I am going to answer both of the questions in this guide. Maybe this guide will be worth a Reddit Gold when you are done reading it!
What Are Awards on Reddit?
Awards are little icons that show up near comments and threads on Reddit. The idea is to show off interesting or helpful contributions made by people (Redditors). Reddit website. Threads are the posts/topics people submit to Reddit. Originally the only award available was Reddit Gold. But now, there are far too many awards to count. Some awards are medal or trophy-like. These are the silver, gold, platinum, Argentium, and Ternion All-Powerful awards. However, many of these awards are based on memes or internet culture. Subreddits can have their own awards as well. Subreddits are the communities people create for Reddit.
How Do You Give People Awards?
Awards cost coins, and you have to buy coins with money to give somebody an award. Normally the more stylish or flashy rewards cost more coins. If you upgrade your account to Reddit Premium, you get coins every month as a membership bonus. To give an award using the official Reddit website and app, you tap an icon near the thread or comment you want to award. You then spend coins and pick what award you want to give them. You can leave a comment and notify the user who you are. Or you can give an award anonymously. But if you start to chat with the person who you gave the award to, they will know your username.
What Does a Person Get When You Get a Award?
You get a bit of Reddit Karma by giving an award. Karma is kind of a high score system Reddit has, and you get more Karma for getting upvotes on comments and threads. Users who receive awards don’t get anything from most Reddit awards. Other than the smug satisfaction that somebody agreed with something you wrote online. But some of the more expensive awards give some benefits to the receiver. Some awards give the person coins. Some awards give users r/lounge access and ad-free viewing of Reddit. R/lounge is a specific subreddit that only Reddit premium users and people who get access from certain awards can view.Note the ad-free viewing only applies to the official Reddit website and mobile apps.
Do Awards Work on All Reddit Apps?
If you want to view all Reddit awards, I recommend using the official Reddit app. It is not the most popular way to browse Reddit. But you won’t have to worry about missing any current or new features added to Reddit. I have noticed some newer Reddit features were missing from unofficial apps. Any of the benefits of being a Reddit Premium user do not work on unofficial apps. These apps often have different ways to pay to get rid of ads.
Reasons Why People Give Awards on Reddit
People give awards to comments to highlight them. People give awards to comments/threads for being detailed. People give awards to comments/threads for having useful information. People give awards to comments/threads that are funny. People give awards to comments/threads they agree with People give awards to comments/threads they like. People give awards to comments/threads they think are high quality. People give awards to comments/threads to make a joke. People give awards to threads if the original poster (OP) says they don’t want awards. People give awards to threads that contain important information.
Examples of Reddit Content With Awards
This comment advises the OP to check for carbon monoxide leak. It is a great example of a useful comment getting awards. This animated picture made with Guardians of the Galaxy at one point was the most upvoted post on Reddit. It has lots of awards as well. People love GIFs. People often give awards to threads with important USA news. This post of Joe Biden winning his presidential campaign is an example. So many awards!
How to Get Free Reddit Awards
Reddit sometimes gives users free awards. I normally get at least two free awards a week. There is nothing you need to do to get these awards. You need to be using the official Reddit app or website and click/tap a button on the screen. The award you get is random. You won’t ever get anything better than a silver award. So don’t expect to be giving people free coins. Here are the free awards I have gotten. There may be others or more in the future.
Helpful Silver Wholesome
When you claim your free award, you have to use it within 24 hours. In the past Reddit gave free coins to users. People speculated this was based on user activity. I am not sure if Reddit plans on doing this again in the future. When the official Reddit app launched, people were given free coins for a while. But I think this was a one time event, though.
Why Some People Dislike Reddit Awards
Plenty of people on Reddit see awards as a waste of money. There are free awards and sometimes ways to get free coins. But most awards on Reddit cost money. Some of the more expensive awards cost over $50 (USD) in coins. Some people feel giving a company like Reddit money to show off a tiny meme or medal is not a good way to spend money.
