In addition, you can get free gift cards by simply following them on social media and getting some of the free PrizeRebel promo codes that are published from time to time.
- 15 Unique Ways to Get Free Gift Cards
- How to Get Free Gift Cards
- 1. Survey Junkie
- 2. Rakuten
- 3. Swagbucks
- Best Ways To Get Free Gift Cards
- What is the Best App for Free Gift Cards?
- InboxDollars
- Swagbucks
- Honey App
- Sell or trade in your stuff and cash out in gift cards
- Use a cash back app
- #3. Complete “Money Maker” Offers
- Our Top Pick: Swagbucks
- Other Sites With Money Makers
- #4. Get Referral Bonuses
- Our Top Pick: ShopKick
- Other Ways to Earn Gift Cards at the Grocery Store
- Get Free Gift Cards With Cash Back Apps
- 8. Drop
- 9. Rakuten Gift Cards
- 10. Nielsen HomeScan
- 11. Ampli
- 12. Checkout 51
- Bonus Ways To Earn Free Gift Cards
- 13. Install MobileXpression
- 14. Microsoft (Bing) Rewards
- 15. Credit Card Rewards
- Free Gift Cards FAQ
- Author
- Birthday Ecards
- Celebrate upcoming holidays
- Claim freebie deals
- Refer a friend
- Free Credit Score
- Pay Off Debt: Tools and Tips
- Budget Calculator
15 Unique Ways to Get Free Gift Cards
Gift cards are great gifts to give and receive. They are the next best thing to getting real cash.
And as digital wallets are becoming more common and we frequently use non-cash payments each year, gift cards are becoming an increasingly common method of payment for the daily tasks we perform online.
Some of the most popular brands are Amazon, Target, Sephora, and the good old Visa prepaid credit cards.
Our tips to get gift cards for free
COMPANY | KEY FEATURES |
Surveys lover | Share your opinion and get paid |
Rakuten | Recover cash for purchases |
raiders | Lots of ways to get gift cards |
How to Get Free Gift Cards
If you want to get gift cards for free, here are some simple ideas you can try.
1. Survey Junkie
Another way to earn gift cards is by completing online surveys. Some survey companies reward you with cash. However, others will let you get gift cards.
A reputable research company to consider is Survey Junkie.
With Survey Junkie, you can redeem your points for gift cards after receiving 1000 points (worth $ 10).
You’ll be able to share your opinion on a variety of topics, from politics or shopping habits to what you eat for meals.
They will tailor surveys to your interests to maximize your survey experience and results.
Trusted pilot: 4.5 / 5
2. Rakuten
Okay, Rakuten works a bit differently than some of the other sites here. But you can still use the site to get free gift cards.
Rakuten is a cash back shopping portal. When you register with Rakuten by using the link below in the box, you will receive a registration bonus when you make your first purchase.
After this time, you’ll be earning extra dollars every time you shop online using the Rakuten shopping portal.
Rakuten works with over 2,000 stores.
Each store offers a Rakuten cashback bonus for every purchase you make. Cash back bonuses can range from 1% to 40% of your purchase.
A cash balance will be deposited in your Rakuten account and Rakuten will send you the balance quarterly. They pay you by PayPal or by sending you a check; whatever you prefer.
Then you can use the received money to buy gift cards in the store of your choice.
If you shop online anyway, you might as well get cashback or free gift cards.
Trusted pilot: 4.3 / 5
3. Swagbucks
If you know anything about rewards programs, you’ve probably heard of Swagbucks. It’s worth noting that Swagbucks has been giving away free gift cards for over 30 years.
They are currently offering a bonus of $ 10!
Here’s how it works. You earn points (Swagbucks) by doing various online activities.
Some online activity options you can choose from include:
- Watch movies
- Web browsing
- Completing questionnaires
- Play games
And more. Oh, and they’ll give you Swagbucks when you shop through their web portal and buy from one of Swagbucks retail partners.
One cool thing about Swagbucks is that they withdraw money when you earn just $ 3. Of course, only some retailers are involved in giving away gift cards for such a small amount.
But it’s good to know that you don’t need to get paid a lot to earn.
Swagbucks has so far paid out over $ 517 million in gift cards and cash.
Bonus: If you prefer to have cash, you can exchange your Swagbucks for a PayPal deposit instead of receiving a gift card.
Hint: Want to earn even more money? Look for discounts on selected gift card offers.
Sometimes Swagbucks will let you cash your earnings for gift cards with a discount of up to 20%. See the page for details on this.
Exchange programs usually don’t pay as much as you can get for items in the open market, but they require little work. Often you don’t even have to pay for shipping – just print a prepaid label, send the package back, and wait for the gift card.
Best Ways To Get Free Gift Cards
Here are 21 easy ways to get free gift cards:
While the most common way to get free gift cards is by filling out offers through shopping or cashback portals, it’s not the only way.
You can also complete surveys; various survey websites will give you a free gift card (or points to one) after completing their questionnaires.
However, please note that some of these sites are only available to US citizens; surveys are mainly conducted to research the market and require people from a specific demographic.
In addition to surveys, there are other types of activities you can do online in exchange for gift cards – from playing games to creating your own videos to posting jobs.
Another common option is to use referral programs that are available on all kinds of websites. Usually all you have to do is post on social media or ask a friend to create a counter with your referral link and you will get credit immediately.
There are also some other alternative ways, such as a test drive or trading old electronic devices. Read on for a complete, more detailed list.
What is the Best App for Free Gift Cards?
Survey sites are one of the best known ways to get free gift cards; filling in the questionnaire after the questionnaire may seem tiring to some and you will undoubtedly need a little patience, but you are guaranteed to get results.
Spending just five minutes a day on polls can add up in about a year.
InboxDollars
InboxDollars allows you to earn money from gift cards by completing surveys and watching TV as well as playing games.
The downside is that, unlike Swagbucks, you have to wait until you have accumulated $ 30 in credit before you can withdraw anything.
Since you’ll receive a $ 20 signup bonus and an additional $ 5 for each friend you refer (plus 30% of their future earnings), you’ll be able to reach that amount fairly quickly.
Learn more: Read my full InboxDollars review.
With InboxDollars you fill out surveys, earn money, it’s that simple, you can even earn money to watch TV!
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of the most popular survey websites in the world. Not only by completing surveys, but also by shopping through their portal and watching specific videos, you can earn points (which they call Swagbucks).
Once you’ve earned enough Swagbucks, you can use them for specific rewards. They are mainly gift cards for big companies like Amazon and other retailers, but you can also get direct PayPal balances or charitable donations.
Some rewards are redeemable at fairly low values, meaning you don’t have to wait for months to get any benefits from your work.
The huge advantage of Swagbucks is that you get a $ 5 bonus just for signing up if you use our link, as long as you earn enough points within the first two months.
Find out more: Read my full Swagbucks review.
Swagbucks – $ 5 FREE Registration Bonus Swagbucks is a legitimate money making app where you can earn money by taking surveys, watching videos, and more. Get Swagbucks
Honey App
The Honey app works a bit different as it is a browser extension, not an app. Not only will you get your cashback, you will also get a notification if there are discount coupons available on the site you are shopping from.
Rather than deliberately deciding to shop through a specific portal (which can be overwhelming and confusing when there are so many sites offering the same thing), Honey will stay dormant in your browser until you go to the cashback page.
It will then notify you so that you can get the most out of the offer. When you buy something, you earn “Honey Gold” (cashback points) and you also save. If you refer your friends, you’ll be able to earn even more Honey Gold.
Learn more: Read my full review of the Honey app.
We didn’t include this method in the main body of the article as it isn’t technically a way to get a free gift card, but it can certainly seem like free money when you cash the rest.
Sell or trade in your stuff and cash out in gift cards
If you have unused electronics, consider replacing them at popular stores with gift cards. This is a great way to save on upgraded items.
Walmart runs the online “Gadget to Gift Cards” program in partnership with CExchange. Answer a few questions online and ship your products from FedEx. After evaluating the items, you will receive an instant Walmart e-Gift Card.
Target’s Exchange Program can be online or in a participating store. Answer item quality questions to get a quote. Once the item is downloaded, it will send you a Target Gift Card.
Best Buy has deals where you can bring unused electronics to exchange for newer items or a Best Buy gift card. They will also have special deals trading to get even more savings.
Use a cash back app
More than $ 18 billion in credit card rewards remain unredeemed each year, an average of $ 200 in bonuses for each household. Check your credit card statements and make sure you use their cashback or gift card offers. Credit cards often incur annual fees and potential interest. For those unsure of using your credit, consider using a cashback app where you only need an email address to start earning with gift cards. It’s an easy way to save money.
Download the MyPoints app and make purchases through their portal and get a cashback of 1% to 10.
Shoply is a new grocery store app available for Android and iOS where you can get cashback and redeem gift cards just by shopping at your favorite retailers.
Microsoft Rewards reviews are solid across the web. The big downside is that rewards can only be redeemed for Microsoft-related purchases, such as Xbox or Skype credits, or for items on Microsoft.com.
#3. Complete “Money Maker” Offers
One of the fastest ways to get free online gift cards is to complete “money experiment” offers, which are promotional offers or paid trials that give you more money than you originally spent.
Why do such offers exist? Because the companies that offer them hope you will like the product or service and stay a customer.
These offers can usually be found on online award sites where you can earn gift cards for completing various tasks such as completing surveys, watching videos, and more.
We recommend the following three sites for finding money makers.
Our Top Pick: Swagbucks
Swagbucks is the main online reward portal. The site allows you to earn points in a number of ways, including by completing paid surveys, playing games, using their search engine, and watching short videos. But the best way to monetize a website is to use its money makers: offers that have a low cost but pay back more than you paid.
Here are some real examples of money makers we found on the site while writing this article:
- Aspiration Bank: Earn 7,000 points ($ 70 gift card) when you open a free checking account and deposit $ 10.
- Sierra Club: Earn 5,000 points ($ 50 gift card) by making a $ 15 donation.
- Postmen: Earn 2,000 points ($ 20 gift card) when you register for this food delivery service and place an order.
Signing up with Swagbucks is quick and free. Points earned can be redeemed for a wide range of gift cards for stores such as Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Target, Walmart and more. It’s also one of the few sites that offers free Google Play gift cards.
You can learn more in our extensive Swagbucks review which covers 20+ ways to make money on your site.
Put the cash back in your wallet
Earn money by shopping online, watching videos, completing polls and playing games with this comprehensive rewards site. Exchange your points for gift cards and PayPal cash from as low as $ 3.
Other Sites With Money Makers
These sites are owned by the same company as Swagbucks, but the offers (and how much they pay) vary from time to time.
- MyPoints: in operation since 1996, making it one of the longest standing award sites on the Internet.
- InboxDollars: It has some of the best paying money makers you can find, but those high payouts are offset by a relatively high minimum payout amount on the site of $ 30 (compare that to $ 3 at Swagbucks and MyPoints) – although you can hit the threshold with one good offer.
Besides the money makers, InboxDollars is one of the few sites that will pay you to read your emails.
#4. Get Referral Bonuses
Remember that these are only examples of the referral offers available. All types of companies have referral programs. So, if there’s a product or service you love, see if you can get gift cards by evangelizing about it!
The sites and apps in this section reward you for completing simple personal market research tasks such as scanning barcodes, taking photos of featured products, and sending copies of receipts.
As a rule, you cannot earn as much on these platforms as on survey pages or cashback portals. However, they do give you the opportunity to earn money from grocery shopping, get free gift cards with minimal effort as part of your regular routine.
Our Top Pick: ShopKick
ShopKick that can be redeemed for gift cards:
- Entrances: You will earn points for literally entering stores. (This requires sharing your location with the company.)
- Scan barcodes: Visit the store, find the target product and scan its barcode.
- Submit receipt: Earn points by purchasing certain products.
- Pay with Linked Card: Earn points passively by paying for groceries with a linked debit or credit card.
- Use their shopping portal: ShopKick offers an online cashback portal similar to TopCashback and Rakuten.
- Watch videos: You can earn several points by watching ads (and sometimes answering questions about them).
We like the fact that ShopKick has a best-in-class app that is easy to use, and the fact that it is owned and operated by one of the world’s leading market research and data visualization companies.
In addition, it offers a wide variety of gift cards to choose from, and redeeming your points is a quick and hassle-free process.
Other Ways to Earn Gift Cards at the Grocery Store
The two apps are almost identical to Shopkick.
-
: To receive cashback in the store, you must open the app and activate the offers before going shopping. When you’re done, just upload a photo of your receipt. Any cashback you earn can be withdrawn as a gift card or as cash via PayPal or Venmo. Find out more in our Ibotta review. : An application for scanning receipts that is distinguished by its simplicity and ease of use. You don’t need to browse through offers and activate them to earn points; just upload a copy of your bill and you will be rewarded. Find out more in our Fetch Rewards review.
In addition to surveys, there are other types of activities you can do online in exchange for gift cards – from playing games to creating your own videos to posting jobs.
Get Free Gift Cards With Cash Back Apps
Cashback applications for groceries and shopping give you the opportunity to get free gift cards without having to complete surveys.
Some cashback apps require you to scan purchase receipts for a cashback, while others will automatically top up your account with cash when you make purchases with one of your registered bank cards.
When it’s time to redeem cashback rewards, apps like Drop and Swagbucks allow you to redeem for gift cards, while Checkout51, Rakuten and Paymi give out cash that you can use to buy selected gift cards online.
8. Drop
I like to use the Drop app to earn rewards when shopping as it automatically tracks your cashback. When you register here and link your card, you’ll receive a welcome bonus of $ 5 (5,000 points) that you can instantly redeem for a free e-gift card.
In addition to earning money while shopping online or in the Drop store, they also offer other ways to earn, such as signing up with one of their partners or recommending Drop to friends.
9. Rakuten Gift Cards
Ebates (now renamed Rakuten) is the most popular online refund site in Canada and the United States.
When you register for the first time, Rakuten will give you up to $ 30 in cash bonus when you make your first purchase of $ 30 or more.
The cash back site is popular for a reason. In Canada, they are associated with over 750 stores, while in the USA, over 2,500 retailers are represented on the platform.
Your cashback rewards are automatically added to your account when you shop online at your favorite store via the Rakuten website. Quarterly, your earnings are sent by check or PayPal.
If you prefer gift cards, simply log in to Rakuten and use your cashback to purchase gift cards at the store of your choice.
10. Nielsen HomeScan
Nielsen Homescan is operated by The Nielsen Company, one of the most famous market research companies in the world.
In the US, the panel is referred to as the National Consumer Panel.
Nielsen Homescan panelists receive a weekly scanner or smartphone app that they use to scan barcodes on food products.
Rewards include points that you can redeem for free gift cards and merchandise. In some cases, Nielsen sends a free $ 15 Visa Prepaid Card each month.
Check out my Nielsen Homescan review for more information.
11. Ampli
Ampli is a Canadian cashback app that pays for your purchases. To begin:
-
($ 5 bonus) and connect a credit and / or debit card.
- Buy online at some participating stores.
- The cash back will be credited to your account and you can withdraw money via Interac.
- Use cashback to purchase gift cards in the partner store and get even more cash.
Read my in-depth Ampla review for more details on how it works.
12. Checkout 51
Checkout 51 is a grocery cashback app that is available for iOS and Android. New cashback offers are available in the app every week and you can usually use them at any store.
Be sure to scan and submit your receipt using the app. When your balance reaches $ 20, they’ll send you a check by mail.
Bonus Ways To Earn Free Gift Cards
In addition to the strategies for getting free gift cards as described above, here are 3 additional options for the die-hard gift card trader!
13. Install MobileXpression
The MobileXpression application is used to study Internet behavior. After you install the app on your phone for 1 week, you will receive a free Amazon Gift Card worth $ 5.
If you keep the app installed after the first week, you’ll receive weekly credits that you can exchange for even more gift cards.
As a bonus, after installing the app for 90 days, MobileXpression donates the tree on your behalf.
14. Microsoft (Bing) Rewards
If you’ve ever had an Outlook / Hotmail account or played on an Xbox console, you are already enrolled in Microsoft Rewards.
Members earn points when they search the web using Bing Search or shop online. You can redeem your points for popular gift cards!
15. Credit Card Rewards
Credit card providers often offer rewards for registering a new card. If you’re looking for a new credit card, find one that offers a gift card from your favorite retailer.
Free Gift Cards FAQ
There are many ways to get free gift cards online. Some reward sites require you to complete surveys, shop online, express your opinion, surf the internet, play games, watch movies, and more. In return for your efforts, you receive points or cash prizes that you can redeem for free gift cards.
The Walmart and Amazon gift cards you receive from sites like Swagbucks, Ipsos i-Say, Daily Rewards, Inbox Dollars, Survey Junkie, Drop, PrizeRebel, etc are legal and you can use them to make online or in-store purchases if applicable.
The best gift card apps are the ones that you can use for free and often to earn types of gift cards that are beneficial to you. For example, Swagbucks offers more than 10 ways to earn gift cards, which makes it easier for most people to use. Sites like Rakuten and Drop pay to buy items you would have anyway, and are great sites as well.
Look for reward sites and apps that pay $ 5 just to sign up. Examples include Daily Rewards, Rakuten, Checkout 51, Mobilexpression, and Drop. Even though Survey Junkie doesn’t offer a welcome bonus, it offers so many paid surveys that you can collect enough points to redeem $ 5 in no time.
Do you have other ways to get free gift cards? Post them in the comments.
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Author
Enoch Omololu
Enoch Omololu is a personal finance expert and veterinarian. He holds a master’s degree in finance and investment management from the University of Aberdeen Business School (Scotland) and completed several courses and certificates in finance, including the Canadian Securities Course. He also holds the title of MSc. Doctor of Economics from the University of Manitoba and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Ibadan. Enoch is passionate about helping others win over their personal finances and has been writing about money matters for over a decade. He has been featured or quoted in The Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Wealthsimple, Financial Post, Toronto Star, CTV News, Canadian Securities Exchange, Credit Canada, National Post, CIBC and many other personal finance publications.
This is where things get a bit confusing. Giftcards.com is a website where you can buy gift cards at a discount and receive funds for your next gift cards while shopping.
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There are also several websites that collect gifts from all over the web. When entering the contests that can be found on these sites, we recommend that you use a dedicated email address to prevent your primary address from being bombarded with marketing emails.
Claim freebie deals
Sellers will throw in a free gift card from time to time when you purchase a certain item, especially during holiday sales. On Black Friday 2018, buyers were able to get a $ 300 Walmart Gift Card with an eligible purchase of an iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR.
“Sellers will throw in a free gift card from time to time when purchasing a certain product, especially during the holiday sales period. ”
Before you shop, check the seller’s websites and weekly ads for promotions on products you already plan to buy. For example, Target’s current promotion page often has gift card offers.
Refer a friend
Recommending products and services you like is another tactic worth learning about. If you refer a friend to Sam’s Club membership, you’ll receive a $ 10 e-gift card when they join. Keep an eye out for similar offers elsewhere. Make a list and you can really accumulate gift cards.
Lotteries and contests often appear on social media or in stores and workplaces. For example, customers who wrote a product review during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2019 could win 400,000 Nordstrom Gift Cards.
Of course, there’s no guarantee you will win, but it’s usually easy to get in. You may be asked to leave a review or just enter your email address. Be careful to only share your information with trusted vendors.
About the author: Lauren Schwahn works in personal finance at NerdWallet. Her work has been featured by USA Today and The Associated Press read more
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