rewards sites to earn money and gift cards

Rewards Sites That Actually Work (Online and In-Store)

One of my ladies, Janette, is the absolute best at telling you what you need to hear. She prides herself on being upfront and telling the truth. For that reason, sheโ€™s always been a great person to know, especially when you need a second opinion. Iโ€™ve known Janette since college, and sheโ€™s given me great advice about everything from shades of eyeshadow to guys I was dating. And she was convinced my husband was The One even before I was!

rewards sites to earn money and gift cardsWhen another of our gal pals asked us over for brunch recently, she asked Janette and me if we had any ideas about how she could earn some extra money. โ€œWell, I have one really fun technique up my sleeve,โ€ I told her. โ€œI use reward sites to earn money and, in my experience, these reward sites actually work.โ€

I spent the rest of brunch sharing notes about my personal favorite sites, from ones that pay you to take surveys after you shop to others that offer rebates once youโ€™ve made purchases to the apps that turn each trip to the store into a fun little scavenger hunt for points and savings.

I told them about all my favorite ways to take shopping to the next level, and then I waited to see if they received the extra special accreditation that Iโ€™m now calling The Janette Test. In other words, did they meet with Janetteโ€™s approval? Iโ€™m excited to tell you that all my favorites did! I now have a finely-honed and Janette-approved killer list of reward sites that actually work, and itโ€™s my pleasure to share them with you today.

Reward Sites That Actually Work: The Good

I was happy to see that none of the sites that I told my ladies about over brunch totally failed the Janette Test. In fact, they all landed in one of three Janette-given designations: good, better, best.

The site I like to use that landed the good rating was a survey reward sites, which is exactly what it sounds likeโ€”a website that gives you rewards for taking surveys online.

  • Survey Junkie: I think there are about 2 billion survey reward sites on the Internet these days (small exaggeration), but I like Survey Junkie because it makes me feel like Iโ€™m contributing to companies and brands I love by giving them my important opinions and useful feedback, which, as a devoted shopper makes me feel pretty good! What Survey Junkie does is match you up with surveys from companies based on the demographics you belong to. I donโ€™t get many questions about the best tractors to use for plowing a field, but I am a prime target for questions about finding the ultimate deal on shoes. You have to wait for the site to make you eligible for new surveys, and, to be totally honest, I often run out. You can complete surveys on multiple devices, and you can redeem your points for either gift cards or PayPal, whichever you prefer. Most surveys give you between 20 and 200 points. When youโ€™ve accrued 1,000 points, you can cash them out for a $10 gift card.

    Janette Test Says: โ€œHmm, sounds legit, but I bet Iโ€™d get bored with it fast. I could see myself running out of surveys and then forgetting all about it. Still, this one sounds pretty good.โ€

    Location: Online

Reward Sites That Actually Work: The Better

Iโ€™m not sure I would ever admit this directly to my ladies over brunchโ€”I do have my shopping reputation to maintain, after allโ€”but there are days when the instructor pushes us extra hard at spin class and even I donโ€™t have the energy I usually do for hitting the aisles.

Thatโ€™s okay, though. There are some rewards apps out there that reward you for the type of stuff you always do online, like playing games, watching videos, and just surfing the web. Hereโ€™s a little bit about my favorite…

  • InboxDollars: InboxDollars goes a bit beyond your normal survey rewards site because, like I mentioned above, in addition to taking surveys you can also earn free money for playing games, watching videos, and just straight up searching the web. Let me take a cue from Janette and be totally honest here: the videos you get points for watching are totally picked at random and they arenโ€™t ever popular shows that youโ€™ve heard of. In other words, get ready for random videos about how to make maple-glazed butternut squash. Anyway, this site doesnโ€™t pay you in gift cards, instead only paying you in cash. And, you have to earn $30 before you can cash out.

    Janette Test Says: โ€œI like the flexibility in being able to earn gift cards with a free app, instead of just cash. I mean, you can do what the name implies and use them as a gift, plus theyโ€™re also just as good as cash. Oh, and $30 sounds like a lot for a minimum cash out. The videos and web surfing part is good, though, so I think I like this one better than the first. Next?โ€

    Location: Online

Reward Sites That Actually Work: The Best

As someone who knows how thorough the Janette test can be, I was a little nervous to share what I knew about my favorite rewards site that I use. As it turns out, though, I didnโ€™t have anything to worry about!

  • Shopkick: Shopkick is a mobile shopping app that you simply must have to up your shopping game. I know itโ€™s done wonders for mine. How Shopkick works is that it gives you points (called kicks) for shopping behaviors you already do, things like scanning barcodes, making purchases, and even walking into your favorite stores. You just keep the app open and it will alert you to chances for scoring kicks nearby, an added layer of fun that turns the normal shopping experience into a cool scavenger hunt. Once you get a certain number of kicks, you can then cash them in for gift cards to all your favorite stores. Like the other apps on this list, itโ€™s also totally free to download.

    Janette Test Says: I think Iโ€™m all in on this one. I mean, I donโ€™t really have to go out of my way much, or even at all, to use it. Plus, unlike the survey apps, I can see myself using this almost every day because of the scavenger hunt point scoring system. Youโ€™re right, I like this one the best!

    Location: Online and In-store

As you can imagine, I was thrilled that all three of my favorite free smartphone apps that pay you money scored so high on the Janette Test, and I was especially happy that sheโ€™d liked my personal favorite, Shopkick, the best.

So, yes, it can be difficult to find killer reward sites that actually work out there, but that doesnโ€™t mean you shouldnโ€™t try. I obviously recommend starting with Shopkick, which is my personal favoriteโ€”and Janette tested and approved. You canโ€™t go wrong with that!

Get to know one of the best reward sites that actually worksโ€”and even passes the Janette Test with flying colors! Download Shopkickโ€™s free app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers whoโ€™ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with a free sidekick.

And, if you love social media as much as you love your smartphone, join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy Rawpixel.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shopkick

Shopkick is the fun and easy way to earn free gift cards for the shopping you already do. Download the app now!

RELATED POSTS

Weโ€™d love to hear from you!

Learn how Shopkick can deliver results for your business. Fill out this form and someone from our team will be in touch within one business day.

Dima Volovik

EVP of Product and Engineering

Dima Volovik is the EVP of Product and Engineering at Trax Retail — Shopkick.

Dima Volovik is the accomplished product and engineering leader who led teams to deliver innovative and commercially successful e-commerce products, marketplaces, and enterprise solutions for Amazon, Comcast, Fandango, and Universal Music. Before joining Trax, Dima was the Director at Amazon, where he led product development and Engineering for Amazon Appstore and Amazon Prime Video, CTO at Fandango, and Paciolan, head of technology at Golf Channel/Golf Now, and Global VP of Direct to Consumer Technology at Universal Music Group. Dimaโ€™s expertise includes developing consumer products, marketplaces, and enterprise solutions.

Dima grew up in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he received his MS in Electrical Engineering from Azerbaijan Oil Academy, and he currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with his family.