Everything I Know About Shopkick and How It Works

Who doesn’t love getting free gift cards? The Shopkick app makes it so easy to turn your shopping trips into free gift cards for places you already spend money, like Target, Walmart, Starbucks, and Amazon. There are multiple ways you can earn your “kicks” on the app and turn those kicks into gift cards. But how does Shopkick work?

At face value, using the Shopkick app is a great way to actually earn free money. But you need to know how to avoid some pitfalls and learn little-known hacks to get even more kicks. On top of the savings, you’re eligible for 250+ bonus kicks for every friend you invite. Here’s what to know:

Don’t forget to download The Krazy Coupon Lady app for more tips about how to save.

KCL’s Shopkick Tips

• Plan ahead: Planning your trip ahead is not just smart - it’s a must in our book! Who knows what exciting kicks (aka free gift cards) are waiting around the corner? Check the Shopkick app as you build your shopping list so you don’t miss any scans or receipts.

• Make it a daily routine: Like sipping your coffee in the morning, you don’t want to miss checking the Shopkick app for new kicks, exclusive deals, and offers that are added daily.

• Subscribe to push notifications and emails: Never miss a deal when you subscribe to emails and push notifications from Shopkick with new offers.

New to Shopkick? Use the code KCL5 and scan 5 products within your first two weeks to receive $5 in bonus kicks.

*Single-use promotional offer. Offer only eligible to new Shopkick users. While supplies last. To receive 1250 bonus kicks, new user must complete 5 scans in the Shopkick app within 14 days of entering the promo code in the Shopkick app. Exclusions may apply. Check the Shopkick app for more information. See Terms & Conditions here: https://www.shopkick.com/terms-of-service

1. What is Shopkick and how does it work?

Shopkick is a rebate app that offers “kicks” (reward points) when you take certain actions either at a store or from home. These actions can include things like walking into stores, scanning items, and more (listed below). Some of these actions don’t require you to make a purchase, but others do.

Once you earn enough kicks on Shopkick, you can redeem them for gift cards to popular stores.

2. What are kicks worth?

Most rewards come out to 250 kicks per dollar and follow this breakdown:

• 500 kicks = $2

• 1,250 kicks = $5

• 2,500 kicks = $10

• 3,750 kicks = $15

• 6,250 kicks = $25

Check the Rewards section in the Shopkick app for the specific rewards you can redeem like Amazon, Target, Apple, Disney, and more!

3. Download the Shopkick app and create an account.

After you download the Shopkick app, you’ll need to enable Bluetooth inside the app so you can take advantage of walk-in offers. Also, be sure GPS is on so you can see offers near you.

Once you create an account, you’re ready to get started!

4. How to earn kicks.

These actions result in free money since you don’t have to buy anything to earn kicks. It’ll take longer to reach a free gift card, but it’ll truly be free.

1. Walk in

Open the app and walk into participating stores that show “Walk-in” kicks available under “Nearby.” You’ll automatically earn 10 kicks just for walking into the store. Shopkick has a limited budget for walk-ins, so if you don’t see the option to earn walk-in kicks and you know that store offers them, it means you’ve reached your limit for the month. Keep checking back to see if they’ve reset.

2. Scan products

Select the store where you’re shopping and tap the “Scan” icon. Choose a product and scan it with your phone camera while still in the store. Remember, you do not have to buy these items; you’re just scanning!

3. Make a purchase online

Buy something through the Shopkick portal (this just means you’ll click through the Shopkick app to buy from Sam’s Club online, QVC, and more) and you’ll earn between kicks for every dollar you spend.

4. Watch videos

Tap “Discover” at the bottom of the app and watch ads to get between one and five kicks per video.

5. Scan receipts

Choose your store and tap “Receipts” to see which offers you can buy to earn kicks. Select your offers, and once you’ve made a purchase, upload your receipt to the Shopkick app to earn between 200 and 650 kicks — or even more if you buy bundles.

5. Redeem your kicks for gift cards to Amazon, Target, Sephora, Walmart, and more.

In order to keep saving money on groceries, redeem your kicks for gift cards to grocery stores like Walmart or Target. Or splurge on something you’d never buy yourself — redeem your kicks for a AirBNB or William Sonoma gift card.

You can cash out kicks for gift cards from any of these retailers:

• adidas gift card

• Airbnb gift card

• Amazon.com gift card

• AMC gift card

• Apple gift card

• Athleta gift card

• Banana Republic gift card

• Barnes and Noble gift card

• Bass Pro Shops® gift card

• Best Buy gift card

• Buffalo Wild Wings® gift card

• Carrabba's Italian Grill gift card

• Carter's and OshKosh B'gosh gift card

• Chili's® Grill & Bar gift card

• Cinemark gift card

• Cost Plus World Market® gift card

• Disney gift card

• eBay gift card

• Fanatics gift card

• Foot Locker gift card

• GameStop gift card

• Gap gift card

• Gap Options gift card

• Google Play gift card

• H&M gift card

• Home Depot® gift card

• Hotels.com gift card

• Instacart gift card

• Kohl's gift card

• Lane Bryant® gift card

• Lowe's gift card

• Macy's gift card

• Michaels gift card

• Nordstrom gift card

• Old Navy gift card

• Outback Steakhouse gift card

• Panera Bread® gift card

• PayPal credit

• Red Robin® gift card

• Sephora gift card

• Starbucks gift card

• StubHub gift card

• T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods gift card

• Taco Bell® gift card

• Target gift card

• Texas Roadhouse® gift card

• The Cheesecake Factory gift card

• The Container Store gift card

• The Sheetz Gift Card

• Topgolf gift card

• Uber gift card

• Ulta Beauty gift card

• Visa Reward Virtual Account, 12-Month Expiration

• Walmart gift card

• Wayfair gift card

• west elm® gift card

• Williams Sonoma® gift card

• Xbox gift card

Related: Check out our Ultimate Guide to Rebate Apps.

6. Try new products for cheap (or free) with high-value offers.

Shopkick will often offer high-value rewards on newly released products — that’s your chance to buy and try those products for a fraction of the cost.

Recently, we were able to score a $9.98 Dove deodorant for basically free after factoring in the kicks received from Shopkick and an Ibotta rebate.

7. If you do upload a receipt to Shopkick, upload it to Fetch Rewards, too!

Let’s say that Shopkick’s offer for Dove Men+Care Body Wash was on your shopping list, and you earned 200 kicks when you uploaded your receipt. Congrats!

Don’t stop there — upload that receipt to Fetch Rewards, too. Fetch Rewards gives you points for uploading any receipt from grocery stores, convenience stores, drugstores, and big-box retailers. It doesn’t matter what you bought.

Upload up to 14 receipts per week (but know that receipts cannot be older than 14 days).

TIP: For the most savings, also check if other rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 have offers for that same product you bought and submitted for Shopkick and Fetch. Most rebates can be stacked, but always make sure to read their fine print first.

8. Use digital or paper coupons with Shopkick.

Any kicks you earn through Shopkick happen in addition to coupons and offers you apply to your purchase.

Since you’re mostly earning kicks from scanning items you’re not buying or from buying specific items, it doesn’t matter if you use a coupon or not. Plus, like other rebate apps, earning kicks happens post-purchase, not at the register, so always look for coupons to lower your out-of-pocket cost.

TIP: If you’re shopping at Target, go ahead and use your Circle Card to pay — you can still upload your receipt to Shopkick to earn kicks.

Stack coupons and rebates with the KCL app

9. Shop through the Shopkick portal to earn up to 18 kicks per dollar you spend.

Before you make an online purchase, get into the habit of checking the Shopkick “Online” tab to see if the store you’re planning to shop at offers kicks for buying something.

For example, if you’re shopping for a new laptop from Best Buy, initiate your purchase through Shopkick so you can snatch up two kicks per dollar you spend.

Every online retailer has a different Shopkick offer — between one and eight kicks per dollar you spend or a flat amount of kicks just for making a purchase. The flat-rate kicks are usually for a sign-up. Like, if you sign up for ESPN through Shopkick, you’ll earn 950 kicks.

Right now, the highest kick for shopping online is Sam’s Club, with 40 kicks per $1! This is a special promotion. Normally it’s two kicks for $1. Without a promotion, Warby Parker is the highest, with 18 kicks per $1.

10. A quick Shopkick review: Navigating the parts of the app.

How does Shopkick work on a more detailed level? At the bottom of the app, “Nearby” means brick-and-mortar stores where you could do walk-ins and scan products. This tab is the home screen. “Online” refers to the options for using Shopkick’s online shopping portal to earn kicks. “Discover” is where you can find the videos to watch for kicks.

Here’s how to troubleshoot the glitch if you find you can’t get from “Online” back to “Nearby.” Use the search bar (the little magnifying glass icon circled below) and type in any store, like “Walmart.” When Walmart pops up, back out of that screen and it’ll put you back to the home screen “Nearby” tab.

Related: We found all the rebate apps that don’t require in-store receipts.

11. Share your Shopkick promo code with friends and earn bonus kicks.

Tap on the person icon in the upper left corner of the app — this is your account settings. Tap “Invite Friends” and then tap on your unique code to copy it. Share your code with your friends, and when they sign up and complete one of the six actions to earn their first kicks, you’ll receive 250+ bonus kicks.

You can earn up to 25,000 kicks or more by inviting friends — this means you can invite up to 100 friends.