CONGRATULATIONS! YOU JUST WON A $100 GIFT CARD!
That's what those e-mails and pop-up ads keep telling me, anyway.
Of course, I'd have to buy something (maybe several somethings) and jump through hoops (maybe several hoops) to get this "prize." And if I did that, then I'd get slammed by spam and/or telemarketing calls.
Few things in life are truly free. But in fact, it is possible to get gift cards for free -- sort of. You'll have to click on e-mails, transfer a prescription, use a specific search engine, maybe buy a few things you were going to buy anyway.
For the most part, though, you can do it without spending a nickel. All it will cost you is time -- maybe a few minutes a day, maybe a little more.
Seriously: Would you really miss five minutes a day? Some people spend that much time staring into the closet and wondering what to wear. But if you're unemployed, on a tight budget or in debt, those few minutes could mean the chance to give your mom a birthday present -- or to buy yourself some groceries.
Even people whose books are balanced are aware that life can change without warning. That's why we're frugal. That's why we like free gift cards.
No spending required
The granddaddy of the rewards sites, MyPoints, has been around for 10 years and has 8 million registered accounts. MyPoints sends you e-mail ads for businesses and services, things such as office supply stores, insurance companies, food products (e.g., Boca Java, Omaha Steaks), business cards and Internet sites.When you click on "Get Points" or "Shop Now," a second window opens to display the Web page for that business or service. Usually that's all you have to do; at times the ad is a survey, but you might get a few points even if you don't fill these out. Users earn points for reading e-mails (generally five points each) or buying things from the site; points can be redeemed for cards from more than 75 companies.
Gasoline gift cards were hugely popular this time last year, says MyPoints' president, Matt Wisk. Today, restaurant cards -- Applebee's, Panera Bread, Outback Steakhouse -- are all the rage.
"It's an indicator of the economy at large," Wisk says. He thinks a restaurant gift card is a way "to splurge without guilt."
Assuming an average of three e-mails a day, you could earn more than 5,000 points in a year. That will more than buy a $25 card and is almost enough for a $50 gift card. That sounds slow, but frugality is often like that: Small steps leading to (eventual) big rewards. For example, my daughter, her fiancé and I saved points for about 18 months, and the cards we redeemed paid for most of the food at their wedding reception.
Tennessee reader Sharon Ammons did most of her Christmas shopping last year with $250 worth of gift cards from MyPoints and an Internet search engine called Swagbucks. Because her husband was unemployed for five months in 2008, those cards came in mighty handy.
'I might as well earn points'
Ammons spends five to 10 minutes a day clicking on MyPoints e-mails and sometimes gets 200-point bonuses for referring friends; she never buys anything online. But she mostly uses Swagbucks on the job."I have to do so many Internet searches at work, I might as well earn points for it," says Ammons, the marketing director for a commercial-real-estate agency.
The site randomly awards one or more "Swag Bucks" to users. (In about seven weeks, I've earned 101.) Among the prizes are gift cards for businesses such as Barnes & Noble, Target and Amazon.com. You can earn points several other ways, too, such as finding "Swag Codes" on sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Most of the gift cards are in fact e-gift certificates, good for online shopping only. The company offers one actual gift card, for Starbucks. Heather, who blogs at Freebies 4 Mom, plans to buy several of these as teacher gifts.
The blogger, who asked that her last name not be used, has a big advantage: a Swagbucks link on her site that earns her a bonus every time a reader signs up. Recently, she redeemed enough Target e-certificates to buy a couple of pieces of furniture for her son's bedroom.
But Heather points out that anyone who blogs can ask readers to sign up and that nonbloggers can simply refer their friends. People use online search engines constantly, she says, so why not make it pay?
Save those bottle caps
I feel that way about my Diet Coke habit: If I'm going to drink the stuff, why not earn points with the My Coke Rewards program? Codes are found inside bottle caps (three points) and multipacks (10 to 25 points). My favorite prize is the free movie ticket, but you can also get free gift cards to businesses such as Chili's restaurants, Nike and Southwest Airlines.Ammons is also a fan of My Coke Rewards. She gets the majority of her points from soda-drinking friends -- and from litterbugs. If she's out for a walk and sees a bottle cap, she picks it up; once she harvested 375 extra codes at a community festival.
Participants are limited to 120 points per week, so it doesn't take too much time to enter the codes. Ammons works full time and has a 2-year-old child. "If I can find five minutes a day to do it," she says, "other people probably can, too."
Restaurant gift cards are hot right now at My Coke Rewards, just as they are at MyPoints. "It's great to be able to go out to a family restaurant in this economy," Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan Stribling says. The company also experiences "a big spike" in card redemptions late in the year. "We assume it's people giving Christmas gifts," Stribling says.
The old switcheroo
Drugstores want your business, and they'll ply you with gift cards to get it. As I wrote in "Transfer prescriptions for fun and profit," you can move your meds from pharmacy to pharmacy as different offers become available.Smart Spending message board reader "Librian" transfers prescriptions every month. "Sometimes it does get old," she concedes, but she sure likes those $25 gift cards. Recently, she took advantage of another promotion: Buy $10 worth of groceries and get a $10 store gift card.
"Anything and everything I can do to stock the fridge, freezer, pantry and the bank account," Librian says.
Reader "Katgirl82" bought five boxes of Special K cereal at Target for $6.95 and got a $5 gift card. When her Publix supermarket offers a $10 gift card with a purchase of $20 worth of food, "NancyinFL" buys staples such as canned foods and peanut butter. (This is an incredibly frugal way to create "The dollar food pantry.")
Such offers are popping up everywhere. This month Rite Aid's monthly rebate program will give you a $25 drugstore card for buying $50 worth of Johnson & Johnson products. A recent ad from a major auto supplies retailer promised a $5 Subway card if you bought two auto air fresheners. My purchase of a vacuum cleaner from a particular department store resulted in a $10 gift card.
NancyinFL gets the prize for the oddest gift card deal: Her local CVS drugstore offered a $5 gift card for turning in expired or unused prescriptions.
Tips from the pros
Work the gift card system with this advice from those who do:- Think that gift cards aren't gifts? Then use them to buy presents.
- Start a separate e-mail account for updates, newsletters or spam.
- Check the MyPoints home page regularly and look for a box called "Tell Us & Earn Points." These one-question surveys are worth five points each.
- In charge of ordering office supplies for your workplace? See if what you need is available through a rewards site.
- If you're not squeamish, check the lunchroom recycle bin for Coke products.
- Be aware that Swagbucks gives away more points on Fridays.
- Above all, be patient. "Points do add up," Tennessee reader Ammons says. "In the long run you'll have enough to buy some nice gifts."
Save money today
Garden growing like a weed? Or growing mostly weeds? Some newspaper might help. A number of bloggers suggest homegrown garden hacks at "Natural born weed killers and other frugal yard tips."Cheap sweeps: My Smart Spending colleague, Karen Datko, was advised to buy a Swiffer Sweeper after her hardwood floors were refinished. Once she found out how much the replacement pads cost, she went blog-prospecting for frugal alternatives. Find out more at her post "Cheap refills for Swiffer Sweepers."
Cell phone go glub? Maybe you dropped your cell in a sink. Maybe you went boating and fell into the foaming brine. Whatever the watery mishap, "Cell phone in the toilet bowl? Here's how to fix it" may save you an expensive replacement.