20 Easy Ways to Get Free Gift Cards to Your Favorite Stores
If inflation’s got you strapped for cash, you might find yourself shopping less than usual. Fortunately, there are 20 easy ways to score free gift cards so you can get back to your favorite retailers without busting your budget. 
According to Bankrate, nearly 47% of U.S. adults have at least one gift card, store voucher, or store credit that they have yet to use. If this percentage isn’t shocking enough, the total accumulated value of these unused gift cards might be even more staggering—this equals about $23 billion dollars of unused cash nationwide.
With these insights, it seems as though spending gift cards is more difficult than obtaining them! Fortunately for those not currently part of the 47% sitting on an unused gift card, saving money at your favorite stores (like with this $50 Ulta Gift Card you could win!) couldn’t come easier. Here are 20 solid ways to get free gift cards to use anywhere you’d like.
1. Join Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a popular rewards program that allows points to be earned (known as SB) by completing various online tasks and activities. These points can then be redeemed for free gift cards from a wide range of stores and retailers. To get started, simply create a free Swagbucks account and begin completing surveys.
2. Search Instagram Hashtags for Giveaways
If there are certain brands or products you really love, searching their social media pages and hashtags just may land you a free gift card or giveaway. This is because brands are always trying new and creative marketing techniques to advertise new products or offer trials or flash deals. You can also try searching generic giveaway hashtags, like #giveaways, #contest, and #freebies, to see what kind of deals are trending.
3. Play Games for Points on MyPoints
Similar to Swagbucks, MyPoints allows you to earn points that can be redeemed for free gift cards. This can be done by simply shopping your favorite grocery stores and retailers through their website, completing surveys, and playing online games and trivia. Once you’ve accumulated enough points, you can turn them into cash with free gift cards to Sephora, eBay, Starbucks, Target, and more.
4. Complete Surveys on KashKick
KashKick is another great survey site that allows you to earn points that you can turn into free gift cards by completing surveys and playing games. You can begin earning money by simply creating a free account and opting for any of the available point-earning activities.
5. Cash In on Cashback on Ibotta
With Ibotta, you can submit receipts for your everyday purchases from your favorite grocery stores, convenience stores and even online retailers and receive cashback in exchange. Once enough cashback has accumulated, you can “cash out” your earnings in exchange for a cash deposit or a free gift card.
6. Become a Survey Junkie
As the name implies, Survey Junkie is a community-based survey site that enables millions of users to share their product feedback in exchange for points. Once your surveys have earned you enough points, you can redeem those points for cash via PayPal or as free e-gift cards. Simply join Survey Junkie to get started.
7. Join InboxDollars
InboxDollars is another great platform to earn money and free gift cards if you’ve got extra time for games and surveys. In fact, Inbox Dollars has paid out more than $80 million in cash and free gift cards since 2000. Unlike the other similar platforms, however, InboxDollars earns you instant actual cash for your actions, not points.
8. Check Out LifePoints
LifePoints is similar to Swagbucks and KashKick, except that it gives users the ability to share their opinions about future products, not existing ones. This helps product manufacturers to know in advance what features work or don’t work, and what customers actually want from their products. In exchange for sharing your feedback, LifePoints awards you points that can be redeemed for free gift cards. You even get 10 points just for signing up!
9. Get Fetch Rewards
With Fetch Rewards, you can submit pictures of your receipt for nearly everything. From restaurant meals and delivery services like DoorDash to cleaning products and popular grocery brands, Fetch Rewards gives you points for every receipt that you scan in. Once you’ve accumulated enough points, you can redeem them for cash or free gift cards.
10. Add the Honey App Extension to Your Browser
If you shop online a lot, the Honey app extension is a must-have for your browser. By installing it to your browser, Honey is able to scan each retailer’s website for exclusive deals, sweepstakes, coupons, and savings automatically. It then alerts you to anything that is available, and with a simple click of a button, it applies those deals to your session. Then, with Honey’s Gold Rewards program, any Gold points earned through your purchases can be redeemed for free gift cards.
11. Cash Out with Rakuten Insights
The popular Rakuten cashback site has launched a new way to earn gift cards with Rakuten Insights Survey Panel. Cash out minimum is a low $5 and you can choose an Amazon or PayPal gift card. It's a great way to earn cash on the go, or at home.
12. Scan for Points with ShopKick
With the ShopKick app, you can collect reward points (called “kicks”) when you shop a partner store or one of the 80+ online ShopKick stores. You can also earn points by simply watching videos and other content right from within the app. Download the app and create an account today to get started!
13. Share Honest Feedback for a Platform You Use
If your favorite brand uses its own app for e-commerce, or if you shop through another app retailer, like Poshmark, sharing your feedback about the platform could be mutually beneficial. If you’ve noticed something that could be improved or that you wished the brand would implement, reach out to their customer support section and tell them. Sharing your honest insight just might earn you product in exchange for a free gift card.
14. Download ReceiptPal
With ReceiptPal, you not only can scan your paper receipts for points, but you can also link your email or Amazon account and get points for online transactions as well. Then, you can redeem your points for free gift cards to your favorite retailers.
15. Shop Your Favorite Brands on Drop
The Drop app allows you to earn points (for free!) just by shopping all the brands you would regularly shop anyway. To get started, simply download the free app, link your debit card, and start earning points for your purchases that can then be redeemed for free gift cards. It’s that easy!
16. Redeem Cashback Credit Rewards for a Gift Card
If you have a credit card, odds are good that your credit card offers cashback rewards on certain, if not all, purchases. If this is the case, you can often grab that cashback earnings and convert it to free gift cards to use at your favorite stores, rather than using it as cash.
17. Play Sponsored Games for Points on Mistplay
Gamers, rejoice! With Mistplay, not only can you have a great time playing and discovering new fun games, but you can earn rewards for playing. So far, the platform has given away $60 million in cash rewards and free gift cards to major retailers like Xbox, Amazon, and Google Play. If you like to game, Mistplay is a great option for earning some cash while you do so.
18. Trade In for a Retail-Specific Gift Card
If you have a generic gift card that you’ll never use, some stores will allow you to exchange unwanted cards for a card to their specific store. While this isn’t exactly a free gift card, it is a nice exchange option that can prevent free gift cards from collecting dust.
19. Submit Feedback for Points With TellWut
TellWut is a survey site that allows people to participate in product research and online surveys. Whenever you share your opinion about certain products and services, you earn points that can be redeemed for cash and free gift cards. You can even cash out your points for free Walmart, Amazon, or PayPal gift cards.
20. Complete Tasks and Refer Friends with Idle-Empire
Idle Empire is another popular platform that users can join to play games to earn not only cash rewards but also free gift cards, cryptocurrencies, and free game skins. Simply sign up to get started!
Creative Ways to Get Free Gift Cards
Getting free gift cards is easier than you think. Many times, it's even fun. Here’s a quick snapshot of just some of the ways you can turn points and rewards into cash and even free gift cards.
Some of the ways to earn:
- Play qualifying games on for points
- Collecting redeemable points when you shop with free coupon apps
- Participate in sweepstakes
- Share honest product feedback
- Submit product surveys, like through Toluna
- Watch sponsored content on partner platforms
- Scan purchase receipts into qualifying apps
- Shop online through a money-saving browser extension
Other Ways to Save
If you like finding free gift cards, you’ll also enjoy browsing some of the best free coupon apps for finding deals and sweepstakes in your favorite stores. With coupon apps, you can shop, save, and discover all the best coupons, deals, and savings. Be sure to also join our exclusive Facebook group for even more fun with like-minded freebie friends!