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Are You Missing Out on Free Money? 5 Ways to Score Gift Cards

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If you’re like us, you agree that there is nothing more satisfying than getting something for free. Scoring gift cards–which are basically just free cash!–is actually easier than you think. We’ve searched the internet high and low looking for the best ways to get free gift cards and we’ve found five of the best. No need to worry about internet scams; we’ve personally tested each of these strategies for you.

Check out these ideas and see if you’ve got some free money sitting and waiting for you to claim it. Without further ado, here’s how to score free gift cards today:

1. Turn Those Crumpled Receipts Into Free Gift Cards

What do you usually do with your receipts? You check out, they hand you a mile-long piece of paper, and you frantically stuff it to the bottom of a grocery bag. Pretty worthless.

But a free app called Fetch Rewards  will turn them into gift cards. It partners with tons of brands to give you points for every grocery receipt you share. Then you can exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Walmart, Chipotle and dozens of other retailers.

And it’s perfect for those of us who don’t want to put a ton of work into this. All you have to do is send Fetch a photo of your receipt, and it does everything for you. No scanning barcodes or searching for offers — and you can use it with any grocery receipt.

When you download the app, use the code PENNY to automatically earn 2,000 points when you scan your first receipt — you’ll be well on your way to your first gift card.

Not so bad for a useless receipt, right?

2. Get a Gift Card When You Share Your Electric Bill

Want a free Target gift card? We know a website that will help you get one. It might even lower your electric bill while it’s at it. 

Arcadia Power is a website that lets consumers compare all of the electricity companies in their area. If you sign up for a free Arcadia Power account and connect your utility bill, Arcadia will reward you with a free $25 Target gift card. You might even be able to cut your power bill!

Plus, by connecting your utility account, Arcadia Power will start offsetting your energy usage with clean energy sources. Meaning you can help both your wallet and the planet without having to spend any extra money.

You can sign up for a free Target GiftCard™ in about two minutes.

3. Scratch Off Free Lottery Tickets to Earn Gift Cards

There’s something so satisfying about those gas station scratch-off tickets, but it’s better to avoid them because, well, they’re not exactly the best use of your money.

Instead, try scratching for free using an app called Lucktastic, which could earn you free gift cards just for playing. Each day, it releases a new assortment of digital scratch-off tickets.

Lucktastic says instant wins range from $1 to $10,000. You can also earn tokens that you can exchange for free gift cards to retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Kohl’s, Sephora and more.

The app is supported by advertising, which allows it to keep the payouts high and the games free.

4. Get Gift Cards for Your Opinions

If you’re anything like us, you’ve got opinions. And plenty of them. Why not put them to good use?

A site called Swagbucks will pay you in cash rewards and gift cards just for filling out surveys.

Since it started in 2008, it’s given out more than $100 million in cash and rewards.

You won’t get rich using Swagbucks, but it’s a legit site — we’ve tried it ourselves. You earn points towards free gift cards for every survey you take. You’ll even earn a $5 bonus when you sign up and earn 2,500 points within your first 60 days.

5. Copy This Strategy to Get $526 and a Free Gift Card

Remember when getting the mail was fun? Now it’s just bills. And Valpak envelopes.

But for Colleen Rice, checking the mail meant finding checks. For doing nothing. Seriously. Since she started using a free website called Rakuten, she’s received $526.44 and a free $10 Walmart gift card.

Rakuten has the hookup with just about every website you shop, which means it can give you a kickback every time you buy toilet paper on Amazon — even book that flight home for Thanksgiving.

Rice says she uses Rakuten for things she already has to buy, like rental cars and flights. She even used the money she earned to help her pay for her recent cross-country move.

Plus, if you sign up with Rakuten and get a kickback in the first 90 days, they’ll give you an extra $10 on your next check.

Talk about money for nothing.

This story originally appeared on our sister site, Woman’s World

We write about products we think our readers will like. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the supplier. 

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