The Branded Daily Digest

Tag: rewards programs

  • The 90 Best Gift Cards for Any Occasion

    The 90 Best Gift Cards for Any Occasion

    With so many holidays and occasions to celebrate throughout the year, it becomes hard to find unique and personalized gift ideas for friends and family. If you want to give a present to a loved one that doesn’t require hours spent searching for the perfect present but still shows some level of personalization, gift cards are a wonderful choice. Instead of just handing your friend a $20 bill and saying “Happy Birthday,” hand them a gift card to somewhere that interests them. They will likely feel excited they get to choose their present and still feel appreciated that you know them well enough to pick the best gift card for their interests.

    If you’re struggling to figure out which options to give your loved ones, try choosing one based on their passion. There’s a gift card for everyone. Read through our categories to get gift card ideas for everyone in your life for every occasion.

    The Best Gift Cards for Foodies

    We all have that one friend or family member that knows the best restaurants and will always choose eating out over cooking any day. If you’re searching for the best online gift cards to celebrate the foodie in your life, nothing shows how much you care than sending them to their favorite restaurant. If your friend appreciates a nice steak, opt for a gift card to Morton’s™ The Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, The Kansas City™ Steak Company, LongHorn Steakhouse® or Tony Romas®.

    Others may enjoy popular eateries like Papa Johns®, Olive Garden®, BJ’s® Restaurant Brewhouse, Burger King®, IHOP®, Chipotle and Claim Jumper®. And if you know they appreciate a good drink to go with their food, you can also choose from bar-restaurants like Chili’s, On the Border®, Applebee’s®, T.G.I. Friday’s® and Buffalo Wild Wings®. A foodie will love any restaurant gift card at the end of the day.

    Most Popular Gift Cards for Active People

    If you need to celebrate that person in your life who wakes up at the crack of dawn to get a work out in and is always obsessing over the latest fitness trends, you’ve got a lot of gift card ideas to choose from. Start them off with gift cards to choose fitness equipment from Fitbit, DICK’S Sporting Goods®, InVite® Fitness, Cabela’s or Champs Sports. If you know they love the great outdoors, a gift card to REI Co-op, GolfThere™, L.L. Bean, Sierra or Bass Pro Shops® might be a better option.

    Lastly, you can go the route of giving them a gift card to get all the athletic wear they might need to partake in their next adventure. Check out gift cards from Columbia, Foot Locker®, Nike, Adidas, Athleta, Under Armour® and more might be the best solution. Show your friend or loved one how much you support their active hobbies with one of these gift cards.

    Gift Card Ideas for Shopaholics

    The perfect present for a shopaholic would be a bigger closet. Since that isn’t very realistic, fuel their need to shop with a gift card to their favorite retailer. Help them buy amazing styles on a budget with gift cards to Marshalls®, Stitch Fix, Old Navy, T.J.Maxx® or Nordstrom Rack. Other popular gift cards to choose for a shopaholic include Nordstrom, Macy’s, Zappos®, Lane Bryant, Express, Banana Republic, American Eagle Outfitters®, Kohls and JCPenney. Any shopaholic will appreciate a gift card to their favorite retailer to celebrate their birthday, the holidays, a promotion at work or nearly any other occasion.

    Most Popular Gift Cards for Sprucing Up Home

    If your friend or family member who obsesses over HGTV has a birthday or special occasion coming up or someone you know just moved into a new house, why not give them a present to a store that will help them spruce their home up? Whether they want to buy new furniture, home goods or new décor, there are plenty of stores to pick from. Get your friend a gift card to HomeGoods®, Bed Bath & Beyond®, Wayfair® or Pottery Barn. If you know they want to do a bit of remodeling to their home, The Home Depot® and Lowe’s® gift cards are a great idea, too!

    Best Online Gift Cards for People Who Love Travel

    If someone you know who loves to travel has a special occasion coming up like a birthday or a wedding, travel gift cards are a practical and thoughtful present. Whether they want to use them for their upcoming trip or honeymoon, there are lots of different travel options available. If you want to contribute to an awesome place to stay, choose a travel gift card for Airbnb, Hotels.com™ or Groupon®. You can also help them get to their dream destination with a Delta®, Southwest, Princess Cruises or Royal Caribbean gift card. When they take their trip, they will remember that you are part of making it possible.

    Popular Gift Cards for Entertainment

    When the latest book, music album, video game, TV show or movie comes out, there’s likely someone in your life who will rush to read, listen, play or watch it. They love sources of entertainment. Help them spend less money on entertainment in their life by giving them a gift card the next time there’s an occasion to celebrate them.

    For your friends who spend their weekends watching the latest movies or TV shows, they will love gift cards to Regal Cinemas, Redbox®, atom, AMC®, Fandango®, Hulu, SHOWTIME® and Cinemark®. If they prefer to read or listen to music as their source of entertainment, give them a gift card to Barnes & Noble, Apple Music or Sirius XM®. Lastly, if they love to play video games, they will appreciate gift cards for Xbox, PlayStation® or GameStop®. Other popular gift card ideas for people who love entertainment are gift cards to the Apple app store and Google Play store. You know your friends and can easily figure out which one they will enjoy the most.

    Gift Card Ideas for Beauty Product Lovers

    For your friend or family member who is always trying the latest makeup product, watching beauty bloggers on end or looking to enhance their skincare routine, they will love a beauty gift card! If makeup is their favorite, get them a gift card to Cake® or Sephora. If they prefer skincare products, they might enjoy a Bath & Body Works gift card even better. Or, play it safe and give them a gift card to Ulta® Beauty so that they can choose the best of both worlds. Beauty gift cards make fantastic presents for birthdays, the holidays and bachelorette parties, too!

    Best Gift Cards for Coffee Drinkers

    Do you know someone who lives and breathes for their daily cup of joe? If you’ve got a reason to celebrate them for an upcoming occasion, give them the gift of coffee! Gift cards to Starbucks™, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf™ and Caribou Coffee® are the best gift card ideas for anyone who thrives on caffeine. If you want to give them the option to pair a donut with their morning latte, gift cards to Dunkin’® Donuts or Krispy Kreme Doughnuts® are also amazing options. These gift cards are perfect for anyone in your life from friends and family to coworkers.

    Gift Cards for Anyone and Any Occasion

    If you’re really not sure what someone is interested in or what kind of gift card they would be happy with, you’re in luck. Several gift cards are good for nearly anyone and any occasion! If you’re stuck, try one of these gift cards: Amazon, Walmart®, Target® are popular with most. Alternatively, go for a Visa® gift card that can be spent anywhere.

    Earn Gift Cards for Taking Online Surveys

    Do you want to give your friends and family gift cards as presents without spending a dime yourself? With Branded Surveys, you can earn gift cards by simply giving your opinion. After completing an online survey for cash, you’re awarded a certain number of points. Once you reach 1,000 points, you have the option to exchange your points for one of the gift cards we’ve mentioned in this article and others! You never have to worry about saving up your own money to buy a gift again. Just take online surveys and keep earning points.

    Ready to start earning gift cards? Sign up for Branded Surveys today to get started!

  • 5 Customer Reward Programs to Help You Save Money

    5 Customer Reward Programs to Help You Save Money

    Do you agree with this statement? Whenever a cashier asks if I want to enroll in customer reward programs, I feel overwhelmed and unlikely to enroll.

    I used to feel this way. With so many programs available, I’d get overloaded and sign up for almost no rewards programs. That was a mistake.

    If you know which rewards programs to use and how to most maximize them, free customers reward programs can offer you many benefits and savings. If you want to earn more rewards, get paid to do surveys to earn cash and gift cards to your favorite retailers.

    Shop with SavingStar

    I’ve become a true enthusiast for this SavingStar’s program: Cash Back Shopping Mall, a mall that actually gives money back.

    Here, members get money back on purchases at over 800 online stores. How?

    With Double Cash Back Every Day, customers get 100% of the commission back from select stores. Here are some example savings:

    • 10% cashback on local Groupon deals
    • 6% back from Lands’ End
    • 7% back on Hotels.com (This especially prime for avid travelers.)

    There are even more possibilities with their credit card, SavingStar American Express card, which you can learn more about at the SavingStar website.

    Use Credit Cards that Cash Back

    David Bakke, a consumer expert at Money Crashers, gave me top tips from his experience. He suggests using Discover Cards because they come with cashback rewards. Yes, that’s money back for spending.

    You get money back based on a set of rotating categories. Each quarter of the year, Discover selects a different category of business and establishment to receive 5% money back each purchase. Examples of categories you can earn cashback on include:

    • Dining (restaurants, cafes)
    • Movies
    • Gas
    • Online Shopping

    The best way to save the most money and maximize rewards is to match more purchases with the current category receiving rewards.

    During the quarter of the year restaurants receive rewards? Eat out and then grab snacks for a movie at home. During the movies’ quarter? Whip up dinner at home and then spend the evening out at the local cinema.

    Learn more about Discover cards and their cash and benefits from this Money Crasher Discover Card article.

    Tracks Credit Card Cash Back Programs

    Bakke, our Money Crashers expert, understands keeping track of these types of programs and rotating quarters can be overwhelming.

    Well, not with this app. Download Wallaby on your smartphone, and it’ll do all of the work tracking credit cards and rewards for you.

    Sign up for Staples Rewards

    If you purchase office supplies regularly, why not save money on them? The office supply and electronics retailer, Staples, offers a valuable Staples rewards program. Here are the perks to look forward to:

    • Receiving 2% – 5% on all purchases
    • Earning 5% back after spending at least $1,000 in a one year period
    • (My favorite perk:) Rewards members get free shipping on all purchases. Shipping and handling can add up to a fair chunk of change, so this is no small benefit.

    Check out Kroger Rewards

    The national chain Kroger offers the Kroger rewards program to save customers gas money. Here’s how it works:

    • Sign up and earn one point for each dollar spent. Two points for dollars spent on gift cards. (Know you’re going to Starbucks anyway? Get a Starbucks gift card and let it get you points for gas.)
    • When you’ve accrued 100 points, on up to 35 gallons, you get 10 cents off per gallon (only the Kroger Fuel Center).

    At the end of each month following purchases, points DO expire, so here are tips to maximize:

    • You can only redeem 100 points per transaction.
    • So, if you have 394 points, purchase something for $6 (like a new DVD or 2 tubs of your favorite ice cream!) That way you have a solid 400 and can get 40 cents off per gallon rather than just 30 cents that 394 would’ve gotten.

    Don’t Want the Newsletters? Make Up an Alternative Email.

    The main reason I used to dislike signing up for free rewards programs was the fear of emails. I have a full inbox as it is, but, here’s a simple trick to hack that.

    • Make up an alternative e-mail address. You can call it yourname.rewardsprograms@you.com or any other name you like.
    • When you next sign up for store rewards, input this email address.

    With this method, you can utilize your card at a national grocery without getting multiple emails a week on the newest deals you may not have time to look at. When you do want to see the deals going on, simply log into that specific email.