We’ll walk you through the most effective strategies for getting started with this exciting new way to save money on your favorite products and services.
These methods have been used by thousands of people just like you who love saving money without ever paying for it!
A gift card sure would be nice when you’re getting a little something for yourself, rather than paying in cash. Don’t you think so?
It’s easy to be tempted and spend a lot of cash or splurge from time to time. We are only human after all!
A great way to get around these potential budget breakers is to use gift cards – and more specifically, free gift cards from companies like Amazon, Apply, and Visa.
In this article, I will show you exactly how to get started making easy money online and earn gift cards fast from your favorite places.
Start sharing your opinion, earn points, and cash them out for free gift cards or cash today. Claim your FREE $10 sign-up bonus now!
Quick Picks For Free Gift Cards Fast
Now it’s awesome that we have so many easy ways to receive free gift cards online, but we know you may be looking for the best and quickest ways to earn them!
We’ve tested hundreds of ways, and some of the best ways provided us with over $200 fast in free gift cards.
Here are our top picks for getting free gift cards:
- Best Survey Site: Swagbucks
- Easiest Shopping App: Capital One Shopping
- Best For Saving On Groceries: Ibotta
Why Get Free Gift Cards?
You must be thinking, why bother trying to earn gift cards? It’s free money in your pocket, so may as well!
Personally, I am of the philosophy that if I want something that’s not in the budget, I will need to earn extra money to cover it.
If I want to buy something that’s $5, I will look into ways to earn an extra $5- and I do this no matter how much it is!
I’d find ways to earn that money on the side through selling things on Decluttr to working some extra hours.
Gift cards are great because you don’t have the temptation of cash burning a hole in your pocket, whispering to you to buy the entire contents of the snack section when you’re at the grocery store on an empty stomach.
When you earn gifts cards, you can keep them at-the-ready for when you want to use them, such as at Christmas time or on a fun vacation- or you can even sell them for easy cash!
Earn Gift Cards
Luckily, there are lots of ways to earn free gift cards and codes!
You can get free gift cards so you can have some guilt-free spending, and cover all of your gift-giving without any stress or worry at the last minute.
The goal with your money should be to be able to utilize it to achieve less stress in your life, and earning gift cards for your purchases will certainly help you to do that!
If you’re wondering how to earn free Amazon gift cards especially, not to worry – there are lots of sites that we will be looking at throughout the article that will get you there.
21 Ways To Earn Gift Cards
1. Swagbucks: Free $10 Bonus
Swagbucks is an all-in-one money-making machine! Earn money and get free gift cards by completing surveys, watching videos, and even shopping online.
You earn points called ‘Swagbucks’ or “SBs” and you earn them when you take surveys, play games, use the app to watch videos, shop online to get cash back, and more.
The amount of SBs that you earn for each task varies depending on what you are doing exactly, and how long it will take – so generally, longer surveys will earn you more SBs.
100 Swagbucks equates to $1.00, and then you simply earn more and cash out for free Target gift cards and more.
After you take surveys for money, you can redeem your SBs for free gift card codes. This allows you to obtain free Walmart gift cards and others like xBox gift options.
If you head on over to the ‘Rewards’ section on the website, it will show you the various gift cards that you can get.
There are lots of great gift cards that you can get on Swagbucks once you have enough points, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and even free Home Depot gift cards.
I don’t know about you, but the Paypal cash and Amazon.com gift cards would come in handy!
It’ll also tell you how many points you will need to earn to get them – lookout for sales too, as they reduce the amount of SBs you need occasionally.
Start sharing your opinion, earn points, and cash them out for free gift cards or cash today. Claim your FREE $10 sign-up bonus now!
2. InboxDollars: Convert Cash to Gift Cards ($5 Bonus)
InboxDollars is an online rewards club, where you can earn free PayPal cash and gift cards. You can take surveys, play games, sign up for offers, and read emails.
You can also get an instant sign-up bonus if you join!
When you’re on the site, look out for the purple buttons, which say things like “Earn”, “Answer” and other similar phrases, as that is showing you where you can earn money on there.
There are also headers across the top of the site, which you can click on and it will take you to that specific part.
For example with the “Surveys” tab, you can click on that and it will take you to all of the available surveys to answer, with the time it will take to complete it listed on them as well.
You will just be asked some questions, and get paid for doing so – this is usually an easy way for companies to do some market research.
If you have a bit of spare time every day, such as when you are winding down in the evening watching a bit of Netflix, then this is an easy way to earn cash to convert into gift cards online.
You will need to get to $30 in order to cash out, and there are loads of retailers’ gift cards that are available, such as Amazon, Adidas, or Walmart to name a few.
Our favorite is the Target gift cards since we can use them on groceries, movies, and house stuff.
Read our full review of InboxDollars here and find out the other ways you can earn freebies.
Grab your FREE $5 sign-up bonus now and start earning extra money taking surveys, watching videos, and playing games!
3. MyPoints: Free Starbucks Gift Cards
MyPoints is another survey site where you are able to earn points from answering online surveys and redeem them for free gift cards.
You can even build up your points to get even better deals on your gift cards.
You will be able to redeem gift cards at some great places such as Amazon, Starbucks, iTunes, and more.
Since 1996 MyPoints has paid out over 236 million dollars in gift cards and PayPal cash!
With over 10 million members and counting you know you are in great hands to take surveys on MyPoints.
Get Paid for Giving your Opinion! Get free gift cards for taking polls, answering surveys and so much more!
4. Capital One Shopping: Get Help Finding Savings & Earning Rewards
Capital One Shopping is known for helping people save money while shopping. It searches online to try and find savings through sales and coupons, but you can also earn rewards.
Rather than taking paid online surveys or playing video games, you can shop as you normally do and get rewards like gift cards!
You can search for products through Capital One Shopping or you use their browser extension to help you find deals.
Check out our Capital One Shopping Review to find out more about saving money and earning some free gift cards online.
5. Rakuten: FREE Gift When You Join ($10 Sign Up Bonus)
Looking for gift cards without earning points or taking paid online surveys? You want cash back!
Rakuten (formerly eBates) is a site where you can earn cash back on your online purchases. Rather than earn points, you essentially get some money for ordering through their site!
If you are feeling a bit skeptical about how this works, don’t worry because it’s all very simple and legit.
Below is a picture of our lifetime earnings using Rakuten to make you feel at ease. 
Rakuten makes their money from being affiliates for the companies that you get cash back on.
If you click through onto another company to buy something and get your cash back, Rakuten will get a commission from pointing you in that direction.
You will then get part of their earnings as your cash back.
When you are planning on making an online purchase, head on over to the Rakuten site (or if you are buying something on your phone, there is also an app available) and check if the retailer is on there (there are over 2000 on the site, so it probably is on there!).
Once you have found the retailer, you click on it to be taken to their site.
From there, you complete your purchase as you were going to do anyway, but your visit to the site will have been tracked through Rakuten, and you will get cash back for this.
It’s free money!
Just for doing a transaction that you would have been doing anyway, it’s definitely worth a couple of extra clicks to get some cash or gift cards sent your way.
Sign up today to earn your first $10 you can put towards earning your first FREE gift card.
6. Honey Extension: Save Money, Earn Free Gift Cards
Over here on The Savvy Couple, we love the Honey Extension and have an in-depth review of Honey explaining exactly how to use it, but we can do a summary of it here for you!
The Honey Extension is a web browser extension that you download onto your laptop or computer (unfortunately it’s not for iPad or phones), and it will help you find the best coupon codes on sites that you are going to purchase from.
For example, say you are going to buy something on Sephora when you come to the checkout, there will usually be a box there asking if you have a discount code.
A lot of the time we just ignore this, because we are in a hurry, or have a little Google search for a coupon code that you can use.
The best thing about the Honey Extension is that it will do this automatically for you. It will pop up with a box letting you know that it has some coupons available, and it will find the best one for you to use.
I have personally used this and can confirm that it does work, and saves you a lot of time searching.
The way that you can get points and gift cards with Honey is with their Honey Gold Rewards program. It’s similar to Rakuten or Ibotta in that you can get cash back through their site, for your online purchases.
Once you’ve reached 10,000 points you can redeem your points for gift cards. The gift cards that they have for you are:
- Walmart
- eBay
- Amazon
- Sephora
- Target
- Groupon
- Nordstrom
- Sears
- 1-800-Flowers
7. Credit Card Rewards: Free Gift Cards
Using credit cards to get rewards is a great way to do so, but you need to make sure that you will be sensible with your card, and not be tempted to put extra money onto it for items that you cannot afford.
Assuming that you are going to be ok with your credit card, there are some out there that offer good rewards in exchange for you using them – such as free gift cards.
An example is the Discover It cash back credit card which is a card that will give you cash back on things that you are already buying such as groceries, gas, etc.
When you get your cash back or earn points on your card, you are able to change it into a gift card.
Another example is the Amazon Prime Store Card which offers a $10 Amazon gift card when you open up a new account with them – but make sure that you read the T&C’s before signing up.
Our Favorite Credit Cards:
Credit card rewards schemes often offer fabulous incentives – but as already mentioned, make sure that before signing up for a new credit card you are 100% confident that you are going to pay it off every month and are not going to be tempted to use it for things that are not in your budget.
8. Amazon Trade-In for Free Amazon Gift Cards
So if you don’t want to play games or answer surveys for points, here’s a different option to check out!
Amazon is a great way to buy things, but also make money!
The Amazon Trade-In program is a program where you can trade-in your old things, and get Amazon gift cards in exchange.
If we’re all honest with ourselves, most of us have stuff lying around the house that we can get rid of. I think of myself as pretty good at decluttering and love selling my old bits, but somehow I always find more and more stuff to get rid of!
With this program you can trade in the following:
- Cell phones
- Kindle readers
- Video games
- Textbooks
- Tablets
- Bluetooth speakers and Echo
- Streaming media players (e.g. Apple TV, Roku Streaming Stick, etc.)
When you are on the Trade-In section on the Amazon site, it will allow you to search for the items that you want to trade-in.
It will show you exactly what you can and can’t trade in currently, and the condition that it needs to be in for them to accept it.
After you submit the item that you want to trade in and it’s accepted, the gift card should be added to your balance within 2 business days – really handy if you need to buy something last minute!
Start trading in your items to Amazon for FREE gift cards today!
9. Get a FREE American Consumer Opinion Account
American Consumer Opinion is a company that pays you to answer online surveys that are available for you to enter on the website.
You earn points per online survey, they will be between 100 to 5000 points, with each 1 point being equivalent to 1 penny.
When you redeem your points, they will be offered as cash, but you are able to win a free gift card with their lucky draw opportunities.
Bonus: You can use the Honey Extension to get free rewards when you use this site!
10. Join Survey Junkie
One of our favorite survey sites is Survey Junkie because it is easy to use and it’s well paid as online surveys go.
Not only that, but it’s really user-friendly – the site itself is well made and presented, and you are also able to complete the surveys whenever is convenient for you.
This is perfect for those of us who have very busy lifestyles and may have a little bit of extra time every now and then.
In exchange for answering the surveys you will get points, and when you have reached 1000 points, you are able to redeem these for free e-gift cards (or cash), and even better than that – the e-gift cards don’t expire.
Check out our full review of Survey Junkie to learn more and start earning.
11. Shopping Online with Ibotta & Earn Cash Back
Ibotta is a really useful app to have, that will get you cash back on your purchases. I don’t know about you, but I love getting free money back on things that I am going to be buying anyway!
Grocery shopping is a huge expense for most families, so being able to get cash back on the food and drink that you buy can be a blessing, especially if you are going through a rough financial patch.
When you are about to do your grocery shopping, you can open up the Ibotta app and select the items that you are planning on buying while grocery shopping.
Once you have done your shopping, you will upload your receipt so that it can be seen that you bought those items, and you will get the cash back for those.
If you have loyalty cards, you can link these to the app as well, by using the same method as mentioned above.
Another way to earn rewards with the Ibotta app is by getting cash back on your online purchases if you are doing it on your cell phone.
Once your account reaches $20, you are able to cash out and can redeem it in the form of free gift cards online.
When you sign up using our exclusive link you will earn your first $10 for FREE, which will help you on your way to the cashout!
12. Branded Surveys
Branded Surveys is a great option to get free gift cards fast. It’s easy to take online surveys and get paid via PayPal cash, gift cards, and bank transfers.
Once you sign up and answer surveys, you can cash out your rewards as gift cards with as little as $10 in your account.
You can get your gift cards typically within 1-2 days of requesting a payout, and then you’ll be ready to use your gift card in no time!
You can also turn your Visa gift card into cash!
13. Earn Rewards With Opinion Outpost
Opinion Outpost is another online survey site (the more sites you sign up to, the more gift cards you’ll be able to earn!), where you can earn points and get paid for every survey that you complete.
Surveys are such a great way of earning gift cards, because there are always little pockets of the day that we can do them in, and it doesn’t require much effort at all. Learning to get gift cards free with a tiny bit of effort is a great feeling, especially when you are using the gift cards for things that you really want.
You are able to exchange your points for cash, or gift cards such as Amazon or iTunes gift cards. It’s epic!
14. Fetch Rewards
Fetch Rewards is an app that turns your grocery shopping receipts into points, which you can then use to earn free gift cards fast.
You just download the app and scan in your grocery receipts. Once you’ve scanned in $3 worth of receipts, you start earning points towards freebies. You can also earn points by referring your friends.
You can then redeem your points for gift cards to a number of different stores, including:
- Amazon
- iTunes
- Starbucks
- Walmart
- And more!
15. i-Say Surveys
Okay, okay, I know that it’s another paid survey site, but we have to mention all of the best places that can get you your free gift cards, and this is another one to add to the list!
There are lots of surveys up for grabs on this site, but like all survey sites, it will go off your demographic. Some surveys will be targeting a particular demographic, so it is just the luck of the draw when it comes to that.
Once you have completed some surveys or polls that are on the website, and have got to at least 1380 points, you are eligible to redeem these points into electronic gift certificates and high street vouchers.
The great thing about redeeming on i-Say is that the gift cards will be delivered to you straight away – and with brands such as Starbucks, Amazon, etc.
16. MobileXpression
MobileXpression is another passive income app where you receive free gift cards as rewards.
Rather than taking online surveys, you just use your phone and get your freebies.
We like this app to get free Amazon gift cards, plus you can enter sweepstakes to get even more.
They’ll sometimes send short surveys about your internet usage, but it isn’t like a survey app where you answer questions every day.
17. Lifepoints
Lifepoints is another survey site that asks you about exercise, food, hobbies, and more to get free gift cards fast.
LifePoints offers small surveys that usually pay 1 – 2 points that take a few minutes. Then they have surveys that take at least 30 minutes and pay 100 – 150 points.
You can also test products and enter weekly giveaways in order to get freebies like gift cards.
18. FREE Gift Cards for Birthdays & Holidays
A really simple way to get some free gift cards is to simply ask for them!
Now, I don’t mean go around asking random people on the street for free gift cards, but to ask for gift cards from friends and family that will be buying you something anyway.
For example, at Christmas and on your birthday, your loved ones will probably ask you what you would like them to get you, and you can let them know that you would like a gift card.
A lot of the time, people struggle with knowing what to buy people. I personally love a practical gift, rather than something that will just end up at the back of my closet.
Chances are, you’re probably saving up for something right now, which is why having a gift card to go towards that will be really beneficial to you.
I always ask for gift cards when I’m asked what I would like as a gift, and I am usually specific as well and will explain the reasons behind it.
For example, if my partner and I want to go out on more date nights, but we are heavily saving, a really useful gift card could be one for a restaurant or the movies.
With all of the different gift cards that are out there, there are loads of things that you could put it towards that you are saving up for – if you have just bought a house for example, you could buy home appliances or furniture. If you are having a baby, gift cards for your favorite baby clothing store would be happily welcomed.
Don’t be afraid to let your loved ones know what you are saving up for – most people want to help, and would love to help you on your way to getting something that you really want.
19. Test Drive Cars To Get Free Gift Cards
Many car dealerships will offer you free gift cards for swinging by and taking one of their latest inventory out for a spin.
Be sure you are prepared to walk into a dealership, they will try and sell to you. Car dealerships make their money by getting foot traffic into the dealership and selling HARD.
Make sure you have your guard up and realize you are only there for the free gift cards and coffee. Don’t get caught up in a salesman sitting you down and tempting you to upgrade your car.
20. Do Microtasks
If you have some free time and want to earn gift cards, you can complete microtasks through Amazon Mechanical Turk.
These tasks are usually very quick and fairly simple to complete at your leisure. Some examples are entering data, doing research, creating documents, and more.
They get posted pretty regularly so there’s always something available for you to work on.
Then when you finish your tasks, you can get paid through gift cards.
21. Donate Blood
Now many of you have probably donated blood, but when there are extra shortages, blood drives will often advertise free gift cards as an incentive.
Not only that, but you can sometimes enter sweepstakes and giveaways. We recently saw that the Red Cross is giving people $5 e-gift cards plus a chance to win a trip to Memphis.
You can find places to donate blood near you with the Red Cross, but you can also contact your local churches, colleges, and more to see if they’re having a blood drive close to home.
Final Thoughts
Free gift cards are a great way to spend less money, leaving extra money in your account for savings, a family trip, or even investing.
It’s nice to get paid just for some answers, our steps, or just doing our regular shopping. Find a way to earn gift cards that fits what you like!
If you want some earn points and get free gift cards to spend on yourself, pay for Christmas this year, or give as gifts to others these little side hustles should get you well on your way.
Take surveys, watch videos, and do your regular shopping- each one is an easy way to earn free gift cards online to treat yo self later on.
There are some incredible options in this FREE gift card guide. Work your way through them and find the best ones that work for you. Good luck earning!
