Is Swagbucks A Scam – Or A Real Opportunity?

Swagbucks, is it a real way of making money online, or is Swagbucks a scam?

With so many make-money-online offers available. You have to be careful you don’t get sucked into some scammy program. And with that said. No Swagbucks is not a scam. It is legit. But you need to be aware of what you’re signing up for.

So What Is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is an online loyalty rewards program that gives users different amounts of points by participating in various paid tasks including taking surveys, watching videos, signing up for free trials, playing games, and a bunch of other online activities.

You can redeem your points (Swagbucks) for gift cards to major retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy just to name a few. Or you can redeem your points for cash and be paid through PayPal.

The company was started in Southern California in 2008 and is owned by a company called Prodege LLC.

And since its start, Swagbucks has become the most popular online rewards site and has paid out over 700 million dollars to its members.

Who Is Swagbucks For?

Well, it’s for everyone really. If you’re using your computer you can earn rewards for things you’re already doing.

And if you’ve never made any money online it’s a great way to get your feet wet. You’re definitely not going to make quit your job money. But you can earn some spare cash in your free time.

And if you want to expand your chances of earning more money you can join other reputable survey sites such as Survey Junkey.

Who Is Swagbucks Not For?

If you’re serious about making REAL money online. And I’m talking about making more money than you currently earn at your 9 to 5 job and being your own boss.

And earning pennies through survey sites is NOT the way you’re going to accomplish that.

You have the power of the internet and that power can be harnessed by building a real online business with no limitations on what you can earn.

The internet gives you the opportunity to build a business around your hobbies, passions, and or interests that can earn you an ongoing passive income.

Now don’t mistake passive income for “not working”. You will need to work your ass off to build your business. But it can be done in such a way that once you’ve produced something it can pay you over and over again. Thus the passive part.

The way I have built my passive income business is through Affiliate Marketing. And it’s the most profitable and successful business model one can use to make money online.

If you would like to explore the limitless income potential of affiliate marketing and see exactly how it works I did an in-depth post all about it here.

So How Does Swagbucks Work?

First off it’s completely free to join Swagbucks.

And once you have joined you have several ways of earning points (Swagbucks).

Shop

You can earn points by cash back shopping online at over 1500 retailers. You’ll earn Swagbucks for every dollar you spend as well as get exclusive deals and coupons.

As well as:

• Eating Out – earn cash back at participating restaurants
• Gift card deal – earn up to 15% cash back by buying gift cards from popular brands
• Save on groceries – earn cash back from groceries and everyday essentials
• Deal on prescriptions – get the best deals with your Swagbuck coupons

Answer

This is the bread and butter of Swagbucks. Here you can earn money by completing surveys and polls.

Offers

Here you can earn Swagbucks when you sign up for new services, check out free samples, and more.

Search the Web

If you’re like the billions of other people online there’s a good chance you get online every day and use Google or Bing to search for something.

Well did you know that Swagbucks has its own Yahoo! powered search engine?

So instead of using Google or Bing you can use the Swagbucks search engine and earn points and never miss cash back opportunities. And of course, the more you search the more you can earn

Play Games

You can earn Swagbucks when you make in-game purchases or you can earn randomly playing the free Swagbucks games.

Mobile App

You can earn free gift cards when you shop, take surveys, or watch videos through their mobile app.

Referrals

Anyone you refer to Swagbucks you’ll earn 10% of your referral’s earnings. And you will continue to earn this 10% for as long as your referral(s) is active on Swagbucks.

But just a heads up there are categories that do not apply and they are Sign-up bonuses, Swag Codes, Daily Goal Bonuses, and MyGiftCardsPlus Bonuses. Swagbucks also says that more could be added at any time.

Along with the 10% earning you and your referral can each earn a 300 Swagbucks bonus. And this is accomplished if your referral earns 300 SB within their first 30 days of joining.

There’s more. There is a new bonus available. You can earn an additional 100 Swagbucks if your referral adds the SwagButton to their browser within the first 14 days of joining.

Complete Daily Goals

At the top of the site, there’s a tab for Daily Bonus. If you click on that tab it will open up and you’ll see different tasks that you can complete to earn some Swagbucks.

SwagStakes

With SwagStakes you don’t earn Swagbucks this is where you can either enter a sweepstake or redeem a reward. You can have multiple entries. Each sweepstake costs a different amount of Swagbucks.

Can You Really Make Money With Swagbucks?

If you’re looking to make some extra fun money, sure you can earn that kind of money. But it’s not going to be much that’s for sure.

When it comes to Swagbucks if you’re looking to earn full-time money, it’s not going to happen. And the reason is each Swagbucks converts to 1 cent US. So to make just $1 you’re going to have to earn 100 Swagbucks. And that’s easier said than done.

Sites like these are what I call killing-time websites. So if you’re sitting in a doctor’s office waiting for your appointment, you can kill time using Swagbucks.

You have to take into account the time you’re investing into Swagbucks for the amount of money you’re getting in return.

Here’s a recommended survey. If I take 21 minutes to complete the survey I can earn 123 Swagbucks.

That’s a whopping $1.23. Sorry, my time is far more valuable than that. I can use that time to be working on building a real online business that can earn hundreds of thousands of times that amount.

That’s why I say Swagbucks is a nice distraction but not a path to making any real money.

Praise and Complaints Regarding Swagbucks

As with anything you’re going to have people that like Swagbucks and others that don’t.

So I wanted to see what people have to say about Swagbucks. So I headed to Trust Pilot. At the time of this review, there are over 27,000 comments.

Here’s what people are saying:

Positive Talk

Negative Talk

When it comes to using Swagbucks the only way you’re going to know if it’s something you want to participate in, is by giving it a try yourself.

What Training And Support Is Available?

Because of the straightforwardness of the program, it’s very self-explanatory.

However, they do have a help center where you find FAQs and guides on participating with Swagbucks.

And if you need additional support you can submit a general request. But you’ll need to be patient. It can take up to 10 days to get a reply.

You can also join them on their social platforms which include; Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. You can also read the latest news on their blog.

What I Like About Swagbucks

•  It’s free to join
• Earn rewards for things you’re already doing online
• Different ways to earn money with their program
• Can spend your Swagbucks in their online store for lots of different things including gift cards
• Mobile app
• Easy-to-use interface

What I Didn’t Like About Swagbucks

• Very low pay
• No passive income
• Can be kicked out of a survey and earn nothing (waste of time)
• Hard to qualify for surveys
• People complain about not receiving credits

Wrapping Up

Swagbucks is fun and can be a neat little distraction. But this is no way to earn any real amount of money – and certainly not a way to build a thriving online that generates a full-time income if that’s your goal.

The return on Swagbucks is so low it will take you a very long time to build up any amount of points. Remember you’re only earning 1 penny for every Swagbuck you earn,

So, I say sure, use it as a distraction but don’t waste too much time with this program.

Ok, let’s say you’ve decided not to focus much if any time with Swagbucks (smart move).

What Now?

Well, if your goal is to make REAL money online. And when I say “real”, I’m talking about building a thriving online business that meets and exceeds your financial goals.

I would recommend Affiliate Marketing as your revenue model. It’s the most proven and successful method for making money online.

And the threshold for getting your business up and running is less than $75.00. And don’t let the low cost fool you. Yes, it’s a low startup, but you will have to work very hard at building your business.

And I’m speaking from experience. I’ve been a full-time affiliate marketer since 2005 and it took me a few years to get to the monthly income I set for myself.

But it’s been and still is the most rewarding and exciting way of making money online. I would not trade it for anything.

Now If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing and how you can build your business around your hobby, passion, or interest I did a detailed post regarding the best resource for taking your online dreams to reality as an affiliate marketer.

I Believe In You!
Leo

Do you have a personal experience that you would like to share about the Swagbucks program? If you do, I would love to hear about it.

Your feedback is always welcome and it can help others! If you found this review helpful and enjoyed it please share it.