Hello, my name is Amy, and I’m a former Swagbucks hoarder.
Unable to think of anything I needed for months, I “sat” on my Swagbucks, content to watch the total climb. It wasn’t until I had my sights set on something at Amazon.com and was ready to buy that I found out a bit of Swagbucks fine print.
Prize orders are limited to 2 per day.
There is a limit of 5 orders per prize each calendar month.
Gift cards are posted on… well, not every day. There is conflicting information. I think the current rules are that they post around the 16th and 30th of each month. On the Swagbucks blog, though, it says “7-10 business days from verification.” Either way, it’s not an instant gratification-type thing.
Rather than watch your buck totals pile up, go ahead and redeem them. Once verified and posted to your account, then you can sit on them for a while. Whew!
Still worth it? Absolutely! I’ve “bought” hundreds of dollars of things with my Swagbucks. Definitely sign up and download the toolbar. Just remember. Don’t hoard your Swagbucks in anticipation of redeeming them all at once. It doesn’t work that way.
This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Great advice! I just redeemed some of mine this am for amazon gift cards!
I think it’s 7-10 to have actual cards (like Starbucks) shipped, and Amazon gift cards are posted *around* the 16th and the 30th. Pretty sure that’s only for Amazon.
I redeem ‘em as soon as I have them, but have recently started putting them into my Amazon account pretty quickly to make sure they work right. There’s been a couple of times where a code didn’t work and I’m guessing it was just because I’d entered it and not marked it as used, but now I enter them as soon as they’re in my account instead of c&p’ing dozens at one time.
That’s where I’ve been “hoarding” mine lately, too. I like to know how much $$$ I have available when I go to my Amazon account.
I know…it’s weird. I ordered a $5 Pay Pal gift card on the second of this month. When I didn’t receive it, I wrote to them. They told me it is 18-21 BUSINESS days before it goes through. Not sure why they need so much time but that is what I was told.
Yup, yup, yup. I realized the same when I thought about redeeming before Christmas. Thanks for the nudge – off to request some now!
Glad to know this, although it hasn’t been an issue for me… I’ve always cashed in for an Amazon Card as soon as I hit 45 SB!
I usually cash in my Swagbucks for Amazon cards as soon as I get 45. However, I had more saved up this week and cashed in some for the Haiti relief Swagbucks is doing.
I just gave all my swags to the Haiti fund,but I usually cash them in for Amazon or Alice.com!
Yes…a few of mine came in the 17th or a day or two after. Though when they were posted to my Swagbuck account, I could use them right away (and I did). So, you’re right. Might as well keep cashing in and saving them in your account and then use them when you’re ready.
I’m still new to swagbucks (I know…late bloomer) but this is great info to have once I have enough to get something! Thanks!
Good point. I just started with Swag Bucks, so don’t really know how it works. Once you get your Gift Certificates, you can save those, right?
Yes, those can sit in “My Gift Cards.” I mostly get Amazon certificates, though, and go ahead and enter them in my Amazon account to let the $$$ accumulate there. I like to see how much money I have to spend.
Thank you for your post! I never realized that. I have about 7 certificates to get!
Amy thank you for this tip. I just cashed in my 102 Swagbucks for Amazon Gift Cards and Haiti relief. I was planning on saving them up to 500 so I’m glad I read your post before I did!
That’s another awesome thing about Swagbucks… the opportunity to give without it costing you budgeted income!
I’m still learning the Swagbucks thing and I would be hoarding too if you hadn’t advised against it on Twitter (thank you). This was really helpful for me!
Never heard of Swagbucks… what is it?
Swagbucks is just like Google searching, but you get “points” for searching. Then, you can redeem those points for prizes. For example, 45 points = $5 Amazon Gift Card. I love Swagbucks because it’s “free money” for doing what I do anyway… search the internet. The key for me to remember to use it was to download the toolbar so I would have the search box handy. If your family or friends sign up for Swagbucks with your referral link, their first 100 points are matched and given to you, too! (If you click on any of the links in my post and sign up, I’ll earn 100 points as you earn them.)
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the reminder. I don’t know why I forget about swag bucks!!
I do hate that! I just redeemed some points today that I had been hoarding. I am so horrible about cashing in. That being said, it is how I keep my Kindle fully loaded with great books
That is good to know. I was hoarding mine, but I ended up donating to Haiti relief.
Amy, can you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE teach me how to do swagbucks? I have an account and I have done them some but totally DID NOT & DO NOT know what I’m doing so I need a lesson or two or three! HELP!
Are you on Skype, Alyssa? Maybe we can chat there sometime. If you download the SwagBucks toolbar and use it consistently for your searches, the points will start to add up!
So it’s ok that my amazon gift card hasn’t shipped yet? Because I redeemed it on the 19th and today is the 29th and it still says verified. I can’t use it cause it hasn’t been shipped. Do you know why it’s taking so long?
Has it shipped yet? They usually send them around the 15th and 30th of each month.
Hey Amy…
I see everyone talking about “redeeming” points but I only see “snag” entry where you can use your swagbucks to win prizes.
How do I just redeem points??
At the top of the SB page, click “rewards” then “swag store.” That’s where you can cash in your points.
Forgot to ask. 450 swagbucks for a $5.00 gift card? That really seems like a lot. I’ve been doing this for a week now and only have 406 points.
You have 406 points after one week?! I think that’s awesome! I guess for me, gaining a $5 gift card per week doing something I’d do anyway sounds pretty good. However, if you want to earn points faster, definitely refer your friends. That’s how I have so many points. Facebook, email, etc. If they sign up with your referral link, SwagBucks matches their first 1,000 points and gives 1,000 to you, too!
Thanks for the info. One last question please. I see you can only refer 10 people per day using their referral link. How do I find mine so I can just email it to people? I’m not sure what to email them. Thanks again.
Click on “promote” then on “promote banners”. Your link will be at the top of that page. Enjoy!