Reader Michelle recently asked:
“Can you tell us the real scoop on Swagbucks? Not the website hype, but what it’s really like? How long does it take to accumulate points? How many points do you need for, say, an $5 Amazon card?”
So- I have mentioned Swagbucks several times and told you about the items I got free here and here by using them. For those that don’t know- Swagbucks is a toolbar that you download onto your computer. Instead of searching through Yahoo or Google or whatever- you search through the Swagbucks toolbar. You earn bucks randomly for doing the searches which go into your account. What I mean by searches is when you type in something like “frugal bloggers” or “car wash in Milwaukee” whatever you are looking for. You can then cash in the bucks for prizes like music downloads, video cameras or gift cards. Easy, right?
I am extremely skeptical about everything and I am usually the last person to sign on to the latest deal or whatever. I also don’t like to be bothered with a lot of clutter in my life so I kept hearing about Swagbucks and never actually looked into it. I can see why so many people rave though because for me it has turned out to be a great way to get free gift cards (no really).
The best point value is for Amazon gift cards (there are also Lowe’s, Target, Barnes and Noble etc..) and the smallest you can order is $5 for 45 points. I have earned a ton of points and I actually don’t do a lot of searches- most of my time is spent on forums or other blogs that I have bookmarked. Also my husband uses Mozilla and when he is online he doesn’t use the toolbar. So basically if we can do it- I would think anyone that goes on the internet can likely earn at least 45 points or so in a month without really trying. The key for me was just getting used to using the Swagbucks toolbar rather than Yahoo. Also, I take the extra second and instead of typing in say www.target.com to go direct to the website- I type in Target into the toolbar. It takes an extra second as I have to then click onto the Target link under search results- but it is literally an extra second and worth it to me to get the extra bucks.
In regards to the actual payout, it is pretty straightforward. You can request up to 2 gift cards in a day and it takes a few days for them to be applied to your account. When I ordered the potty, I actually ordered 5 gift cards so I had to request them over 3 days and it took about 6 days to show up in my account. They come in the form of a code into my account and you enter them (like a promo code) when you place your order online.
I want to order the All You subscription I posted a few days ago and I am still waiting for the codes to show up in my account. So that to me is the biggest drawback- you have to wait 2-4 days or so for processing.
I did not pay one penny for this- it really is that simple. I am still waiting to get my potty- according to Amazon it is scheduled for delivery today. I really did pay $4 or so for the potty and cookie sheet- used $25 in swagbucks and although I don’t have the order yet, I have a confirmation from Amazon that it is coming!
You can earn Swagbucks in different ways too- like megabucks days, finding codes or through referrals. Once you sign up you can refer friends to join and you will get a matching buck for every one they earn up to 100! My sister joined when I did and she has also gone over 100 bucks already. So basically my free magazine subscription is thanks to her searches.
I hope that all makes sense and answers your questions Michelle! It seems too good to be true but it really does work. Hopefully there are some readers that can share their experiences too.
If you want to sign up click here and they will put 3 bucks in your account to get the ball rolling.
Anonymous says
Can you tell me which website’s earn you swagbucks? I have 6 bucks and am wanting more!! Thanks
Charlene says
Hi Anon, There isn’t actually a web site that earns the points- it is the actual searches themselves. So in your toolbar when you type whatever you are looking for it will randomly award points. The more searches the better so my trick is not to type in a URL into my yahoo toolbar- like target.com- instead I type target in the Swagbucks toolbar and let it find the web site. Let me know if that doesn’t make sense- it is just a way to get a few extra searches in a day.
Anonymous says
awesome..I did notice a few sites I earned a swagbuck, I will continue on! thanks
rachael says
i have a question. i ysed the swagbucks search engine but how do my points get added? i dont see them appearing. thanks!
Charlene says
Rachael they are randomly awarded so you will only get them every so often. Just keep using the toolbar for searches and you will see what I mean.
heather says
awesome !! thank you!