Swagbucks
Decreasing the Outgoing > Cashback Services > All-Purpose Cashback Services > Swagbucks
Background
Swagbucks – where to begin? For organizational purposes I’m classifying it as a cashback service, but cashback is only one facet of the service. Swagbucks is a rewards program that also features other money-making methods, such as offer completion, grocery shopping rebates, and survey completion.
Founded in 2008, Swagbucks has paid its 10 million users over $880 million so far. I’ve been using Swagbucks for eight years and have grown my money pond by hundreds of dollars with the service.
How it works
Swagbucks has both a website and a mobile app. They make their money by receiving a commission when they send customers to new services and products, and they pass on some of that commission to you.
When you complete a money-making activity you’re awarded points called… Swagbucks! (SB for short.) 1 SB = 1¢. This is more convenient than some rewards services, for which one point is 0.1¢, or even a random amount! Your points are awarded anywhere from instantaneously to weeks away, depending on the activity.
Once you have enough SB you can redeem them for either gift cards or cash (paid through PayPal). Gift card values start at $3, and it usually takes 2-3 days for the redemption to process. One awesome feature of Swagbucks is that once per month you can get a $25 gift card for 12% off! This applies to gift cards for any store, including Amazon and Walmart! No other service provides this much of a savings for mega-box retailers like these – not even CardCash!
Features
Offers
I’ve made most of my money on Swagbucks by completing offers. Offers usually involve an initial expense, but you can choose to only complete offers that pay more than they take. In this way, it’s like an investment. Types of offers include opening new banking or investment accounts or buying a service or product.
My favorite offer completion story is when we bought Wen shampoo for $40. First of all, that’s expensive shampoo (probably not efficient spending)! Second, we were awarded $80 for the endeavor. We sold some of the shampoo on eBay for $40 and kept some for ourselves. Then, a few months later, we received notice of a class action lawsuit against Wen. I filled out the form, sent it in, and forgot about it. A year must have passed. Then we received a $25 check from the lawsuit!
Magic receipts
Magic receipts is what Swagbucks calls it when you submit a picture of a shopping receipt. Receipts only get you a few cents if you don’t claim any offers. But when you claim an offer, you can get up to around half the value of the product back. Similar to a service like Ibotta, this can really help grow your money pond.
Cashback
Whenever I buy something online, Swagbucks is a service for which I compare cashback amounts. Simply search for your store of interest within Swagbucks, click the store name button, and read the special terms. Like other cashback services, the cashback amounts often vary per store and shopping category, but Swagbucks once offered 15% cashback for Walmart, which is far more than I’ve seen with other services.
Other ways to make money
There are other ways to make money with Swagbucks, but I’ve found them to be less efficient and perhaps not worth your time. These methods include completing surveys, watching TV (yes, really!), and answering polls.
Conclusion
I’ve made hundreds of dollars on Swagbucks by utilizing their offer completion, cashback, and magic receipt services. Across eight years of using Swagbucks, I’ve rarely encountered a problem. But when I do, I can chat with Customer Service and they’ve always resolved the issue.
When you refer a friend, you and the friend receive a bonus starting at $3. It’s not much, but you get an amount equal to 10% of the referee’s earnings for life, so that’s cool. Since I referred my wife, we default to using her account so that we can make 10% more.
Click the button below to receive a $3 signup bonus.