How to earn gift cards in the UK: what actually works

Companies pay to reach new customers and to hear from real people. Rewards sites sit in the middle: an app developer pays for a new player, a research firm pays for a finished survey, a retailer pays commission on a sale, and part of that money comes back to you. Gift cards are the simplest way to hand it over.

For most people that adds up to a few pounds a week, sometimes more when a good game offer comes along. Nobody legitimate will promise you a wage.

These pay the most. A game developer pays when a new player reaches a certain level, because by then they're likely to stick around. Good offers break the reward into milestones, so you're paid for installing, then for level 10, then for level 25.

The catch is that they only count for brand-new players. If you've installed the game before, through any site, it won't track. They also take longer to confirm, often up to 30 days.

Surveys pay less per minute but they're steady. Research panels want honest answers from real people, so they screen you first. Getting screened out is normal and isn't a sign you did anything wrong.

Survey credits become spendable after 30 days, while the survey partner checks for fraud. Game and app milestones are usually spendable from 7 days, so they build a spendable balance fastest.

If you were going to buy something online anyway, going through a cashback link gets you a share of the retailer's commission. It costs nothing extra, but it's slow: retailers wait until their return window closes, which can take up to 90 days.

Some sites pay small amounts for photos of shopping receipts, because the purchase data is useful for market research. It's the smallest earner, but it's money for shopping you did anyway.

A few things separate a fair site from one that wastes your evenings:

• No stated hold time. If a site won't tell you when pending credits become yours, assume it's longer than you'd like.
• Huge sign-up bonuses that can't be withdrawn. A big number you can never cash out is marketing, not money.
• Asking for bank details or card numbers to receive a reward. Gift card rewards never need them.
• Accounts closed without a reason. Look for a published appeals process before you put hours in.