When it comes to coffee, there’s no denying that Starbucks takes first place in terms of sheer size and brand recognition.
The coffee house goliath has over 30,000 stores across the world! Chances are, Starbucks is also your favorite place to grab a coffee since you’re reading an article on ways to get free Starbucks gift cards.
Now, I’ve covered ways to get free Starbucks drinks before on This Online World to help make your next Starbucks trip a bit cheaper for your monthly budget.
But today, I’m focusing on how to get free Starbucks gift cards so you can enjoy your favorite coffee shop without spending a penny.
Let’s get to it!
Looking for other awesome & easy ways to score free rewards? Checkout:
- Capital One Shopping – Apply coupon codes online automatically and earn free gift cards with the Capital One Shopping extension!
- Opinion Outpost – Get paid for your opinion with Opinion Outpost and earn cash or free gift cards!
How To Get Free Starbucks Gift Cards
Since Starbucks is a massive company, plenty of reward apps and online money-making methods actually let you redeem free Starbucks gift cards as rewards.
Plus, there’s a few nifty Starbucks hacks you can also use to score some free gift cards to enjoy your next drink or food item completely for free!
1. Use Drop
Drop is one of my all-time favorite reward apps that pays you for shopping at dozens of your favorite retailers.
While Drop used to let you earn passive income for shopping at 5 of your favorite stores, the app recently went through a massive overhaul.
Nowadays, Drop takes a bit more work to earn, but the effort is certainly worth it if you want some free Starbucks gift cards.
Here’s how you can start earning with Drop:
- Download Drop. Download the Drop app for Android or iOS.
- Link Your Cards. Connect the debit and credit cards you use for shopping to Drop’s secure app.
- Activate Offers. Browse Drop’s offers to find retailers where you earn Drop points as a form of cash back for shopping.
- Cash Out. Accumulate Drop points and spend them on free gift card rewards when you earn $25 worth of points (25,000 points).
That’s all there is to it!
Drop also lets you earn points by playing mobile games and answering short surveys, but shopping is where the app shines.
I like Drop because it works with hundreds of partners, including popular stores like Uber, Amazon, Sephora, Walmart, and plenty of other massive retailers. This makes it easy to earn Drop points for everyday shopping.
To date, I’ve earned about $30 in free Starbucks gift cards from using Drop, so I know this app is legit and pays out.
A $25 cash out limit takes some time to reach, but if you want to earn free Starbucks gift cards by shopping, Drop is one of the best apps around.
- Availability: Canada and the United States.
- Redemption Minimum: $25.
- Sign Up: Start earning free gift cards with Drop!
- Learn More: Drop app review.
2. Survey Junkie
I’m normally not a fan of online surveys since many websites take forever to cash out with and the tasks are very repetitive.
That said, if you’re wondering how to get free Starbucks gift cards, answering surveys with Survey Junkie is one of the most straightforward options.
Survey Junkie lets you answer surveys in your spare time to make extra cash. You can cash out once you reach $5 through PayPal cash or a variety of free gift cards.
You also answer a brief demographic survey when you create a Survey Junkie account, so you’re matched with slightly more relevant surveys.
Overall, if you don’t mind using get-paid-to websites to answer surveys for money, Survey Junkie is worth trying to score some free Starbucks gift cards.
- Availability: Australia, Canada, and the United States.
- Redemption Minimum: $5.
- Sign Up: Sign up for Survey Junkie and start earning rewards!
Extra Reading – The Best Beermoney Apps & Websites.
3. Fetch Rewards
If you do most of the shopping for your household, Fetch Rewards is one of the best ways to get free gift cards to Starbucks.
So, what is Fetch Rewards?
Well, it’s basically a receipt scanning app that pays you with points as a form of cash back for buying products from Fetch Reward partners.
The reason Fetch Rewards is awesome is because it’s super simple to use. All you have to do is buy products from Fetch Reward brands, snap a photo of your receipt, and earn points.
This is different from apps like Checkout 51 that require pre-selecting shopping offers before shopping, which takes more of your precious time.
Plus, Fetch Rewards works with dozens of popular brands, so it’s easy to earn points. Brand partners include:
- Doritos
- Gatorade
- Lipton
- Kraft
- Pepsi
- Starbucks
- Sara Lee
- Trix
So yes…you can earn Fetch Reward points for buying Starbucks products in-store and then redeem your points for free Starbucks gift cards…talk about reward stacking!
And, with the recent introduction of Fetch Rewards eReceipts, you can also earn points for online shopping as well!
Unlike many receipt scanning apps, you can also redeem free Starbucks gift cards once you earn 5,000 points, which is worth $5.
This is achievable in a few shopping trips, making Fetch Rewards one of the most reliable ways to get free Starbucks gift cards there is.
- Availability: United States.
- Redemption Minimum: $5.
- Sign Up: Start earning rewards with Fetch Rewards!
- Learn More: The Best Apps Like Fetch Rewards.
4. Starbucks Rewards Visa
While this isn’t a direct way to get free Starbucks gift cards, signing up for the Starbucks Rewards Visa is a must for any serious coffee fan.
The main reason for this is that new cardholders get 4,500 bonus stars after spending $500 within the first three months of opening a card.
Stars are redeemable through the Starbucks Reward Program and let you unlock a variety of perks and free food/drink items, so it’s basically as good as getting gift cards.
Options for redeeming your stars include:
- 25 Stars: Customize your drink.
- 50 Stars: Redeem a free coffee, tea, or bakery item.
- 150 Stars: Redeem a free handcrafted beverage or breakfast item.
- 200 Stars: Redeem a free food item like a sandwich or protein box.
- 400 Stars: Get a free Starbucks bag of coffee or tumbler.
So, with your 4,500 bonus stars, you’re looking at 90 free drinks if that’s how you plan on spending your stars…not bad!
Plus, the Starbucks Reward Visa also lets you earn stars faster for spending at Starbucks, so it’s a solid card for anyone who regularly buys Starbucks.
- Availability: Canada and the United States.
- Redemption Minimum: 25 Stars.
- Sign Up: Check out the Starbucks Reward Visa!
5. Swagbucks
Like Survey Junkie, Swagbucks is another reliable way to answer surveys for free Starbucks gift cards.
Plus, Swagbucks also has numerous ways to earn rewards besides answering surveys, including:
- Shopping online
- Uploading shopping receipts
- Playing mobile games
- Answering polls
- Inviting your friends
- Watching videos
Additionally, Starbucks gift cards are redeemable when you earn $5 worth of points (500 SBs), which is possible in a day or two of work.
Personally, I don’t use Swagbucks anymore and stick with other websites like Grindabuck since I find it performs better.
But, there’s no denying that Swagbucks is one of the more popular GPT sites in the space, and it’s definitely effective for getting some free gift cards to Starbucks.
- Availability: Somewhat global.
- Redemption Minimum: $5 for Starbucks gift cards but $1 for certain rewards.
- Sign Up: Start making money with Swagbucks!
Extra Reading – Surveys That Instantly Pay Cash.
6. MobileXpression
MobileXpression is a passive income app that was actually how I earned most of my free Starbucks gift cards back in college.
In a nutshell, MobileXpression monitors how your smartphone works with cellphone towers to help network providers test signal and performance.
In exchange for sharing your data with these companies, MobileXpression pays you with 2 credits per week.
When you reach 10 credits, you can redeem free $5 gift cards to companies like Amazon, Best Buy, and Starbucks.
To make money in college, I tried a bunch of these types of apps. All in all, I redeemed about $40 of free Starbucks gift cards by using MobileXpression, and this was basically free money without doing much work.
Granted, you have to be comfortable selling your data, and the app is glitchy.
But, if you want a low-effort way to get some free gift cards, I recommend trying MobileXpression!
- Availabillity: Canada and the United States.
- Redemption Minimum: $5.
- Sign Up: Check out MobileXpression!
- Learn More: Read our official MobileXpression review.
7. MyPoints (Free $10 Bonus)
MyPoints is another easy way to get free Starbucks gift cards if you frequently shop online or like completing GPT tasks like Swagbucks.
With MyPoints, you can earn points for things like:
- Shopping online
- Watching videos
- Playing new games
- Answering surveys
- Reading emails
- Searching the web
Points you earn are redeemable for dozens of different gift cards, including Starbucks.
Most gift cards are redeemable when you earn 700 points, which is worth $5. You can also redeem $25 of PayPal cash if you earn 4,000 points.
What makes MyPoints worth trying is the online shopping portal. You can actually earn cash back for shopping at hundreds of stores, and the cash-back rates are usually higher than Swagbucks.
Plus, MyPoints is giving new users a free $10 Amazon gift card or prepaid Visa when they complete an eligible purchase of $20 or more through MyPoints.
This is a 50% cash back offer if you think about it, so I think MyPoints is worth using to at least take advantage of this nifty sign up bonus.
- Availability: Canada and the United States.
- Redemption Minimum: $5.
- Sign Up: Earn a free $10 gift card from MyPoints!
8. Microsoft Rewards
While it might surprise you, using Microsoft Rewards is another effective way to get free Starbucks gift cards online.
Microsoft has been running its reward program for a while, and the entire idea behind the program is to incentivize people to use more of Microsoft’s products and services.
So, you can earn Microsoft Reward points for doing things like:
- Searching with Bing
- Playing Xbox games or buying digital purchases for your Xbox
- Subscribing for newsletters/emails
- Answering quizzes and polls
- Completing a daily set of tasks
Searching with Bing every day is the fastest, easiest way to earn points. However, Microsoft Rewards is a pretty slow earner since most tasks pay a couple of points or a few dozen at most.
You can redeem points for sweepstakes to win various Microsoft products or new gadgets. You can also donate earnings to charity or redeem free electronic gift cards to companies like Starbucks.
It takes approximately 5,000 Microsoft Rewards points to redeem a $5 Starbucks gift card, so again, this is a slow but passive earner!
- Availability: Somewhat global.
- Redemption Minimum: $5.
- Sign Up: Get started with Microsoft Rewards!
Extra Reading – UpVoice Review – Earn Free Gift Cards For Browsing The Web!
9. Branded Surveys
If you’re serious about answering surveys for free Starbucks gift cards, Branded Surveys is likely your best option.
This is because Branded Surveys actually has a rewards program that pays you bonus points every month the more surveys you answer that month.
That’s right: the Branded Elite Program lets you earn up to a 9% bonus in monthly points based on your previous month of activity.
So, in other words, the more surveys you complete on Branded Surveys, the more “free money” you earn each month in bonus points.
Bonuses aside, Branded Surveys is also one of the more popular survey sites in the business that lets you earn PayPal cash, free gift cards, or redeem earnings through direct deposit.
You need 1,000 points, which is worth $10, to cash out with Branded Surveys.
But, if you want an alternative to Survey Junkie and Swagbucks and enjoy answering surveys for cash, add Branded Surveys to your list of earning methods.
- Availability: Canada, the UK, and the United States.
- Redemption Minimum: $10.
- Sign Up: Start making money with Branded Surveys!
Extra Reading – Is Zap Surveys Legit?
10. Shopkick
When it comes to mystery shopping apps, Shopkick is one of the most popular apps in the business.
With Shopkick, you can earn Kicks, the app’s point system, for completing tasks like:
- Walking into stores
- Scanning product barcodes
- Shopping online through Shopkick
- Shopping in-store with a linked credit card
- Watch videos and ads
The variety of earning options is what makes apps like Shopkick cool.
For example, you might earn 5 kicks for walking into a Target, earn 3 kicks for watching a video, and finally earn 90 kicks for buying a sponsored product with your linked card.
One kick is worth roughly $0.004, so you need 250 kicks to redeem a $1 gift card.
The minimum redemption amount is $2, but certain gift cards require $5 to redeem. Shopkick can also pay you through PayPal.
It might take a few shopping trips to redeem rewards, but the online and in-app shopping offers can pay more kicks than the other tasks.
Plus, you can use a variety of cheats for Shopkick to maximize your rewards and cash out faster!
- Availability: The United States.
- Redemption Minimum: $2.
- Sign Up: Learn more about Shopkick.
Extra Reading – Is Field Agent Legit?
Other Ways To Get Free Starbucks Gift Cards & Drinks
The methods I just covered are reliable ways to get some free Starbucks gift cards every month if you put in a bit of work.
But, there are also other ways you can save money at Starbucks or enjoy free drinks and food to avoid spending money altogether.
11. Buy Discounted Gift Cards
While this doesn’t let you get gift cards without spending some money, there are several websites where you can buy Starbucks gift cards online at a discount.
This is possible because gift card exchange websites buy unwanted gift cards from people at a discount price and then resell those cards to you at a slightly higher but still cheaper price than paying in full.
So, if you know how much you spend on Starbucks in an average month, you can buy discount gift cards ahead of time to save more money.
One popular website for buying discount gift cards is Raise.com.
Right now, Raise lets you save up to 1.30% on buying Starbucks gift cards.
Plus, Raise is giving new customers a 10% discount with the code “FIRST” for a maximum of $20 in savings.
So, if you know you’re going to spend a certain amount of money at Starbucks in the coming weeks, consider buying a discount gift card with Raise before you spend!
12. Try Starbucks Happy Hour
Did you know that Starbucks runs a happy hour at select stores on certain Thursdays from 2pm to 7pm?
That’s right: you and a friend can go to a participating Starbucks and enjoy a BOGO deal on a handcrafted drink. That’s about $3 to $5 in savings depending on the beverage you get.
The Starbucks app notifies you which local stores are participating. You can also see if your local Starbucks has an Instagram page and follow it for regular store updates.
Final Thoughts
If you’re wondering how to get free Starbucks gift cards to reduce your spending at this coffee house favorite, I hope this list of ideas helps you!
Just remember: you should still stick to a coffee budget, and if anything, these methods are meant to help you treat yourself once in a while.
I earned free Starbucks gift cards with apps like Drop and MobileXpression back in college.
I also worked as a Starbucks barista for 3 years, so I know a lot of the Starbucks hacks out there to cut costs and score freebies.
The reality is that if you get Starbucks every day, it’s going to be hard to earn gift cards fast enough to cover the cost.
But, if this is an occasional treat, I think the methods in this list can cover $50 to $200+ of free Starbucks gift cards annually if you put in some effort.
When you throw in other Starbucks incentives like the Rewards Program, free refills, and different seasonal promotions, I don’t think this iconic coffee chain has to be as expensive as people make it out to be.
Hopefully, all of these ways to get free gift cards to Starbucks helps you get your coffee fix while staying more on-budget.
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Want to try other awesome reward apps? Checkout:
Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
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