[quote name='ZombieToast']How is this any different than buying a game and getting another one free? Is the second one not considered free just because you paid for the first one? If you earn points for buying stuff that you would've bought normally, then anything you get with those points is a bonus, regardless of how long it takes.[/QUOTE]
You, and the OP are missing the point. Nothing is free here. With Buy 1 Get 1 Free, regardless of the name of the promotion, you have to buy an item to get the "free" one. The "free" item is not actually free, there's a cost. With Reward Zone points, you have to buy items to get the points. Again, not free, there's a cost.
If the OP wants to brag because he got the item for $31 and paid $30 in reward zone certificates, that's fine because that's what happened, but instead, he's trying to brag that he only paid a $1 (read the post title), eventhough he really paid $31 since he no longer has those $30 in Reward Zone points, which had a cost, and moreover could have been used for anything he wants.
It's just as misleading and factually wrong as if he purchased a sub $30 item and tried to brag he got it for free because he used reward zone points.