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The Shopkick app is one of the few shopping reward apps I use on a weekly basis to earn points towards free gift cards. However, the app functions much differently from other cash back programs in that it rewards you whether you make a purchase or not. It’s a unique feature that recently got me onboard to trying it out.
Getting Started with the Shopkick App
In this Shopkick app review, I’ll share with you my personal experience using the app. You’ll learn exactly how shopkick works, how to get started, as well as see how much you can potentially earn using the popular rebate app. Hopefully, in sharing with you how much I earned in my first 60 days, you’ll be able to determine whether the app is worth it to you.
What is Shopkick?
Shopkick is a free mobile app for android and iphone users that rewards you for instore and online shopping purchases, watching short video clips, scanning product barcodes and more. You’re rewarded in points referred to as ‘kicks,’ which can be redeemed for free gift cards at over 5 dozen stores.
One of the first noticeable differences with Shopkick is that it has features similar to gig apps. You complete an action that doesn’t require you to make a purchase, and you’ll get rewarded for it.
As a matter of fact, you can use the app entirely for its ‘gig-like’ features such as I do, and earn all your rewards this way. But more on that later. First, let’s go over how Shopkick works.
How Does Shopkick Work?
Follow these simple steps to start using Shopkick today.
1. Shopkick App Download
First, download the app here and enter your information such as name and email address. Set your notification preferences to ‘on’ to be notified when there are ‘kicks’ available to earn close by.
2. Use Shopkick Invite Code CARD513768
Use Shopkick promo code (also known as ‘invite code’) CARD513768 to gain access to upwards of 1,250 bonus kicks as a special welcome offer.
That’s equivalent to $5 in free money. To be eligible for the bonus, simply earn your first 10 kicks within 14 days of downloading the app.
How to Enter Code on Shopkick
It’s easy to enter the promotional code on Shopkick.
- Once in the app, go to the uppermost left-hand corner and tap on the icon.
- From there, you’ll see an option that says ‘Have a code?’
- Enter the invite code CARD513768 and press ‘Apply code.’
Your welcome bonus points will automatically hit your account once you earn 10 kicks within your first 14 days. If this time frame passes, then you forego the bonus reward points.
(Quick Side Note: If you notice that Shopkick is not accepting the code, then unfortunately that may mean I’m out of invites to give! Shopkick only grants us 100 invites per account. If that’s the case, then you may need to find another Shopkick user with an available invite code)
3. Start racking up points
There are 2 ways to earn ‘kicks’ on Shopkicks.
The first way is to make an in-store or online purchase. The second method is to complete actions. Scroll through the app to familiarize yourself with it, and start earning your first set of ‘kicks!’
4. Redeem Kicks for Free Gift Cards
Shopkick will reward you in free gift cards for kicks earned. You’ll have a slew of gift card options available to choose from including: Walmart, Amazon, Target, Starbucks, BestBuy, InstaCart and more.
Currently, there are about 70 stores available to redeem gift cards.
250 kicks equals a Dollar on Shopkick
Kicks are generally worth $.004 per kick, or 250 kicks per $1.00. The lesser activities on Shopkick will earn you 1 – 200 kicks, whereas other things such as uploading a receipt with a kick offer will earn you upwards of 1,000 kicks.
How Many Kicks to Get a Gift Card?
The minimum amount of kicks you need in order to get a gift card is 500 kicks, which is equivalent to $2.00. Currently, 500 kicks will earn you a free gift card to: Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, HomeSense, and Sierra.
Once you reach 1,250 kicks more gift card options will become available to you.
Shopkick Gift Cards
Below is a short list of some gift cards available to redeem on Shopkick. This list is not all inclusive. It’s simply a small sampling of what’s available now.
Also, some gift cards require a certain amount of kicks in order to redeem. For example, while you can redeem a Target gift card with only 500 kicks, the same can’t be said for a Walmart gift card. You’ll need a minimum of 1,250 kicks in order to redeem a gift card from this merchant.
| Merchant Gift Card | Minimum Kicks Needed |
|---|---|
| Target | 500 |
| HomeGoods | 500 |
| Marshalls | 500 |
| Walmart | 1,250 |
| Amazon | 1,250 |
| Starbucks | 1,250 |
| Apple | 2,500 |
| Sephora | 2,500 |
| AMC Movies | 2,500 |
| Uber | 3,750 |
| Panera | 3,750 |
| Uber Eats | 3,750 |
| Outback Steakhouse | 6,250 |
| Hotels.com | 6,250 |
| InstaCart | 6,250 |
| Tory Burch | 62,500 |
| Tiffany & Co. | 125,000 |
In addition to redeeming free gift cards, you can also redeem kicks for free products. Currently, you can earn a set of AirPods Pro for 62,500 kicks, a Nespresso Vertuo Coffee Machine for 42,250 kicks, and a Nintendo Switch for 75,000 kicks.
How to Use Shopkick app?
You can decide to use Shopkick for its product deals feature that will earn you kicks, or for its gig-like features. Either way you go, this money making app will get you closer to earning free gift cards the more you use it.
Shopkick deals
Product deals will get you the most amount of points on Shopkicks. This is where you purchase an in-store or online kick offer and upload your receipt to the app.
In-Store Kick Offers
In-store kick offers can be redeemed by selecting an offer within the app and purchasing it at a Shopkick participating store. Simply snap a picture of the receipt once you’ve made your purchase and upload it to Shopkick.
Online Kick Offers
The online kick offers work similar to a deals website, such as Rakuten, whereby a retailer offers the deals site an affiliate commission for sending customers to them.
When you open the Shopkick app and go to the ‘online’ shopping tab, you’ll see a list of Shopkicks partnered retailers. Click over to any retailer you wish to shop and make your purchase. Shopkicks will reward you a designated amount of kicks per dollar spent at that retailer.
After you’ve completed your purchase, Shopkick will confirm within 72 hours that your kicks are on their way, and when you should expect to see them in your account.
Shopkick Stores List
By now you may be wondering what stores you can earn kicks towards free gift cards. Most stores are major retailers that may or may not be close to where you currently live. Below is just a small sampling of stores within my area that have available kicks nearby.
| 7- Eleven | Rite Aid | Walgreens |
| Marshalls | Target | Stop and Shop |
| GNC | BJ's Wholesale Club | Market Basket |
| Petco | T.J. Maxx | Shaw's |
| Best Buy | Ultra Beauty | PetSmart |
| Costco | Walmart | AMC Theaters |
| Aldi | Bed Bath & Beyond | Wegman's |
| Hannaford | CVS | Sam's Club |
Shopkick Gigs
Shopkick is one of the best apps that pay you to walk around and get moving. You never have to make a purchase in order to earn free gift cards. As a matter of fact, it’s gig-like features is what helped me earn my first Shopkick gift card.
Walk-Ins
Stores are willing to pay a pretty penny to get you into their store to shop. They know once you’re inside, there’s a high likelihood you’ll buy something. For that reason, retailers pay apps like Shopkick to bring you in, and Shopkick pays you a portion of that money.
Simply make sure you enable location pin-pointing on Shopkick, and then walk into a store with available ‘walk-in’ points. Once you do so, you’ll immediately receive points. These points can range anywhere from 10 – 250 kicks per walk in.
Scans
You can earn kicks for walking around a store and scanning product barcodes. So if you’re interested in a little workout that pays, then this feature may turn into your best workout buddy. Scanning products can earn you from 5 – 45 kicks per scan.
According to Shopkick they “have a limited number of scans per product available in total across all Users of the Application and Shopkick Program; if the scan limit is reached, you will no longer be able to earn kicks for scanning that product.”
Earn More Kicks
We just went over the two main ways in which you can earn kicks. But there are also lesser known ways to earn more kicks towards free gift cards. In this section, I’ll go over two such ways.
Earn Free Kicks on Shopkick
This is perhaps the easiest method to get free kicks on Shopkick, and it barely requires any effort on your part. On occasion, Shopkick will send you a notification about special promotions to earn more kicks. Check under the ‘Announcements’ tab in your app to see these notifications to earn free kicks.
For example, recently Shopkick awarded me 50 kicks for simply opening the app 7 straight days in a row.
Watch 30-Second Video Clips
This next method will earn you the least amount of kicks…but hey, it’s still something. Under the ‘Discover’ tab, you’ll see products being advertised. Occasionally, there will be an opportunity to earn 1 – 3 kicks for simply watching a 15 – 30 second promotional video clip.
Shopkick App Review: My Experience
Now that we’ve gone through all the basics of how to use Shopkicks, here’s my experience with trying out the app.
In my first 60 days, I was able to earn a $25 Walmart Gift Card. It helped a lot that I had signed up with an invite code because that immediately gave me access to 1,250 bonus kicks. But don’t expect to get all 1,250 points at one time.
At first, I was given 500 points for scanning my first product within 7 days. The next few scans at the store earned me the remainder of my bonus points. Thankfully, I was able to complete it all within a few minutes while shopping at my local Target.
If you still need an invite code, then you can feel free to use mine here: CARD513768
Again, we are only given 100 invites per account. So if the code doesn’t work, then simply Google ‘Shopkick Promo Code’ to try and find another code.
For the first week, I diligently opened the app and scanned a few product barcodes whenever I was at a participating store. But soon after, I quickly forgot about the app. Nonetheless, a couple of weeks passed before I realized I hadn’t used the app, and so I went at it again.
The in-store kick offers were really not exciting and not anything I would buy, so I mainly stuck with the scans and walk-ins. Fortunately, my gym was in the same plaza as Marshalls, which nearly everyday had anywhere between 75 – 200 kicks that I could earn for simply walking in. (That's $0.30 – $0.80 for doing nearly nothing!)
But here’s the truth of the matter. I found out that if I simply drove close enough to the store that the Shopkick app would ping it as a walk-in. So everyday on my way to the gym, I would earn points for simply driving by the Marshalls store.
After that, I really only used the app to scan products whenever I remembered to open the app. It wasn’t top of mind to do so – So it was nice that I was able to earn a $25 gift card from doing simple scans while shopping from time to time.
Shopkick App Pros and Cons
These were some of the noticeable pros and cons I came to discover while using the Shopkick app.
PROS
- You can earn points on the app without having to purchase anything, ever.
- You earn $5 as a sign up bonus when using someone's invite code, such as mine here CARD513768
- There are more than enough walk-ins and scans to earn 100 – 200 points per day.
- The app is fairly easy to use and quick to get a hang of once you get started.
CONS
- At an average of $0.004 per kick, you're really not earning much when you look at how much you're earning per hour.
- The gift card selection is decent, but not as varied as I've seen with other similar reward apps.
- This app is easy to forget to use since it doesn't offer bigger rewards for using it.
- If you don't live close by to large retail stores, then this app may be worthless to you.
As you can see, while the app does have its fair share of positive features, it's also an app that can very quickly and easily be forgotten.
Is Shopkick Worth It?
As a full-time YouTuber and blogger, I welcome using Shopkick because it gets me out of the house to refresh and do mindless activities.
Let’s face it, these past couple of years have been rough on most people due to the on-going global health crisis, myself included. I haven’t traveled as much as in previous years, and I’ve been home a lot more. So getting out more and scanning a few products has been rather relaxing to do.
But don’t expect to get rich from using this app. At $0.004 per kick, it’s better off as spare change money for a couple of fast food lunch meals.
On the other hand, if you use the app as an addition to your other reward apps such as Ibotta or Fetch, then this app may be worth it to you.
Shopkick App Review Final Thoughts
While I like the app, I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone. The in-store offers are products that I would rarely buy and I suspect the same may be the case for others.
If you’re looking for other similar apps with higher shopping rewards, then these cash back apps may interest you.
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