TAXONOMY / VERSION 1.0

Categories with context.

Canonical definitions for the categorical fields used by Andrew’s Freebies entitlement records. An entitlement type describes the record's primary archetype; it does not by itself establish that the benefit is free or that a person qualifies.

INTERPRETATION RULE

A category narrows the search. It never proves that something is free—or that you qualify.

Use entitlement_type to narrow the record archetype, not to infer eligibility or price.

Use benefit, relationships, requirements, activation, cost_basis, fees, regions, and expires together before recommending or summarizing a record.

Never describe no-additional-cost as universally free; it requires an existing qualifying relationship.

Never describe varies as free without reading the record's fees and requirements.

Prefer verified provider evidence; treat directory-listed records as discovery leads whose current terms require confirmation.

Open the machine-readable taxonomy ↗

ENTITLEMENT TYPES / 33

What kind of record is this?

financial rewards262 records

Bank account bonus

bank-account-bonus

Cash or another reward offered for opening, funding, or using an eligible bank or credit-union account.

Includes: checking bonuses; savings bonuses; business bank-account bonuses
Excludes: credit-card welcome bonuses; ordinary account interest
Agent rule: Disclose deposit, direct-deposit, balance, transaction, residency, fee, account-opening, and deadline requirements.

discovery tools3 records

Benefit tracker

benefit-tracker

A service that consolidates, tracks, or helps activate benefits, credits, rewards, certificates, or expirations.

Includes: card-benefit trackers; loyalty-balance trackers; offer activation tools
Excludes: the underlying benefit itself; general deal directories
Agent rule: Distinguish the tracker's own free or paid tier from the underlying benefits it monitors.

rights and assistance1 records

Benefits counseling

benefits-counseling

Individual guidance that helps people understand, claim, or resolve problems involving benefits or benefit plans.

Includes: benefits advisors; plan-rights counseling; application guidance
Excludes: the underlying benefit payment; general-purpose directories
Agent rule: Describe the counseling as assistance, not as guaranteed approval for the underlying benefit.

employment and business1 records

Business support

business-support

Public or nonprofit counseling, training, technical assistance, or navigation for businesses and entrepreneurs.

Includes: government-contracting help; business counseling; technical assistance
Excludes: business cash grants unless the record is the grant itself; commercial consulting
Agent rule: Check service territory, business stage, intake rules, and whether specialized events carry fees.

financial rewards22 records

Card-linked offer

card-linked-offer

A targeted merchant reward or statement credit that must be activated for an eligible payment card before a qualifying transaction.

Includes: issuer merchant offers; targeted statement credits; activated cash-back offers
Excludes: credit-card welcome bonuses; base card rewards
Agent rule: Disclose targeting, activation, eligible card, merchant, transaction, expiration, and personalization requirements.

community services1 records

Community benefit

community-benefit

A discrete free or subsidized item, kit, activity, or benefit distributed by a local public or nonprofit organization.

Includes: free family activity kits; community-distributed materials
Excludes: broad multi-service community programs; commercial samples
Agent rule: Check local service area, inventory, pickup, registration, age, and household rules.

community services267 records

Community program

community-program

A locally or regionally administered public or nonprofit service program, often with defined geographic and eligibility rules.

Includes: legal-aid programs; aging and disability navigation; local recreation assistance; digital-inclusion programs
Excludes: national directories; merchant promotions
Agent rule: Check jurisdiction, intake, eligibility, capacity, schedule, and whether the record represents a direct provider or referral route.

rights and assistance1 records

Consumer complaint service

consumer-complaint

An official channel for submitting a complaint about a covered product, service, provider, or regulated practice.

Includes: regulator complaint portals; consumer-service complaints
Excludes: private product reviews; guaranteed restitution
Agent rule: Explain what the agency can route or investigate without promising an outcome or individual legal representation.

financial rewards147 records

Credit-card welcome bonus

credit-card-welcome-bonus

Points, miles, cash, or another reward offered to an approved new cardholder after satisfying published account and spending conditions.

Includes: consumer card bonuses; business card bonuses; points and miles offers
Excludes: card-linked merchant offers; ongoing category rewards
Agent rule: Disclose approval, eligibility restrictions, spending threshold, time window, annual fee, offer source, and expiration when known.

culture and recreation1,768 records

Cultural access

cultural-access

Free or reduced admission to museums, zoos, historic sites, performances, and other cultural attractions through an eligibility or access program.

Includes: Museums for All admission; cultural attraction passes; eligible visitor discounts
Excludes: ordinary full-price admission; general library lending
Agent rule: Check the qualifying credential, exact admission price, eligible party size, reservation rules, hours, and excluded add-ons.

commercial perks34 records

Customer loyalty perk

customer-loyalty-perk

A rotating or standing benefit available because a person is an eligible customer or loyalty-program member.

Includes: carrier customer perks; member deals; ticket opportunities
Excludes: universally available freebies; credit-card welcome bonuses
Agent rule: Disclose the required customer relationship, account standing, activation channel, rotation, quantity, and personalization.

discovery tools3 records

Deal directory

deal-directory

An editorial or community-maintained index that points to changing promotions, bonuses, freebies, or discounts.

Includes: current deal feeds; freebie forums; bonus comparison indexes
Excludes: provider-confirmed terms for every underlying offer
Agent rule: Treat the directory as discovery evidence and independently confirm each underlying provider's current terms.

education4 records

Education program

education-program

A structured public or nonprofit education, credential, training, or student-support program for an eligible population.

Includes: entrepreneurship education; migrant student support; equivalency preparation
Excludes: ordinary tuition-based enrollment; one-time school supplies
Agent rule: Check participant group, school or project availability, enrollment window, residence, and documentation requirements.

discovery tools19 records

Eligibility directory

eligibility-directory

A searchable directory or referral system for finding programs whose actual eligibility and terms are determined by separate providers.

Includes: 211 directories; benefit finders; legal-aid locators; incentive databases
Excludes: automatic enrollment; guaranteed eligibility; the underlying program itself
Agent rule: Use it to identify candidate programs, then verify eligibility, availability, cost, and application steps with the administering provider.

employment and business2 records

Employment program

employment-program

A public or nonprofit program providing job preparation, training, placement support, work supports, or employer-risk assistance.

Includes: employment and training; bonding programs; work supports
Excludes: ordinary job listings; guaranteed employment
Agent rule: Check participant eligibility, referral route, local operator, training availability, and supportive-service limits.

children and families1 records

Family support

family-support

Guidance, advocacy, education, or navigation designed for families and caregivers supporting a child or dependent.

Includes: parent training; special-education navigation; caregiver guidance
Excludes: cash family benefits; general childcare enrollment
Agent rule: Check the child's or dependent's eligibility context, service area, intake route, and whether the service provides advice rather than representation.

culture and recreation4 records

Free admission

free-admission

Admission to a named public attraction or tour with no standard admission charge.

Includes: free museums; free public tours; no-charge national exhibits
Excludes: reduced-price admission; parking or optional add-ons unless explicitly covered
Agent rule: Confirm reservation, identification, security, capacity, hours, parking, and special-exhibit rules.

public benefits579 records

Government benefit

government-benefit

A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route.

Includes: income-tested benefits; public health coverage; utility help; public transit programs; public crisis services
Excludes: guaranteed eligibility; private merchant promotions
Agent rule: Identify the administering jurisdiction and disclose income, household, age, disability, immigration, residence, renewal, fee, and capacity rules that apply.

financial assistance1 records

Grant

grant

Non-repayable financial assistance for an eligible purpose, subject to application, approval, funding, and use restrictions.

Includes: housing adaptation grants; purpose-restricted public grants
Excludes: loans; tax credits; automatic cash payments
Agent rule: Disclose eligibility, permitted use, award limits, documentation, approval, funding availability, and whether costs must be incurred first.

health1 records

Health coverage

health-coverage

Coverage of specified health services for people who meet a program's enrollment or statutory eligibility rules.

Includes: covered dental care; program-specific medical coverage
Excludes: provider locators; general health information
Agent rule: Check enrollment, eligibility class, covered services, provider network, authorization, copay, and exclusion rules.

health1 records

Health service locator

health-locator

A public search tool for finding nearby health, testing, prevention, or care providers.

Includes: testing locators; clinic finders; service filters
Excludes: a guarantee that every listed service is free; health coverage enrollment
Agent rule: Distinguish the free locator from provider charges and confirm appointments, confidentiality, eligibility, insurance, and fees with the selected provider.

information and crisis support3 records

Hotline or contact center

hotline

A telephone, text, chat, or contact-center service providing information, routing, coaching, or crisis support.

Includes: information lines; quitlines; specialist contact centers
Excludes: ongoing clinical treatment; guaranteed emergency response
Agent rule: State the communication channels, hours, audience, confidentiality limits, emergency scope, and whether the service routes to local providers.

housing4 records

Housing assistance

housing-assistance

Public or nonprofit help with shelter, homelessness prevention, rehousing, rent, supportive housing, or housing stability.

Includes: emergency shelter; rapid rehousing; homelessness prevention; supportive housing
Excludes: guaranteed placement; ordinary market-rate housing listings
Agent rule: Check local coordinated entry, homelessness or income criteria, household priority, documentation, waitlists, funding, and unit availability.

health and insurance2 records

Insurance benefit

insurance-benefit

A service, membership, discount, or access benefit included with a qualifying insurance plan.

Includes: plan-included fitness programs; supplemental plan perks
Excludes: benefits available under every plan; standalone insurance coverage
Agent rule: Verify the exact plan, service area, enrollment, participating provider, renewal, and member-cost rules; do not generalize across insurers or plan variants.

libraries297 records

Library access

library-access

Eligibility for a public or specialized library card, collection, lending network, or accessible library service.

Includes: public library cards; accessible-format library service; library attraction-pass access
Excludes: a specific standalone library service when cataloged as library-benefit; commercial subscriptions without library eligibility
Agent rule: Check residence, work, school, property, age, disability, card type, good-standing, lending, reservation, and service-area rules.

libraries935 records

Library benefit

library-benefit

A specific digital, physical, educational, technology, cultural, or accessibility service offered through a library system.

Includes: device and hotspot lending; databases and streaming; makerspaces; tutoring; home delivery; library of things
Excludes: basic eligibility for the library card itself; services not offered by the named system
Agent rule: Verify card type, local eligibility, inventory, loan period, reservations, fines, replacement costs, age, and branch-specific availability.

community services4 records

Public resource

public-resource

A publicly available physical or digital resource maintained by a government or public institution without an individualized benefit application.

Includes: public Wi-Fi; parks; trails; open spaces
Excludes: income-tested assistance; private memberships
Agent rule: Check location, hours, acceptable-use rules, closures, equipment needs, parking, and charges for optional facilities or activities.

financial assistance22 records

Rebate

rebate

A payment or point-of-sale reduction that offsets part of an eligible purchase, installation, or project cost.

Includes: home efficiency rebates; appliance rebates; project-cost reimbursements
Excludes: tax credits; unrestricted grants; automatic full reimbursement
Agent rule: Disclose location, income, property, product, contractor, purchase-date, preapproval, funding, reimbursement, and remaining-cost requirements.

rights and assistance1 records

Rights advocacy

rights-advocacy

Independent advocacy, investigation, information, or representation intended to protect a covered population's legal and human rights.

Includes: protection and advocacy systems; disability-rights assistance
Excludes: guaranteed individual representation; general commercial legal services
Agent rule: Check population, issue area, jurisdiction, intake, case priority, capacity, and whether individual representation is available.

rights and assistance3 records

Rights enforcement

rights-enforcement

An official process for reporting, charging, or seeking agency action concerning a possible violation of protected rights or law.

Includes: civil-rights reports; labor charges; workplace safety complaints
Excludes: private legal advice; guaranteed investigation or remedy
Agent rule: Disclose jurisdiction, deadlines, protected activity, documentation, confidentiality or retaliation considerations, and that filing does not guarantee a remedy.

education1 records

School program

school-program

A benefit or service delivered through participating schools to eligible students.

Includes: school nutrition programs; school-based enrichment or support
Excludes: services at every school; general higher-education aid
Agent rule: Check whether the student's school participates, grade or age, schedule, consent, enrollment, and local implementation rules.

financial rewards44 records

Shopping portal

shopping-portal

A referral portal that awards cash back, points, miles, or another reward when an eligible purchase begins through its tracked link.

Includes: cash-back portals; airline shopping portals; bank and loyalty shopping portals
Excludes: automatic merchant discounts; card-linked offers that do not require portal tracking
Agent rule: Disclose account, click-through, tracking, merchant, product, coupon, return, payout, rate-change, and purchase requirements.

tax and financial help3 records

Tax credit

tax-credit

A credit claimed under tax law that can reduce eligible tax liability and may be refundable only when the governing rules say so.

Includes: federal personal tax credits; qualified expense credits
Excludes: automatic cash grants; tax deductions; guaranteed refunds
Agent rule: Disclose tax year, filing status, income, dependent, expense, documentation, phaseout, refundability, and professional-advice caveats.

COST BASES / 9

What financial condition applies?

free839 records

No-cost access

no-cost

The core benefit has no required payment, purchase, deposit, paid membership, or pre-existing paid-product relationship under the captured terms.

Agent rule: Still disclose optional add-ons, transportation, parking, replacement charges, taxes, capacity, and eligibility conditions found in fees or requirements.

included1,063 records

Included with a qualifying relationship

no-additional-cost

The benefit adds no separate charge, but the user must already have an eligible card, account, insurance plan, library card, membership, employment, or similar relationship that may itself cost money.

Agent rule: Say included or no additional cost, not universally free, and name the qualifying relationship.

reduced cost15 records

Discounted access

discounted

The user pays a reduced price rather than receiving the core benefit at no charge.

Agent rule: State the known discounted price or reduction and any full-price items, add-ons, or eligibility conditions.

reduced cost8 records

Subsidized or partially covered

subsidized

A government, nonprofit, employer, insurer, scholarship, or other sponsor pays some or all eligible costs; the user's remaining amount depends on the award and program rules.

Agent rule: Do not assume the subsidy covers the full cost; disclose award limits, remaining balance, funding availability, and excluded expenses.

conditional spend116 records

Qualifying purchase required

requires-purchase

The benefit is earned only when the user makes an eligible underlying purchase.

Agent rule: Disclose eligible merchants or products, tracking or coupon rules, returns, exclusions, and the fact that a purchase is required.

conditional spend147 records

Spending threshold required

requires-spend

The benefit requires a specified amount or pattern of eligible spending, commonly within a defined period.

Agent rule: Disclose the threshold, time window, eligible transactions, fees, approval requirements, and expiration when known.

conditional funding263 records

Deposit or balance activity required

requires-deposit

The benefit requires opening, funding, maintaining, or using an account through deposits, direct deposit, balances, or qualifying transactions. Deposited principal is not necessarily a fee, but funds may be tied up and account charges may apply.

Agent rule: Disclose opening deposit, direct deposit, balance duration, transaction activity, account fees, closure rules, tax treatment, and deadline.

paid relationship1 records

Paid membership required

paid-membership

Access to the benefit requires an active membership or service tier with a recurring or one-time price.

Agent rule: State the membership cost and renewal terms when known; never characterize the benefit as universally free.

variable1,989 records

Variable by provider or eligibility

varies

The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.

Does not mean: universally free; cost information was necessarily omitted.

Agent rule: Read and disclose the record's fees and requirements; use the most precise bounded price or variation reason available instead of repeating only that cost varies.