MyPoints Review

Want to earn rewards for doing practically nothing? You could get involved in politics, but there is another option that takes even less of your time and can be conducted completely from the comfort of home. It's a web service called Mypoints.com and it awards points for reading e-mail. Let's take a closer look at this online e-mail reading service:

Web Site Commentary:

Mypoints.com is all about earning points and then redeeming these points for gift cards and other reward items. The most common way to earn points is simply by reading e-mail sent to your inbox each day from Mypoints.com and clicking a link to an online site. Each time you click one of these links, you earn five points. Depending on what you do when the link opens, you could earn even more points. If the link is to an online store (and most of them are), you will earn more points if you make a purchase. If the e-mail link is to a survey site, charity site, etc. you will earn more points if you sign up as a member and/or take a survey. You can also add to your Mypoints.com account by signing up for a Mypoints.com credit card.

I have been a Mypoints.com member for many years and it ranks as the only e-mail for points service that I still use. I was once a member of several of these sites, but over the years, some have gone belly- up while others have failed to hold my interest, due either to the lack of many earning opportunities or the failure of the service to deliver as promised. Mypoints.com has managed to hold my interest for several years. The points accumulate slowly, but at a steady pace and the payout is decent for those who exercise patience.

How much effort does it take to cash in at Mypoints.com? Well, I typically go for the $25 restaurant card at Applebee's or some other restaurant. This reward requires about 3,500 points. So, that means, at the very least, I will have to read 700 e-mail messages. Taking a few surveys here and there and making purchases can help accumulate points more quickly, but at worst, I will have to read 700 e-mail messages. Breaking it down, each point has a value of about 0.7 cents, if you go for the restaurant card, like I usually do. However, the trade off is not consistent from one reward to the next. For example, a $25 gift card to Amazon.com will require 3,750 points, making the points worth only 0.67 cents each. At the other extreme, a $25 gift card to FTD.com requires only 2,500 points, making each point worth exactly one cent. There are about 75 different merchants from which to choose- a much better number of reward options compared to other, similar sites. The point requirements, however, are inconsistent from one merchant to the next and this could cause some frustration.  

E-mails from Mypoints.com are sent on a consistent basis. I haven't tracked them closely, but I would estimate that I receive anywhere from one to three e-mails each day. The majority are offers from online merchants, with points rewarded for making a purchase. The others are usually direct offers to take a survey for 50 points if you qualify for the survey or 10 points if you do not. There are a few other offers to earn points that do not require making a purchase (like e-mail offers from gaming sites, charities, and others that reward points if you simply sign up), but if you want to earns hundreds of points at a time and work your way toward a gift card more quickly, then making a purchase is the way to go.

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Mypoints.com is one of my favorite on-line money earning services and it ranks as the only one of its kind I am still using after all these years. It does have a few shortcomings, like the slow pace of point accumulation and the inconsistency in point requires from one merchant to the next. But the fact that I am still a Mypoints.com member after several years says something about this service. They must be doing something right, or I would have abandoned the service a long time ago. But I am still here, reading e-mail, earning points, and cashing them in for gift cards. It adds up to a good online service that everyone should at least try. It costs nothing to join and you can earn points without making any purchases. You really have nothing to lose.