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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Aug 18, 2017 3:32:20 GMT
What's the best free thing you've gotten? Although, technically, sometimes "free" isn't always free. You get the free stuff by spending and earning points, to receive/earn the "free" stuff or by purchasing an item(order of fries, soda, groceries, etc).
Today, I used my Sephora points in exchange for a Sephora gift card(technically website credit).
What's the best "free" thing you've received? Via....earned by points, radio station prize, raffle winner, grocery store game, McD's pull off ticket, etc...
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Post by PNWMom on Aug 18, 2017 3:36:15 GMT
We've flown to Europe twice just using airline miles....
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 18, 2017 3:39:59 GMT
I know it's not exactly what you've asked, but my current dog. DH would argue the whole "free" thing though after getting the $600 vet bill to get her current on vaccinations, preventatives, etc.!
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Post by Skellinton on Aug 18, 2017 3:44:09 GMT
I was going to say any of my cats. They are my sweetest and most comforting little loves.
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,363
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Aug 18, 2017 3:56:34 GMT
My husband won a couch in a drawing at Ashley Furniture. He actually got to pick it out, too--so it was one that we liked.
Of course, we then decided to buy the matching loveseat, but there was no obligation to purchase anything.
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quiltz
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,714
Location: CANADA
Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on Aug 18, 2017 4:00:24 GMT
Round trip anywhere that WestJet had a route. And this was FREE BECAUSE
In 2004, I was waiting at the Winnipeg Airport to go back to Toronto on JetsGo (very short life of an airline in Canada) and I was close to the WestJet gate. WestJet was at the end of a scratch off ticket contest and they had a lot of these free tickets that needed to be scratched off.
I won a whole lot of Airmile points and other free stuff as well as this free ticket. I had never flown WestJet before. I used the ticket to go to LAX as that was the furthest and most expensive ticket that they offered at the time. All taxes were included in the prize. In Canada, there is no income tax on prize winnings.
I spent about 2 hours using a dime to scratch off all of these tickets. The counter agents even gave me a recycle bin for the non-winning tickets. Most profitable way that I have ever spent in the departure lounge in an airport.
I have also used accumulated points towards other airline tickets, hotel vouchers, gas cards and gift cards. The Shoppers Drug mart points for buying expensive makeup. I buy the makeup when your points are bumped up. They have this promotion twice a year, spring and early winter. I use my PC Points for free food.
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SabrinaP
Pearl Clutcher
Busy Teacher Pea
Posts: 4,355
Location: Dallas Texas
Jun 26, 2014 12:16:22 GMT
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Post by SabrinaP on Aug 18, 2017 4:02:39 GMT
I won a nice Vera Bradley tote bag one year at our back to school inservice. DH won a TV one year.
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 18, 2017 4:05:23 GMT
I recently got $1100 worth of airline vouchers by redeeming my credit card points. We used the vouchers towards our trip to Vietnam a few weeks ago. (I was originally going to use the points to get a KitchenAid but in the end decided it was fairer to put them towards something the whole family - well, DSO and I - could use.)
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
Jun 25, 2014 21:31:58 GMT
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Aug 18, 2017 4:06:05 GMT
Material item: a flat screen tv in a raffle. Experience: a grand suite upgrade that had two floors, multiple rooms, bars, and a grand piano.
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,298
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Aug 18, 2017 4:08:35 GMT
DH bought a SeaDoo and got two RT airline tix anywhere in the continental US on Delta.
We bought four new tires and got four tix to the aquarium. Four different tire got us a $150 Visa card.
Those are probably the biggest "free" items.
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Post by freecharlie on Aug 18, 2017 4:19:39 GMT
4 tickets between the benches at my minor league hockey team. During the game there was a brawl where players came off the bench to fight and a goalie fight...so cool.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 10:24:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2017 4:20:18 GMT
My husband has flown first class many many times, because we had so many miles.
I have never won anything nor have I really gotten anything free.
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pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,563
Nov 14, 2016 23:47:03 GMT
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Post by pinklady on Aug 18, 2017 4:21:35 GMT
I redeemed my credit card points for "HOT" garage passes to a Nascar race. Those passes get you right up close to the action.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,647
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Aug 18, 2017 4:22:26 GMT
A year or so ago, I won the grand prize in a work raffle. It was a one-hour flight in a two-seater plane. The pilot let me fly the plane for most of the hour. It was awesome.
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Post by papersilly on Aug 18, 2017 4:24:51 GMT
Experience: a grand suite upgrade that had two floors, multiple rooms, bars, and a grand piano. We got upgraded to a suite on one of our cruises. The room was huge, jetted tub, marble surfaces everywhere, massive closets and living room. It was great. We also got upgraded to a penthouse suite at one of the large hotels on the Vegas strip. Our regular room was not available because a convention ran long. The suite had so many rooms! The living room was two stories talk with panoramic windows overlooking the strip. The bathroom was almost bigger than why whole house. Man, the luxury bath products I took home. Lol
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,760
Jun 25, 2014 20:56:09 GMT
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Post by gottapeanow on Aug 18, 2017 4:30:30 GMT
I did not win this.
But a complete stranger - a friend of a friend, whom I still have never met to this day and do not even remember their name - gave me a car. It was an older car, but it ran fine and had great A/C. Very important in AZ. We desperately needed it as we were a one-car family at the time.
We ran it into the ground until it died more than two years later. Then, we sold it for parts.
I was/am so thankful.
Lisa
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Post by melanieg on Aug 18, 2017 4:42:56 GMT
Trips through work. Granted I have to work my ass off to earn them. Ive been lucky enough to go to Secrets in Costa Rica, Paradisus in Punta Cana, El Dorado in Mayan Riviera, an Alaska cruise, Australia and 2 River Cruises in Europe.
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mlana
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,523
Jun 27, 2014 19:58:15 GMT
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Post by mlana on Aug 18, 2017 5:38:07 GMT
I use my credit cards for as many purchases as possible, including paying any routine bills. I pay my cards off every month and pocket the rewards. We also make sure to join any membership or rewards clubs at places we do business with frequently. As a result, we've made several trips that were primarily funded by rewards.
I am currently on a cross-country trip with my mom and my DD. About half of our nights are at La Quintas and Holiday Inns, free. My DH is joining us in CA and his flight is courtesy of Capital One. Many of our Pretrip purchases were courtesy of Discover points on Amazon. In all, about half of the trips expenses were paid for via reward points.
Some of my favorite freebies came as rewards for being patient and understanding when things weren't going the way they were supposed to be going. I got a ton of Delta miles on my trip home from China last year when the tv monitor on my seat didn't work and I didn't make a fuss. I had paid extra for that seat and not only did the tv not work, my seat mate had arrived drunk and passed out and sprawled all ver me. There were no other seats available, so I just sat there and read. Before i got off the plane, the stewardess came over and got my miles membership number and said she was going to see to it i got some miles for being so understanding. I thanked her, but didn't expect any big deal. Two weeks later I had enough free miles for a ticket and a thank you from Delta for my understanding.
Marcy
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Mary Kay Lady
Pearl Clutcher
PeaNut 367,913 Refupea number 1,638
Posts: 3,076
Jun 27, 2014 4:11:36 GMT
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Post by Mary Kay Lady on Aug 18, 2017 6:01:43 GMT
At a women's expo I won a gift card for $100 worth of groceries and 2 theater tickets.
Also, my dog was free from the Humane Society. They had too many pets and were offering them for free. Actually, he was better than free because they neutered him for me at no charge. He has a very sweet disposition and has been a great addition to our family.
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Post by cawoman on Aug 18, 2017 6:34:08 GMT
We took a total of 9 family members (including DH and me) to Maui using airline miles. One of my daughters had been given the use of a large condo by her employer. A lot of the miles had been accumulated by DH through business travel.
My former employer gave me a $500 gift card for doing a good job on a project.
My DH was awarded fabulous trips over a period of about 7-8 years that the two of us were able to go on. They were trips that I never dreamed we would experience. We were very appreciative.
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lindas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,168
Jun 26, 2014 5:46:37 GMT
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Post by lindas on Aug 18, 2017 6:48:00 GMT
DH, he only cost me a little time.
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Post by Delta Dawn on Aug 18, 2017 7:37:17 GMT
A big power boat. We had just gotten rid of the one one and then we had another. We got rid of it new as we aren't boating people.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 10:24:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2017 10:31:05 GMT
My stunning good looks and sassy personality.
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Post by disneypal on Aug 18, 2017 10:37:08 GMT
My dog
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Post by cmhs on Aug 18, 2017 11:47:11 GMT
A TV. I used to work for a large insurance company and we had blood drives several times a year. If you donated 4+ times in a year, you were entered into a drawing for prizes. I didn't even know about the drawing until I got a phone call saying I had won.
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Post by Katie on Aug 18, 2017 12:43:28 GMT
My lovely in laws took DH and I to Scotland, Ireland and Italy, and footed the entire bill. Even meals and some tshirt souvenirs. We were completely broke at the time, but honestly in our entire lifetime I doubt we would ever be able to afford trips like that, so we are still grateful to this day.
My rescue dog was free, but in the 6 months we've had her, she's racked up about $2,000 in vet bills (heartworm treatment, spaying, vaccines, and random little issues). Wouldn't give her back for anything though...I love her like crazy!
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Post by leannec on Aug 18, 2017 12:51:22 GMT
I'm with a few previous posters ... my youngest cat was "free" because she was abandoned and I've had her since she was three weeks old ... bottle fed her etc. She costs a lot of money every month in food and kitty litter and has decided to start peeing on the carpet so we had to buy a carpet cleaner Good thing she is cute Here she is when she was small:
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Post by christine58 on Aug 18, 2017 12:52:03 GMT
I do mypoints and it's so easy...I have redeemed many points for GC. The latest best free thing was a $50 GC for 'test driving' my new car. Didn't test drive it at all!!
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Loydene
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,639
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jul 8, 2014 16:31:47 GMT
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Post by Loydene on Aug 18, 2017 13:32:59 GMT
48¢ off the current gas price up to 20 gallons. I don't usually win things; I don't really get "free" stuff -- but even tho I had to spend a lot in groceries at that particular store, it was fun filling up two cars and a lawn mower gas can.
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Post by Karene on Aug 18, 2017 13:48:18 GMT
We had a program through work where you racked up points for doing certain things (that were actually part of your job) and then you could go to OC Tanner and pick out your prizes. I picked out a Fitbit one time, a $100 Subway card another time and then two $25 Subway cards the last time before they stopped the program. They are thinking of starting up another kind of program.
I also use credit cards that have cash rewards. This works out for us because we always pay off our credit cards every month and never pay any interest.
I won a prestigious photography award for one of my bird photos. I didn't get any money or anything but got recognition and a plaque. But it was very exciting and hard to win.
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