If you research the many ways to make money taking surveys, there’s a good chance you will see MyPoints on the list. It’s an oldie, but it’s still quite active as of today.
The company is operated by Prodege, the same organization that manages Swagbucks, and was founded in 1996, making it one of the oldest companies of its kind on the web today.
This rewards program, just like Swagbucks, lets you earn points while making online purchases, taking surveys, watching videos and much more. There’s a lot to do, and I will make sure I talk all about it in this review. In short, it’s a nice way to make $25, $50 or even $100 a month. It really depends how hard you work at it.
I’ve been a member for quite some time, so I figured it was now time to create an in-depth and honest review, letting you know what I think about the program. I will talk about the many ways you can make money as well as what other members are saying about. As with all of my reviews, I’m honest, non-biased and try to explore both the pros and cons. This review will come from my personal experience.
So, with all of that out of the way, let’s take a look to see if MyPoints is really worth joining as well as how the entire website/app works.
MyPoints Review – Legit or Waste of Time?
What is MyPoints?
MyPoints is quite possibly one the most popular rewards program online that rewards you with points to take surveys, watch videos, shop and much more. If you’re familiar with Swagbucks, instaGC or PrizeRebel, to name a few, it’s no different than this.
The company was founded in 1996 and is now operated by Prodege, the same company that runs other popular GPT-like websites such as Swagbucks, InboxDollars and many more. In short, it’s a legitimate organization that has over 100 million users and continues to grow to this day.
Even though the company is 100% legit, the question is if it’s worth it?
Signing Up
The sign-up process, like many of the websites in the industry, was very quick and painless. All I needed to do right away was enter my email and a password to immediately access my dashboard.
In accessing my dashboard, MyPoints would then ask me to confirm my email and complete an optional list of tasks, as seen here:
Taking a look at the list, I would at least recommend completing your profile to at least unlock the surveys. This is standard in the survey industry and will help you unlock additional surveys as the research companies will need to know more about you in order to send as many targeted surveys as possible. Since surveys are targeted to specific demographics, these companies can’t send you surveys if they don’t know anything about you.
As for the other items, I would ignore the rest unless you wanted to do them, except for shopping. If you had to do some shopping online, you may want to consider at least using the MyPoints portal to get a $10 bonus. All you would need to do is find a retailer you’re shopping with, click on the special MyPoints link and shop as you would.
As a last note, let it be known that only United States and Canadian residents can apply. If you live outside of this region, then, unfortunately, you won’t be accepted.
Your Dashboard
Once you sign up, you will be able to access your dashboard as mentioned, and it should look something like this:
As you can see, there’s quite a bit you can do, from shopping to games. In each of the subheadings below, I will explain how each option works as well as how you can earn points.
NOTE: If you’re using the app, it will have the same sections, only that you will have to access them via your app’s menu rather than the menu bar located at the top.
Shop
In the shopping section, it works a lot like the popular cashback sites like Rakuten and Mr. Rebates. You will get a certain number of points for every dollar you spend. How much you earn, however, will depend on the retailer and time of the year as rates change.
If you’re not familiar with these cashback portals, I will explain how they work really quick.
In short, all you need to do is find an online store that you plan on shopping with. Almost all cashback portals, including MyPoints, work with thousands of retailers, so there’s a good chance your retailer will be listed. You will click on the link and shop like normally would. I talked about it more in depth in my how to get cash back with Amazon post.
After you checkout, MyPoints should then confirm your purchase a few days later and will eventually credit you 30+ days in the future. This is fairly standard in this industry as they don’t want to credit you until the return period expires. So, if you earn four points for every dollar spent and you spend $100, MyPoints would give you 400 points after confirming.
As there are a ton of cashback portals that work like MyPoints, I highly recommend you check out CashBackMonitor.com to figure out who’s giving the best cash back rate at the time since MyPoints won’t always offer the best rate.
NOTE: If you’re signing up for the first time, MyPoints often offers a $10 bonus when you spend $20 or more. If you can take advantage of this offer, then I highly recommend you at least use MyPoints, no matter who you shop with, as this will be a very tough deal to beat elsewhere.
Deals
To me, the deals section seemed to be misleading in a way as it’s moreso an area where you can complete offers.
If you’ve messed around with any sites, such as Swagbucks, before then you may already know how this section works. You will be asked to sign up for something, and in return, you will receive X amount of points. Some options are free, whereas some may ask you to sign up for a free trial. They all vary.
For instance, in that screenshot above from my dashboard, MyPoints would give me 3,500 points if I donated $25 to the Alzheimer’s Association.
No matter which option you sign up for, just make sure you read the fine print to ensure you get your credits. For instance, some offers may ask that you’re active for 30 days before canceling, whereas another may ask you to do something else related to the offer. They all vary.
Generally, as long as you read the fine print and know what you’re getting yourself into, especially if you’re using a credit card, then you should have a problem here. Just make sure the points you receive are worth signing up for the offer.
Coupons
In the coupon section, you could choose from two options: coupon codes or grocery coupons.
The coupon codes section was just that — coupon codes. You couldn’t earn anything in this section, but rather, you could find coupon codes. I wouldn’t recommend this section as there are many other coupon code websites that I feel are much better. Don’t expect much here.
As for the grocery coupons, this section could come in handy since you can earn 25 points for every coupon you redeem at the grocery store as well as one point for every coupon printed. If you’re already printing coupons, this is a fantastic way to earn. Consider using this coupon database the next time you go shopping to see if there are any coupons you can use to save even more.
Surveys
To me, this is the section you will want to focus on as it’s the best way to make money. On all of the sites I use, including MyPoints, I always make the most money taking surveys.
As you can see from my personal dashboard, I always had a good selection, including some that paid pretty decent:
Doing the math, that 510 + 102 bonus survey would be worth about $4~ in value. The points system is quite wacky when doing the math, but I will talk about it later on. For now, let it be known that the points are worth less than $0.01 but can add up fast.
Keep in mind that you won’t always be approved for the surveys on your dashboard since you will need to qualify. Depending on your demographics, plan on taking about 20% of the surveys you click on, but if you’re lucky enough to take the survey, just answer the questions honestly and you will get rewarded with the points mentioned almost instantly 99% of the time. For example, when I clicked on 50 surveys, I qualified for about 10~. This will vary based on your demographics, however.
Again, I can’t stress it enough. If you want to make money with MyPoints, this is one of the best ways to do it.
Videos
I have talked about watching videos for cash in the past, and basically, if you want to do it, you won’t make make money. I’m talking pennies per hour.
It’s no different on MyPoints.
The company works with a third-party provider that offers the videos so you’re not working with MyPoints directly it seems. In this case, it’s a company by the name of nCrave.
To start earning, you just start watching the videos and you will earn the points specified. So, in the screenshot above, that “Take A Coffee Break” would pay you two points if you watched a round of videos.
Again, don’t expect much in this category.
Games
The “Games” section will reward you to play games, but the only caveat is that you need to spend money to earn your points.
Looking at the screenshot, you could earn four points for every dollar invested in almost every game. It’s not much.
There’s not much value here, so I don’t recommend it. However, if you’re already playing these games, I guess it doesn’t hurt to follow these links to at least earn additional points for your deposit.
Travel
The travel section was quite unique, at least to me, in comparison to competitors.
Here, you could search for hotels and even view travel offers, some of which included the following at the time of this review:
Working a lot like the shopping section mentioned prior, it appears MyPoints added a travel section focusing only on travel deals.
If you’re going to book anything travel online, it doesn’t hurt to check out MyPoints, but, before you do so, make sure you always compare other cashback portals to ensure you’re getting the most money back for your purchase.
The “More” Tab
The “More” section included a few more items of interest, which included the following:
Monthly Goal
The monthly goal allows you to earn up to a certain number of points when you meet your own defined goals.
In this section, you get to set the minimums for all of the questions asked and will have to meet all of them in order to receive a bonus. For example, you can set a survey goal or how many coupons you will print in a month.
While most of them are optional, it made me set one goal, particularly the “How many days will you complete the Daily 5?” You can do as many as you want, however.
If you feel you’re going to use the site quite often, be sure to maximize these goals to earn even more points on top of what you’re already earning. The higher your number for each goal, the more bonus points you can earn.
Daily Poll
This one is pretty self-explanatory.
Answer the very simple poll question every day and MyPoints will reward you with one point.
It’s not much, but hey, it only takes two seconds to complete.
Search and Earn
In the past, I talked about a few websites that pay you to search, and MyPoints was one of them.
The next time you need to search for something, consider using one of your favorite GPT sites so that you can at least earn a point or so for every search you make.
If you need to search, you can do so in this section or you can use the toolbar at the top.
Refer & Earn
Like many websites that pay you to refer your friends, MyPoints is one of them, offering a pretty decent referral program.
For every friend that accepts your invite, MyPoints will reward you with an instant 10 points. Then, if your friend earns more than $20, you get an additional 750 points and a 10% bonus for everything they earn after.
If you know of anyone who would love to earn a few dollars in their spare time, be sure to share your unique URL that can be found here. Just don’t spam it online as you could put your account at risk.
Point Perks
In the Point Perks section, MyPoints will often post what are known as “Point Perks’ on their Facebook and Twitter social media pages. These are codes that you can simply enter and receive instant points.
While you won’t earn a ton, usually no more than five to 10 points, it doesn’t hurt to at least follow their social media page to earn some easy points.
Daily 5
As the last option on the menu, the Daily 5 allows you to complete any of the five activities noted on the checklist to earn a bonus.
For instance, as I was writing this, this is what my Daily 5 checklist looked like:
These are all completely optional, but like the monthly goal, this could earn you bonus points daily instead of waiting for 30 days to post. This list will reset daily.
Redeeming Your Points
Out of all the reviews I have created, I would have to say MyPoints has the most confusing points system. Whereas most companies note that one point equals a dollar, MyPoints makes it a bit trickier to figure out how much your points are worth.
In the section, I wanted to touch upon the value of your points as well as what you can use your points for.
How much are my points worth?
Your points will vary in value and will greatly depend on what you want to use your points for.
For instance, as I write this, a $5 Amazon gift card will cost you 790 points while a $5 Nike gift card will cost 700 points. But, if you wanted a $10 Amazon gift card, it would cost you 1,580 points, but a Nike $10 would cost 1,400 points.
Using the math, the points value can vary a smidge, but I would say every point is worth about $0.006. I know the math can be annoying, but if you use this number, it can at least give you an idea as to what that survey, video or offer could be worth.
What are my redemption options?
As I write this, MyPoints had more than 82 gift card options, available in both an eGift and Physical option. PayPal is even an option if you don’t want a gift card. However, if you choose the PayPal optional, you will need to hit at least 3,970 in points, a $25 value, before you can cash out.
All gift cards do vary in terms of value and which reward type is available, but the minimum redemption value starts at as little as $3.
MyPoints offers a simple filter section where you can find the exact gift card you want or even the ones you can only afford right now.
What Others Are Saying
My opinion can only go so far, and, for that reason, I like to comb the web and see what other people are talking about, both good and bad.
As in all of my reviews, I list both the pros and cons from members I found online. Here’s what I found summed up in a few words…
The Pros
- great sign-up bonus
- nice number of survey opportunities
- easy to use
- 100% FREE
- 80+ reward options
- tons of ways to earn money
- great mobile app
- helpful customer support staff
- nice way to earn a $100+/mo
- can start INSTANTLY
The Cons
- not qualifying for surveys (some demographics don’t have much luck)
- only available to U.S. and Canadian residents
- $25 minimum if you want PayPal
- inconsistent point values
Final Thoughts
I like MyPoints a lot, and I can say with 100% certainty, it is not a scam and it is safe. I can promise you that much.
You’re not going to get rich with this website, but this can be said about any survey/offer like website.
8/10 For that reason, I’m going to give them a solid 8 out of 10. The only reason I’m going to drop them a few points is due to a few reasons.For one, I hate the points system. I wish they worked like most online that simply make a point worth a penny. Instead, I have to look at the rewards and figure out what the points are worth at the time.
And, secondly, aside from the surveys, I don’t feel the website offers too much value. You may be able to find a good offer deal here and there, but I wouldn’t count on it. Instead, I would just focus on the surveys only as they do offer a ton of them every day, many of which are worth your time. If you were to log in daily, I could say you could at least earn $1 to $5 a day with ease, maybe even more if you invest more time.
If you have ever joined MyPoints or are even thinking about joining, be sure to sound off below. I would love to hear more about your frustrations or even success stories on how much you have made. Tips are welcomed as well.
In the meantime, if you’re thinking about signing up, be sure to take advantage of the sign-up bonus, almost always available, to really maximize your points.
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