How to use ShopKick: a step-by-step tutorial (updated 6/27/12 for version 2.6)

I've been recommending Shopkick, my favorite smartphone shopping app, for months now, but recently, Shopkick came out with a new version of their software that is more versatile but also more complicated to use.  I've posted a brief tutorial below on how to earn points (called "kicks") that you can redeem for giftcards and also save money with Shopkick.  But before we get to that, let's get you set up with a superquick installation on your smartphone:

Click here, and fill out the short form. Shopkick will text the link to their free app directly to your smartphone. Just click on the link in the text message and it will download and install on your phone.   You'll get an instant 50 kicks (points) just for going through this link!

Ok, you've got the app?  Locked and loaded?  Now here's how to use it:

1. Nearby tab:  this will automatically refresh via GPS everytime you pull down the screen with your finger.  It will list all the nearby Shopkick vendors and how you can earn points in their stores (walk-ins, scans, etc.). Drill down to each individual store to see your options.
2. Faves tab:  add the stores that you love to the Faves screen.  This will let Shopkick know to keep you informed about those stores' deals, coupons, specials, etc.   Just go to the Nearby tab, find the stores you want, and click on the "Fave" star in the upper right-hand corner.
   
3. Walk-ins: you can get kicks for walking into some stores, but not others. How do you know which stores have walk-in rewards? Look at the Nearby tab, and find those stores listed under the "Walk-in kicks & deals" heading. Once you are near a store that offers walk-in rewards, just enter the store, open the app in the entrance area, and wait for a few seconds, until the big green welcome bubble pops up showing how many kicks you've earned just for walking in. In the Denver area where I live, I earn Kickbucks for walking in to Target/SuperTarget, Best Buy, American Eagle, West Elm, Old Navy and Crate & Barrel and a few others. The stores available for walk-in rewards vary by area.
   When you change locations in the course of a busy shopping day, you can refresh your list of stores by just pulling down on the screen.  There are a limited number of walk-ins that you can score kicks for each 30-day period.  Once you have reached your monthly limit, you won't be able to get points for a walk-in until it resets.
4. Scanning products:  you can earn kicks by walking into a store and scanning certain products listed in the app. This is probably my least favorite way to earn kicks, because it requires actual effort, and I'm lazy, but when I'm just at the edge of a certain amount needed for a gift card, this is a guaranteed way of getting me to the amount that I need. Go to the Nearby tab and look for the stores with green bubbles that have an amount listed in the bubble.  Click on the bubble.  Look for "1 Scan" or "2 Scans" etc. and if you see those words, click on them. In the next screen, click on the item on the list that you'd like to scan.  That will bring you to a special barcode-reader camera screen in your smartphone.   Find the item in the store, hold your smartphone camera over the barcode and scan it.  If it's the correct item, you'll get your points right away.
5. Instant Surprises:  you can earn a few kickbucks every day, even if you never leave the house. On your Nearby tab, find those stores listed that have a star in the green bubble.  Click on them, and then click on the listing that says "1 Instant Surprise" Scroll through the screens.  There are two types of Instant Surprises. The first type just gives you kicks simply for clicking on them.  Those screens will have a picture of part of a green star and say "SURPRISE!" on them. They will ask you to "Tap for surprise." When you do, and then tap the pop-up bubble, you will get 1 or 2 kicks instantly added to your account.  Generally, there are about 10 of these instant surprises available each day (and they do add up).   The other type of instant surprise is when you get awarded a Bonus Badge.  You'll go through the same screens, with the star picture, but instead of instant kickbucks, you'll win a badge that is part of a set. ( The green bubble will read "Woohoo!  Pop me for your bonus!)  When you collect the entire set of badges, you can win various prizes, like 5 or 10 kicks, a donation made to a homeless shelter or a pet rescue, etc.
6. Coupons:  I love the digital coupons on Shopkick and use them all the time.  You can get them from either the "Fave" or the "Nearby" screens. When you find an offer you like, simply tap the "Use this" button and then show the screen to the cashier and ask her/him to scan it.  If the scan doesn't take, the cashier will have to enter the code manually (it's a string of numbers), and that works pretty much every time. Coupons can be a percentage or dollar amount off a certain product, or an entire purchase, or just a special price good for one day.   I've successfully used the same coupons more than once, too, another added perk.  And yes, depending on the store, you can stack these coupons with any manufacturer's coupons you might have.
7. Buy & Collect:  At some of the stores, like Old Navy and Crate & Barrel, you can score a significant amount of kicks just for making a purchase.  To see which stores qualify, look for a little green credit card icon in the listings on the Nearby tab.  You must link the Visa or Mastercard credit card that you will use first in order to get the kicks. You can use Buy & Collect with a Visa debit card, but it must be credit-type transaction (you won't get kicks for any transaction where you need to enter your pin #).  At Old Navy, you can currently get 500 kicks (or the equivalent of one $5 gift card) for spending $50.  You can link your credit card by clicking on the gear in the upper left-hand corner, and then "Buy & Collect."
8. Redeeming gift cards: Click on the "Rewards" screen to see which gift cards are currently available.  Shopkick has a variety of gift cards available, including Target, iTunes, Best Buy, Macy's Sports Authority, Toys R Us, and lots of others. They are digital, so once you redeem a gift card, it will show up in your ME tab (the one with your name), under "My Stuff." Just show them at checkout and ask the cashier to scan them in (or enter the gift card number, if you are shopping online).  You can even have them transfer the value of your digital gift card to a plastic gift card (I do this with my Target rewards).  One feature that I'm not crazy about in Shopkicks is that they don't show you a reward until you have enough kickbucks to redeem it.  So I know that I can redeem a $25 Target gift card for 6,250 kicks, but because I currently have 6,000 kicks, I can't see it on the Rewards screen yet.

Have you used Shopkick yet? Do you like it? Do you use it often? Have you been able to accumulate enough kicks for a gift card yet?

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