They used to give out awards to gift daily to encourage people to use the official app. You could also give out gold if you got several gold. I never spent any money but did give out awards.

Reddit premium did make the website more enjoyable. I’d never buy it for myself, but I gave it to a couple of friends over the years and the thought additionally was similar to me paying donations to Beehaw: wanting the website hosting the communities I participate in to keep existing