The holidays are rapidly approaching. Do you know what you’re getting for your friends and loved ones? Gift-giving is a blast, but if you’re running short on funds, it can be no fun at all. However, if you want to earn some free gift cards to give to your favorite people this season, this post can help.

In it, we will explain how you can earn money from surveys and convert it to gift cards. But first, we’ve got a handy gift-giving guide to help you out. In the first part of this post, we have some terrific suggestions for the best gift cards for everyone in your life. Are you ready? Read on for all the details.

The Best Gift Cards for Your Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Spouse

Only you know your loved one’s tastes, but with so many choices, you’re sure to come up with a gift card that will wow them. One idea would be a gift card for Hotels.com, where you could treat your partner and yourself to a romantic night or two away.

Depending on your partner’s interests, a Great American Days gift card could be the perfect solution for someone you’re in love with. This card gives the holder a choice of over 6000 experiences like flying lessons, culinary tours, dinner cruises, a personal chef, wine tasting, and much more.

The Best Gift Cards for High-school and College-Aged Kids

Any gift card to a restaurant or coffee shop should please the young-adult crowd. So consider places like Starbucks, T.G.I. Friday’s, or Uno. The same goes for entertainment cards like Regal Entertainment, Fandango, and AMC Theaters.

Young women might appreciate a card to ULTA or Sephora so they can pick out their favorite beauty supplies, while the boys/men on your list might enjoy a card to Fanatics, GameStop, or the NFL shop.

Also, keep in mind that almost anyone this age with an iPhone will be delighted with an Apple gift card.

The Best Gift Cards for Kids

Depending on the age of the child, most children will enjoy getting a gift card or two. You can even pair them with an inexpensive wallet to keep them in. Some gift card ideas for the youngsters on your list include:

  • Playstation Store
  • Burger King
  • Walmart
  • Domino’s Pizza
  • Gamestop
  • Google Play
  • Xbox
  • Amazon

The Best Gift Cards for Your Mom

Mom would probably love a gift card or two. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, she could use some time to relax, shop, and enjoy some peace and quiet. Some ideas for gift cards for Mom include Bath and Body Works, Kohls, Boscovs, and other popular retailers.

Perhaps Mom needs a little TLC. In that case, a gift card to Spafinder Wellness 365 might be just the thing. She can choose from spas, yoga studios, and other wellness businesses near her. This is just the thing for the Mom who has everything.

The Best Gift Cards for Your Dad

Dad’s can be hard to buy for, so gift cards are an ideal way to show your appreciation. Plus, there are a lot of choices when it comes to gift cards for Dads: Home Depot, Bass Pro Shops, AutoZone, and more.

An excellent choice for any Dad is an LL Bean gift card. From backpacks to fishing rods to ammo, this Maine outdoor outfitter is considered one of the best in the country. 

The Best Gift Cards for Your Boss, Clients, or Colleagues

Not everyone gives gifts to this group of people, but some do, so we figured we would include them. You can take surveys for gift cards to businesses that would be ideal for professional gift-giving, including Barnes & Noble, LL Bean, Caribou Coffee, Staples, Crutchfield, and more.

One interesting gift card that would be great for a special client or coworker comes from DUFL, a travel service that stores and cleans your business attire and travel clothes. When you know your destination, they ship your clean and pressed items to your hotel, so you don’t even need your luggage. Pretty cool service, huh?

The Best Gift Cards for Teachers

Many families shop for gifts for their children’s teachers during the holidays, but there are only so many knick-knacks a teacher can keep on their desk. Teachers, in particular, really appreciate gift cards, as it allows them to purchase whatever they might need.

Most teachers will love any coffee shop gift card—Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, or Krispie cream will all fit the bill. Plus, since teachers often purchase school supplies for their own classrooms, a Staples or Office Depot card will allow them to shop without impacting their wallets. 

The Best Gift Cards for People Who Are Hard To Buy For

Whether it is for your brother-in-law that you only see once a year or your fussy Aunt from Oklahoma, there are always going to be those hard-to-buy-for people on your list. This is perhaps where gift cards truly shine.

It’s hard to go wrong with food gifts. A gift card from Kansas City Steak Company or a Lobster Gram gift card are two options that just about everyone will relish.

Of course, one of the best gift cards for those who have everything is an Amazon gift card. Amazon has everything under the sun—batteries, car parts, clothes, toys, musical instruments, gourmet food, tools, and millions of other items. Earning Amazon gift cards is easy, too, as you will see in the next section.

How To Earn Free Gift Cards OnlineWoman Carrying her Baby and Working on a Laptop

Believe it or not, there are quite a few legit ways to earn gift cards online—from contests and giveaways to apps and referring others to services you love. However, the best way we’ve found to earn gift cards is through paid online surveys. 

You’ve likely seen ads for this type of work-at-home job and probably wondered if it was a good opportunity or just another scam. The truth is, there are a lot of survey sites that never pay off, and some that exist only to make off with your personal information. That’s why the survey industry has such a bad rep. 

However, you really can find legit survey sites where you can earn free cash and gift cards. With the right site, you can even take surveys and earn Amazon gift cards, a gift that everyone on your list will love.

Find a Survey Site That Offers Free Gift Cards

Not all sites offer gift cards as a form of payment, so you’ll want to find a survey company that does. You’ll also want to ensure that you can earn gift cards from a wide array of retailers and services. That way, you’ll have many options to select from.

However, consider what you might do with surveys when it’s not the holiday season. For example, maybe you won’t be in the market for gift cards after December 25th. In that case, choose a site that pays with gift cards and cash. If you do that, you can alternate your payment methods depending on what’s happening during the year. 

Branded Surveys is a site that pays its users in cash or gift cards. Participants can take surveys for free Paypal money or have their earnings deposited into a bank account. But they also have the option of choosing from among dozens of gift cards from businesses all over the country:

  • Travel services like cruises, Airbnb, airlines, hotels, and more
  • Restaurants like Applebee’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp, Burger King, California Pizza Kitchen, and plenty of others
  • Department stores such as JCPenney, Macy’s, or Nordstrom Rack
  • Coffee shops like Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts
  • Trendy clothing stores including Under Armor, Zappos, and Gap
  • Sports outfitters like LL Beans, Columbia Sportswear, and Dick’s Sporting Goods
  • Home decor shops like Crate and Barrel, Home Goods, and more.
  • Miscellaneous retailers and services like AutoZone, AMC Theaters, Cold Stone Creamery, CVS Pharmacy, and so many more.

How To Get Started

If you’re ready to earn some free gift cards just for sharing your opinion about different products and services, all you need to do is sign up. Seriously. It’s that easy. Taking surveys for gift cards is simple because:

  • You don’t need any special skills or qualifications
  • You don’t need to drive anywhere. This is a fully remote opportunity
  • You can take surveys wherever you please, whether that’s at home after the kids go to bed or while you’re at school waiting for the next class to begin. 
  • As long as you have a device (laptop, computer, smartphone, or tablet) and access to the internet, you are good to go. 
  • Take surveys anytime you want. Idling at the long drive-thru line at the bank? Stuck in the back seat during a long commute? Trapped in your doctor’s waiting room with nothing to read? You could be taking surveys in short bursts of earning money for what would otherwise be just lost time. 
  • Survey sites are open 24/7, 364 days a year, so you can do them anytime, day or night. 

Paid Surveys: The Signup Process

After you’ve signed up at your preferred survey site, you can confirm your email address, and you’re ready to roll. No complicated approval process or resume and cover letter is needed. 

First, you’ll have some profile surveys to fill out. These surveys are essential since they will alert the company to the best surveys to send to you in the future. After you’ve completed all those, you can start working on regular surveys. Just pick one that looks interesting and start answering questions. 

When you finish each survey, you will notice that you earn points and that the number of points increases the more surveys you take. When you reach a certain amount of points, you can convert those points to cash or gift cards, including Amazon gift cards. Of course, you can keep them for yourself, but in this case, you’ll want to cash them in for a gift card your recipient will love.

Closing Thoughts on Earning Free Holiday Gift Cards Online

Earning gift cards online is easier than you think, and paid surveys can help. Since you can print them out from home, they are a great solution if you need a last-minute gift for someone. Forget someone on your list? Hop online and do a few surveys to earn a gift card for them. 

There’s still plenty of time to start earning gift cards for many of those on this year’s gift-giving list. However, for long-range planning, consider this: If you start now, you could finance the entire gift-giving season next year with free gift cards from Branded Surveys.