MyPoints in 2005: Updated
Written: Jul 29 '01 (Updated Dec 10 '05)
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The Bottom Line
A program offering reasonable rewards for little effort.
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| Full Review |
UPDATE: December 10, 2005
Well, it has been over 4 yeas since I started using MyPoints, and I am still very pleased.
One of the newer things that they offer is a MyPoints Credit card. Read over the terms carefully, but I think you will find that this card, offers a good deal when compared to other rewards cards.
You are given 1 point for every dollar that you spend using the MyPoints card. Also, the card, which is issued through Washington Mutual (this is new..it was original Providian, but WM has since taken over). The card sight is wonderful. You can easily see all of your transactions, and if you qualify for the planitnum card, you even get your FICO card score for free, which is updated every few months.
The card I received was for a limited of $2000, and with no annual fee. Again, it is always wise to be careful when it comes to credit card debt. However, if you are thinking of transferring your balances, or you want to find a decent rewards card, then this is one to check out. You can use your points for all of the usual companies on the site. If you are the type of person to use their rewards card to pay many bills, and then just pay your bill off every month, it is a great way to earn MyPoints rewards very easily.
July 30, 2001 Update:
I just wanted to mention that I ordered a Barnes and Nobles gift certificate on July 22, and received it in the mail today! While this is unusually quick, I have found that MyPoints.com does their utmost to process orders as quick as possible.
Original Review:
I found MYPoints.com over well over a year ago on one of the "get paid to use your computer" sites that were once so popular. This program rewards you for visiting websites and for making purchases. At the time I signed up for the site you could visit a great many sites right from the website, in addition to being sent links in email to visit the site. Recently, however, I have noticed the rewards for visiting sites are mostly reduced to email.
The email program, called "BonusMail from MyPoints" sends you an invitation to visit a website. It may be a site for companies as well known as Sprint, Pontiac, Sears, or some company you have never heard of that is internet based only. You are offered either 5 or 10 points for visiting the site, and additional points (anywhere from 100 to 1500 or above) for signing up for trial offers or making purchases. The key to the email program is that 99% of the time you have to actually visit the site. Very rarely (if at all any more) do you earn points for just reading the email. Each email states exactly how many points for what you will be awarded.
Make sure that you save your BonusMail emails until the points are credited into your account. There have been a few occasions that I have missed 5 or 10 points here or there, but had not saved anything to verify I fulfilled my obligations for those points. The site's account statement section is very easy to use, so there really should not be any question in your mind of where you are in points.
You are also awarded points for shopping from the MyPoints website. Since you are actually spending money at their advertiser's sites, you of course are going to earn more than just visiting the sites. When I am looking to purchase something online I usually check with the MyPoints site to see if there is anything I am interested in from there first.
If you just limited your points collection to the email/site visiting activity, it will be several months before you accumulate enough points to claim a reward. However, there are several excellent ones to choose from. Since I signed up with MyPoints I have received several gift certificates for Olive Garden/Red Lobster and Barnes and Noble. Here is a LIMITED list of some of offline and online stores and restaurants that you can spend your points at:
Target
Bloomingdale's
Macy's
JCPenney
Eddie Bauer
Spiegel
REI
The Sports Authority
Ice.com
GiftCertificates.com
Roots
SpaWish
PrePaid Fuel Cards
Barnes & Noble
Tower Records
Media Play
B.Dalton
MagMall.com
Home Depot
Circuit City
Toys R Us
Ace Hardware
Kids R Us
Babies R Us
The Sharper Image
Red Lobster/Olive Garden
Applebee's
Chili's
Mrs. Fields
Boston Market
Chuck E. Cheese's
Rainforest Cafe
Blockbuster
Suncoast
Some of the stores/restaurants will offer $5 certs that start around 750 points and above, but others start at $10, usually around 1250 points.
You can also earn points for referring people to sign up for MyPoints, and for taking surveys when they are available.
And if you don't find someplace you want a gift certificate to, you can always go with the MyPoints Certitificate. You can use it anywhere that takes MasterCard online OR offline. (You get a plastic card with the MC logo on it for offline purchases.) You can get the cert or card in amounts of $10, (1350 points), $25 (3,000 points) or $50 (5,750 points).
All the certs that I have received came within 2 to 3 weeks, although the site states that it may take 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. A confirmation email is sent. Keep this email for reference in case for some reason you have any trouble receiving your gift certificate.
This is a slow points earning program. However, MyPoints is extremely painless. The BonusMails are usually pretty frequent, so you have an opportunity several times a week to earn points. It is not unusual on somedays to receive 2 or 3 emails a day. This is great because unlike many programs you don't have to worry about logging into their site everyday. I think this is why MyPoints is still here after many other points programs died out over the last year (Remember Colorstamps and Pointclick?). The rewards are not too many, too fast, but are earned at a reasonable pace.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Sherry Karr
Location: Texas
Reviews written: 89
Trusted by: 35 members
About Me: Married with Children
I have a business that I operate from home.
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