Webupon

These sites are only available to Australians as far as I know, but there are plenty of similar companies looking for your business wherever you’re located.

I signed up to Emailcash a few years ago while I was living in Sydney. In the beginning they sent a fair few surveys to my inbox and I got points even if I didn’t fit the criteria they were looking for. Over time the amount of surveys I received dwindled but there were still activities and tasks I could complete on the site to earn some extra points.

After I moved into a more rural area, the amount of surveys I received definitely dropped, I guess their focus is on the opinions of metropolitan members, which is fair enough.

Several months ago, Emailcash split into two different sites: Rewards Central and My Opinions. My Opinions deals mainly with surveys and Rewards Central offers tasks, games and offers to earn points.

The main way to earn significant points on these sites is to answer surveys, and these fill up pretty fast so it’s a good idea to check your email regularly. If you’re not getting lots of surveys, you can also play games like the Guessing game, where a number is drawn out of a hat every day and if you pick it, you can win big. There’s also a daily quick survey on the site which consists of 1 question and earns you 3 points, and daily web clicks, which direct you to another site and give you 2 points just for having a look. Rewards Central will also send you reward mail, which you just have to open to get 5 points and one entry into a draw to win thousands of dollars. The My Opinions page also has quick surveys available and these build up if you don’t check if for a while, which is a great feature. You can also refer friends, and you’ll get 200 points as soon as they’ve joined and earned 400 points. Plus Rewards Central has along list of retail partners, who’ll match your dollars spent on their sites with points.

So I hear you ask the big question: how much are these points worth? Well, the basic premise is that the minimum amount of points you can cash in is around 3,300. This will get you a $30 cheque (or direct deposit). So no, it’s not the solution to your financial worries and you’re not going to be buying your own island anytime soon, but it’s a risk-free program that you can expend very little effort on to get a nice bonus at some point in the future. For me, this is the simplest way to earn money, but you can also redeem points for gift vouchers or use them to bid on highest bid or unique bid auctions. There is also the option to donate to charity.

So if you’re on the net checking your email everyday anyway, you might as well open up Rewards Central in the background. At least 5 points is guaranteed every day, and reward mail is sent every couple of days. Add in a few surveys (lets say one successful and one screened out every fortnight as a VERY cautious estimate) and a little shopping (say $15 a month) that’s a possible… 5+2.5+15+0.5=23 per day. At that rate, you will have made $30 in less than half a year. And that’s with very little output of time or energy. Why not?