Disclosure: This post contains referral links. If you sign up for Swagbucks or Fetch through my links, I may receive referral rewards, and in some cases you may receive a bonus as well. I am not sponsored by or paid by either company to write this post, and neither company has endorsed this post. These are simply two apps I have personally used while trying to squeeze a little extra value out of the money we were already spending.
When I started planning our Disney trip, one of my goals was to find as many little ways to cut costs as I could.
Disney isn't exactly a cheap vacation, so I've been looking at the obvious things, watching our spending, looking for deals, using points where I can and also some less obvious ways to earn a little extra spending money.
That led me down the rabbit hole of reward apps.
I tried several different apps that reward you for things like playing games, taking surveys, watching videos, and completing other activities. And I'll be honest: some of them were absolutely not worth my time.
I would spend weeks or sometimes months doing little tasks, only to eventually realize that I'd spent a ridiculous amount of time to earn something like $5.
At some point I had to ask myself: How much is my time actually worth?
But there were two apps that I found more useful for different reasons: Swagbucks and Fetch.
Swagbucks: Turning Phone Games Into Disney Money
One of the apps I actually had some success with was Swagbucks.
Swagbucks allows you to earn points, called SB, through things like surveys, games and other activities. You can then redeem those points for different rewards and gift cards.
For me, the gaming aspect was what made the most sense.
I found a couple of games that I genuinely enjoyed playing, so it didn't feel quite as much like I was doing a tedious task just to earn a few cents. I was going to play games on my phone anyway, and instead I was able to earn Swagbucks while doing it.
Eventually, I earned enough to redeem a $25 Disney gift card.
Was that going to pay for our entire Disney vacation? Obviously not.
But that's also not how I approached it.
If I can turn something I was already doing for entertainment into $25 toward a vacation, that's $25 I don't have to pull out of our regular vacation budget.
And if you're someone who already enjoys playing games on your phone, I think that's where an app like this makes the most sense. You're not necessarily adding another chore to your day; you're potentially earning rewards from something you were already going to spend some time doing.
If you'd like to try Swagbucks, you can use my referral link here: Swagbucks Link
I may receive referral rewards if you sign up and participate through my link. Swagbucks currently has a referral program where the person making the referral can earn rewards based on qualifying activity from their referrals.
But Here's the Catch With Reward Apps...
I want to be realistic about this because I've tried enough of these apps to know that they aren't all created equal.
Some apps make it look like you're going to earn a ton of money, but when you actually sit down and do the math, the return on your time can be pretty disappointing.
If I'm spending hours completing surveys, watching videos or grinding through a game for months and eventually getting a $5 reward, that's not particularly exciting to me.
There is a difference between making money and turning your free time into a very low-paying job.
For me, the sweet spot is finding something I was already going to do and getting a little something back for it.
And that's where Fetch has been a much better fit for me lately.
Fetch: Getting Rewards for Stuff I Was Already Buying
I've actually been really enjoying Fetch because I'm trying to be more intentional about how much time I spend on my phone.
I don't want every spare minute of my day to turn into another opportunity to earn a few points. I want to be present with my family, too.
Fetch works differently.
Instead of spending a bunch of time playing games or completing activities, I can earn points from purchases I'm already making by scanning receipts and participating in the offers available through the app.
Fetch also allows you to connect eligible shopping accounts, and you can browse the app to see what products or offers are currently giving you additional points.
For example, one of our regular Walmart purchases might earn me a relatively small number of points just for scanning the receipt.
But every once in a while, I find an offer that makes a much bigger difference.
One time, I switched from the sausage we normally buy to a different brand because Fetch was offering 1,000 points for that purchase.
And another time, our normal grocery habits happened to line up with an offer. We always buy the same cereal, and there was a promotion involving that brand and a spending threshold. Because we were already buying it, my last Walmart trip earned me 3,500 points.
That's the kind of reward I like.
I'm not buying something ridiculous that I don't need just because an app told me I'd get points for it. I'm buying groceries my family was already going to eat, and sometimes those groceries happen to qualify for a bonus.
There's an important distinction there.
Don't spend $20 to earn $3 worth of rewards unless you actually needed the $20 worth of stuff.
If I'm going to spend the money anyway, though? I'll happily take the points.
Right now, I have enough Fetch points to redeem a $25 gift card.
But we've decided not to cash them out yet.
Instead, we're going to see how many points we can accumulate before our Disney trip.
Maybe we'll end up with another $25.
Maybe we'll get to $50.
Maybe we'll surprise ourselves and get even further.
That's part of the fun for me.
I'm basically turning our normal grocery shopping into a tiny Disney vacation fund without adding another bill to the budget.
If you want to try Fetch, you can use my referral link here: Fetch Link
If you sign up through my referral and complete the qualifying requirements, we may both receive referral rewards. The specific referral bonus can change, so check the current offer shown when you sign up.
You Don't Have to Use the Rewards for Disney
And here's another thing I like about both of these apps:
You don't have to use the rewards for Disney.
Disney gift cards just happen to be useful for my current goal.
Maybe you're saving for Christmas.
Maybe you're trying to offset the cost of birthday gifts.
Maybe you want a gift card for groceries.
Maybe you just want to earn enough for a little something you've been wanting.
There are plenty of ways you could use the rewards without having a specific vacation goal.
For me, though, it's fun to watch those little amounts add up and think, Okay, that's another $5, $10 or $25 that doesn't have to come out of our Disney budget.
I'm not pretending these apps are going to finance a vacation.
They're not.
But I'm also a big believer that saving money doesn't always have to mean making one huge, dramatic change.
Sometimes it's finding $25 here.
$10 there.
A gift card from money you were already going to spend.
A reward from a game you were already playing.
And eventually those little amounts can turn into something useful.
For us, right now, that something is Disney.
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