Earn cash, gift cards, and more using these 6 apps

Rewarding the customer for engaging with your brand has been an integral part of marketing and advertising. Be it cashbacks, coupons, or discounts, brands have always made efforts to increase customer stickiness.

If you’re a 90’s kid from India, you’d probably recall scratch codes on bottle caps, biscuit packets, and bubble gum wrappers. They would promise you the world of things, from small cash to big bonanzas. 

Now, two decades later, customer rewards have changed form.

The internet has laid out a platter of apps that let you earn cash rewards, coupons, gift cards, and various other monetary incentives. All you need to do is fill up surveys, watch ads, play quizzes, share photos, or complete tasks. 

This is a ‘legit’ industry that was valued at $4 billion in 2017, and is estimated to reach $7 billion by 2022. There are hordes of people who actually make a living out of this. 

YourStory lists some of these apps that let you make a quick buck.

Google Opinion Rewards

That Google has an app like this validates the trend and the entire category. The internet giant tells you that your opinion is “valuable” and pays you for expressing it. On Google Opinion Rewards, which we reviewed earlier, you have to answer six to 10 questions related to Google’s products and services. 

For this, the company rewards you with Google Play credit that can be used to make purchases on the Play Store. iOS users earn PayPal credit. The app has over 10 million Android downloads.  

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TaskBucks 

If you love exploring and engaging with new apps, TaskBucks is right up your alley. It lets you try apps from 160+ brands, share feedback, and earn points every day. These points can then be redeemed on Paytm or Mobikwik. 

Sometimes, rewards are in the form of prepaid or postpaid mobile recharges and free data packs. You can even play quizzes and earn Paytm cash every hour. The Times Internet-backed app claims 32 million downloads on Google Play Store.

PayTunes

Are you bored of your phone’s ringtone? Then, PayTunes is worth considering. The Android-only app customises your ringtone with new ad jingles, and lets you earn free recharge on every incoming call. But you can earn points only when you receive a call. 

There are no rewards for missed calls or on calls when the phone is on silent mode. The recharge credits can be redeemed at any mobile or DTH operator. You can also refer PayTunes to other users for more rewards. 

Foap

If you’re a photo enthusiast, Foap will interest you. It lets you upload photos and sell them to brands and individuals around the world. You can even participate in ‘Foap Missions’ and sell photos to specific companies like Pepsi, Mastercard, Bank of America, and others. 

In return, you get Foap Coins that you can convert to PayPal credit. There’s only two conditions: do not use photo filters, and ensure that “angles, sharpness, and light” are good. 

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Oodies

Most internet users install ad-blockers to improve their browsing experience. But, Oodies, developed by adtech startup OneOneDay, pays you to watch online ads. The app curates a feed of quality ad videos that you can watch at your own time. 

Each view is rewarded with cash, free ride-sharing points, Metro Card top-ups, etc. You can even donate your earnings to a social cause (listed on the app) of your choice. Oodies advocates ‘Universal Basic Attention Income’ i.e. users should be ‘rewarded’ for the attention they give ads. 

Swagbucks (SB)

Swagbucks lets you earn gift cards from Amazon, Starbucks, Freecharge, PayPal, and others for taking surveys. You get to choose the length of the survey and the reward worries accordingly. Users earn two SB for every 10 questions answered. 

When you have accumulated 500 SB, you get a $5 gift card. Swagbucks claims it issues 7,000 gift cards every day, and total rewards so far are worth more than $150 million. The app sends notifications when you’re eligible to take up a survey.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)

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