There are many different websites, apps, and other platforms that offer you the ability to earn cash or rewards points. Some sites, like Rakuten, Ampli, and Drop, use cash back programs to help their users earn cash or points, while others, like Swagbucks, require its users to earn through surveys and research.
What Is Swagbucks?
Swagbucks is a platform where you can earn rewards points, known as SB points, to use towards gift cards and cash in its rewards store. You earn these points by doing many of the things you already do online: shopping, watching videos, using a search engine, answering surveys, playing games, and discovering shopping deals.
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How Does Swagbucks Work?
Using Swagbucks is very easy. You sign up to the platform by providing an email address and password. You can earn SB points by doing a number of activities you likely already do online, such as shopping or play games. These points can be redeemed for cash or gift cards or can be given to charity.
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READ ARTICLEHow To Earn Rewards and Cash Through Swagbucks
There are seven ways to earn cash and other rewards through the Swagbucks platform.
Shop
You can earn SB points by shopping at over 1,500 online retailers. A percentage of your purchase is given back to you in the form of SB points. You can also get special deals and coupons if you shop with these retailers through the Swagbucks platform.
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Answer
If you answer surveys and polls, you will be rewarded with SB points. These surveys are used by marketing agencies to gauge the public’s interest in a brand or its products and to potentially bring new products to the market. You will be asked a series of questions before you get to the survey itself so Swagbucks can confirm that you’re part of the demographic the survey is interested in. You get your SB points upon completion of the survey.
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Watch
Watching videos through the Swagbucks platform earns you SB points. The site puts together playlists for you to watch.
Discover
If you look at deals and offers through the Swagbucks platform, sign up for certain services, or order free samples, you can earn SB points.
Search
You can earn SB points by using the Swagbucks search engine. This search engine is proprietary to Swagbucks and thus may not give you the same search results that Google or Bing would, for example. By using this search engine, you will be rewarded with SB points every so often. You can earn up to 1000 SB points in one search, making the search engine a great way to earn points for something you’re already doing.
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Play
There are some games on the Swagbucks platform that will pay out SB points every so often when you play them. Swagbucks also has a partnership with GSN, so you will earn SB points if you make in-game purchases on GSN games.
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Mobile
Swagbucks has a mobile app that allows you to shop, watch videos, and answer surveys. You earn SB points for doing these activities the same way you would earn them for doing these activities on the Swagbucks desktop site.
Redeeming Your SB Points
There are three ways that you can redeem your SB points.
Cash
You can earn cash by spending your SB points on PayPal cash, which is paid out through the PayPal platform. You can turn your cash into $10, $25, $50, or $100 CAD or $5, $10, $25, or $100 USD. You must have a PayPal account whose email matches the one on your Swagbucks account. The first and last names associated with this account must be the same as the first and last names associated with your Swagbucks account. This account must also be verified with PayPal. If you’re converting your SB points into US dollars, it takes 3 business days to receive your funds. If you’re converting your SB points into Canadian dollars, it takes 10-14 business days to receive your funds.
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Gift Card
You can spend your SB points on gift cards from many different categories, including electronics, travel, and department stores. The lowest denomination is $3 USD (for an Amazon.com gift card) and the highest denomination is $500 USD (for an Amazon.com gift card). Most gift cards come in denominations of $5, $10, $15, $25, $50, or $100, in either Canadian dollars or US dollars. Gift cards also sometimes go on sale, meaning that you can get a gift card for cheaper than you could if you bought it with money.
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Give To Charity
You can donate your SB points to charity. Every SB point donated is worth $0.01. You can donate SB points in increments of 5 SB points. Swagbucks has a list of charities you can donate to on its rewards store, including Save the Children and UNICEF.
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READ ARTICLESwagbucks Special Perks
The main special perk that Swagbucks offers is the SwagButton, which is an extension that can be used on Google Chrome. Besides the 1000 SB point welcome bonus, which you can earn by spending at least $25 at a participating retailer within 30 days of registering with the SwagButton, you can get cash back (in the form of SB points) when shopping online. The SwagButton tells you when you are shopping on a site that offers cash back. The SwagButton will also alert you when there are coupon codes that can save you money.
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Swagbucks also offers a mobile app, so you can earn SB points on the go by watching videos, answering surveys, and shopping.
The platform also benefits from an extremely low cash-out threshold. Giving to charity costs as little as 5 SB points (or $0.05 USD). You can also choose to spend more points on more valuable gift cards or cash payouts.
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Is Swagbucks Safe?
Swagbucks is safe. It is a Better Business Bureau accredited business with a B+ rating. The site currently has an average customer review rating of 4.1/5. Although there have been over one thousand complaints closed by Swagbucks in the last three years, upon reading the reviews it’s obvious that the Swagbucks support team works closely with those who file a complaint to deliver them a satisfactory outcome.
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READ ARTICLEIs Swagbucks Worth It?
While it might be easier to simply spend your own money purchasing the rewards that Swagbucks offers, the platform offers fun, creative ways to earn rewards—especially for the things you’re probably already doing online. You won’t ever get rich by using Swagbucks, but it is an interesting way to earn rewards. Earning SB points can be pretty slow some days and pretty quick on others, this means that Swagbucks is worth the effort some days more than others. But, overall Swagbucks can be a great way to earn rewards and treat yourself.