We may earn a commission from links on this page.
If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I download any app. If I see an ad or hear about an app, it goes straight to my phone. I don’t even care if this is all a scheme to get my data. My data is out there, baby, and it’s too late to worry, so I might as well reap all the benefits these flash-in-the-pan, VC-boosting apps can give me. Many times I don’t get very much. But sometimes I get free stuff! I love trading my data and precious, limited 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 goodies for free. Yes, you should use money for serve money, but if you’re already going to Dunkin’, it doesn’t matter. Spending a single dollar earns you 10 reward points, but visiting 12 times in a month and tapping the “boosted” status earns you 12 points. Accumulate enough points and you can get an espresso shot for 150, a donut for 250, any size coffee for 500, and so on.
There are also points-enhancing campaigns going on all the time. Sometimes you get bonus points for ordering a certain snack. On Mondays you get 100 points only for mobile ordering. It all adds up pretty quickly, and soon enough you’re rolling in free drinks and bagels. See:
Yes, it says 25,588 points. I know what I’m talking about.
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson
In the food and drink area, I have a membership and associated app with virtually all restaurant chains. McDonald’s is a good one as they constantly run promotions where you can get a free something-or-other, like McNuggets, usually for doing nothing but using the app. I’m not a huge fan of Panera because the rewards are minimal (but again, this is just my opinion), but I think 7 Eleven is an underrated rewards app. I usually get a dollar or so off every couple of visits at least.
For a slightly different spin on getting free stuff from a food app, try Seated. Again, I’ve evangelized about this one before. What sets Seated apart from other restaurant-affiliated apps is that the free stuff you get for using it doesn’t come from the restaurants themselves. Instead, you get a percentage of your money back every time you use the app to reserve and eat a meal, then you can spend the 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’ve gotten hundreds of dollars back from Seated and turned it 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 in reality was free.
Other free stuff apps
I’m into makeup and personal care, so I’m always looking for ways to get my hands on more. Years ago I downloaded an app called Influenster that promised free samples in exchange for a little effort on my part. Mostly I had to review products. In the app, you can read other users’ reviews of various make-up, skin care, perfume and other self-care items, so I was very much involved in that. After earning cred in the app, I started getting free stuff sent to me, all with the caveat that I would carefully review it. There were other tasks I could do, like creating public Instagram posts about products, but I declined – that’s not my style. Even without completing these challenges, I was able to get a ton: I secured a couple of Maybelline lipsticks that I ended up liking so much that I’ve been repurchasing them consistently since 2018, plus I got a perfume by Armani that gave 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 get within 24 hours, or who will be voted off a reality show first, I acquire another kind of in-game currency , which can be traded for real products. Right now I’m frantically playing every day in hopes of getting a Summer Fridays lip balm. Could I go to Sephora right now and buy one for $24? I certainly could. Is it more fun to answer questions, place bets and gamify the whole ordeal? It absolutely is. You can buy in-game currency with real-world money, but you don’t have to. By completing random challenges like logging in every day or placing certain types of bets, you can quickly accumulate enough to play consistently.
Thoughts on free thing apps
I understand that nothing in life is truly free. I give mysterious companies access to my data, plus I spend hours playing games, writing reviews, or spending money to earn something back. I understand that! But that’s it fun, and that’s the point. By choosing apps that fit the things you’d already do—in my case, buy makeup after reading reviews or go to Dunkin’ twice a day—you can earn free rewards, turn it into a game, and get make the most of it. of your daily activities.