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If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I’ll download any app. If I see an ad or hear about an app, it’s going right on my phone. I don’t care at all if it’s all a scheme to get my data. My data is out there, baby, and it’s too late to care, so I might as well reap all the benefits these flash-in-the-pan, VC-bolstering apps can give me. A lot of times, I don’t really get much. But sometimes, I get free stuff! I love trading my data and precious, finite time on this earth for meager rewards. Here are my favorite ways to do it.
The best ways to get free food or drinks
I’ve mentioned this before, but the Dunkin’ Donuts app is elite in terms of rewards. The powers that be restructured it a few years back, which caused some controversy, but if you play it right, you can get all kinds of treats for free. Yes, you have to spend money to earn money, but if you’re already going to Dunkin’, it doesn’t really matter. Spending a single dollar nets you 10 rewards points, but if you visit 12 times in a month and hit “boosted” status, it earns you 12 points. Rack up enough points and you can get an espresso shot for 150, a donut for 250, coffee of any size for 500, and so on.
There are also point-enhancing promotions going on all the time. Sometimes, you get bonus points for ordering a certain snack. On Mondays you get 100 points just for mobile ordering. It all stacks up pretty quickly and soon enough, you’re rolling in free drinks and bagels. Behold:
Yes, that says 25,588 points. I know what I’m talking about.
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson
In the food and drink sphere, I have a membership and associated app at pretty much every restaurant chain. McDonald’s is a good one, since they’re constantly running promotions where you can get a free something-or-other, like McNuggets, usually for doing nothing but using the app. I’m not a big fan of Panera because the rewards are minimal (but again, this is all just my opinion) but I do think 7 Eleven is an underrated rewards app. I usually get a dollar or so off every few visits at least.
For a slightly different spin on getting free stuff from a food app, try Seated. Again, I’ve evangelized on this one before. What sets Seated apart from other restaurant-affiliated apps is that the free things you get for using it don’t come from the restaurants themselves. Instead, you get a percentage of your money back every time you use the app to make a reservation and eat a meal, then you can spend that money on gift cards for things like Uber, Amazon, and TJMaxx. Again, you have to spend money to make money, but it’s better than getting nothing. I have gotten hundreds of dollars back from Seated and turned that into hundreds of dollars worth of free stuff. I was already going to eat at those restaurants, so by my logic, the things I bought with my earnings really were free.
Other free-stuff apps
I’m into makeup and personal care items, so I’m always looking for ways to get my hands on more. Years ago, I downloaded an app called Influenster, which promised free samples in exchange for a little effort on my part. Mostly, I had to review products. Within the app, you can read other users’ reviews of various makeup, skincare, perfume, and other self-care items, so I was largely contributing to that. After earning up cred within the app, I started getting free stuff sent to me, all with the caveat that I would thoughtfully review it. There were other tasks I could complete, like creating public Instagram posts about products, but I declined—that’s not my style. Even without completing those challenges, I was able to get a ton: I secured a few lipsticks from Maybelline that I ended up liking so much I’ve consistently repurchased them since 2018, plus I got a perfume from Armani that got me more compliments than all my other fancy perfumes combined. I paid nothing. Not a cent. Great app.
Lately, I’ve been messing around with Goss, which is similar in terms of possible rewards. The best way I can describe it is like sports betting, but pop culture. By using in-game currency to place bets on things like how many likes a celebrity’s Instagram post will have within 24 hours or who will be voted off a reality show first, I acquire a second kind of in-game currency that can be traded for real-life products. Right now, I’m feverishly playing every day in the hopes of getting a Summer Fridays lip balm. Could I go to Sephora right now and buy one for $24? Absolutely I could. Is it more fun to answer questions, place bets, and gamify the whole ordeal? Absolutely it is. You can buy in-game currency with real-world money, but you don’t have to. By completing arbitrary challenges like logging in every day or placing certain types of bets, you can quickly rack up enough to play consistently.
Thoughts on free-stuff apps
I understand that nothing in life is truly free. I’m giving mysterious companies access to my data, plus I’m spending hours playing games, writing reviews, or spending money to earn some back. I get that! But it’s fun, and that’s the point. By choosing apps that line up with the things you’d already be doing—in my case buying makeup after reading reviews or walking to Dunkin’ twice a day—you can earn free rewards, make a game out of it, and make the most of your daily activities.
