What's the Best Rewards Program?
Updated, May 2009
This question can be answered in a lot of different ways. It all really comes down to what's most important to you.
Which programs pay the most for shopping? Which programs pay their shopping rebates in cashback percentages (easy to understand and to compare between programs), and which pay in points (hard to convert to cashback percentages, and can be devalued if they raise the number of points it takes to buy their gift cards)?
Which programs will cut you a check, and which pay by PayPal (typically faster)? Would you rather have your earnings in a gift card?
How long does it take to access your rebate earnings? Days? Months?
Are you a resident of the U.S.? Of Canada?
Which sites have bad reputations -- for instance, bad reports with the Better Business Bureau?
All of these factors are important, but you may value one aspect of a rewards program more than another, which is why there is no one clear answer to, "What's the best rewards program?"
In terms of cash back for online shopping, I do an analysis of cashback rates offered by many of the popular rewards programs each fall. The 2008 Shopping Rebates Comparison Chart shows how 19 rewards programs compare for 225 online retailers. (To help you compare apples to apples, I convert the points paid by rewards programs that pay in "points per dollar spent" into percentage cashback equivalents.) Keep in mind this data was accurate as of the time the analysis was completed and some rates may have changed, but at least it gives you a guide with which to judge in general one program's cashback rates with another's.
In addition, some programs give you opportunities to earn aside from just earning rebates by shopping. You may also want to consider this when choosing a rewards program. Some examples:
Earn for reading emails and clicking one or more links. Sites that offer this include BondRewards (2.5c per email, several a week), MyPoints (4c per email, depends on your profile but maybe one a day), and QuickRewards.net (1c per email, 2 or 3 per day).
Earn by correctly answering one or more daily trivia questions. These sites include CreationsRewards.net (1/2 a cent) and QuickRewards.net (1c).
Earn by clicking through ad links to other websites. Rewards programs offering this include CreationsRewards.net (about 1c daily), Freeride (unsure of the daily amount - it varies), QuickRewards.net (about 4c daily), and YouData (around $.75 a week).
Search and win sites. These programs randomly award prizes to searchers who use their search engine (often powered by Google or Ask.com) to search the web as the normally would. These sites include SwagBucks, Blingo, Winzy, LuckySearch, and iRazoo.
Earn for completing surveys. MyPoints occasionally offers these onsite (4c each) or by email (about 8c for attempting but not completing one; 40c for completing it). Daily surveys are available on QuickRewards.net ($2.55 if you qualify for all 3), Sunshine Rewards ($2.15 if you qualify for all 3), QuizPoints ($1.20 if you qualify for both), and CreationsRewards.com ($1.10 if you qualify for both). There are also a number of survey-only websites including DailySurveyPanel, Lightspeed Panel, ClickIQ, and many others.
Earn for "offers" -- signing up for newsletters, entering free contests, or trying out a subscription service (like Netflix or Gevalia). Many sites offer these and the amount you can earn varies widely by offer and by program. Rewards programs that offer these include QuickRewards.net, CreationsRewards.net, Freeride, FusionCash.net, Sunshine Rewards, MyPoints, and QuizPoints.
Earn for printing coupons. This is a fairly new option and I expect to see more rewards programs add it soon, but right now you'll see it on QuickRewards.net and MyPoints.
Referring a friend to the program (usually only paid when the member shops or completes some other offer). Almost all programs have something like this in place.
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Updated, May 2009.
