of the order's shipment. The rewards for the transaction might not update for several days after that. If the purchase is shipped in several shipments, the transaction and rewards will be updated individually for each shipment.


15. How and when will the rewards / bonus rewards be paid out?

Rewards are paid out via a rewards card (unlimited use until funds exhausted) that can be printed from the MaxPerk's rewards site.

For Business program members, rewards are paid out monthly and are generally paid out in the middle to latter half of the month in the month after the transaction. So, the bonus rewards for the purchase of a bonus rewards item in July will generally be paid out in August.

For Teacher program members, rewards are paid out quarterly and are generally paid out in the middle to latter half of the month in the month following the end of the quarter. So, the bonus rewards for the purchase of a bonus rewards items in July thru September will be paid out in October.

If the rewards will be paid out at a different time it will be noted in the offer's terms.


16. Do rewards expire?

Yes. Rewards expire the last day of the month 3 months following the month in which they are made available on the MaxPerks rewards website. The expiration date is not determined by accessing the online rewards account or printing the rewards certificates.


17. Can rewards be used to purchase gift cards?

No. Effective July 28, 2011, MaxPerks rewards certificates can no longer be used to purchase third party gift and third pary prepaid cards. It has been reported that the cash registers are no longer allowing such a sale.

"Reward Cards are not redeemable for gift cards, general use pre-paid cards, phone cards and are not redeemable for cash unless otherwise required by law."**

"Effective July 28, 2011, Reward Cards are no longer redeemable for purchases of any gift cards OfficeMax sells, including third party gift cards (i.e. restaurant, music, travel, or entertainment gift cards, other merchants’ gift cards, etc.), general use pre-paid cards (i.e. Visa® gift cards, MasterCard® gift cards, and American Express® gift cards), phone cards, or for OfficeMax brand gift cards."**


18. What is the best way to cash out the Rewards?

Unlike Office Depot and Staples, OfficeMax does not offer free after rebate items which leaves purchasing items that are needed or that can be flipped.


19. Does the purchase of a bonus rewards item count toward the purchase requirement for the ink/toner recycling program?

Yes, as long as the purchase is otherwise a qualifying purchase, the purchase of a bonus rewards item does count toward the purchase requirement for the ink/toner recycling program at the item's purchase price net of coupons, rewards (paid on the purchase not received because of the purchase), sales tax and shipping.

Qualifying Purchase

Qualifying purchases are any products or services in our stores, catalogs or web site except for computers, tablets, eReaders, gift cards, general use pre-paid cards, phone cards, Sprint® service plans, sales tax, purchases with a Retail ConnectSM card, purchases made prior to the date of enrollment, and purchases made with your MaxPerks rewards. You will start earning credit for purchases made with your MaxPerks member ID the day you sign up.**

Example:

100% back in bonus rewards on a widget priced at $60.00. Purchase paid for with a $10 off coupon, $20 in rewards and the remainder ($30 net of sales tax) on a credit card.

This purchase will earn $50 in bonus rewards ($60 - $10 coupon) and will count as $30 ($60 - $10 coupon - $20 rewards) toward the recycling program's purchase requirement.


20. The terms and conditions of the MaxPerks Rewards for Business program appear to have a $500 purchase requirement before rewards payout? Do I have to purchase $500 worth of items at OfficeMax before MaxPerks pays out the bonus rewards?

No, the $500 purchase requirement does not apply to bonus rewards.

The OfficeMax MaxPerks rewards programs have two types of rewards: standard and bonus.

The standard reward for the business program members is $25 for every $500 in qualified purchases. The standard reward for the teacher program members is $10 for every $75 in qualified purchases).

Bonus rewards are special deals offered throughout the year. The bonus reward payouts are not linked in any way to standard rewards payouts. See the following from the program's terms and conditions [officemaxperks.com]

How To Earn Rewards

From time to time, OfficeMax may also offer its members MaxPerks Bonus Reward opportunities in which members can earn extra rewards (which may vary in amount) for purchasing specified products or completing a required action. To take advantage of the MaxPerks Bonus Rewards special purchase offers, you must have your MaxPerks member ID number at the time of purchase and it must be applied to that purchase. From time to time, these types of offers will also require a coupon code, in addition to your member ID to qualify for the Bonus Reward. No MaxPerks Bonus Reward adjustments will be made after purchase. MaxPerks Bonus Rewards will be issued in the next statement cycle regardless of your qualified purchase balance, unless another timeframe is noted for that specific offer.[/b]**


(*) - quote from the MaxPerks Rewards for Business FAQs [officemaxperks.com]

(**) - quote from the MaxPerks Rewards for Business Terms and Conditions [officemaxperks.com]


DISCLAIMER:

The UNOFFICIAL MAXPERKS FAQ is a compilation of information found not only in the official MaxPerks Rewards for Business Terms and Conditions [officemaxperks.com] and the accompanying MaxPerks Rewards for Business FAQs [officemaxperks.com] but also through my own personal experience and the personal experiences of others as posted to SD and FW.