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[C.Ann]

Thanks..

 

[dreamlab]

A year ago, you can make hundreds a month from rewards programs. But things have changed a lot. Realistically, I would say $20-$30 or thereabouts if you are really good at doing them daily (and if you don't have referrals).

Here's the approximate monthly (they are general guesstimates because some of them pay in GCs):

www.searchcactus.com = $7.50 cash/check

www.netflip.com = $6-$7 cash/check

www.milesource.com = $6 (gift certifcates)

www.creationsrewards.net = $2 (Paypal or gift certificates)

www.millersrewardshop.com - similar to creationsrewards

www.allthingsrewarded.com - similar to creationsrewards

www.suzykats.com - $1 (Paypal or gift certificates)

www.blink.com - $1-$2 (gift certificates, WC)

And then there's the get-paid-to-surf bars - they require downloads. The only one I use regularly is www.companionbar.com - but it is really more like a get-paid-to-click program. Another one I use occassionally is www.spedia.net - it pays $0.49 an hour usually, no max hour limit. But the problem is, the software is not great at tracking time and I think the effective rate is probably half. Never really kept track. SomeA members have also been accused of cheating when they say they are not. I have been lucky so far and have got paid regularly.

If you are willing to put some effort into this, consider epinions (www.epinions.com). You write reviews on anything under the sun (books, travel destinations, movies, hotels, your car, vacuum cleaner and lots more). Each time another epinion member read your review the first time in a month, you get 1 cent. There's also an income share that gets distributed each month but no one knows how the formula get set except it rewards quality reviews. Doesn't mean you have to be Ernest Hemmingway to make a lot. But you have to take care to write good reviews meaning reviews that have useful info for people to make purchase decisions. It's not that bad really I can average $15-$30 depending on how hard I try to write and read/rate other people's. If you are interested, let me know because I set up a mailing list for DIS reward board members to share their reviews. Not much activity but since I am starting to do epinions again, I will start posting and get more people involved.

Another program I really like is www.itpaystolearn.com. This is what I wrote in another thread: Get points for answering quizzes. There's tons of subjects to pick from (spelling, famous words, famous place, math, geography etc.) and three levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced). At the end of the month, the cash points are converted into cash so you don't know the value of each point until then. Min cash out is $20. The program started last year but the cash-paying quizzes started towards the end of July 2001. I have cashed out once already and I don't have any active referrals. Pays by Paypal. Min age to join is 13 and so your older children can join too. And it's educational also.

This is a really general post and if you have any specific question, post here or drop me a note.

Connie
dreamlab@ivillage.com

PS I know you want to save for a Disney trip. But instead of focusing on programs that gives Disney dollars or hotel coupons or airmiles, I would look for prgrams that pay the most. A lot of them pay in cash or Paypal that you can put in the bank in a separate account to earn interest. If the program doesn't offer the exact GC you want, you can always trade it at the Mycoupons Garage Trade Board. You might end up losing 10% let's say, but if the program is lucrative, it might still be worth doing.

PPS There are some bank deals that give you signing up bonuses and they are worth looking into if you are thinking about setting up a separate account for your rewards money. ING Bank (FDIC insured) have a promotion with Quicken and so if you have Quicken and click on the link from your desktop icon, you can sign up for a savings account paying 4% APY (which is a great rate) and get $50 bonus. There's a link for it but (1) some people have reported having the $50 taken out after they sign up if they were not Quicken customers, (2) I don't know if it is appropriate to post these links here. (ING also has a separate program where you can get an email link from an existing member and you can sign up for the same account, but it only gives you $25 - your referrer friend gets $10).