Swagbucks (aff) started out two years ago as a search and win site but has been gradually increasing the ways you can earn points, aka Swagbucks — to include points for shopping, points for completing offers, points for trading in old cell phones and video games, and points given away via Swag Codes distributed for a limited time on their blog, Facebook, and newsletters.
Today, on the occasion of Swagbucks’ second birthday, the program launched Swagbucks 3.0, which promises some VERY rewarding new features soon, but first you need to know about their change in points structure and why they did it.
BOTH the Swagbucks in your account, AND the Swagbucks required to cash out for each prize, were multiplied by 10. So you didn’t lose ANY value of the Swagbucks in your account. But what this does is, it gives Swagbucks a lot more leeway to give away more smaller amounts of points in other ways (which is coming soon; in fact, two new ways to earn Swagbucks daily are supposed to be announced later today, and Swagbucks games are in development). You just have to keep in mind that, GOING FORWARD, if you win a single Swagbuck for something, it’s not worth as much as it was yesterday.
So the big question I had was, “Swagbucks made everybody’s account equal today what it was yesterday by multiplying our balances by 10, the same amount as the prize cost was multiplied. But will we earn the same amount for searching, or will our SEARCHES be worth 10x as well?” I asked that question of Swagbucks’ CEO Scott Dudelson in email, and he responded this morning to say that your odds of winning/prize value should be the same (see my win image from this morning below — what would’ve been a one SB win was today a tenspot), the major difference is that we can accumulate SB in new ways now…to be announced. 
Another big change for Swagbucks is that you now HAVE to be logged in, in order to search and win. My guess is that they want to tie Swagbucks wins directly to a member’s account to circumvent abuse by non-logged-in members going to multiple computers or using proxies to generate new IP addresses, making frivolous searches, being triggered as a random winner, and then logging in to claim the SB. This change will help make sure Swagbucks doesn’t give away more bucks than they can afford and helps wipe out a huge contingent of cheaters. Please note that if you’re a Swagbucks toolbar user (groan, I hate toolbars!), it’s not enough to have the toolbar visible on your screen, you MUST be logged in to earn Swagbucks.
That covers the biggest of the changes. Although you’ll notice a new logo and a few cosmetic differences, pretty much everything’s the same except that 1) balances AND prize costs both went up by 10 times, and 2) you have to be logged in to earn Swagbucks. Now, here’s the scoop on the Swagbucks birthday celebration!
There will be Swagbucks giveaways all day long! Instead of having an hourly random winner of 10 (now 100) Swagbucks, they’re selecting a winner every 30 minutes — make sure you’re on top of it and click the link to claim your prize within the time limit! They’re kicking off some Swag Code giveaways around noon CT today — be sure to keep checking their blog, Facebook, and Twitter! And later today they’re going to announce two new ways for members to win Swagbucks daily! Today is going to be a Swagbucks giveaway day of epic proportions, according to The Swag Guy, so strap on your party hats, folks, today’s going to be FUN!
Now if you haven’t gotten swept up in Swagbucks Mania yet, you’re in luck: CompareRewards has been given a special signup bonus Swag Code for 60 Swagbucks for new members: It’s COMPAREREWARD (nope, no “S” on the end) and you enter it when sign up for Swagbucks (that’s my referral link; thanks)!
Swagbucks is a GREAT program, very reliable payer, super-receptive management, and I highly recommend them. You’re not going to earn a fortune with them, but it all adds up — with the help of the friends I’ve referred to them, I’ve earned well over $2,000 in the past two years (because up to a certain maximum, when your friends win, you win, too)! I haven’t updated my Swagbucks payment proof screenshots on Flickr in a while (lazy! Uh, I mean, busy!) but they’re there if you want to see ‘em! A+ program, check ‘em out!
