Friday, March 19, 2010

Swagbucks? To Bank or Not To Bank

There have been questions by Swagbucks users about how to handle the Amazon gift cards that they earn. Should you keep the code(s) at Swagbucks until you're ready to spend them? How do you bank them at Amazon? Here's what I do. I always bank mine at Amazon. As soon as I get the Swagbucks email notifying me that my Amazon code is in my account at Swagbucks, I log into both Swagbucks and Amazon using two different windows. I click on My Account at Swagbucks, then on "My Gift Cards". I also log into my account at Amazon with my password, then click on "View Gift Certificate/Card Balance". I use my cursor to copy the 12 digit code listed in my Swagbucks Gift Cards, then paste the code into the field below "Want to redeem a new gift card?" at Amazon. I click "Redeem now". You'll immediately see your balance increase on the same screen, in red. I know my gift cards are safely banked at Amazon, and will never expire. When I am ready to buy something from Amazon, I put the item in my cart and head for checkout. The system knows to subtract my banked gift cards from the total due. You can see that clearly before you check out. It's slick and safe. Swagbucks has proven itself legit and always pays, but looking at the history of reward sites on the internet (remember Netwinner? AllAdvantage?) I just feel better banking the gift certificates at Amazon. I'm cheering on Swagbucks because they continue to be reliable and honest, and they've been doing business for two years. That's an excellent sign. And I love those Amazon gift certificates!

No comments: