e-Rewards — Saving for College and Getting a Free Trip
Written: May 26 '08 (Updated May 27 '08)
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I wasn’t going to join another survey website. I swear I wasn’t at all. There are a lot, and I do mean a lot, of websites that pay people to take surveys. I have on occasion signed up with a few of them over the years thinking I might make a few dollars here and there. Seriously, I have made a few dollars here and there. But my thinking is, “Who has the time to take surveys?” I have a couple of websites that I still partake in but I haven’t joined anything new lately. That is, until recently.
I received an e-mail from Upromise to join a survey site called e-Rewards. Normally I would ignore such e-mails but because Upromise was sending it, I actually took notice. I would get a $2.00 bonus in my Upromise if I signed up with e-Rewards (and upon conformation of my identity). Naturally, I did so but not before checking out what the site had to offer.
The Skinny on e-Rewards
As with every other site that pays if you do surveys, e-Rewards is no different in the department. Signing up at the site is easy by giving all the pertinent information needed to create an account. Since I clicked on the link that Upromise provided for me, I knew for a fact that whatever I earned on e-Rewards would get transferred to my Upromise account.
As a survey site, personal information is needed in order to cater the surveys that the user will receive through e-mail. You can control the amount of e-mails coming into your e-mail account. Obviously, I chose the maximum of "10 or more per week" just because I wanted to see if I would actually receive a lot of surveys. To the site’s credit, I do receive a fair amount on a daily basis.
Each survey varies in topic, length and payout. I have had surveys that were as short as 2 minutes and as long as 1 hour. The payouts depend whether or not you qualify for a particular survey. Each e-mail I receive for a new survey tells me two things: 1) the full reward amount in e-Rewards currency, and 2) the full survey length. For example, a survey that I received stated that it was worth $7.50 in e-Rewards currency and it would take approximately 15 minutes to complete. A link is provided in every e-mail, should you wish to do the survey. From there it becomes an interesting process.
Before taking the survey, a lowdown of the different scenarios is presented to you. It will state that should you qualify and complete the survey, you will receive the full amount that was advertised. If you don’t qualify, you will receive a parting gift for your time and effort, most notably about $0.50, sometimes even $1.00. So while there are surveys that range from $2.00 - $20.00 (at least the ones that I have received so far), there is no guarantee that you will receive that particular amount unless you qualify for the survey at hand. Believe me when I say that I have walked away from a survey earning only $0.50. It happens far more often than I would like. But I tend to look at the glass as half full as $0.50 is better than nothing at all.
Besides the longer surveys, there are also quick surveys that randomly appear from time-to-time. They don’t take long to do at all (it really does live up to the name “quick survey”) and you get rewarded $0.30 for your trouble to complete any given quickie. $0.50 here, $0.30 there, maybe $10.00 on a good day… it eventually does add up and quite quickly, too.
Keep in mind that the dollars that are accumulating in your account are “e-Reward dollars”. It’s the equivalent of getting points that can be redeemed for some gifts. Be aware that these “dollars” have an expiration date if left unattended for too long. It’s best to note when this might happen so as to maximize what incentive you may wish to redeem before it’s too late.
But What Are the Rewards?
The whole incentive to doing these surveys is to be eventually have enough dollars to cash out for a reward of your choosing, or whatever is offered through the site. Because I signed on through Upromise, my only reward is to earn money for my Upromise account. There are only three reward levels available to me:
• $25.00 in e-Rewards = $5.00 in Upromise savings
• $50.00 in e-Rewards = $20.00 in Upromise savings
• $100.00 in e-Rewards = $50.00 in Upromise savings
Naturally, I’m aiming high in order to maximize my rewards experience. I’m really close in obtaining $100.00 e-Rewards dollars so I can cash the $50.00 that will transfer into my Upromise account.
Being the dope that I am, I thought this was the only thing offered. I was completely wrong.
My wife is also a member of e-Rewards and was invited to join by Borders. She went through the same steps as I did and established her own account. Upon looking at her account, I can see how wrong I was when it came to rewards. She has a plethora available at her disposal, such as Blockbuster, Borders, Air France/KLM, American Airlines Aadvantage, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, e-Rewards Magazine Collection, Pier 1 Imports, Sony, Steak and Ale, US Airways, and so much more. Recently, she redeemed $15.00 of e-Rewards dollars for $15.00 of Borders Bucks. But once she redeemed for that, she can’t do so again in the calendar year. There are redeeming limitations involved with all these gifts so it’s best to make note of what works the best for you. To redeem for a Upromise reward, it is only limited to one per calendar quarter. That means I can redeem to my Upromise account (if I have enough at the time) once every three months.
Is It Worth It?
Quite honestly, I only stick with this site because of the earnings I will receive in my Upromise account. Otherwise, I don’t think I would invest as much time, or any if that matter, into this site at all. It really depends on the surveys that come my way in order for me to stick with it. Luckily, it’s been working to my benefit. I have been a member to similar sites that take too much work for making almost next to nothing. At least with e-Rewards, I can see where I stand and the clear incentive waiting for me. I know there are other sites that are better than this one. It all depends on what works for you and how much time you are willing to invest in partaking with the surveys. I’ll be honest in saying that I get quite annoyed at times knowing that a lot of these surveys are long. Even 20 minutes of my time is 20 minutes more than I can afford to give up.
My wife has decided to stick with it as well, though she doesn’t seem to get as many surveys as I do. Even though she has redeemed once for Borders Bucks, we both agreed that the better incentive is to redeem for Continental Airlines OnePass Miles, as I am a member of that program as well. Just like the Upromise rewards level, Continental has a similar tier:
• $25.00 in e-Rewards = 500 Continental Airlines OnePass Miles
• $50.00 in e-Rewards = 1,000 Continental Airlines OnePass Miles
• $100.00 in e-Rewards = 2,000 Continental Airlines OnePass Miles
So really, in the end, between my wife and I, our e-Rewards accounts are essentially saving money for college and earning us a free trip. As they say, “Every little bit helps.”
For more information, visit www.e-rewards.com.
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Related Reviews
Upromise
Recommended:
Yes
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Member: Charles "The Grim One"
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Thank you to everybody who participated in both my write-offs. Until the next one!
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