How to Earn Signup Bonus for Survey Sites

There are lots of market research companies online that will pay consumers (you) cash, points, or other rewards for completing online surveys.

Additionally, they all seem to promise a signup bonus. Whether it's cash, gift cards, or prize drawings, all of these online survey companies are offering some sort of catch.

With that in mind, I decided to check out 10 of the top online survey sites to see how easy or difficult it is to collect the promised signup reward.

InboxDollars Surveys

With InboxDollars, the signup process is a little bit quicker.

You enter your email address, password, and then password re-entry. A captcha may pop up (where you click a box to show you're not a robot.)

Afterward, you're in and can see the different earning opportunities.

You earn a $5.00 bonus for confirming your email address (going to your email and looking for the confirmation email).  Then there is a welcome list of activities(including watching the how-to video and taking a profile survey) you can complete for an additional $ 0.50.

• Number of questions you need to answer to claim bonus: 3
• Point to dollar conversion: N/A. InboxDollars pays its members in cash.
• Registration bonus: $5.00
• Other welcome list bonuses: 230 points or $ 0.50
• Total Signup Bonus: $ 5.50

MyPoints

With MyPoints, the premise is simple. You shop online, take surveys, read emails, and complete other activities to earn points which you redeem for gift cards.

Unlike Survey Junkie or InboxDollars, there is no incentive to create an account.  The signup process is quite similar though.  You provide your email (login) and password, and then it directs you to a second screen that asks 4 questions: gender, name, birthdate, and zip code.

After you have completed this info, MyPoints asks you to check your email to confirm and activate your account.  Again, there is no bonus offered for doing this.

Once you've confirmed your email and activated your account, it gives you a suggested starter "menu" of different activities you can complete to start earning.  I earned 5 points, for example, for answering a daily poll about when I put away my winter clothes.

The smallest card value is $3 (for Amazon or Dunkin' Donuts) which requires 480 points.

• Number of questions you need to answer to claim bonus: 5
• Point to dollar conversion: 160 points = $ 1.00
• Registration bonus: $0
• Other welcome list bonuses: $0
• Total Signup Bonus: $ 1.00

Life Points Panel

Life Points Panel pays you in "LifePoints" for completing surveys.  They offer you a bonus of 10 LifePoints immediately just for joining.

The signup process is easy, but it's relatively lengthy.

To get started, you have to give your name, enter your email and then confirm it, and then enter your password and confirm it. Then on the next screen, LifePoints requests: gender, birth date, street address, state, city, and zip.

Then on the third and final signup screen, there are 4 boxes for you to check off acknowledging you have read all of their different policies and terms and that you agree to be contacted by them with promotional offers.

After signing up, the site crashed on me repeatedly so I was unable to view the different earning opportunities or look over the rewards.  I tried on different browsers (Chrome, IE, Firefox) and was not able to access.  Additionally, I clicked on the link to the site in the welcome email LifePoints sent me but that email did not work.

I looked over some blog reviews and found that LifePoints has received a number of negative reviews because of technical issues. Many say the site or app crash or freeze quite consistently but bugs are being worked out. Other survey sites may be a better bet.

• Number of questions you need to answer to claim bonus: 17
• Point to dollar conversion: Unknown
• Registration bonus: 10 LifePoints
• Other welcome list bonuses: Unknown
• Total Signup Bonus: Unknown

Branded Surveys

The signup process for Branded Surveys (formerly known as Mintvine)  is smooth and straightforward, but a bit lengthy.

On the initial signup screen, you provide your name and email address. Afterward, there are several more screens requesting data to complete the signup process.

Next, you'll have to complete the initial profile survey about your race, ethnicity, housing situation, income, and more. Depending on your personal situation, the survey length can vary.

After you've completed the signup and that initial profile survey, you are given 100 points.

There is a Rewards tab that shows you the different type of gift cards you can earn (any national retailer you can think of) and a dashboard that shows you your current balance and how many points you need to cash out. (1,000 points is the minimum.)  But, there is no information about what you can get for 1,000 points.

Since I couldn't readily find any clear, transparent data on the number of points needed to earn gift cards of different values, I had to do some digging.

In reading through the comments in a user forum for Branded Surveys, it seems that 1,000 points are needed to request a gift card for $10.

Number of questions you need to answer to claim bonus: 30 (Varies, can be more depending on your household circumstances.)

• Point to dollar conversion: 100 points = $1
• Registration bonus: 100 points
• Other welcome list bonuses: 0
• Total Signup Bonus: $1.00

Vindale Research

The signup process for Vindale Research is very similar to Branded Surveys.  You answer a handful of questions up front (email, password, address, name, birthdate) and you are asked to confirm your email address.

After confirming your email, it brings you through a series of screens and more questions, including a 5-minute profile survey with questions about your income, family, occupation, race, ethnicity, shopping habits, and more.

After you've signed up, completed your email, and completed the initial profile screening survey, you are given a $1.00 bonus and able to view all the survey earning opportunities available on site.

In order to request payment, you must have a minimum balance (earnings) of $ 50.00.

Number of questions you need to answer to claim bonus: 30 (Varies, can be more depending on your household circumstances.)

• Point to dollar conversion: N/A Vindale pays its members in cash.
• Registration bonus: $1.00
• Other welcome list bonuses: 0
• Total Signup Bonus: $1.00

Swagbucks

Similar to InboxDollars, the signup process for Swagbucks is only 3 questions: email, password, and password confirm.

After, you're given the option to go through one or all of the suggested items on their welcome list of tasks.

But just for completing the signup itself, you are given

Mark

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