Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Online surveys are an increasingly popular way to earn extra money or earn free gift cards. Users simply need to fill out a questionnaire for which they receive points or money. After reaching a set amount of points, they can then use them to earn rewards such as free gift cards.
Amazon gift cards are one of the most popular options for online surveys as the retailer offers the largest variety of products. For some people, Amazon gift cards are almost equivalent to getting extra money.
Paid online surveys are created by companies that need to collect data from consumers on various topics, ranging from academic research to business strategies. Survey sites collect questionnaires from interested companies and provide them to the user base, allowing their users to earn rewards.
Survey sites are highly varied, each providing their own unique benefits and ways to get rewards. We’ve collected the ones that provide ways to earn Amazon gift cards in particular, however, they may also grant other benefits such as the ability to cash out your earnings to PayPal.
Rewards: Gift cards, PayPal and cryptocurrency payouts
Best feature: Average amount paid per survey is $1
Pawns.app is a company that provides two ways to earn money online. One of their offerings is an internet sharing service, which is an app that allows you to monetize your unused internet traffic on any device. It’s a great service for anyone looking to get extra money for no work at all.
Their other options are paid online surveys. Pawns.app works like any other company in the same industry – they partner with major brands and organizations to get a huge list of surveys for everyone all over the world. Users then fill out the questionnaires through the app and get rewards.
Pawns.app’s major benefits are the incredibly easy to use and intuitive app and the large average payout for each survey. According to the company’s calculations, on average, every survey pays out $1.
Additionally, users can redeem their rewards through a wide variety of methods. These include cash payouts to PayPal, cryptocurrency (Bitcoin), and gift cards. They’re not just Amazon gift cards – you pick from an incredible amount of retailers and companies.
Rewards: Gift cards, PayPay payouts, donations to charities.
Best feature: Lots of ways to earn rewards.
Opinion Outpost positions itself mostly as a provider for paid surveys, however, the company actually provides a lot more ways to earn money. Users can also conduct product tests, write advert reviews, and even make diary studies.
Each of the methods may provide different rewards as well. For example, product tests may give prototypes for free, which is a great way to earn additional things at no cost.
As a survey site, Opinion Outpost is fairly regular and with average to below-average payments per survey. They do stand out, however, with the ability to donate your points to charities and through the wide variety of methods that allow you to get rewards.
Rewards: Gift cards, PayPal payouts
Best feature: Cashback program.
Swagbucks is an online survey site that provides various ways to cash out your rewards. You can find all the usual suspects – PayPal payouts, Amazon gift cards, and many others.
It’s one of the survey sites that also provides other ways to earn points. You can join a cashback program with popular retailers and apps or even look for custom deals. These can range from installing software to opening an account with a company.
Swagbucks lets you earn free Amazon gift cards through a wide variety of deals, online surveys, and programs. It’s one of the best survey sites if you want to get rewards for different activities.
Rewards: Amazon gift cards
Best feature: Highest payout per survey
Pinecone Research is one of the more unique survey sites as they focus on a single, highly niche market. They carefully vet each of their surveys, getting them from the highest quality providers, allowing them to provide an average of $3 per survey. Points can be then redeemed for free Amazon gift cards.
On the other hand, due to the highly niche nature of the site, users taking online surveys through Pinecone Research must fit a profile. These are usually demographic details (gender, age, etc.), but may include additional requirements to start one of the paid surveys.
As such, Pinecone Research is best suited for those for whom taking online surveys is a small gig on the side. Since you need to join a waitlist for most of the questionnaires, it’s a lot more passive than most other survey sites.
Rewards: Amazon gift card, PayPal payouts, bank and credit card transfer
Best feature: Branded Elite program
Branded Surveys is a fairly well-known survey site that reliably provides all of the usual bells and whistles. You can fill out surveys to get points and use them to earn Amazon gift cards or payouts. One of the differences is that they can also send you money to a bank account instead of just PayPal.
Their standout feature is Branded Elite, a VIP program that provides additional rewards for taking surveys consistently. Users that reach a set amount of online surveys per month will get up to 19% more points per questionnaire. Additionally, the company even has a leaderboard for taking surveys where the top placements get even more points and earn gift cards faster.
As such, Branded Surveys are best for those who like competing and maximizing their returns. If you are prepared to focus on taking surveys online, the company does have great offerings.
Taking surveys online can be greatly optimized to maximize your rewards. Many users do it randomly and without consistency, which significantly increases the time before they can earn a free Amazon gift card.
Start by using dedicated email accounts for each of the survey sites. They send a lot of communication through email, including invitations to answer questions, so you’ll keep each inbox clean and focused. If you want to use a single email address for several sites, make sure to use folders or other forms of categorization to keep everything tidy.
You don’t also have to stick with one site as it will greatly limit you. You can be taking surveys through various providers at the same time. While you’ll have to reach the payout threshold on each one separately, you’ll get a lot more opportunities to answer questions in general.
Once you have accounts with these websites, keep checking them for additional opportunities. Most sites will have surveys they don’t send emails about, so you’ll have to find them manually. Additionally, taking surveys online isn’t the only way to earn gift cards as most providers have other deals available.
Finally, a great trick to earn Amazon gift cards (or save money)without having to answer questions is to make use of referral and sign up programs. Most providers will have some form of onboarding or referral bonus, which usually provides a huge initial boost in points. Making use of these will let you earn Amazon gift cards a lot faster.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.