I read a lot of big claims about survey companies… $100 surveys, free laptops, huge checks, you know what I mean. I’ve never seen any of these type of rewards, so I don’t know if that stuff is true, but I DO get a lot of great benefits from using these survey places consistently.

Years ago I lost my job, but my severance package allowed me some time to figure out my next move. I’d seen a lot of the survey advertisements and thought I’d give it a shot to earn a little extra since I had so much free time.

It didn’t take long to discover that a lot of these places were scammy and spammy. Some things to watch for:

You spend 10 minutes on a survey to be told you “didn’t qualify”… They should determine that within a minute or so, not get all of the information that they need and then not reward you. Scam.

The company gives you tons of “points”, but the rewards are always unavailable, or not valuable at all…. 10,000 points for a water bottle? Scam.

You very rarely get any surveys at all, just TONS of email with “valuable offers” from third party advertisers. Spam.

Or, worst of all, they try to make you PAY to complete offers, and promise to reward you enough to make it worth it. Do not believe it. Total scam.

So, after a year of trial and error, I narrowed it down to the companies that are legit, give generous rewards, and have other perks too such as product testing and giveaways.

The best way to use these companies is to sign up for a bunch. Take the time to fill out at least a few surveys each day, even if you can’t complete all of the offers that they send you. That way, you’re always earning.

Soon enough, you’ll start to see those points rack up, and get your first set of checks…. But warning, you might get hooked :)

Synovate is hard to get into… Unlike a lot of the other companies, they are not always taking new members. They are right now, but it doesn’t always last too long. If it is closed, just keep checking back. It is worth it! You are seldom screened out of surveys, the rewards add up really quickly, and this is one of the best for product testing… I’ve done home fragrance, shampoo, and skin care this year.

Swagbucks is a little different, not a traditional survey site, but it seriously ROCKS my SOCKS. You install a toolbar (super easy, trust me!!) and then use that bar to search, instead of Google or Yahoo. Every so often, it pops up that you have won Swagbucks. You earn them pretty quick, and earn more by doing surveys or polls. I use my points for Amazon gift cards, and I earn at least $5 bucks a week. I just put those in my Amazon account, and let them pile up. It is awesome.

Mypoints sends you some surveys to earn points, but if you only earn points that way, it’s pretty slow. Take advantage of all of the other options: print and redeem coupons, shop through them, and click on the ads they send you. The ads aren’t spammy, although, the more you click them, the more you’ll get. But they are legit offers, and if you want to shop through one you get big points, if you don’t, you just click it and earn 5 points. Mypoints rewards you with FREE gift cards, I earn a $50 card every couple months. And they have TONS of choices for cards… Macy’s, Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, all good ones.

Inbox dollars was one of the first sites I every signed up with, so it’s like an old friend :) This is another one that sends you emails, and you earn points just for clicking the ad. If you use coupons (who doesn’t?? Lol) they have a big coupon list each month, and you earn points just for printing and redeeming them. They have a lot of new options too, like points for watching videos. Inbox dollars is another one that rewards you with actual cash checks!

Toluna is another really great one I’ve used for years. This one is strictly surveys, no other add ons. But I’ve gotten a few product testing opportunities here over the last year, and the rewards are given in a check which is sent really quickly.

These are my favorites, and I have earned real rewards from every single one of these. If any of you guys have tips for how to earn rewards faster, or other sites that you have had good experiences with, please share your tips in the comments!