The world has changed as we know it, and prices are constantly rising. One way or another, the bills are piling up—and fast.
It’s always best to work extra hard, but what happens when your salary can no longer keep up with emergency expenses, utility bills, credit card debt, student loans, and so on?
Thankfully, there are more ways to earn cash fast, including e-Rewards. You can earn extra by answering surveys, mostly in the form of bucks or gift cards, through the website.
All this can sound too good to be true, though, so it’s normal to doubt or hesitate. After all, the internet is brimming with scam sites that claim to pay but don’t or do but aren’t worth it at all.
Questions on e-Rewards’ validity remain, so we conducted our own research to learn why people say it’s better to skip it.
We’ve scoured reviews, official sources, and other sites to create this quick and easy guide to help you out.
Here’s what we learned about how to join e-Rewards, the paying schemes, along with other considerations before joining.
What is e-Rewards?
e-Rewards is a platform that offers rewards to its community, but the catch is that membership or participation is by invitation only.
The site empowers members to share their perspectives on new consumer products through online surveys.
The site also encourages others to participate in real-world missions thanks to e-Rewards partners. In turn, members like us can earn what is dubbed e-Rewards currency.
We can redeem this currency for numerous rewards, including perks like dining, ticket events, loyalty points, and even air miles!
When it comes to legitimacy, e-Rewards has proven itself in the game of online surveys. Founded in 1999, over 2 million members worldwide redeem over 100,000 rewards per month, according to its website.
How does e-Rewards work?
As the oldest paid survey site on the internet, e-Rewards works with big brands on the market, including Twitter and Best Buy. These partner brands essentially value consumer or user feedback and opinions above all.
Let’s take a look at each of the e-Rewards highlights.
e-Rewards Features
1. Invitation-Only Panel
As previously mentioned, e-Rewards is an invitation-only survey site. We can only be members by providing an email address to a verified e-Reward partner company. Once invited, you will be welcome to join with no fees.
Here are the top highlighted e-Rewards partners:
- Accor Live Limitless
- Etihad Airways
- Starbucks
- Radisson Hotel Group Americas
- Iberia
- Hertz
For the complete list of partners, visit the page here.
2. Survey System
e-Rewards allows members to participate in various activities through surveys. As members, we are given access through our respective accounts.
However, keep in mind that some will be available to the general public, but most high-quality ones are given directly to members via email notification. We’re given up to 30 days to complete each survey.
Understanding the e-Rewards Currency
Every survey we complete means earning e-Rewards currency, and the more surveys we take, the more we learn. Users can view the rewards earned through their respective accounts under the Rewards tab.
From there, we can then redeem rewards by choosing from various partners for points or gift cards.
How do you make money on it?
Once we join the platform, it’ll match us with various surveys that reflect our interests and demographic. It can notify us either through the account or email, but once received, we’ll only be given up to 30 days to complete it.
If we don’t complete the survey within the timeframe, it’ll expire on our end, and the platform will assign it to another member. Once we’ve finished the survey, we’ll earn Opinion Points (e-Rewards currency).
One hundred points equate to approximately 33.33 cents. If you want to redeem a $20 gift card, for example, you will need to earn at least approximately 6,400 Opinion Points.
You can redeem your points from over 50 retail partners, but keep in mind that the list changes from time to time.
How do you get invited to e-Rewards?
As previously mentioned, e-Rewards Opinion Panel operates on a strictly invitation-only policy. Most users come from partner companies, making the sign-up process a little difficult to decipher. There are no referral codes, either.
Based on our extensive research, however, they contact loyal customers from e-Rewards partner companies first. They’ll do this via email.
If you frequent Walmart, for example, they may give you a survey to harvest recent experiences and product offerings.
Here are some tips and tricks to consider if you wish to join e-Rewards Opinion Panel and get rewarded for your insights:
- Answer surveys. Although not all surveys will relate to e-Rewards, keep in mind that being approached for one is the stepping stone we need to become a member. When approached by retailers, especially e-Rewards partners, don’t hesitate—just answer them!
- Follow prompts. When extended an invitation, we will be directed to the e-Rewards website. Follow the prompts carefully and eventually be led to the memberships page on the site.
- Consider qualifications. You need to be above 13 years old and residing in the United States to qualify for membership. You’ll need to fill out basic information, including your name, date of birth, and address.
- Consent to personal data collection. The more precise information we provide about our demographic group, the better surveys the site can match us with.
As new members, we must provide certain information about our interests. This is the only way to gauge if we can answer surveys as honestly as possible.
Remember that the site won’t match us properly if we have insufficient profiles, and they may even disqualify us.
The e-Rewards registration process
The registration process is free and easy, but for complete guidance, follow the steps below:
- Step 1: Once you have the e-Rewards Opinion Panel invite, click on the verification link, which you can access through email.
- Step 2: Create a profile by adding your name, birthdate, address, and other personal information.
- Step 3: Complete the enrollment survey within 30 days.
How does e-Rewards pay?
e-Rewards allows users to earn Opinion Points. We need a balance of at least $12 or more to redeem, and online vouchers will arrive by email within 24 hours after redemption.
Provided that we have enough points, we can be entitled to the following:
- e-Gift cards to your favorite retailers
- Magazine subscriptions
- Airline miles
- Physical gift cards but will take around six weeks to arrive
To redeem a reward, sign in to the account and click on the “Rewards” page. We’ll have access to all the available rewards and how much they currently cost, and redeeming shouldn’t be an issue.
When redeeming points, we need to verify our identities via mobile or landline. Expect a two-step authentication process, and they’ll send a code for us to fully redeem the reward.
The pros and cons of e-Rewards
e-Rewards sounds like a promising platform so far, but as users, we need to be discerning. Here’s what our in-depth research has found about its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| It offers higher pay than other survey sites, as users can earn up to $5 or 500 points per completed survey.Registration is free and easy once given the invite.It offers access to great perks given by top retail partners. | It operates on an invite-only system that makes it difficult to access.Users can only use points for rewards, not cash.Surveys expire after 30 days, and failure to complete surveys can mean a suspended e-Rewards account. |
e-Rewards Reviews and Complaints
We’ve gathered various reviews and complaints from e-Review users to determine its strengths and points for improvement.
On TrustPilot, the platform has an average score of 4 out of 5 stars. This means many users found the site “great.”
Many users have noted that the platform is excellent because of the survey variety and how it pays us for our efforts. They also enjoy providing their honest opinions about different topics.
However, numerous users also complain about the following:
- How long it takes to qualify for surveys, then the system eventually disqualifies you
- Many surveys don’t work or freeze in the middle of answering
- Rewards are limited and have less value than what you’d expect
- Inefficient customer support
e-Rewards regularly replies to user comments and states that the team is working on improving their platform. They also provide a contact form we can use to reach out to them directly about issues.
Can you trust e-Rewards?
You may have heard of survey redemption scams circulating the web and harvesting sensitive information from users. This can be a scary thought because some dubious sites may just want to scam you for your bank information, passwords, or credit card details.
Upon our investigation, however, e-Rewards doesn’t scam its users. You can trust that it’s legitimate, although it will not make you rich overnight.
The site also protects members with the latest data security technology, keeping our information safe.
The site only shares information with the sponsor in question. We have complete control over the amount of information we share from our respective accounts.
Alternatives to e-Rewards
e-Rewards offers good perks and benefits, but its invite-only nature makes it difficult to access. If you’re looking for alternatives, these top three platforms are worth trying out:
- Survey Junkie: Through Survey Junkie, users can earn digital points by answering surveys. We can redeem points through gift cards and PayPal cash. Signing up is free and mostly focuses on products and services of the future. Here’s our Survey Junkie review.
- InboxDollars: InboxDollars is another online rewards site that allows you to earn extra by completing tasks like watching videos, completing surveys, reading emails, and even playing games.
- MyPoints: Also run by the company behind InboxDollars, MyPoints offers you the chance to earn points and get cash or gift cards by printing coupons, playing games, and of course, taking surveys.
Conclusion: Is e-Rewards a legitimate site?
From everything gathered so far, we can safely say that e-Rewards is a legitimate site. Membership can be tricky, but once you gain that well-earned invite, you can complete surveys and earn extra money.
e-Rewards isn’t a reliable stream of income, though. It doesn’t allow you to earn cash but rather gift cards and points that can help make the burden of survival a little easier.
By earning gift cards and other rewards, you will be able to funnel the rest of your income into savings and other emergency expenses.
We recommend e-Rewards because it can be a helpful service to those who need it. But, achieving total financial independence means learning to find other lucrative options.
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
