By: Stacy Garrels | July 16, 2020

Updated: February 24, 2022

Whether you’re a brand new Swagbucks member or a seasoned one, you always want a leg up on how to earn Swagbucks. You want to know how can you get the most out of the app so you can earn the most money on Swagbucks.

>>>> Related: Don’t miss this popular article on how to make $500 fast on Swagbucks. Step-by-step, the tips, links, and best offers are all laid out for you. Make $500 fast on Swagbucks.

We’ve got the tips. Even as an employee of Prodege (parent company) and an 8-year member of Swagbucks, I am constantly discovering more ins and outs to earning with Swagbucks. I belong to dozens of different loyalty apps, but to earn money and free gift cards or PayPal cash, Swagbucks is my go-to source. The well I keep going back to.

Here’s what you need to know for getting the most out of the Swagbucks online rewards program and app. This article will cover ways to max out your Swagbucks earnings, and then go over some common FAQ’s like how to open a Swagbucks account or how to claim a gift card.

How to Earn Swagbucks Rewards: 12 Ways to Max Out Your Earnings

#1 Try and use all the different ways to earn

Swagbucks offers loads of ways to earn Swagbucks points or SB. (It’s 100 SB to $1.) Make sure to try and use them all. Of course, you’ll have your favorite ways to earn. (I like surveys and cash back shopping.) But it’s good to diversify. You may hit a lull or get bored. New ways to earn keep things fresh.

  1. Surveys: Most surveys range in length from 5 – 30 minutes and pay $0.25 to $10.
  2. Scan Receipts: Scan your supermarket receipts with Magic Receipts (in the “Discover” section) and earn SB. Get paid just for scanning receipts, no purchase required. Earn more for purchasing specific items or specific category products.
  3. Swagbucks Search Engine: Use the Swagbucks search engine (powered by Yahoo) and make money by searching the web. Use it whenever you’re on the Swagbucks site, or you can make it your default search engine so you don’t forget to use it. In the top search bar on the page, you can search for terms on the web and get Yahoo results directly on Swagbucks.
  4. Play Games Online: There are a number of different ways to earn for playing games from Swagbucks. Earn cash back when you play paid games on partner gaming sites, earn SB for playing arcade-style games directly on Swagbucks, or earn big rewards for playing video games and apps. There are some partner Swagbucks reward games where you can earn up to $100 for just installing a game and reaching a certain level within a set number of days. In the Discover Game section, Swagbucks has every game type out there and 100’s of titles to use from.
  5. Try New Offers (Products and Services): Earn cash rewards for trying new products and services. This could include getting cash bonuses for signing up (i.e. free trial to new service), getting a car insurance quote (get paid to see if you can save money), getting free eBooks delivered to your email, signing up for freebies, or trying new apps like Box Tops for Education.
  6. Dine Out: Swagbucks partners with thousands of restaurants across the country so you can earn cash back for dining out. See what’s available in your zip code. Popular nationwide restaurants include Burger King, Jersey Mike’s, and Shake Shake. Many (if not most) of the offers will be unique for your area. Visit Dining Deals under the “Shop” tab.
  7. Use the SwagButton: It’s a free extension you can add to your browser. It looks like a little image icon or tile in the upper right corner next to the search bar in Chrome. Get automatic alerts when there are cash back deals and coupons available for pages you visit online. With one click, you can automatically earn cash back. If you don’t have it, you can even get paid to install the SwagButton.
  8. Book Your Discount Travel: Book your travel on Swagbucks when you visit the “Travel” section of the Shop page. Earn cash back rewards for booking your travel on a number of different travel sites including Radisson, RVShare.com, Expedia, Priceline, Hilton, Marriott, Travelocity, Booking.com, Orbitz, Hotwire, Vrbo, Best Western, Enterprise, Hertz, Princess Cruises, Camping World, Great Wolf Lodge, and dozens more. You’ll even find cash back airline deals.
  9. Install Free Apps: On the Swagbucks Discover page, you’ll find hundreds of Swagbucks offers. Many include the ability to make money for installing new apps including games, shopping apps, or loyalty apps.
  10. Answer the Daily Poll: Everyday there’s a new daily poll question you can find when you log into Swagbucks. It’s a daily poll for all members, like “What’s Your Favorite Color?” or “Does Mayonnaise Go with French Fries?” It’s an easy way to chalk up a couple SB and get some momentum going.
  11. Answer Survey Profile Questions: On the Swagbucks Answer page where you’ll find the surveys dashboard, you can also answer survey profile questions. They’re short and sweet, like “Do you have kids?” Earn 2SB for every 10 questions you answer and it takes just a minute to answer several sets and bank some cash.
  12. Play Live Trivia: Download the Swagbucks LIVE trivia app in iTunes or Google Play. There are 2 rounds of trivia each day (most days of the week). Play live trivia with other Swagbucks members, and earn Swagbucks cash. (SB for PayPal cash and gift cards.)
  13. Save Money on Prescriptions (Rx): Check out Prescriptions under the Shop section Swagbucks. Swagbucks can help you save money on prescriptions and make sure you get the best price! Enter your Rx name, compare prices, and Swagbucks will show you free coupons. CVS, Walgreens, and other pharmacists honor the coupons. And you’ll earn 100 SB for every prescription you fill using a Swagbucks coupon.
  14. Get all the Free Signup Bonuses: There are loads of juicy signup bonuses you can get for signing up for new apps on Swagbucks. Like set up a bank account at a digital-first bank and deposit $25, get a $120 reward. Or install a micro-investment app and invest $5, get $50 cash back. These deals sound too good to be true, but they’re not. They do pay. And usually it only takes 3-5 minutes to sign up and complete all the steps. Typically, it takes 7 – 28 days for the funds to credit, but you can check the progress in your Swagbucks earnings dashboard. They will show you when those funds are pending. Some of the offers are a bit involved, like signing up to be a new Uber Eats driver and making at least 1 delivery and getting a $200 bonus. (Spoiler: I did this one. I signed up for Uber Eats to get the $200 bonus. I made exactly one delivery and got the funds 7 days later. It was a fun experience.)

#2 Use Swagbucks online at Swagbucks.com

Use the Swagbucks website (Swagbucks.com) and the Swagbucks app. There are available apps in both iTunes and Google Play.

Some earning activities are in-app only, and some are only featured on the website. And these are often some of the better, higher-paying offers. Try to log into the app and the website at least once every few days so you’re not missing out. Or you could do it daily to make it a habit.

#3 Install the app

It was touched on in the above section, but if you haven’t already done so make sure to install the app. The Swagbucks app (in Google Play and iTunes) is free, easy to use, and highly reviewed (4.3 of 5 stars overall).

Late at night when you’re Swagbucks-ing while in bed, the app is just a better, easier-to-navigate experience. Plus you’ll find offers and activities available in the app that are not offered on the Swagbucks.com website.

#4 Use the SwagButton extension

You need to install the Swagbucks extension, or SwagButton, if you haven’t already done so. You’ll get automatic alerts for savings, coupons, and cash back rebates on any website you visit. Plus earn an SB bonus when you get the free SwagButton extension.

#5 Think small survey goals

Everyone wants to take the short surveys that pay a million bucks. Slight exaggeration. But these surveys are typically a) very competitive because so many people try to get in, or b) very hard to be selected for because the research company wants a very specific audience segment.

But if you go for longer surveys (20 minutes or more) or lower paying surveys (i.e. 35-cents) you’re much more likely to complete it and get the reward. If you’re on Swagbucks to kill time or while binge-watching TV, it’s a great opportunity.

#6 Complete the daily to-do lists

Make sure you complete the daily to-do lists. Complete at least 6 items on the daily To Do List and you can earn 3 SB to 8SB – sometimes more. Items on the list are fairly easy – like visit a webpage featuring the Deal of the Day, attempt a survey, or answer the daily poll question.

#7 Check and re-check the offers

Offers on the Discover page change all of the time. There might not be any new or appealing offers today, but tomorrow or a couple days from now you will find something. Offers are always changing. And some are as easy as just visiting a webpage and discovering new content (articles).

#8 Read the Swagbucks blog

The Swagbucks member blog features lots of site updates and tips on ways to earn, including the latest offers, limited time payout increases, Swago codes, and more.

#9 Cash out at least $22 a month

Did you know that you can get Amazon gift cards for 12% off on Swagbucks? Yep. Get discounted gift cards to Amazon, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Starbucks, and other popular stores.

Each month, you can cash out your first $25 gift card for 12% off. So for only $22, you can snag an Amazon gift card. Sweet!

You can also find other gift cards on sale too after you redeem your first $25 reward. For example, right now you can get these gift card discounts on Swagbucks:

  • Bath & Body Works gift cards for 10% off
  • Prepaid Visa gift cards for 2% off
  • Amex American Express gift cards for 1% off
  • CVS gift cards for 5% off
  • Best Buy gift cards for 2% off
  • Domino’s gift cards for 7% off
  • Door Dash gift cards for 5% off
  • Google Play gift cards for 5% off
  • Safeway gift cards for 3% off
  • GameStop gift cards for 5% off
  • Old Navy gift cards for 5% off
  • Xbox gift cards for 4% off
  • Southwest Airlines gift card for 5% off

Check out the discounted gift cards in Swagbucks Rewards On Sale.

#10 Invite your friends

Get a signup bonus of up to $3 for each friend you invite to join Swagbucks. Plus you’ll get 10% of their earnings for life. (As long as you and your friend are both active members of Swagbucks.) This is an especially generous referral program.

On the Swagbucks referral invite page, you can find different ways to invite your friends and family. These are the most popular invite methods:

  • Email – enter their email addresses and put in a message. Swagbucks will add your link.
  • Social
  • Referral Link – copy and paste the link

#11 Have a goal in mind

You need to have a specific goal in mind to be most successful at earning on Swagbucks. “I want to make tons of money” is vague. A better goal might be “I will make an extra $15 a week using Swagbucks” (which translates into nearly $800 a year).

We’ve talked to our most successful Swagbucks members over the years, and they always set out to earn money with a specific goal. Here are a handful of common Swagbucks goals:

  • Save for Disney trip or other vacation
  • Save for Back to School
  • Save for Christmas
  • Save for date nights
  • Get a little spending money each month
  • Get Starbucks gift cards to cover your coffee runs

Whatever your goal, you want to make sure it’s realistic. Earning $100K is not realistic. But smaller goals, to earn $100, $1,000, or even $10,000 over a longer period of time are doable ways to earn money.

#12 Set small daily goals

Set small daily goals on Swagbucks to reach bigger ones like making $1,000. One thousand dollar is a large, intimidating figure. It sounds hard to reach. But you can break it down.

To reach $1,000 on Swagbucks, you’d need to earn:

  • $2.74 a day over a year or
  • $5.48 a day over 6 months

#13 Set a Swagbucks Homepage

Setting up a Swagbucks homepage will definitely help you max Swagbucks earnings.This will make Swagbucks a daily habit. Slow and steady wins the race. A couple dollars here, twenty-five cents there. Everything ads up. To be successful and earn more Swagbucks, you need to keep at it.

#14 Follow Swagbucks on Social Media

Make sure to follow Swagbucks on social media – especially Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You’ll find periodic SB codes shared. SB codes can be redeemed for free Swagbuck rewards on the app or website.Swagbucks will also post special offers and deal news, like when there may be a limited time increased for completing a daily goal or answering surveys.

How do I open a Swagbucks account?

It’s actually quite easy to open a Swagbucks account on Swagbucks.com. Visit the Swagbucks website at www.swagbucks.com. Enter your email address (this will be your Swagbucks account login) and set up a unique password. 

Here, will also have the option to sign up for your free Swagbucks account with your Facebook account. 

Can you get real money from Swagbucks?

Yes, Swagbucks pays you free gift cards and cash for the everyday things you do online. You can earn points or SB for many different online activities like searching the web, cash back shopping, scanning barcodes, taking online surveys, daily polls, answering trivia, and more.

Your SB points (100 points = $1 dollar) can be redeemed for gift cards to your favorite retailers like Amazon, Starbucks, or Walmart. Or, you can get cash back with PayPal. An Amazon gift card or PayPal are the most popular payout options. 

 Every day, thousands of members use Swagbucks to earn extra money. Over the past 20 years, members have earned over $400 million dollars in free gift cards and cash rewards. 

You can read real Swagbucks reviews from members. Also check Swagbucks in the news. Swagbucks has received top reviews from news outlets like Newsweek, Business Insider, and the New York Times, touting Swagbucks as a great way to earn free money or save money for Christmas and other planned expenses.

How much money can you make using Swagbucks?

Most Swagbucks members earn anywhere from an extra $50 to a few hundred dollars a year in extra money, and it’s not uncommon for members to break the $1,000 threshold. Members using Swagbucks daily can earn more. They’ll often set a goal of earning $1-$2 a day, and over a year that’s a tidy sum. 

One member using Swagbucks regularly (but not every day, writes about earning $547 in a year from Swagbucks with minimal effort. 

How much can you make a day with Swagbucks?

Daily earnings can vary from a few cents to over $100, but a couple dollars is a typical amount members can make by using Swagbucks for 15-30 minutes a day. 

For example, here’s a common list of activities you might complete in a day and what you would earn: 

This would put your earnings for the day at 196 SB or $1.96. If you do this every day, that’s an extra $715.40 a year. Small daily goals add up to large payouts. 

It’s easy to keep the daily streak going with the mobile web version of Swagbucks or the mobile app. You can download the free Swagbucks app for your Android or iPhone device. 

And there isn’t just one Swagbucks app. You can download the Answer app to complete surveys or Swagbucks Live for daily trivia. 

How many Swagbucks is a dollar?

There are 100 Swagbucks, or SB points, to $1. 

How can I get 10,000 swagbucks fast?

If you want to get to 10,000 SB (or $100 quickly), there are many ways to speed up your earnings. 

Here’s an example of what that breakout might look like to get to 10,000 SB in one week.  

Doing all of these activities over one week can add up to 10,705 SB points. 

There are also plenty of other cash earning and cash back opportunities, too. 

How do you get a lot of money on Swagbucks?

Using Swagbucks every day, and making it a regular habit, is helpful for earning a lot of money. If you sign up, use the site for a couple of days, and then forget about it, Swagbucks will not be a good vehicle to earn. 

Members who get a lot of money make Swagbucks a part of their routine. Some, for example, will complete one survey day over coffee. Members who like to play games may switch to gaming in the Swagbucks app. 

Members who are light but regular daily users of the site can earn $500 – $700 a year. And if you’re motivated, you can reach $100+ within a week or less. 

What is the fastest way to earn Swagbucks?

The fastest ways to earn on Swagbucks are by completing surveys, answering daily trivia polls, completing daily goals and daily checklists, and searching the web. You can see your SB payout very quickly when you complete these tasks. 

Cash back shopping, coupons, discovering offers, and scanning receipts are all great ways to earn, but the crediting process can take longer. Swagbucks needs to get information from third-party partners (retailers, supermarkets) that an earning activity has been completed so your payout can be credited. 

Also, Swagbucks is part of a group of loyalty, shopping, and survey sites owned by Prodege LLC. Swagbucks’ best and fastest earners often also belong to other similar sites like ShopAtHome, MyPoints, and InboxDollars. You can absolutely belong to as many Prodege LLC sites as you like to increase your earnings! 

How do I claim Swagbucks rewards?

When you are ready to cash and claim your Swagbucks rewards, the process is easy. 

  1. Go to your settings. (You’ll find it under your total current earnings amount in large, bold font.)
  2. Select “Redeem SB”. 
  3. Review reward options. You can select “Most Popular Rewards”, “Gift Cards You Can Afford Now”, “On Sale Rewards” or “Featured Gift Cards”.
  4. Select the reward option you want. You can choose from PayPal, gift cards to your favorite retailer, or prepaid credit cards with the Visa logo. 
  5. On the following page, select “Claim a Gift Card”.
  6. On the following page, confirm your account information (home or email address). 
  7. Verify your order through an email or answering a security question. 

Your Swagbucks rewards will be processed electronically. As soon as it’s available to claim, you’ll get an email with the claim link. It usually takes 1-2 business days to receive, but can take longer. 

How do I add the Swagbucks toolbar to Chrome?

You can increase your Swagbucks earnings by adding the Swagbucks toolbar to your Chrome browser. 

  1. From a desktop device, go to the SwagButton page
  2. Select “Add the SwagButton + Get 25 SB”. 
  3.  Select “Add to Chrome”. 

That’s it. You’ve installed the SwagButton browser extension. You’ll receive notifications (pop-ups from browser toolbar) when you’re on a site with a special sale, coupon code, or cash back offer. 

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