Scam or Legit? Our Full Review of Swagbucks
Published: August 30, 2017 | by Miles H.
Swagbucks is an online rewards site awarding "swagbucks" for about $1 per 100 swagbucks (minimum $5 to redeem). The cool thing? You get to convert your swagbucks into giftcards for places like Paypal, Amazon, WalMart, Restaurant.com, Target, and Starbucks.
1. Is Swagbucks a legit way to earn some extra cash?
I did a little digging and found Swagbucks isn't a scam. In fact, the site's already paid out over $119 million since it started in 2008. And it pays cash for whatever you want to use it for. You can even donate your Swagbucks to the ALS charity (talk about karma, baby).
2. It's free and really easy to sign up
Signing up's a cinch since there's no cost (and no credit card information required). I had my Swagbucks account ready to rock and roll in about 2 minutes using my Gmail account. You can also sign up using Facebook, making an already easy process crazy stupid simple.
3. You get paid for what you do already
Swagbucks is, at its core, a search engine you can use to earn money just for your online searches. But more than that, it also highlights vendors and products ready to pay you in sweet Swagbucks for your purchases.
4. The site is easy to navigate
I'm not the savviest Web user, and I found the Swagbucks site easy to use. Its layout is neat, and the rewards program is thoroughly explained with videos and step-by-step tutorials. The downside is for app users, since I found it a little limited compared to desktop browsing (you can perform searches and answer the daily polls to earn points, but you can't take surveys or play games).
5. The Swag Button makes browsing easy
There's a nifty little feature called the "Swag Button," which makes using Swagbucks for online shopping even easier. It took all of a minute to add it to my Google Chrome browser, and it's worth it every time (saving while online shopping? Please and thank you).
6. There are serveral ways to earn cash
Beyond searching and shopping, you can get your Swagbucks freak on by taking consumer surveys, answering the daily poll (1 question = 1 SB! Yesterday's question: "What's your favorite David Bowie song?"), playing online games (rewards unrelated to your score), and watching videos. Survey Swagbuck amounts vary wildly, but they share the amounts right on the link. There's even 'Swagstakes," a "swag Lottery" where you buy chances to win prizes. I spent 5 of mine for a shot at a $100 Paypal card (I didn't win, but I had hopes. Maybe next time, Hello Kitty slippers).
7. It can be slow going... but, it's better than not going at all, right?
While you definitely earn some extra money with Swagbucks, it takes time to save up enough to make redeeming worthwhile. I did the math, and each Swagbuck ends up being worth about a penny. That said, don't expect to buy a new car by taking surveys—unless it's like a Hot Wheels car (at least initially).
8. You won't be able to quit your job, but that's okay!
I mean, you really like your cube mate anyway. As long as you look at Swagbucks for what it is (a really easy way to slowly accumulate some extra money over time without doing anything extra), you're golden. If you're looking for serious income supplementation, you're barking up the wrong tree. Your time's worth more than the $3 or $4 you can generate in an hour, so stick to the browser Swag Button, and go through Swagbucks to buy online from their affiliates (peruse some below). In a month or two, you'll have enough to redeem without breaking a sweat.
Overall, my experience with Swagbucks has been pretty much positive. I signed up on a Monday morning, performed a few searches, bought my favorite brand of powdered protein from an affiliate site (cheaper than my normal site, too!), and took a quick survey. Over the next couple of days, I played some games, answered the daily polls, and took a few more surveys. I'm already more than halfway to earning a $25 Paypal card. #likeaboss
In short, you know how terrific it feels to put on a winter coat you haven't worn in a while and find a $5 bill in the pocket? As long as you look at Swagbucks like found money, you won't be disappointed!
Happy searching, and may the Swag be with you.
