Q. Are these sites a scam?
A. Some of them are, but most are not. If you meet their requirements, they will actually send you your prize. Stick with the trusted companies I’ve researched and listed here on this site.
Q. How can companies offer “free” gifts?
A. They are compensated with advertising dollars and offer referral dollars (when you sign up and complete “offers”). Trust me, they’re making money, and they are able to offer you prizes as incentive to complete their offers.
Q. What is an example of an “offer?”
A. Offers include Netflix, Blockbuster Online, Cosmetique, Columbia House DVD, BMG Music, eMusic, eFax, Trilegant Offers, etc.
Q. What is the catch?
A. These companies are hoping you will complete these offers or free trials and then forget to cancel so they can charge you money. Most offers are free for a period of time – all you have to do is cancel the offer before the trial is up.
Q. What happens if I forget to cancel an offer?
A. They will charge you their full price! It will not be cheap! Make sure to keep good records and cancel in a timely fashion.
Q. Can you give me a step by step outline of how to begin?
A. 1. First, use an unimportant email address (you will get spam!)
2. Pick a gift you’d like to work towards, and sign up with that company using your real name and address, but a fake phone number (unless you like spam calls), as well as your spam email address from above.
4. Click “no” or “skip” through all the preliminary “survey” pages. Once you get to the end where they show you “offers page 1” or similar, you are in the right spot.
5. Browse all pages of offers to make sure they are doable (some companies will have ONLY credit card offers on the last page – those are bad).
6. Begin doing the cheapest offers on each page (i.e. ones that offer free trial periods). Keep track of all information – the dates, transaction numbers, costs, etc. Do only enough offers to satisfy the requirements.
7. Wait for all offers you completed to credit (follow the crediting guidelines on each specific site).
8. Once all offers have credited, print out your confirmation certificate, mail it in, and wait for your prize to arrive!
Q. How long do prizes take to arrive?
A. Anywhere from 6-8 weeks to 6-8 months. Be patient – they will arrive.
Q. What if I don’t want to give out my credit card number?
A. You can purchase prepaid Visa gift cards (work like credit cards) to use for offers or make use of Paypal’s Virtual Credit Card generator.
Q. What’s so special about the offers/companies you’ve listed here on this website?
A. They’re offers from companies I know and trust, that require the least amount of offers for the greatest amount of reward. (Usually around 4-6 offers for a $500 GC, but some sites require upwards of 10 offers for a $500 GC.)
Q. Do I have to pay taxes on my gift?
A. Yes -- if your gift is over $600 -- and you will be required to fill out a W4. This is why I stick to $500 GC’s and less.
Q. Can I get more than one prize per company?
A. Usually, yes. Just be sure to read their terms and conditions to make sure they don’t prohibit it.
Q. Can I make more than one account with the same company? (i.e. using a false name and info?)
A. No! This is fraud and they will suspend both accounts if they catch you doing this.
Q. Can I do more than one offer from each company?
A. No, usually not. Take Netflix, for example. You would have to have a different address, email, and credit card to make a second account with them. So if you’ve done their free trial in an effort to complete offers for a certain prize, you can’t do their free trial again in an effort to complete a second prize unless you’ve moved. Make sense?
Q. Where should I start if I’ve never done this before?
A. Pick a small prize that requires 2 or 3 offers. Once you get the hang of it, move on to bigger and better things!
Q. Which sites have you used?
A. Brandarama, Householdsavingsclub, Trustedrewards, Internetopiniongroup, UsaSurveyRewards, GiftFreebies, Yourfreegiftcard, etc.
Q. Which gifts ship fastest?
A. Most companies have long delays for Visa giftcards and Amex giftcards. Actual gifts ship faster (like iPods, Wii’s, etc).
