By Tara McAlister
The Charlotte Observer.
If you are willing to do the work and follow up, there are several ways you can get free gift cards:
iBotta: A free app that gives cash back after purchasing specified items. The money can either be converted to a gift card from vendors such as Starbucks, Aeropostale and iTunes, or deposited into a PayPal account.
instaGC: Earn points on this website for gift cards by watching videos, testing apps and answering surveys. Hundreds of gift cards are available.
Shopkick: Users collect points on this app simply by walking into featured stores or by scanning merchandise. The points can then be redeemed into gift cards from companies such as Target, Old Navy and Best Buy.
Swagbucks: Points can be earned on this website by searching the Internet, taking surveys and watching product videos. Site offers a PayPal payment as well as gift cards from Amazon, Target and Wal-Mart.
GiftHulk: Search the Web, play games and enter codes to earn gift cards from Kohl’s, iTunes and Amazon.