You might’ve seen ads regarding a $750 SHEIN gift card or $750 cash deposit from Flash Rewards. There are other gift cards as well like, Amazon, Starbucks, etc. but the process to obtain them is the same. Is this legit?
“Very scammy and deceiving.”
“Flash Rewards is a scam.”
“This is a joke. Don’t do it!”
These are some of the commentaries that you might encounter when researching to see if Flash Rewards is a scam or not. Yikes, right?
For full transparency, Flash Rewards is a sister site to The Smart Wallet. However, we wanted to provide information on why you’re seeing both sides of the opinion spectrum regarding Flash Rewards. You’ll see negative comments, and you’ll see positive comments.
This is as close to the source as you can get, so we’ll provide as much info so you can decide if you want to participate in Flash Rewards or not!
The General Flash Rewards Process
As a refresher, here’s the general flow:
- Visitors get taken to Flash Rewards and fill out basic info (Email, Name, etc.)
- Take a quick Survey (it helps figure out the optional offers & required deals to recommend)
- Complete deals by shopping Flash Rewards’ great brand name partners.
- Important: Follow the instructions on completing the specific number of deals for each level and get to Level 5 to get the maximum reward! (there are plenty of deals to try – some are free trials or app downloads, others require a purchase!)
- Claim the reward and get it in about a week!
Since Flash Rewards must verify your identity when you claim the reward (their way of combating fraud), you should put in real information.
Flash Rewards is Not a Giveaway Program
A misconception that some visitors have is that Flash Rewards is a giveaway program.
Definitely not true.
Flash Rewards is a site in which visitors have to complete tasks in order to earn rewards. Visitors either qualify for the reward or they don’t. There is no giveaway aspect at all.
It’s also a legitimate program that has paid out $12 million+ since 2016 to visitors that complete the requirements.
The key action? Completing requirements.
Visitors get shown offers and tasks under different Levels, including mobile apps and games, subscriptions, financial services, and more. Complete the required tasks, and you can claim the reward.
Completing tasks is NOT instant. That’s why Flash Rewards gives up to 60 days to complete once you’ve done your first task. You’ll also see your progress when tasks get verified as successfully completed, and some can take up to 14 days to credit.
Different Rewards Mean Different Levels of Tasks
Depending on what reward you’re aiming for, the amount of tasks to complete is different.
There’s also a limit to how many times visitors can participate, as indicated in the Annual Limit column. This means that if you (or anyone in your household) participated and received a $100 reward, you won’t be able to do it again 60 days from your claim date. (1 year from claim date if $750 or $1,000)
| Reward Amount | Annual Limit |
|---|---|
| $100 and under | Claim 1x every 60 days |
| $250, $500, 750 or $1,000 | Claim 1x a year |
You Will Spend Money to Earn More Money
Since Flash Rewards is not a giveaway program, you will spend some money. The amount varies depending on the offers you choose. This doesn’t make Flash Rewards a scam.
Obviously, people want to spend the least amount, so there are free mobile games where you have to level up to certain levels to complete the task. Some people are impatient and pay for in-game perks to speed up their progress, but that’s completely voluntary.
There are also free trial sign-ups too, but if you immediately cancel, it won’t count. So if you’re adamant about canceling, set up reminders to do it near the end of the trial.
And then some offers range from $1 to $50 or more, including charity options. It’s up to you which to pick!
This is why it’s important to honestly fill out the beginning survey, as the offers will be customized as best as Flash Rewards can to you.
Here’s what Flash Rewards has seen as out-of-pocket costs. Again, it depends on the offers you ultimately end up choosing.
| Reward Amount | Out-of-Pocket Costs |
|---|---|
| $250 and under | $15 and up |
| Over $500 | $50 and up |
If spending ANY money at all is unappealing to you, then DON’T participate in Flash Rewards.
But if you’re OK with spending some money to earn more back, then perhaps you can try a lower reward amount to see how the process is first or go straight for a higher amount.
Here’s a detailed testimonial from a participant who completed a $1,000 reward:
^ if that’s hard to read, here it is again:
“I completed the requirements for the $1,000 and just received my reward today (I chose to split it between a VISA debit and Amazon credit)!! This is totally legit, and I found the people at Flash Rewards / RewardsZone USA to be very professional and helpful.
I think the reason that lots of people complain about this and think it’s a scam is that properly completing the offers is a rather complicated process (keeping track of Gold vs Silver vs Platinum offers). But if you’re diligent and carefully follow the instructions, you will absolutely get your reward.
All in all, I probably spend 5-6 hours & $5-10 completing the offers and filling out the necessary paperwork. Totally worth it!”
Reward Levels are Up To You
If you don’t complete the required # for each level, then you don’t qualify. It’s that simple.
This is the part that frustrates visitors the most because they most likely won’t qualify in a day. Since it takes time for completed tasks to be verified, Flash Rewards gives up to 60 days to finish after the first task is completed.
Visitors can always check their progress here when they enter the email they originally signed up with.
How Flash Rewards Make Money
You will never submit any credit card information or transact directly with Flash Rewards.
Instead, they partner with brands that want your participation and attention. When you sign up or try one of their partners (part of the level requirements), Flash Rewards will get a monetary cut.
Flash Rewards will then take a portion of that cut to reward you.
It’s not too different from programs like Rakuten or Honey in that when you purchase something through their links, you get a cut.
Keep Emails and Screenshots
While completing tasks, be sure to save emails of confirmation as well as screenshots of game/app progress that indicate you’ve finished!
As with anything through the internet/tech, delays can happen or glitch. So in case you completed a deal, but the task didn’t register correctly, you’ll have proof that you did complete it to show Customer Support.
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Yes, keeping proof can be tedious.
In fact, going through the whole Flash Rewards process can be tedious, which is a turn-off to people that want things now. This makes it easier for people to think Flash Rewards is a scam.
BUT, if you follow the instructions, keep proof, and have patience, then you will absolutely earn the reward that you’re going for.
How to Claim the Reward
To claim your reward, Flash Rewards has to make sure you’re a real person first.
Obviously, they can’t be giving away money to fake people!
This means you should absolutely use real information when you sign up since it’ll have to get verified later when you claim.
- When you complete the required # of deals, you must start the claim process within 30 days. You don’t want your money sitting around!
- Submit a claim, and you’ll get an email with further instructions (be sure to check the inbox of the email you registered with!). The email will explain that you have to pass a KBA (knowledge-based authentication) form as well as verify your ID. From this point, you’ll have 30 days to submit everything. Be sure to check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see anything!
- To verify your ID, you’ll submit a copy of a valid, unexpired government-issued ID (like a driver’s license) as well as a selfie. This is set up through a 3rd party vendor, Veratad, a world-class provider of online/real-time Identity Verification.
- You may be asked to submit your emails of confirmation and/or screenshots of game progress.
- Once everything is verified, you’ll get your reward within 7-10 business days. Depending on the reward type you initially started the process with, it’ll either be an e-gift card (sent via our gift card vendor, Tremendous) or an ACH or PayPal transfer.
Again, tedious, but it’s a small price to pay! Since only one person from each household can claim a reward every 60 days or every year, depending on the Reward amount, Flash Rewards has to make sure people aren’t trying to game the system.
The Bottom Line, aka TLDR;
Alright, we commend you for getting this far in learning if Flash Rewards is a scam or not!
If you want the TLDR; version
- Flash Rewards is legitimate (not a scam)
- Flash Rewards does not give away money, visitors have to complete tasks to earn the reward
- Depending on the reward amount, the # of tasks differ
- You will spend some money to earn more money back
- Keep proof of your completed tasks
- You will need to verify your identity once you claim a reward
- The process can be tedious, but you will 100% get your reward if you follow the instructions and have the patience to
Alright, Let’s Do This
Now that you’ve been fully prepped, here are some reward options to go for!
- $750 SHEIN gift card
- $750 Cash deposit
- $750 Amazon gift card
- $75 Spirit Halloween gift card
- $75 Starbucks or Dunkin gift card
1 Deals may include mobile games and apps, subscription products and services, free trials, and many more. Some of the Deals we offer are free, while many require a purchase to complete.
2 “Level” refers to a group of Deals. Each level requires you to complete a certain number of deals to progress to the next level.
3 $5 Reward requires completion of one Level 1 and one Level 2 Deals. See Program Requirements.
4 $100 Reward requires completion of one Level 1, one Level 2, and three level 3 Deals. See Program Requirements.
