9 Incredibly Easy Free Gift Card Hacks

Here are 9 free gift card hacks that are super easy to do! You'll be surprised what you can do to get free gift cards in no time.

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Want a free gift card but don't want to pay? Read on to find out how to get a gift card without paying for it. These 9 gift card hacks will get you free cards in no time.

Who doesn’t like free stuff? For many of us, a $100 gift card for Walmart or another big retailer can make the difference between getting a special meal, or just getting by. 

Gift cards can also help us to get out of debt, and allow us to live cheaply. Earning free gift cards can really lighten the load at the end of the month. Whether you want to spend your gift cards to help with the essentials or just treat yourself to a free latte at Starbucks, these 9 gift card hacks will get you free cards in no time.

9 Incredibly Easy Free Gift Card Hacks That Are Actually Easy

Here's the list for of 9 gift card hacks.

Hint: All of the hacks are free, and most of them are incredibly easy to do.

1. Survey Junkie

Taking online surveys to earn gift cards is a no-brainer! You definitely won’t get rich or make thousands of dollars per day with surveys alone, but you won’t waste much time, and you can make some money the easy way. Here is my favorite (and highest paying) survey site:

Survey Junkie pays between $2 and $50 per survey, and many of them take less than 5 minutes to complete. So if you took on average 10 surveys per day, every day for a month, you could make $375+ per month. If you took more surveys a day — the possibilities are endless.

There are a lot of scammy survey sites out there, but Survey Junkie has over 11,000 positive reviews on TrustPilot, the highest of any survey site. It’s legitimate.

Sounds like fun? Sign-up for Survey Junkie, take surveys and earn gift cards from your phone fast. You can also get a registration bonus through here.

2. Credit Card Rewards

I earned $1,734 in credit card rewards with my Discover it Cash Back Credit Card last year—here’s how you can, too. Credit card rewards are simple, if you spend, you earn points that you can cash out for free gift cards. It's actually one of my favorite gift card hack to score them by the buckets. 

If you have more than one credit card, it's important to know which one to use. While there are many to choose from, odds are that you probably have a rewards credit card already. I wouldn't recommend going and opening a new credit card because it'll likely lead to you spending on stuff you don't need.

But once you spend money with your rewards card, you'll earn points that you can redeem. Just make sure you avoid shopping with points, redeeming points for statement credits, and when in doubt just cash in these points for a gift card because they offer the full value on average.

Bonus: Sign up for Discover and get a $50 bonus

3. Nielsen Mobile Panel

Best for: passive income
Nielsen Mobile Panel
5.0
Cost: free

By participating in Nielsen research, you can improve products and services you use online today. Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel combines your unique internet usage with people like you to build a picture of internet behavior.

GET PAID $60 FOR DOWNLOADING

One of my favorite apps that not many people know about is Nielsen. If you have a cell phone or laptop then you can earn $50 fast right now. All you have to do is register for free (they’ll track your browser usage) and you’re set to earn $50 per year passively. In fact, I registered 4 of my devices and make $200 fast every year.

It’s really noninvasive, requires basically no storage, and won’t impact your device performance. After you installed the app, just use the internet as you usually would (but now you’re getting paid — cha-ching!).

Nielsen gives out $10,000 each month so you can win real money for about 60 seconds of work. A no brainer.

4. Amazon Trade-In Program

Amazon has a great trade-in program for your used items (tablets, streaming media players, Bluetooth speakers, games, phones, etc). Just visit the trade-in page and answer a few questions about your items condition to receive a trade-in quote. Even non-working devices are eligible. 

If your submission qualifies for instant payment, you can get your trade-in benefits right away. Your applicable benefits automatically apply to your cart at checkout when you purchase a new qualifying device.

If you're happy with the quote, you can print a shipping label and send your devices for free—Amazon will verify its condition within 10 days. Once accepted, an Amazon.com Gift Card equal to an appraised value of your device. 

Got something to trade in? You can get your free quote here.

5. MISTPLAY

Interested in earning with games that pay real money? I mean we all heard the old saying “time is money” right? Instead of playing games on your phone like everyone else and feeling bad for wasting your time — now you can get paid for it.

Getting paid for playing games sounds like a dream. But if you download a free new app, and then download games from it and play, you earn money. As you level up you can earn more money for cash rewards or gift cards. 

This is a great opportunity for those looking to get paid for something they enjoy, like winning free gift cards and cash for playing games. I use it and it is legit and has over 131,404+ positive reviews in the Google Play store.

If you’re interested, I recommend you download the app from the Google Play store for free by clicking here.

6. InboxDollars

InboxDollars
4.5

InboxDollars is a legitimate way to make extra money online. It's been around for 20 years, and the company says it's paid its members more than $59 million since 2000.

CLAIM $5 BONUS

You can get free gift cards from InboxDollars for taking surveys, watching videos, online shopping, playing games, searching the web — you get the idea. It's one of those rewards sites that really does pay out. In fact, they've paid over $80 million in cash rewards to its members.

You can cash out your points earned for gift cards to the following retailers:

  • Amazon
  • Nordstrom
  • Nike
  • Fandango
  • Applebees’s
  • Starbucks

Bonus: If you sign up today they'll give you a $5 bonus to kick off your earnings.

7. Shopkick

Let’s say you’re going to Walmart or Target later — if you have the Shopkick app downloaded you will get rewarded just for going to that store.

It’s that simple, and all the major stores are available to receive points for. You then can redeem those points for gift cards to major retailers, including Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy and more.

You’ll get even more “kicks” the app’s currency for scanning your receipts and any online purchases. You don’t have to do much as your linked cards will add your kicks for you.

It’ll actually be difficult not to earn easy money with the Shopkick app.

8. Swagbucks

Swagbucks will give you free Amazon gift cards just for the things you do every day online. They will even pay you too play video games online and watch fun videos. 

The payouts are pretty lucrative and you can start cashing out your earnings starting at only $3. If Amazon gift cards aren't your thing you can also get Google Play credit, Visa gift cards, gift cards to airlines, or just earn cash via PayPal.

If you're interested you can learn more from Swagbucks here.

9. Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards is a pretty legit app where you can get free gift cards for scanning receipts. It's like the Ibotta app, but way better.

It works with literally any receipt which sets it apart from all other cash back apps. Plus, you don’t have to clip coupons or click offers — scan receipts and you’re earning real money.

This is a great way to make extra dough, the easy way, and can add up to a large wad of cash rewards quickly. How to start earning with Fetch Rewards:

  1. Download Fetch for (iOS or Android)
  2. Scan any receipt from any stores that you use daily
  3. Get free gift cards

They are conveniently offering a $2 signup bonus after scanning your first receipt, so act fast.

Ways to Get Free Money Fast

If you're a fan of free gift cards you probably are interested in clever ways to get free money. Our make money section is jam packed full of ideas to help you do just that.

To give you a glimpse of some of the hidden gems, here are some ideas for you to consider:

Get Paid to Save

aspiration plus

Want to get paid to save? As an eco-friendly financial company, Aspiration puts your savings to work as more than just rainy day money. In fact, you can choose to “plant a climate change-fighting tree with every purchase you make” if you open an Aspiration account.

There are two different types of savings accounts at Aspiration: Basic and Plus. The basic savings account allows you to pay what is fair, which can be $0 per month if you choose. You will earn 3% APY on the first $10,000 you save, but the real savings begin with the Plus account which offers a 5% interest savings account.

This bank account is legit and only takes two minutes to sign up for an account.

Best for conscious consumers
Aspiration
5.0
Pros:
  • 10% cash back on certain purchases
  • 5.00% APY with an Aspiration Plus subscription
  • No monthly fee for the basic plan
  • Welcome bonus of $150
  • Optional Planet Protection feature offsets carbon outputs when buying gas
  • Spending tracker for social impact
  • 10% of Aspiration’s earnings go to charity
Cons:
  • No branches or CDs
  • No cash deposits
  • Limits on debit card use internationally
  • Has had customer support issues
SEE RATES

Earn Free Crypto While Learning About Crypto

free bitcoin coinbase
Coinbase: the simple, safe way to buy, manage and sell your cryptocurrency.

Coinbase is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with over 25 million users across 32 countries worldwide. Coinbase allows you to securely buy, store and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and many more on our easy, user-friendly app and web platform.

Coinbase offers two different ways for you to earn free bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. First, you can use the referral program to refer your friends and each new member gets you $10 in free bitcoin.

Invite your friends to Coinbase and you’ll both get free Bitcoin when a friend buys or sells $100 of crypto.

You can get $10 in BTC for simply opening a Coinbase account and they’ll pay you to learn about different cryptocurrencies with Coinbase Earn. I’ve earned over $50 in XLM in Coinbase Earn just for watching a few short videos about the coin. There’s no catch.

If you don’t already have Coinbase you can get started with $5 of free bitcoin here.

Need More Free Money Ideas

A ton of people are searching online for the ways to get free money and free gift cards. Well, look no further, because if you wanted more ways to get gift cards then these are literally the best free gift card hacks that’ll get you them. So consider scrolling back up and taking a second look. Also, cash in on the following signup bonuses that pay cash on the spot and you will be on your way to making an extra $100:

  1. Swagbucks: $10 welcome bonus! Swagbucks is a legit rewards site with lots of different ways available to earn money. You can take surveys, play games, watch fun videos, and search the internet.
  2. Ibotta: $20 welcome bonus! Ibotta pays you real money on your everyday purchases. Download the free app to receive offers and earn real cash back in stores and online.
  3. Aspiration: Want to get spotted a free $150 without having to take out a personal loan or worse, payday loan? Simply sign up for Aspiration, and the free banking app will make you $150 richer just for opening an Aspiration Spend and Save account.
  4. MyPoints: $10 welcome bonus! MyPoints offers a daily rewards program and is another cashback website that works similarly to Rakuten.
  5. InboxDollars: $5 welcome bonus! Earn dollars for small tasks such as taking surveys, watching videos, and playing addicting games.

Signup bonuses offer a great way to kick start your earnings with quick cash rewards. Good luck with making money with your phone!

Free Gift Card Hacks FAQs

How can I get free gift cards?

You can earn free gift cards by using your debit card or credit cards that offer reward points for spending. Cash in those reward points at the end of the month for gift cards to your favorite stores.

Do random gift card generators work?

Random gift card generators do not work or offer any sort of discount. While gift card generators aren't real, the gift card balance checkers do work and give you a way to view your balance online.

How can I get a free gift card without doing anything?

You can get a free gift card by referring friends to your favorite apps, using cash back apps at grocery stores, using survey sites, or using a rewards credit card.

Brian Meiggs
Brian Meiggs
Brian Meiggs is a personal finance expert, and the founder of Smarts, a personal finance site helping you easily explore your best money options. He helps readers follow the smart money in order to increase their earning potential and start building wealth for the future. He regularly writes about side hustles, investing, and general personal finance topics aimed to help anyone earn more, pay off debt, and reach financial freedom. He has been quoted as a top personal finance blogger in major publications including Business Insider, Yahoo! Finance, NASDAQ, Discover, and more.
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