The people who write about accruing travel points using credit cards tell you to activate those cards before you make a big purchase so it's easy to meet the minimum spend those cards require.

If my luck holds out, I won't need to make any major purchases in the next few months. But I will be traveling sometime in 2014, so I want a good travel card.

The travel cards I'm looking at give you extra points for spending money at office supply stores. ... My question is: Can I buy a Visa Prepaid giftcard at an office supply store and issue checks from it?

I'd like to pay down my student loans more, and if I could accrue travel points while doing so, that would be even better.

Thanks!