Free Gift Cards – What Are They?

Free gift cards may seem like a complete fraud at first. Why would any legitimate company give away free gift cards worth $250, $500 and sometimes even $1000?

It's a good question. And in fact, there are scams online, but you can also find real value with some legitimate offers.

How do you tell the difference?  A good place to begin is remembering that

• Legitimate sites will never ask for your personal banking information.

• You should not need to pay a registration fee.

And don't forget to carefully read the requirements of any offer you are considering.

You can find legitimate free gift cards online for shopping at many of the major stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy.  You can also discover cards good for other products or services such as free airline tickets.

Now, in most cases, it will cost you something to get these freebies -- you will have to spend some time. Now you can begin to understand why companies are willing to give you these cards.

Free gift cards usually require some kind of participation from you:  complete research surveys, test a product, take trial memberships for a magazine or DVD site, etc.  Among the various offers, you can often find a product or service you might have already been thinking of using.  And, if you keep good records, you can cancel before the trial period ends if you are no longer interested in the product/service.

Still completing the surveys and offers does take time, and could cost you some money if you forget to cancel a subscription before the trial period ends.  But even then, a $10 a month subscription you forgot to cancel might be considered an acceptable cost in exchange for a $250 gift card.

There are also other ways to get gift cards. GPT ("get paid to") sites offer cash, shopping cards, rebates for actions such as reading emails, taking surveys, and shopping through their websites.

So, if you are looking for free gift cards online, you can find them, but just remember to be careful and stick with reputable sources if you want freebies that are truly free!