Do any of you earn gift certificates from survey sites and online communities? I participate in a few of these. Most like to pay with Amazon certificates, but some pay with cash. I enjoy them especially the online communities because usually it is not time consuming to participate and the awards are nice. I think they are better than survey sites because a number of those surveys will go on and on...for a small reward. It just takes too much time.
Some online communities will offer gift certificates but you can get products listed on that site's e-store or one of their sponsors stores. While yeah that sounds like it limits your choice of products/items you could get, you could pay for a product using the gift certificate you get and give it to someone who you know might find it useful. It saves you money either way.
Gift certificates are good incentives to fill out surveys and I have done it for Amazon ones. I still prefer cash, but if it's a store you use all the time, then they can be a good way to make some money. Ebates do offer gift certificates with a double value once you sign up, so that's an incentive to choose them over cash.