Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Free gift certificates

Yes, some of them are scams. Yes, some of them take a lot of work. But, yes... free gift cards are worth a few minutes now and then. They're legitimate ways to get free merchandise or food or... whatever. You can usually choose which store you want them for and you can usually stockpile them for greater savings. They're great for gifts or to round out your own shopping budget. They can take the edge off higher prices of groceries, gas and clothing.

Free gift certificates are one of the better things that has happened to the internet.

How do you get them?

Shopping, clicking, reading, doing surveys... even playing games or writing short reviews.

There are sites that give you "points," or measure your credit in real dollars and cents (mostly cents) until you rack up enough, then you ask, and they issue a gift card (usually a reloadable shopping card) in whatever amount you qualify for.

You can rack up these points or pennies by shopping through special links to favorite shopping sites on the internet, or by clicking links in emails sent to you and visiting advertised sites. Some sites give you points for playing games and visiting sites.

One of my favorites is MyPoints (no, that's not a referral link), but there are many others.

You can also buy gift certificates for less than the face value at eBay, which isn't as good as free, but better than paying retail!

Whether you use them yourself or give them as gifts, you'll be saving money - and that's the name of the game.

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