Since the invention of online gift cards, plenty of sites have advertised free gift cards and other rewards in return for simple tasks like filling out surveys, watching ads, or sharing opinions while shopping. As much as the internet has changed, it seems some things never will. The internet is still full of sites offering to turn your free time into a little bonus spending money or a free Amazon gift card.
Swagbucks Lets You Choose Your Cards
One of the mainstays in the business, Swagbucks has surveys to fill out, ads to watch, and games to play. It lets you rack up points to cash in on a reward of your choice. That last part is the key for many users. Instead of being issued a random card or made to shop on some specific platform, you can make sure that the gift card you get can be used to buy something you’re actually interested in.
MyPoints Offers Rewards for Shopping You’d Do Anyway
In addition to tasks like surveys and games, MyPoints also offers rewards for shopping you do through partnered platforms and stores, which even includes some in-person shopping with the upload of a receipt. This can take the form of earning cash back on purchases. If you’re a person who does lots of shopping, MyPoints might work well to extend that and give you more chances to do more shopping. If you’re a person with opinions, leaving reviews for certain products is another way to double up on your time.
Honey Saves You Money While Shopping Online
Another kind of service altogether, Honey is a browser extension that applies coupon codes to your online shopping carts. It’s a great way to passively save money and find unexpected deals where you shop the most already, and they have more than 30 thousand stores in their coupon catalog. Like other shopping programs, they also provide some cash-back opportunities with partner companies, so there’s a lot of money to be saved here.
Shopkick Turns Shopping into a Game
A fun and unique program, Shopkick is a mobile app that engages with real-world shopping in unexpected ways. Not only does it offer rewards for going into stores and shopping but also for doing fun, small side tasks while you’re there, such as taking pictures of displays or finding specific products to scan (like a scavenger hunt!). They also offer rewards in more traditional ways, like doing online shopping through the app or watching videos and ads.
Mix and Maximize with Multiple Programs
You’ll notice that some of these programs look like they can work together, and some of them can. As long as one app offers free gift cards and another offers cash back for shopping online, you might as well shop online with the gift cards you earned for free. Or, if you can get a card to a brick-and-mortar store, get points for going inside and completing tasks, and then upload your receipt for more points, why not? One of the things about these programs is the fun of figuring out how to use them, and you might find you can elevate that by combining a few. It’s a bit like a puzzle, a game, just frugal shopping, or whatever makes it the most fun for you.
Published By: Aize Perez
