Swagbucks Review

Earning money from your phone is an appealing option – but while some apps are great, others can sap your time for little reward. Could Swagbucks be a good call? Money savvy Michael Barton runs a thorough check in his Swagbucks review, to give you the best insight before you commit.

If you’re reading this Swagbucks review, the chances are that you’re looking to earn a little extra money and want to know if Swagbucks is worth the time and effort. I’m going to answer that crucial question, and more, in the next few minutes of reading time.

We’re going to share the good and bad, and a few personal experiences, as I examine how easy it might be to make money online, and the challenges you may need to overcome to realise the full potential of earning money by completing surveys, watching videos, and even simply searching the internet on the Swagbucks app.

What Is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is an app that invites you to make money doing the things online that you would normally do, as well as acting as a conduit for earning money online in other ways. It’s owned by an American company called Prodege, LLC (who also owns and operates other sites such as MyPoints and InboxDollars).

If you spend time watching videos, checking out new apps, and shopping online, then you’re probably going to love Swagbucks. Why not do the things you most love to do and earn when doing them? Isn’t that everyone’s idea of ideal work?

Can You Really Earn Money on Swagbucks?

One of the most important questions. The answer is yes, though it won’t be enough to replace a full-time job – you’ll need to consider other ways to earn money from home.

However, if your aim is to earn a little extra to pay for a few of life’s little luxuries (like Christmas!), there is no doubt that with the right strategy (more about this later) you can earn well on Swagbucks.

Indeed, Swagbucks has paid out more than £600 million to its registered users since it was first founded in 2006.

How Does Swagbucks Work?

You don’t earn money on Swagbucks. You earn Swagbucks. These are points that you accumulate for completing tasks, such as playing online games or taking online surveys.

The points you earn can then be exchanged for rewards. These include Amazon gift vouchers and PayPal credit (yes, cash).

Some of the ways to earn Swagbucks include:

• Watching videos
• Conducting online searches
• Playing online games
• Shopping online
• Completing online surveys

You already do most of this, right? Every day, too? Then it’s time to use Swagbucks to ‘monetise’ (earn money from) your time online.

How Much Are Swagbucks Worth?

Next question: what are Swagbucks worth?

The easy answer is that 100 Swagbucks is typically worth around 70p, though sometimes you’ll find special offers that increase this value. Examples of how you can exchange your Swagbucks include:

• 13,000 Swagbucks for £100 of PayPal credit
• 1,250 Swagbucks for a £10 Amazon voucher

Sounds a lot of points, doesn’t it? However, you can earn up to 200 points for completing a survey, anything from a few hundred points to 20,000 and more for playing mobile games, and up to 99 points for an online search.

With a heap of ways to earn Swagbucks, it takes a lot less time than you might think to accumulate the points you need to exchange for the ‘prizes’ you desire.

Here’s a tip for you:

Sometimes it pays to wait to cash in your Swagbucks. I’ve noticed some terrific ‘Swagbucks Sales’ – these are offers that bump up the value of your Swagbucks. These sales have included £10 of PayPal credit for 1,000 Swagbucks (usually 1,300) and a £10 Amazon voucher for 1,000 Swagbucks (usually 1,250).

How Can You Make Money on Swagbucks – a Deeper Look

You’ll find a full list of how to earn Swagbucks on the Swagbucks website. It’s worth checking this list regularly, as it does get updated. Here are what I consider to be some of the best Swagbucks earners:

Swagbucks Search

This is the easiest way to rack up a few Swagbucks. Simply switch from Google or Bing to Swagbucks, and you could earn Swagbucks every time you surf the net.

Now, I’m a Google search engine fan. It’s my go-to search bar for work. But the Swagbucks search engine is a good substitute – which means I earn extra while I’m working!

Watching Videos

Swagbucks also gives you the opportunity of sitting down with a cup of tea or coffee, and relaxing by watching movies or videos. There’s a wide choice available to you, including food, fitness, and fashion, as well as new movie trailers.

You can even choose a fitness video to watch and follow – instead of paying for yoga instruction, get paid to be instructed on screen (not my bag, but my wife loves it). Is there a better motivation to exercise?

Cashback on Your Online Shopping

This is one for my grown-up children and their partners. I wouldn’t say they have an online shopping habit, but hardly a day goes by without a delivery!

If you are shopping on a site that partners with Swagbucks, you’ll be alerted on screen. Make your purchase, and you’ll receive the Swagbucks into your Swagbucks account after the return period has expired. (That’s fair – because they don’t want to reward you for items that you do return.)

Magic Receipts

If you prefer shopping instore, Swagbucks has the ideal way to boost your Swagbucks balance. You’ll need to upload deals from the Swagbucks site and the participating stores. Then go do your shopping as you normally would. When you have returned home and packed away your good and/or groceries, log into your Swagbucks account and upload your receipt to earn your rewards.

Online Gaming

Another fun way to earn Swagbucks is to play games online. The drawback is you only earn points for games that you complete. But if you’re a bit of a game addict, this shouldn’t bother you.

There are dozens of games to choose from at any one time, too. These include Solitaire, Wealth Words, and Dominoes. At the time of writing this, here are a few of the top-paying games that have been promoted by Swagbucks:

• Alice’s Adventure (earn up to 19,020 points)
• Bingo Aloha (earn up to 17,050 points)
• Battle Night (earn up to 21,000 points)
• Mafia City: War of the Underworld (earn up to 29,000 points)

What a great way to earn a few quid while you’re on your lunchbreak.

Online Surveys

Do you like sharing your opinions online? Then you should be doing online surveys that pay.

Completing a paid survey promoted through Swagbucks can reward you with up to 200 Swagbucks. That’s a great way to bump up your Swagbucks balance. However, you’ll be vetted out of many surveys, which is infuriating – though you will receive one Swagbuck for attempting the survey.

The Daily Poll

The Daily Poll is a one-question survey. It is updated to a new question every day, and answering it will earn you one Swagbuck. That’s not bad for a couple of seconds’ work.

Swagstakes

Instead of redeeming your Swagbucks for vouchers or cash, you could use a few to enter Swagstakes. This is like a raffle – you buy a ticket with a few of your Swagbucks to gain entry. Each Swagstakes has a limited entry. At the time of writing, here are three of the Swagstakes available:

• 2,500 Swagbucks – entry fee is 10 Swagbucks with a total of 700 entries available
• 1,000 Swagbucks – entry fee is 25 Swagbucks with a total of 75 entries available
• 100,000 Swagbucks – entry fee is 25 Swagbucks with 8,000 entries available

How lucky do you feel? Remember, this is like a lottery. Swagbucks will redeem more Swagbucks than they pay out to the winner.

Daily Goals

At the top of your Swagbucks screen, there’s a ‘Daily Bonus’ button. Click on this, and you’ll see a list of daily tasks to complete. For each one you finish, you’ll be awarded points. If you do all your tasks, you’ll earn a bonus.

By activating Daily Goals, you’ll be presented with a daily target of Swagbucks to accumulate. Manage this, and you’ll receive bonus points.

The SwagButton & Swag Codes

If you decide to be a Swagbucker, then you must install the SwagButton. This is an extension that allows you to log into Swagbucks easily. But that’s not the real reason to install it.

Once you have added the SwagButton, you’ll be instantly notified when you are surfing a site with Swagbucks sales, coupons, and cashback offers. You’ll never have to search for a money-saving coupon again, and the coupon code will be automatically added when you proceed to the online checkout.

You’ll be alerted when these codes are live on-site. These codes give you extra Swagbucks if you find them.

Invite Your Friends

Here’s an incentive that I love – a recurring payment.

All you need to do is invite your friends to join Swagbucks, using your unique referral link. Help them to use Swagbucks to earn extra cash, and you’ll earn 10% of their Swagbucks for life. That’s passive rewards that you’d be a fool to turn down as a Swagbucker.

Daily Deals

You’ll also find a range of daily deals available on Swagbucks. These could include up to 50% off TVs, £200 discount on the latest Samsung mobile phones, buy-one-get-one-free deals, money off designer brand fashion, and many other items. You’ll find dozens of cashback deals, too, and earn points for what you spend with partnered stores.

You can search for these deals by category, and you won’t be disappointed by the choice you have:

Accessories	Adult	Arts & Crafts	Auto & Tyres
Baby & Kids	Baby & Kids Clothing	Beauty & Fragrances	Books & Magazines
Clothing & Accessories	Computers & Apps	Deals Of the Week	Department Stores
Education	Electronics & Photo	Entertainment	Erotic
Events & Activities	Finance & Banking	Flowers & Gifts	Food & Beverage
Games	Gas & Electricity	Gift Cards	Gifts for Kids
Groceries	Health & Wellness	Home Decor & Furniture	Home Improvement & Tools
Hotels	Insurance	Internet & Phone	Jewellery
Luxury	Office	Personal Finance	Pets
Shoes	Sports & Outdoors	Subscription Boxes	Telecoms
Toys & Hobbies	Travel & Vacations

Swagbucks Membership Recognition Program

Swagbucks also rewards you for your continued active membership. Enrol in the Membership Recognition Program from ‘My Account’, and you’ll start climbing the ladder of loyalty bonuses. There are 10 levels, each based upon lifetime Swagbucks earned.

These levels range from:

Level 1: Pearl

Achieved with 250 Lifetime Swagbucks earned, with the following benefits:

1. 50 SB Rebate on your next gift card redemption.
2. Double Swagbucks when your next survey is completed.

to:

Level 10: Diamond

Achieved with 2 million Lifetime Swagbucks earned, with the following benefits:

1. A one-time 25,000 Swagbucks bonus.
2. Double Swagbucks on following three survey completions.
3. Two extra hours to use any Swag Code*.
4. Gift cards x4 up to the value of $25 per month* in real-time shipment.
5. Real-time access to your Swagbucks shopping for three transactions, up to 1,000 Swagbucks per transaction each month. Doesn’t include travel. Takes up to two hours to be credited.

* You must earn at least 5,000 Swagbucks within a 6-month time limit of reaching Diamond level, in order to keep and continue receiving this reward.

Tips to Develop Your Earnings on Swagbucks

While Swagbucks may not be enough to replace the salary from your job, if you take a strategic approach it could turn into a nice little earner. Here’s what I’ve found to be the 13 key tactics on Swagbucks and other similar sites:

1. Be Consistent

Set aside an hour or so each day to focus on the tasks in the daily goals. This doesn’t have to be a solid hour – you could use your lunch break, time when you are on a train or bus commuting, or even when you are watching a television programme that doesn’t require your full attention.

2. Make Swagbucks Your Default Search Engine

If you are going to surf the net, why not earn a few Swagbucks while doing so? Take advantage of effortless reward accumulation.

3. Check Swagbucks Before You Buy Online

Check to see if the online store you are using is partnered with Swagbucks before you make a purchase. If it isn’t, could you buy the same item from a different store that is a Swagbucks partner?

4. Multitask While Watching Videos

You don’t need to take extra time out of your day to watch the videos that earn you Swagbucks. Learn to multitask! Watch a reward-paying video while doing the ironing, preparing dinner, or being creative with pen and paper or at an artist’s easel.

5. Focus on High-Paying Surveys

Check the estimated time it will take to complete a survey, and focus on those that best reward your time.

6. Be Strategic About the Online Games You Play

Select the games that give the highest payouts, but make sure to balance this with the time it will take to play the game through to completion.

7. Take the Daily Polls

These are easy to do, and even though they only earn a point, the reward tots up nicely over time.

8. Refer Your Friends

I love this with Swagbucks. It’s a chance to share the love with your friends and family as well as build up a passive stream of extra Swagbucks drifting into your Swagbucks account.

9. Profit from Swag Codes

Install the SwagButton and do a daily search for Swag Codes to earn extra points.

10. Check for Daily Deals & Discounts

Include a check for daily deals and discounts as part of your regular routine. The purchases you are planning to make could offer substantial cashback rewards as well as gifting you a few extra Swagbucks.

11. Temper the Temptation to Enter Swagstakes

Swagstakes are very tempting, but, just like the lottery, only a few will be winners. They are great to enter as an occasional thrill, but I don’t suggest you make it habitual. Instead, focus on earning Swagbucks, not spending them on longshot raffles.

12. Enrol in the Membership Recognition Program

Your loyalty deserves extra reward, and the perks you receive at each subsequent level make this program well worth it.

13. Use Your Spare Time Productively

The best way to stay consistent and increase your Swagbucks earnings potential is to use your spare time productively. Think about those few minutes that you waste each day. The time you spend scrolling through Facebook. The hours each week you spend idling your time away while commuting to and from work.

Think creatively, too. When could you combine doing one task with watching a video for Swagbucks, for example?

The Bottom Line

I think you’ll find Swagbucks to be one of the most versatile online platforms for earning extra cash. It may not make you rich, but, with a strategic and consistent approach, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t earn around £6 or £7 per hour in your spare time.

Just a few hours each month, stolen from non-productive time, could help you earn enough to pay for Christmas or a modest family holiday, or give you a cash boost to invest for your future.

With such a variety of tasks to complete, you are bound to find something you enjoy doing – getting paid to do it or to monetise your usual daily activities is a real bonus!