Technically yes. Technically no. The gift cards are a reward offered by promoters to get you to buy into their program. This is where the "Program Requirements" or "Program Participation Required" clauses come into play.

Program Participation

Typically the programs have 3 levels. The 1st level is usually trivial. The second level will require a purchase of something larger. The 3rd level will often require the purchase of 1 or more items that significantly more expensive than the reward.

1st Level

In the 1st level the program will ask you try out some free trial from Sony, BMG Music, Columbia House, etc. Or the program will ask you to sign up for something like the University of Phoenix. Most of the time you can get past the 1st level without a purchase but not always. When a purchase is required at 1st level it is small compared to the final reward.

2nd Level

The second level usually requires a purchase but the purchase is typically small compared to the reward offered. If you are looking at $1000 Walmart Gift Card the 2nd level is probably on the order of $100. So how do these promoters make any money?

3rd Level

My experience is that the 3rd level requires a substantial purchase typically much more expensive than the final reward. A few years back I looked at a free laptop offer where the I readily signed up for the items on the 1st and 2nd level but then the 3rd level required that I buy a timeshare. Obviously the reward was really only worth it if I was already interested. I, however, had no intention of buying a timeshare sight unseen on the internet.

If you are anything like me the first question you have is how do these offers make money? It is a crucial question to answer since an internet offer that is too goo to be true is probably a scam. And since few people would buy a timeshare to get a laptop, where does the money come from?

Are they scams?

I dont' think so. I've read several pages over the years where people vouched for one offer or another. They had received their reward promptly and were happy. There was some advice though:

1. Finish the program requirements quickly so you don't forget.
2. Explore several offers to find the best deal.

Email

Most of the offers out there will ask for an email address to get started (sometimes just a zip code).  I was curious if they spammed you so I gave a couple of the offers my email address.  All I can say is that I use Gmail and I haven't seen any new spam.  So either Gmail is doing a great job of filtering it or they aren't spamming me.  If you are interested in exploring these offers get a Gmail account and give them that address.

Advertising

This is pure conjecture but I suspect advertising is how they make their money.  The programs that are part of program requirements probably pay to be part of the program.  Then as you go through the offers and select a few at the lower levels the promoters probably get some money for each form you fill out.  That way if you bail out before actually buying anything they still get paid at least a little.

If you finish the program the commission is probably so large that the reward is small by comparison.

Believe it or not some people find these offers fun.  I did for a while.  I was always to trying to find just the right deal where they offered me a reward I wanted with purchases I also wanted at a price I could justify given the reward.  It's a form of shopping for the best deal.

When you find the right deal grab it quick.  The promoter will probably end up with more people than they can handle and pull the offer.