things I wished I knew about rewards...

[chocovrdmicears]

Hello. My name is Kristen, and I am a rewards addict.
It's been 1 month and I don't even remember how I got here ..I think I was on the budget board and someone mentioned the whole 'rewards programs' thing...so I came here and lurked around a bit..decided to try it and now..I am hooked.
As an over-organizer by nature, I did quite a bit of lurking,researching and gathering of info before I dove in Everytime I posted a question here, the rewards community was so wonderful. I thought I would offer my tips on 'the basic things I wish I knew before I started' for anyone else who is new to rewards or anyone who is still considering. These are the things I have learned on my journey and thought it would help someone else if they were in one place. Sort of my way of giving back to the rewards community..
I am by NO means an expert! so all you experts out there please feel free to correct me or add any of your expertise (ps I love these little things but I promise to keep them to a minimum)

First... NO question is stupid or silly. Everyone was new at one time! Someone answered one of my 'silly questions posts' with...'always ask any question...there may be others out there with the same one and you are helping them too! So do not be afraid...ask questions!

Second..Get a prepaid Simon Visa giftcard at the mall. Register you name and address online as Simon.com when you get home. When I started doing offers I was using our card linked to our bank account. BAD idea Lots of offers put temporary holds of different $ amounts , some you do have to pay for...some get credited back in a week or so but they do tie up the funds temporarly...add those to our everyday transactions...way too much to keep track of! I have been using the Simon card for about 2 weeks now and it is great..you can see all your transactions ASAP, very easy to monitor with everything in one spot and if things somehow get out of hand with one of the offers..at least it is contained and will not affect your bank account & or credit. And I have not had any problem using it on any offers to date..

Third..sign up for a free gmail account. Maybe even a few. I was having trouble getting credited for a lot of the small offers. I got a gmail and started moving the .dot. around when entering my email name and the approval rate when up instantantly..Its free and you don't need a referal. Just go to www.gmail.com. Its been great.

Fourth. Sign up for the free phone number(sorry I can't remember the link but it was recently posted here) Thanks to the person who posted the thread on the free phone number/voicemail. I signed up for one yesterday and have been using it successfully since.

Fifth. Make sure you have a reliable method of spyware protection. I know there are a lot of free ones out there, but the few that I tried to download to my computer messed it up We have a rather tempermental computer..so i bought a system cleaning program at Staples and use that several times a day. Works great at cleaning all the junk off my system.

So is it all worth it??? In my opinion YES YES YES!!!
I think the rewards program is like everything else in life..you really get out of it what you put into it.If you are comfortable just doing the free offers and paid clicks etc...it will be slow earning...but it better than nothing! I have done some cc offers and they have been VERY easy and rewarding...(and I am comfortable now using the Simon card).. For me it is a blessing. I am fortunate to be a SAHM. The rewards programs has helped me earn our money for our vacation without interfering with my childrens schedules. I love being able to 'work' when it is convient for me...while the kids are at school or at nite after they go to bed...And I LOVE doing them...crazy maybe.. Right now I only do 2 sites religiously and 3 others I do the surveys, paid emails and free offers etc...In a little under 1 month I have earned almost $250.00.
Everyone seems to have their 'favorite' site. I looked at them all and found 2 that I love and really enjoy 'working'...I think it just takes a little time to find the right fit for you!

So if any of you are still considering becoming involved...I do highly recommend giving them a try! I hope that I have been some help to someone. Happy Rewarding!

 

[kdkbrebel]

Thank you so much. I just started a few weeks ago and this is very helpfull

 

[Trixiezzz]

....Everyone seems to have their 'favorite' site. I looked at them all and found 2 that I love and really enjoy 'working'...

Thanks for the very informative post. Nice work. Just out of curiosity, could you share which 2 sites it is that you like and work the most?

Thanks!

 

[GettinReadyforDisney]

Wow, you sound like me -- overorganizer, overplanner, etc. I too just started this a little over a month ago. I discovered the whole rewards thing here on disboards while planning an upcoming disney vacation (because, of course, I am an overplanner!!). I've earned over $250 in just over a month, and most of that has been in four days! I do still feel like it's a little early to give the whole rewards thing a complete thumbs up -- I need about another 30 days just to be sure I don't have problems canceling trials, etc. I want to thank everyone on these sites for posting info about all of this. So far so good!

 

[twhitaker]

Can you please explain the gmail account information? What do you mean by moving the .dot around??

 

[M 'n C]

disneylover, d.isneylover, di.sneylover, etc

 

[bartleby1]

Can you please explain the gmail account information? What do you mean by moving the .dot around??

Many of the small offers (30 - 50 cents mostly), require you to use different email addys. Gmail allows you to insert random dots in your email addy and it will still be directed to the same email account but the offers will recognize it as a different addy.

Example:

disneyrewards @ gmail.com is the same as d.isn.eyrewards @ gmail.com

HTH!