How I Earn Target Gift Cards—Free Money!

Who doesn't want Target gift cards? I KNOW I'm not the only one who stops in for a certain item and leaves with a cart full of stuff. I personally love browsing the end caps for clearance items and may have the markdown schedule memorized.

If Target isn't your jam, no worries, you can also earn gift cards to Walmart, Old Navy, Lowes, and more. Check the end of the post for more ways to earn money for things you already do. 

The process is simple. Download the Shopkick app. Go to stores you already go to. Scan some products. That's it.

I had heard about Shopkick loooong before I downloaded the app and tried it out. And I wish I had started earlier. In the short time I've been using it, I've earned about $40.

I've now decided to save up my points to buy a new car seat for Emerson when he outgrows his infant seat.

Use my referral link and we both get a couple hundred bonus points—win, win! Earn this baby a new car seat! :D

Here's how it works!

Step 1: Download Shopkick app.

Step 2: Turn on your phone's location and bluetooth

Step 3: Open the app and see where points await

For example, you'll see below that Target is offering 30 walk-in kicks and 95 kicks for scanning products. Winn Dixie is offering 100 scanning kicks and 450 purchase kicks. (More info about those below.)

Step 4: Earn Walk In Kicks

If your bluetooth and location settings are active, the app will recognize when you are in the store and automatically award your kicks. If not, just open the app and click on the walking man icon to manual get those points. Typically you need to be in the entrance area of the store, but I've actually earned these quite a few times when I'm still in my car by the entrance haha. (But of course, you can't guarantee earning those).

You can get walk-ins each day, but there is a limit per month or something. I've also seen walk-ins worth as high as 300 kicks, especially on holiday weekends. 

Step 5: Scan Products In Store

The app will show pictures of the items available to scan and how many kicks they are worth. I've found that the scans tend to stay the same for a bit, so when I go into a store I typically know exactly where all the products are, and scanning does not add much time to my shopping trip at all. 

Step 5.5. Scan Receipts or Connect Card Purchases

You can also earn kicks for buying certain items or you can connect your card to earn kicks for every dollar you spend in a certain store (like Best Buy or clothing stores.) I have never earned kicks in this way so I can't vouch for how it works. 

Step 6: Redeem Kicks for Gift Cards

After you've acquired some points, you can browse the rewards area and decide how to redeem. The app will show you what you are eligible for and show how many kicks are needed for higher priced rewards. 

 

Step 7: Spend Your Money!!

When you select a reward, the digital gift card is actually stored right in the Shopkick app. Below is an example of a Target card I earned. You simply have the cashier scan that barcode at checkout or the numbers during an online checkout.

This is not an active card! 

Again, feel free to sign up for this app here and earn yourself a new pair of shoes. (I think I got myself two.) I love earning these small amounts of extra spending money while doing things I'd be doing anyways.

I've also earned a few hundred dollars through the Pact app (I wrote about the app when it was still called GymPact.) Of COURSE, I use Ebates for all my online shopping. It's the best and gives you cash back for a percentage of all your purchases! Use my referral link and I believe you get a bonus when you sign up.

And I use Ibotta for grocery shopping. It's like cash back couponing. I'm still exploring how to best use it for me, but this referral link will give you $10 when you sign up and redeem a rebate within 2 weeks. (You can earn for general things like purchasing milk, eggs, bread, and veggies!).

I've also heard people rave about the Walmart Savings Catcher program (via the Walmart app). I have not yet tried this one myself, but I hear great things! 

Do you use any similar programs?