Update 3/2/24: 10% discount is available again. Might be better to wait for a 15% discount to return.
Update 6/2/23: Available again. Hat tip to GC Galore
The Offer
- Swagbucks is offering a 15% discount when redeeming Swagbucks for Apple gift cards.
The Fine Print
- Limit 2 per day
Our Verdict
15% discount is as good as it gets for Apple gift cards. Target & Best Buy have deals currently but that is 15% bonus in gift cards, so this is a better deal. You can currently buy Swagbucks at face value.
Hat tip to GC Galore
Just a friendly reminder that the SB discounted $25 MasterCard (cost = 2175 SB) resets on the first of every month.
People still do swagbucks? That site had been cheeks for over a year.
The $10 one is showing as 1000 SB for me
I never get the AGC hype. So, can they be redeemed for Apple products, purchased anywhere(i’ve always assumed not)? Because if that were the case, then I totally see the value, as I could shop iPad prices, and then use the AGC at the lowest price vendor.
However, if I’m locked into only redeeming at the Apple store, I lose the power to shop prices, Possibly negating all/some of the 15% discount…🤷🏼♂️
Maybe, they price match?
There’s hardly any price shopping for new apple products. Apple requires all authorized resellers to sell their products for a Minimum Advertised Price, which means that they have very little discretion on pricing new products. So I can see why some people would think it’s a good deal.
Many of us use MVNO’s for our cell service where you have to actually buy the iphone. There are no discounts from iphones anywhere.
I get that the discounts are minimal compared to other brands, but there are price fluctuations and occasional sales— even on apple products…
Certain Apple products never go on sale at other retailers. For example, unlocked iPhones (the only exception I’ve seen was Visible but you had to port in your number and wait for a rebate). Other things that never or rarely go on sale are built-to-order Macs, certified refurbished items, and subscriptions.
However, products like iPad, base-model Macs, AirPods, HomePod… can be found for cheaper on sale at retailers like BestBuy. You’re right if you’re just wanting to buy a base model iPad wait for a sale elsewhere since it’ll likely be way better than 15%. But if you want to renew your iCloud subscription or buy a custom mac that isn’t even sold in stores, 15% is pretty good.
It could still make sense for shopping on Apple sales or for students/teachers who get the EDU discount
if you have subscriptions like apple music, icloud, etc these are a great way to save a little bit of money
It’s actually not just about discounted ‘Apple’ gc. I have +30k points on 2 accounts. You can only redeem $600 worth or pay tax. After 12 monthly discounted $25 Amazon cards, I still need to cash out $300 in some form of gift cards. So anything remotely useful such as Apple gc is awesome when discounted.
If you’re in the Apple ecosystem then you probably pay some monthly fee for whatever subscription product/tier you want. If that’s just storage, or if it’s Apple One for all of the offerings, etc, a discounted card can definitely be used.
If you’re not in the Apple ecosystem or generally do not subscribe to any of the iCloud tiers, then it’s a little less useful.
They can also be used for buying music/movies/games through iTunes as well.
I’ll cross that out
Are they still banning the buying of Swagbucks with prepaid gift cards?
only amex GCs work, at least the amex virtual reward cards.
I should have jumped on this deal earlier
already expired?
If I redeem SB for Paypal, do I have to pay taxes on that? I don’t think so but am not sure. TIA.
It depends on how you earned the Swagbucks (https://help.swagbucks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360049700471-Taxes)
On the other side of that is the PayPal required reporting on receipt of over $600. The way the law is written, only goods and services payments should be included in a 1099-k, but this is the first year of the reporting so no way to know for sure how that’s going to play out.
Thank you. I mainly just do the deals they offer, like SiriusXM, Disney+, etc. I buy $5 SB maybe once a month. I don’t have enough to redeem over $600 lol but just wanted to know to be on the safe side.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Maryland actually required 1099K’s over $600 last year and all Swagbucks payouts showed up on the form. Payouts from sites like Rakuten did not. I’d stay under $600 in Paypal redemptions if you want to avoid the 1099K.
Obviously this is not tax law but IMO…
Swagbucks have no legal value, only the items you buy with them do. Most ways to earn SBs require a purchase and then refund an amount equal to or less than the purchase {in SB}. Based on how the IRS classifies other rebates, this is not income, i.e. you buy a product for $50, receive 2000SB, redeem for $20 on Paypal. $50 spent – $20 received = no income. However, if you earn SB through surveys or other methods that do not require a purchase, the prizes redeemed could be considered income.
Realistically, most people are worried about the extra tax form from receiving $600, not paying taxes on whatever % of that would be income. If this is your issue, just keep your Paypal cashouts below $600. (Even though I don’t think Paypal will include gift card redemptions towards the 1099K filing threshold.)
Thanks for the info. It makes sense that the refunds (like you mentioned) should not be considered income otherwise I’d have to pay on Amex Offers, Chase Offers, etc.
If you shop at Safeway, they currently have 12x rewards on Apple gift card purchases of $75 or more. So if you buy $100, that’s 12 rewards, which gets you $20 off your next grocery purchase. Plus it counts as grocery spend. Could be another good option for some people.
Decent thought but any savings would have to be used in Safeway. With their prices, it doesn’t go very far.