The routine I follow on the days I log in to Swagbucks is normally worth at least ten cents. This routine is very repeatable, because you are not competing with other members. On the home page, click the links for the Daily Poll and Trusted Surveys. You need to answer the poll question, but just looking at the list of current surveys is enough for the door prize shown below.
After this, start searching – the core feature of this website – and search for anything that you consider Safe For Work. You do have to provide some personal information to receive prizes, so don't share anything too embarrassing. After typing your search term, cycle through the different search options using the menu to the left of the results. Each click is a new search that can reward you with more Swagbucks. I usually receive something in the 7-to-10 point range within two minutes, the same amount of time we might spend looking for change in a grocery parking lot.
After that first successful search, additional Swagbucks are awarded slowly over the course of the day.
Two other places to look for easy points are on the home page near the bottom. Among the Featured Offers on a little scroll bar might be a few opportunities to get points (often just one or two) for watching a commercial, or clicking through an ad to a Facebook page. The larger point values on the Special Offer bar are related to qualifying purchases or free trial offers (i.e., Netflix). You should also look at the name for the random hourly winner of one thousand Swagbucks. It might be you.
What is a Swagbuck ultimately worth? That depends on how you spend one and whether you have a knack for winning sweepstakes. The short answer is about a penny each, but those pennies add up. A better, comparative answer deserves a post of its own.
