Feb 1, 2010

Ways to Make & Save Money #5: MyPoints

You can read the rest of the Ways to Make & Save Money series here.

MyPoints.comI've mentioned MyPoints several times in the last few years (here's my first review from a year and a half ago). It's a really easy way to earn free gift cards – simply accumulate points, then redeem them for selected rewards. There are several different ways to earn points:

Emails - If you agree to receive emails from them, you'll get several each day. Many of them will be offers for 5 points if you click through, with more points if you take an additional step. Some of the emails will be surveys, which will get you 10 points if you don't qualify, and quite a few more if you do.

Print & redeem coupons - MyPoints is a portal for Coupons.com and SmartSource, so you can earn points if you print coupons through MyPoints and then redeem them in-store.

Toolbar searches - If you download the MyPoints toolbar and use it to search, you'll earn points.

Easy Points - These are offers that you can sign up for (I believe they're usually, if not always, free). I've always stayed away from them because they often ask more information than I'm willing to give out and I am ultra-cautious about online offers. (I'd always rather forego a few bucks than risk someone stealing my identity.)

BzzAgent - BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth marketing company that uses its members to spread the word about certain products. You can earn MyPoints through BzzAgent for doing certain things, such as submitting Bzz Reports (which is an explanation of how you spread the word about a campaign you joined).

Shopping - You can earn lots of points by shopping through MyPoints, but my personal preference has always been to go through a portal like Ebates or Mr. Rebates.

One word of caution - some people have had negative experiences with MyPoints, as reflected in the comments to my original review. However, my own experience has been quite positive. You definitely won't get rich with MyPoints, but it takes me about 5 to 10 minutes a week to got through their emails, and I print as many coupons as possible through their site. And you know I print a good number of coupons every week :)

I earn $50 to $100 worth of gift cards each year just by clicking through emails, redeeming coupons, and receiving occasional points from BzzAgent, so that's a worthwhile payoff to me for less than 10 minutes of my time per week.

MyPoints
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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate and/or referral links, and may refer to items that were sent to me for review. However, all opinions are my own. You can read Chief Family Officer's full disclaimer and disclosure policy here.

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