Breaking
February 19, 2025

My Seven Favorite Apps for Getting Free Stuff Lindsey Ellefson | usagoldmines.com

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

I’ll download any app. If I see an ad or hear about an app, it’s going right on my phone. I don’t care at all if it’s all a scheme to get my data. My data is out there, baby, and it’s too late to care, so I might as well reap all the benefits these flash-in-the-pan, VC-bolstering apps can give me. Most of the time, I don’t get much. But sometimes, I get free stuff! I love trading my data and precious, finite time on this earth for meager rewards. Here are my favorite ways to do it.

The best ways to get free food or drinks

I’ve mentioned this before, but the Dunkin’ Donuts app is elite in terms of rewards. The powers that be restructured it a few years back, which caused some controversy among the DD faithful, but if you play it right, you can get all kinds of treats for free. Yes, you have to spend money to earn money, but if you’re already going to Dunkin’, it doesn’t really matter. For every dollar you spend, you get 10 rewards points, but if you visit 12 times in a month and hit “boosted” status, each dollar you spend until the end of the month earns you 12 points. Rack up enough points and you can get an espresso shot for 150, a donut for 250, coffee of any size for 500, and so on.

There are also point-enhancing promotions going on all the time. Sometimes, you get bonus points for ordering a certain snack or visiting at a certain time. On Mondays you get 100 points just for mobile ordering. It all stacks up pretty quickly and soon enough, you’re rolling in free drinks and bagels. Behold:

A Dunkin' rewards ticker
A few months ago, I had over 25,000 points.
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

In the food and drink sphere, I have a membership and associated app at pretty much every restaurant chain. McDonald’s is a good one, since they’re constantly running promotions where you can get a free something-or-other, usually for doing nothing but using the app. On days when I’m feeling frugal but not particularly health-conscious, you’ll catch me mobile-ordering my way to one large fry and a big Diet Coke—and the fry? It’s free. I’m not a big fan of Panera because the rewards are minimal (but again, this is all just my opinion) but I do think 7 Eleven has an underrated rewards app. I usually get a dollar or so off every few visits at least. If I could share one tip, it would be to encourage friends and family members who are lazy or distrustful of Big Tech to enter your phone number when checking out at any of these chain stores with rewards programs. By enlisting my mother and boyfriend, I have earned oodles of points and free things on their dime (though, at times, they discover at checkout that I am owed a reward of some kind and use it for themselves, which is just the name of the game, unfortunately).

My favorite fast food apps
Look at all my options.
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

For a slightly different spin on getting free stuff from a food app, try Seated. Again, I’ve evangelized on this one before. What sets Seated apart from other restaurant-affiliated apps is that the free things you get for using it don’t come from the restaurants themselves. Instead, you get a percentage of your money back every time you use the app to make a reservation and eat a meal, then you can spend that money on gift cards for things like Uber, Amazon, and TJMaxx (or just have it deposited back into your checking account). Again, you have to spend money to make money, but it’s better than getting nothing. I have gotten hundreds of dollars back from Seated and turned that into hundreds of dollars worth of free stuff. I was already going to eat at those restaurants, so by my logic, the things I bought with my earnings really were free.

Seated app
Seated has an involved, useful interface.
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

Other free-stuff apps

I’m into makeup and personal care items, so I’m always looking for ways to get my hands on more. Years ago, I downloaded an app called Influenster, which promised free samples in exchange for a little effort on my part. Mostly, I had to review products. Within the app, you could read other users’ reviews of various makeup, skincare, perfume, and other self-care items, so I was largely contributing to that. After earning up cred within the app, I started getting free stuff sent to me, all with the caveat that I would thoughtfully review it. There were other tasks I could complete, like creating public Instagram posts about products, but I declined—that’s not my style; I operate this free-stuff quest quietly. Even without completing those challenges, I was able to get a ton: I secured a few lipsticks from Revlon that I ended up liking so much I’ve consistently repurchased them since 2018, plus I got a perfume from Armani that got me more compliments than all my other fancy perfumes combined. I paid nothing. Not a cent. Great app. Honestly, I should download that one again, but I’ve moved on to two others that are pretty similar.

First, I’ve been messing around with Goss, which is similar in terms of possible rewards. The best way I can describe it is like sports betting, but for pop culture. By using in-game currency to place bets on things like how many likes a celebrity’s Instagram post will have within 24 hours or who will be voted off a reality show first, I acquire a second kind of in-game currency that can be traded for real-life products. Right now, I’m feverishly playing every day in the hopes of getting a Summer Fridays lip balm. Could I go to Sephora right now and buy one for $24? Absolutely I could. Is it more fun to answer questions, place bets, and gamify the whole ordeal? Absolutely it is. You can buy in-game currency with real-world money, but you don’t have to. By completing arbitrary challenges like logging in every day or placing certain types of bets, you can quickly rack up enough to play consistently, all without spending a dime.

Second, I’ve gotten very into Iris, which is an even closer match to Influenster. You earn up “gems” by reviewing products, posting discussions, and generally interacting with the community, which is comprised of people interested in beauty and skincare. These gems can be used on “drops,” which are limited-time offers of products you can get sent to you, but then must review. The drops you’re eligible for depend on your level within the app, with the quality of the items scaling up as you increase your own level. They’re also quite limited: A drop may only have two pieces available, so you have to order it the second it hits your phone—unless you’re saving up for something. Right now, I’m entertaining the delusion that I’ll earn 45,000 gems fast enough to snag the final remaining Dyson Airstraight, a hair tool that costs $500 in the real world. The nice thing about Iris is that you can’t even use real money to buy gems or boost yourself. You really do have to do it all on your own and pay nothing, which, if you don’t count the “cost” of your time and labor, means it’s all free.

Iris app
I am earning gems at a rate you wouldn’t believe.
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

Thoughts on free-stuff apps

I understand that nothing in life is truly free. I’m giving companies access to my data, plus I’m spending hours playing games, writing reviews, or even spending money to earn some back. I get that! But it’s fun, and that’s the point. By choosing apps that line up with the things you’d already be doing—in my case, buying makeup or walking to Dunkin’ twice a day—you can earn free rewards, make a game out of it, and make the most of your daily activities.

 

This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak

All rights reserved to : USAGOLDMIES . www.usagoldmines.com

You can Enjoy surfing our website categories and read more content in many fields you may like .

Why USAGoldMines ?

USAGoldMines is a comprehensive website offering the latest in financial, crypto, and technical news. With specialized sections for each category, it provides readers with up-to-date market insights, investment trends, and technological advancements, making it a valuable resource for investors and enthusiasts in the fast-paced financial world.

Recent:

Apple Store Permanently Closing at Struggling Mall in Chicago Area Joe Rossignol | usagoldmines.com

Elon Musk says Grok 2 is going open source as he rolls out Grok 3 for Premium+ X subscribers only er...

iPhone 16E Name is Increasingly Likely Instead of iPhone SE 4 Joe Rossignol | usagoldmines.com

Humane's $700 Ai Pin Discontinued and Defunct After Less Than 1 Year Juli Clover | usagoldmines.com

In a last-minute decision, White House decides not to terminate NASA employees Eric Berger | usagold...

Best VPN deals: Protect your privacy for the lowest prices | usagoldmines.com

The Right Way to Clean Every Part of Your Peloton Lindsey Ellefson | usagoldmines.com

Three Easy Steps I Use to Roast Basically Any Vegetable Allie Chanthorn Reinmann | usagoldmines.com

HP acquires Humane Ai and gives the AI pin a humane death lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff...

Perplexity AI's Deep Research Tool Is Almost as Good as OpenAI's, and It's Free Khamosh Pathak | usa...

Batman: Arkham games among those losing PhysX powers on newer Nvidia GPUs Kevin Purdy | usagoldmines...

Get this touchscreen Windows laptop with 16GB RAM for just $276 | usagoldmines.com

Pixel 9a is the Cutest Little Phone, So Here’s More Pics Kellen | usagoldmines.com

Call Me Crazy, But Another Galaxy Camera Might Be Sweet Tim | usagoldmines.com

The Powerbeats Pro 2 Track Your Heart Rate From Your Ears (but Not Very Well) Beth Skwarecki | usago...

The Truth About Cortisol, the Hormone That Health Influencers Like to Blame for Everything Beth Skwa...

Aptoide Alternative App Store Launches in the EU With Access to Older Versions of Games Juli Clover ...

NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, February 19 (game #619) | usagoldmines.com

NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, February 19 (game #353) | usagoldmines.com

Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, February 19 (game #1122) | usagoldmines.com

In a test, 2000 people were shown deepfake content, and only two of them managed to get a perfect sc...

New Grok 3 release tops LLM leaderboards despite Musk-approved “based” opinions Benj Edwards and Kyl...

A Windows app that could make PC setup as easy as phones? Yes, please! | usagoldmines.com

You Can Now Restrict Replies to Followers Only on Bluesky Pranay Parab | usagoldmines.com

This Kindle Paperwhite Kids Is at Its Lowest Price (and Adults Can Use It, Too) Daniel Oropeza | usa...

Robot abuse is still the path to the future – even if I hate it lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance U...

US military and defense contractors hit with Infostealer malware | usagoldmines.com

An obscure French startup just launched the cheapest true 5K monitor in the world right now and I ca...

Microsoft warns that the powerful XCSSET macOS malware is back with new tricks Dan Goodin | usagoldm...

Acer CEO says its PC prices to increase by 10 percent in response to Trump tariffs Andrew Cunningham...

The God Run: Dark Souls player beats seven games at level 1 without taking a hit Kyle Orland | usago...

Best smart plugs 2025: Transform your dumb outlets into smart sockets | usagoldmines.com

Best PDF editors 2025: Our top picks | usagoldmines.com

RTX 5050, 5060, 5060 Ti spotted in regulator records | usagoldmines.com

My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: The Sonos Ace Daniel Oropeza | usagoldmines.com

Your Car Might Have a 'Secret' Warranty Jeff Somers | usagoldmines.com

iPhone SE 4's Specs Could Lead to Enhanced Resale Value Hartley Charlton | usagoldmines.com

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame Joe Rossignol | usa...

iPhone 17 Lineup Rumored to Support Up to 35W Charging Speeds Joe Rossignol | usagoldmines.com

'I would revisit them, absolutely': Lee Child discusses future seasons of Reacher on Prime Video and...

No, it's not an April fool, Intel debuts open source AI offering that gauges a text's politeness lev...

Why the Apple TV App Is Better on Android Than iPhone Khamosh Pathak | usagoldmines.com

The Apple Watch Series 7 Is $250 Right Now Pradershika Sharma | usagoldmines.com

Apps That Didn't Add 'Trader' Contact Info in the EU Removed From App Store Juli Clover | usagoldmin...

OpenSSH vulnerabilities could pose huge threat to businesses everywhere | usagoldmines.com

Fancy a drone destroyer? Someone transformed a Framework 16 laptop into a UAV killer thanks to a cus...

I am once again alerting you to a PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary restock text message that's doing the ro...

Windows 11 24H2 hasn’t raised the bar for the operating system’s CPU requirements, Microsoft clarifi...

3D map of exoplanet atmosphere shows wacky climate Jennifer Ouellette | usagoldmines.com

Nearly 45% of Steam users still on Windows 10 despite looming deadline | usagoldmines.com

Six Factors to Consider When Choosing a Streaming Device Emily Long | usagoldmines.com

The Best Instagram Alternatives If You're Sick of Meta Khamosh Pathak | usagoldmines.com

OpenAI board considers special voting powers to prevent Elon Musk takeover Jon Brodkin | usagoldmine...

Chromebooks are ultra-secure. These 7 features are a big reason why | usagoldmines.com

xAI launches new Grok-3 AI model with DeepSearch reasoning | usagoldmines.com

Grab this 10-foot fast-charging USB-C cable for just $10 right now | usagoldmines.com

T-Mobile Free MLS Season Pass is Here and You Can Claim It Now Kellen | usagoldmines.com

Nothing Phone 3a Camera Tested Against iPhone 16 Pro Max, Does Very Well Tim | usagoldmines.com

The Best New Features in Android 16's Second Beta Update David Nield | usagoldmines.com

16 of the Best Movies About Outbreaks and Pandemics Ross Johnson | usagoldmines.com

Amazon's New iPad Sale Has Up to $200 Off M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air Mitchel Broussard | usagoldmin...

Nomad Launches New 240W ChargeKey USB-C Cable Juli Clover | usagoldmines.com

Help, I think Spotify is making me boring! And it's all AI's fault | usagoldmines.com

McIntosh's gorgeous DS200 streaming DAC is here, thus completing the nonpareil hi-fi system of my dr...

As if Nvidia's RTX 5000 series launch couldn't get messier, now a Redditor has received the RTX 5070...

Xerox printer security risk could let hackers sneak into your systems | usagoldmines.com

Fortnite: Lawless gets first trailer highlighting the new season's battle pass roster and the chaos ...

ExpressVPN's Aircove becomes the first device equipped with Lightway 2.0 – and the upgrades don't st...

Don’t want to be hacked? These 10 simple security tweaks keep you safe | usagoldmines.com

Today’s best laptop deals: Save big on work, school, home use, and gaming | usagoldmines.com

This superb Google Chromebook is a whopping 57% off (today only) | usagoldmines.com

Windows Security vs. Microsoft Defender: Vital differences you should know | usagoldmines.com

ExpressVPN unveils massive upgrade to its Lightway Protocol | usagoldmines.com

PowerSchool’s simple security error was avoidable. You can do better | usagoldmines.com

Acer is raising laptop prices by 10% due to Trump tariffs | usagoldmines.com

Spotify’s lossless audio may finally arrive soon, but it won’t be cheap | usagoldmines.com

Windows 11’s February update breaks File Explorer and more | usagoldmines.com

Fujitsu’s custom kumiko wood inlay laptop is one of a kind | usagoldmines.com

Corsair EX400U review: A compact, fast, and affordable external SSD | usagoldmines.com

Samsung’s ultralight Galaxy Book4 Pro hits $700 for the first time | usagoldmines.com

Google Chrome adds real-time AI protection against dangerous content | usagoldmines.com

This is the cheapest Snapdragon X laptop sale we’ve seen yet: $510 | usagoldmines.com

Five Renter-Friendly Hardware Swaps to Upgrade Your Home Emily Long | usagoldmines.com

The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: Cave Diving Memes Stephen Johnson | usagoldmines.com

Mastering the Mac App Switcher: Essential Tips and Hidden Tricks Tim Hardwick | usagoldmines.com

Enterprises aren’t aligning AI governance and AI security. That’s a real problem | usagoldmines.com

Apple better not forget that the iPhone SE 4 is a 'Special Edition' or I’ll be very disappointed lan...

Fortnite is adding Sub-Zero next season, finally becoming the first game where Street Fighter vs Mor...

US utility giant says MOVEit hack exposed stolen data | usagoldmines.com

ExpressVPN unveils massive upgrade to its Lightway Protocol | usagoldmines.com

OnePlus Watch 3 Arrives for $329 With Massive Battery, Upgrades, Early Discount Kellen | usagoldmine...

Six Psychological Tricks Companies Use to Keep You From Canceling Your Subscriptions Jeff Somers | u...

Google Gemini Can Now Remember Your Previous Chats David Nield | usagoldmines.com

You Can Now Customize Chat Bubble and Background Colors on WhatsApp Emily Long | usagoldmines.com

xAI Launches Grok-3 AI Model, Claims Superior Performance Over GPT-4 Tim Hardwick | usagoldmines.com

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air to Feature Same OLED Panel as Current iPhone 16 Pro Models Tim Hardwick ...

Nanoleaf Lowers Prices for Shapes, Lines, Skylight and More With New 'SmarterLife' Initiative Juli C...

AirPods 4 Available for All-Time Low Price of $148.99 on Amazon Mitchel Broussard | usagoldmines.com

All 30 MLS Clubs to Wear a Unique Apple TV Jersey Patch in 2025 Season Joe Rossignol | usagoldmines....

iPhone 17 Said to Miss Out on iPhone 17 Pro's Rumored Camera Bar Joe Rossignol | usagoldmines.com

Leave a Reply