NOTE:  EarningStation is closing June 30th, 2019.  For now, they recommend you join their new community, Opinion Outpost.

I’m quite a fan of signing up for GPT (get paid to) websites and have been for some time now.  It’s a cool way to earn a few dollars every month if you just feel like lounging on your computer and getting paid.

And if you’re like me and love the websites where you’re paid to complete offers, then you know there are A TON of them out there.  Some bad, some good, of course.

As I continue to build this website, I will try my best to continue to add reviews for the many GPT/survey websites and really add my personal opinion as to what I think.

In today’s blog post, I wanted to write about a GPT website I came across called EarningStation — a website which offers “free gift cards for surveys, videos and much more.”

I saw it pop up on a few survey review-based websites and decided to dig in.

Here’s what I found…

What is EarningStation?

According to the company’s FAQ page, EarningStation is a loyalty reward program which will reward its members with cash for completing online activities, including surveys, playing games, watching videos and more.   It appears they have been active since 2014.

Each offer you complete has its own earning requirements, but the website does a good job telling you what you need to do in order to get credit before you start.

It’s 100% free to join and is open to U.S. residents 16 and older with a valid mailing address.

At this time, the website is open to U.S. residents ONLY and is not available to anyone who lives outside of the United States.

EarningStation Review – Is it Legit?

Upon signing up, I actually had some trouble in the beginning when I tried to fill out my profile.  It seemed as if every time I tried to sign up and insert my address, it wouldn’t let me continue.

Discouraged by this, I almost gave up, but I tried a week later and was able to get in.  I guess it was a glitch?

Anyways, the main website is pretty simple, like most competitors, before you even sign up.

They tell you the ways to earn, link to an FAQ if you have any questions and has a simple registration form, which only required your email, name, and password to get started.

Logging In

When you sign in for the first time, I was presented with a questionnaire which said it could boost my “earning potential.”  You can see my screenshot below.

Basically, it just asked me a few yes or no questions and it is said the more of these you do, the more you can get in terms of surveys since these offers are often based on your demographic.

In some cases, it seemed like some of the offers would lead to another offer you could complete for points.  This is completely up to you if you want to do it or not.   Personally, I didn’t.

After you pass the pop-up screen as mentioned above, you are then able to access your dashboard.

And if you’re accessing it for the first time, you can take a small tour, where the company will show you exactly how the entire setup works.   This can come in handy if just want to learn the basics.

Like this review, it will talk about the ways you can make money, how you’re paid and so forth.

Your Dashboard

Once logged in, you’re presented with a clean, easy-to-read template, with your offers broken down into categories in the center of your screen, along with an “EarningStreak” progress bar, to-do list, bonus codes submission form, and the top offers members are completing on your left-hand sidebar.  I will get into this later.

For now, let’s focus on the offer opportunities EarningStation rewards you with.

Like most competitors, EarningStation lets you earn cash by completing offers, taking surveys, playing games, watching videos and even shopping.

Here’s what the top toolbar looks like, for instance:

Aside from this sidebar, the company has a left menu bar with many offers, all of which I get into later as well.

For instance, the company will reward you each time you earn $0.25 every day via what’s known as the “EarningStreak.”  If you earn $0.25 every day for 10 days straight or whatever the streak is at this time, then you will earn the reward.  For example, I would earn $1 if I earned $0.25 for 10 days straight.  Just make sure you pay attention to that timer located on your left-hand sidebar.

Now, with the basics set aside, let’s dig deep into the actual offers and what I found.

Surveys

To start any survey, you will first need to verify your account with a phone number and of course, your email address to access anything on the website.  This is a standard protocol with most of the big names in the survey space.

All you need to do is input a phone number you can receive an SMS and enter the shortcode.  Not that hard to do as long as you have a phone with texting capabilities.

Once confirmed, there are a few ways to find surveys on the website.

For one, you can choose the top surveys on your dashboard — the surveys which may be the highest converting and/or the best for the company, who knows?  This is what it looks like and will be located beneath the “featured surveys” tab:

Aside from the top surveys, you can also click on the tab at the top to view all of the surveys available at the time.

Highlighting that tab, without clicking, you will then be presented with a dropdown list you can choose from.  Do keep in mind that this can change from time to time, but this is what I was presented with at the time of my review:

As you can see, you can choose from a variety of options to keep you busy for a while, especially if you just started out with the website.

For instance, I had more than 32 surveys I could qualify for, all totaling well over $50.  BUT, like most surveys, you do need to qualify for them if you want the credit.

I found the survey board was my favorite tab as I could glance through all of the surveys and pick one out that was of interest.

For example, take a look at all of the surveys I was presented with when I clicked on that tab:

Now, keep in mind that if you’re apart of another survey-type company similar to that of EarningStation, you will see that they work with the same “OfferWall,” such as Peanut Labs.  In this case, you may be limited if you already completed the surveys via this OfferWall on another website.  Just keep that in mind.

As for the surveys, the payouts seemed to be about the same in comparison to other websites I’m part of.   You can see the payouts and time limit above to give you an idea.

For instance, one 25 minute survey paid $0.80, while another paid $0.40 for 20 minutes.  NOT MUCH.

However, I did find one health survey that paid $20 for a 15-minute study, which I thought was awesome!  This will change all the time, so I do recommend you log in at least daily to see what’s going on.  I personally just test the waters with the highest paying offers since I don’t want to earn $1 an hour and I don’t think you do, either.

Just check out the list and see if any are of interest to you, and remember, the more you fill out your profile, the more these survey companies can learn about you, sending you targeted surveys in the process.

Do keep in mind, however, as with ANY survey website, you have to remember you need to QUALIFY for the survey to get your credit.

So even if it said you will be paid $20 for 15 minutes of your time, this is not 100% guaranteed.

PERSONAL NOTE:  A BIG complaint I found online is that people will often complete the survey, but upon completion, they never get credited.  To prevent this, I highly recommend you take a screenshot at the end so that you can send it to the support team to ensure you get the credit you deserve.  If you do not know how to perform a screenshot, it’s easy and this LifeHacker.com guide can show you how it’s done.

Offers

For those who do not know, the “offers” are simply “offers” which are tasks you need to complete in order to get credited.

And when I logged in, EarningStation works with two prominent companies in the “OfferWall” space:  Adwall and Offer Toro.

Aside from those two, it appears they have their own offers as well, all broken down into the following categories:  most popular, free, EarningStation Exclusive, research, sign-ups, games, surveys and other offers.

Like I mentioned with PeanutLabs in the surveys section, if you have already completed Adwall and/or Offer Toro offers on other websites, then there’s a good chance you will not be able to complete them here, so it’s wise NOT to complete the same offer twice.

Since these websites record your IP address, personal information and so forth, it’s not worth your time.  Don’t try to trick them, either, as they often catch on fast, banning you and taking away any credits you may have earned.

The offers are straightforward:  Just follow the directions and complete the task.

For example, one offer just said sign up for the item and you would be credited for $1.

Here are a select few I was presented with, for instance:

The offer section was nice because I could break it down by category, see the payout and even the time it took to complete.  You can see above.

So if you’re like me and do not want to purchase anything, then you can just complete the freebie offers, for instance.

As with the offers, if you completed any of these offers in the past, it’s wise to avoid doing them as you probably won’t be credited.

Even if it states it’s exclusive and you remember doing it in the past, just play it safe and find something that may be worth it.

Offers can be lucrative, BUT just pay attention to the fine print to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Games

Another way to earn with EarningStation is via their games tab, which, like most providers, is through GSN casino and cash games.  These were the only two options I was presented with.

To earn money while playing games, you will have to spend money, with EarningStation giving you 20% back for every $1 you spend.

And while it appears you can win with GSN, this probably isn’t a money maker for you and really isn’t recommended unless you want to try to win with GSN.

If you do proceed with GSN, EarningStation notes it can take up to 45 days to have your account to be credited.

There are other ways to make money while playing games, and personally, I don’t recommend the games section here.  It’s not worth the investment.

Videos

Next, let’s take a look at the video section, an area where you can make money to watch small clips, which usually last about 30 to 90 seconds.

With a variety of video options, the thing I liked was that you could choose the topic you wanted.

So, for instance, if you wanted to watch world news videos, then you could watch some world news only clips.

Here’s the thing with videos, though.

Videos pay poorly, NO matter where you sign up.  I’m talking $0.01 per five minutes of viewing time.

So unless you want to watch something of interest, I really don’t recommend videos, but no one is stopping you!

If you like the idea of watching videos, I did write about 28+ resources in the past that paid you to watch TV shows, ads and more if interested.

Again, like games, I don’t recommend videos, but if something is of interest, I guess it doesn’t hurt to get paid for your time.

Shopping

As one of the last tabs on the top, the shopping tab, as you imagine, will pay you to shop in two ways: either via Groupon vouchers or by downloading coupons.

Powered by Groupon, EarningStation notes that you will receive 5.5% cash back if you purchase any of the Groupons noted on the page, all of which are broken down in categories.

This could be of value if you’re looking to boost your earnings on EarningStation; HOWEVER, other cashback websites will give you more in terms of cash back if that’s what you’re looking for.

For instance, eBates, one of the most popular cashback websites, offers 6% back, a pinch more.  Nothing groundbreaking, however.

Again, it’s not a bad choice if you plan on purchasing a Groupon voucher and need to boost your balance to meet your payout minimum.

The other way to earn while shopping is via the coupons tab, in which you can clip coupons.

Refer a Friend

As the last tab on the top, EarningStation, like most of the GPT-type websites, will pay you to refer friends.

Whether it’s giving your friend a direct URL or a referral code (mine is 1966788 if you need one!), you will earn 10% of your referrals’ earnings for life, with some exceptions.

For example, you will not earn referral earnings on bonus codes, sweepstakes, adjustment credits, GSN earnings, video credits, prize wheel spins and transactions totaling less than $0.10.

More Ways to Earn

The methods noted above are your typical ways to earn, but to try and be different from the competitors, EarningStation does a few cool things that many websites do not offer, which I will talk about below.

EarningStreak

I talked about the EarningStreak feature for a few above, but in short, this is how it works:

On your left-hand sidebar, you will see a timer, which tells you how long you have to keep your streak alive AND how much you need to earn to keep it active.

And if you complete your streak, you will receive the bonus as noted in your box.

This can change, but mine was $1 if I checked in 10 days in a row, earning at least $0.25 each day.

Aside from the $1 bonus, the company also gives you the chance to spin the wheel to win more prizes AND if you continue to reach another 10 days, one after another, the rewards are said to get even better.

So try to keep making that money every day to increase your streak bonus.

To-Do List

The to-do list kind of ties in with the offers I mentioned above, but it seems to be an easier way to earn the money stated if you want to earn money fast.

While most of the offers are less than a few pennies, I could earn an “Easy $10” if I choose to do so.

This to-do list does change, and if you’re looking for a quick way to earn a few cents and keep your streak alive, then this is probably where you want to look.

Bonus Codes

The bonus codes box, located on your left-hand sidebar is one of the easiest ways to earn cash as all you have to do is find a code and put it in the box.

These codes, according to EarningStation, can be found inside your emails, on Twitter, Instagram, the blog or even Facebook.

You can also search online to find third-party websites that share them as well.

When you do find one, simply enter the code and earn the reward — it’s that easy.

Rewards

Now that I got all of the ways to earn money out of the way, let’s get to the fun part — REWARDS.

Once you earn enough reward points, which seems to be $10, you are able to cash out for a variety of gift card options, including Amazon, AMC, Hallmark, Boston Market and many more.   These seems to change, so I won’t list them all to mislead you.

The website does note that if you are a new member, you need to request your payment via a physical gift card to verify your address.

Once your address is verified, then you can start to redeem digital rewards.

What People Are Saying

Outside of my personal thoughts, there appear to be mixed reviews.  Some people love it, while others hate it.

This can be said about a lot of websites out there, however, to break it down, let’s take a look at what people loved and what people didn’t like…

What People Loved

• A 100% legit website and pays quick enough
• Lots of survey options, all with varying price points
• Great customer service — very responsive
• Lots of ways to earn
• Loved the EarningStreak feature
• Surveys were interesting
• Clean and simple to use

What People Did Not Like

• Some surveys do not credit, even after upon completion (To be fair, this seems to be a problem with a lot of GPT websites)
• Disqualification can be annoying as some users reported wasting 20+ minutes to only find out they can’t take the survey
• Certain rewards are sometimes not available when you want to cash out
• First cash out needs to be a physical gift card mailed to your home
• Only open to U.S. residents

Final Thoughts

From all of the research I did, as you can see from this MASSIVE guide, I can, for sure, say the website is 100% LEGIT and is NOT A SCAM.  I promise.

And for this reason, I do recommend them if you want another survey-type website to add to your list.

With fast customer support, decent rewards and a lot of surveys to choose from, I really think you can earn about $20 to $50+ a month if you continue to check in each day and take advantage of the promotion codes.  Don’t plan on making a full-time income, however.

While the complaint about the non-survey credits can be valid, this is often the case with most survey companies out there, so I can’t fault them for it, to be honest.  To be safe, I just recommend you screenshot your final screen to prove you actually did the survey.

8/10 Out of a 10 score, on a personal level, I would score it a 8 out of 10.

I’m only going to drop is one point due to the frustrations I read from many users in regards to survey disqualifications and the fact that you have to request a physical gift card for your first request.  I get why they do this, but many competitors allow you to cash out initially.

To sign up, you can do so here.  $100s of surveys are waiting and remember, the more you check in, the more you can earn!

If you have tried it, let me know what you think in the comments!