Update 12/17/22: Deal is still around, just a small update on the use of prepaid cards – they used to allow Visa prepaid cards, but they are now blocking it and only allowing a regular credit card. (If you try paying with a prepaid card it’ll use up one of your two-per-day purchases allowed, even though the purchase will get cancelled.)
Update 11/19/22: Deal is back. This time they are allowing you to buy two $5s at a time (by toggling the ‘select’ option) so you get 1,000 SB for $10 with each purchase. Readers are still having success getting in two orders per day, making it now $20 total per day in free spend. (ht Troy, Fred, RM, Otto)
The Offer
- Swagbucks is offering 500 Swagbucks for $5.
These can be paid for with any credit card or Paypal and Swagbucks can be cashed out via Paypal or other methods at a minimum of 1 cent per point.
Our Verdict
It’s basically a fee-free way of racking up spend. Typically you can buy two per day, though sometimes people are able to squeeze in more orders.
I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle to rack up $5 spend increments; you will help reach your daily goal meter with these purchases. Some people might find it worthwhile to cash out Visa gift cards, meet a spend requirement, use the Discover 5% category via Paypal.
Important Note: While these purchases are not taxable, if you cash out your Swagbucks as Paypal credits they will likely count toward your Paypal $600 1099-K threshold since Paypal can’t tell this money came as ‘Buy SB’ credits. Consider avoiding this deal if you concerned with getting a form 1099-K from Paypal and want to remain under $600. If you cash out your Swagbucks with other gift cards (e.g. Mastercard or Amazon gift cards), Swagbucks will not count this toward the $600 Swagbucks 1099-K reporting requirement since they know which credits came from ‘Buy SB’ credits which are not counted on the 1099-K.
If you’re new to Swagbucks then please read our review. You can also get a bonus of up to $13 by using a referral link.