February 2004 Archives
Well, I'm a little late with THIS news item, but...
Netflip (along with its related sites, Metareward, FreeGiftCentral, MovieTicketSource, MisterPoints, and ExpertsOnCredit) was sold to the credit report company Experian in December.
Not sure what impact (if any) it will have on Netflip and their other programs.
From today's daily CreationsRewards email: "If you shop using CR and notice another site has a higher rate when their point system is converted into an exact percentage back, let us know when you send your confirmation! Be sure to include the name of other site offering the higher rate. Depending on the merchant in question, we may reward you with their rate. Remember, the credit of points to match another site will be done at our sole discretion and is not guaranteed for all merchants."
You can use the information available on this site on the dollar value of a point to make the conversion to percent, for those sites that pay in points. It's easy: multiply the "dollar value of a point" number times the number of points per dollar...then move the decimal point to the right two places to see the percent.
If you need any help making the calculation, send me an email and I'll be glad to help!
This is an awesome deal for online shoppers! Not a member of CR yet? Join here!
A new paid mail program is out by the same folks who run 2 of my 5 "keeper" paid mail programs. It's called DollarForAction, and it looks and feels exactly like its sister sites, CashForAction and NetsReward. No paid clicks on the site itself, but they'll send us email for cash, or points that convert to cash, and you can cash out each month by requesting it before the 5th. There's a one-cent payment minimum (which basically is NO minimum, because most emails are worth a cent or maybe .8 of a cent). These guys are very reliable and though I haven't earned a TON of money with them, I cash out every other month for about $1.50. And they don't inundate you with a whole lot of emails, just a couple, not even every day...so it's not a whole lot of clicking involved.
Yay!! I'm really happy about this! If you want to give it a shot, my link is here. And if you're not in their other two programs, CashForAction and NetsReward, please consider joining those two, too!
Milesource just DRASTICALLY increased the costs of their redemptions. Examples:
3 Blockbuster Video Rentals: Was 2500 points...now 7000 points
$25 gift certificate: Was 5000 points...now 11000 points
This drops the value of those 31 free daily points there from 15.5c to 7c.
It also drastically drops the value of their shopping rewards. They sent out an email promising more points per dollar on shopping. (It neglected to mention the huge redemption cost increase.) I'm working feverishly to recalculate my Shopping Rewards Comparison chart to see if the real percentages will increase, or if it'll just be a wash.
They also have not yet increased the cost to redeem for merchandise. I strongly suggest that you redeem for merchandise, and do it before they up the cost of that, too.
I notice that they've added Google AdWords to a lot of their pages. That seems kinda cheesy to me, but maybe they really need the money. I thought you weren't allowed to have sales links on pages that contained Google AdWords. I might just have to check into that...see if they're not violating Google's rules. :)
This definitely sucks. But devaluing their free points is better than eliminating them altogether. And still, at 7c of free points a day, they're not out of line compared to what other programs are offering.
Savings Register Rewards Review - Updated 4/04
Please click here to join.
Date Launched: 2004
Reward Per Dollar Spent: Varies
Minimum to Redeem: 5,000 pts ($5 Burger King GC)
Prizes Offered: GCs, cash, Webcertificates
Full Prize List: http://www.savingsregisterrewards.com/bin/prizes.cfm
Earn Points For: Shopping, signups, website visits, surveys, trivia, referrals
Participating Merchants List: http://www.savingsregisterrewards.com/bin/shop.cfm
Limit One Account Per: US Resident 18+ with valid email address; only one acct per household
Dollar Value of a Point: Varies a lot: Approximately $0.0012 for most GCs, $0.00098 for SuperCerts, $0.000941 for WCs or cash
Daily "Free" Points: About 30 (15 pt Site of the Day, 10 pt Trivia, 5 pt Earn Points-Visit Websites)
Value of those Free Points: About 3.8c/day
Common Rewards for Shopping and their % Equivalents:
10 Points Per Dollar = 1.22%
15 Points Per Dollar = 1.83%
20 Points Per Dollar = 2.44%
25 Points Per Dollar = 3.05%
30 Points Per Dollar = 3.66%
Notes:(1) "SavingsRegisterRewards is a rewards program provided by Memolink, Inc....SavingsRegisterRewards is managed and serviced exclusively by Memolink, Inc. and all transactions while participating in the SavingsRegisterRewards program are between the participant and Memolink."
(2) Memolink is currently having financial problems. I would be cautious about holding a large point balance here.
(3) The SavingsRegisterRewards url is registered to the parent company of Milesource, another program that appears to be struggling financially.
Related Articles: Milesource Teams Up With Memolink, Daily Trivia Answers in Your Inbox
Howdy, all! Just wanted to call your attention to some of the older entries that have been updated recently, and to assure you that more updates are on the way! Here are links to some of the recently updated entries:
Helpful Links for Online Shoppers
Earn the Most Daily Without Spending
Best Redemptions at MyPoints
Search Cactus Search Words
BabyMint Review
ClubMom Review
CreationsRewards Review
Ebates Review
Greenpoints Review
LuckyPoints Review
Memolink Review
Milesource Review
MyPoints Review
NetFlip Review
PCHPoints Review
PointPool Review
QuickRewards Review
SearchCactus Review
Some people call it Scumware, others call it Parasiteware... whatever YOU call it, Ebates' Moe Money Maker program needs to get deleted from your machine.
How Ya Got It:
Ebates prompts you to download MMM when you log in without a cookie, or when you create a new account. The checkbox, at the bottom of the screen, defaults to "I would like to download the Moe Money Maker reminder tool." Unless you uncheck the box, you're getting the download. I'm a veteran to rewards programs, the internet, and computers in general, and a semi-intelligent person (I do have an MBA from LSU), and I came THISCLOSE to downloading the friggin' thing the other day!
What It Does:
It spies on which websites you go to, and it offers a coupon or a reminder of some type when you go to an Ebates-affiliated merchant. Not too bad a deal from the consumer's standpoint, *IF* a) you don't mind being spied on, and b) the only rewards program you use is Ebates. BUT, if you do use other rewards programs, look out! Ebates may "steal" your sale.
How to Delete It:
You can go to your computer's control panel, then to Add/Remove Programs and nuke it there. Some people say this won't remove the program, though!
Here's a tool that WILL delete it: http://www.2-spyware.com/remove-moemoney.html -- click on Download Removal Software.
And while you're at it, why not go ahead and do a full check of your computer for adware and nuke it all? There's a couple of free tools, Ad-aware and Spybot Search&Destroy. Use one, use both, but get all that crap off your machine!
(1) Go to Florist.com and click on one of the Valentine's Bouquets. Leave the site and a popup will come up offering $7.50 if you go back to the site and shop. Do that (click the option to save the coupon). Then close the window and go to QuickRewards.net, Shopping, and go to Florist.com through their link. You'll still get the $7.50 off PLUS you'll get a 16.1% rebate (best rebate offered by any rewards program for Florist.com plus QR lets you cash out to Paypal ANYTIME, no minimum balance required)!
(2) Go through MyPoints to Hallmark Flowers.com. MP is offering 1000 points per purchase (and it's HOURLY... so if you need to order more than one bouquet, do it an hour apart and get credited each time!). 1000 MP = $9.09. In addition, use either the coupon "REWARD" for 20% off, or "FSHEART" for free shipping!
(3) Got a smaller budget? Go through Ebates to buy from Magazines.com. Ebates offers a 20% rebate, and Magazines.com sends your recipient an email card (that you can customize) letting them know about their forthcoming gift. Think that's a cheesy idea? Ask your fella if he doesn't think a subscription to Playboy or Maxim would be a sexy gift. My hubby'd kill me if I didn't renew his! Double-check prices with http://magazinepricesearch.com though -- you may find lower prices at another mag store!
Note: This comparison was updated in October 2007. To see the latest version, please click here.
Hi, all! I just completed my annual review of rewards programs' shopping rebates. I analyzed 13 rewards programs' shopping rebates for 76 popular merchants. This was a little tricky, since many of the programs pay their rebates in points...and the value of a point varies between rewards programs, and even within one program it varies depending on the type of redemption and the redemption amount.
Sometimes I think some rewards programs pay shopping rebates in points to confuse the users, to make it harder for us to figure out how much we're really earning. I mean, off the top of your head, would you know that when LuckyPoints offers 15 points per dollar to shop at a particular merchant, that you're just earning a 1.8% rebate?
So... how do the different rewards programs compare when it comes to shopping rebates? Who pays the most for some of the most popular merchants? Which rewards programs should you NOT shop through? Which ones are consistently higher? Want to see the data? Click MORE for the full scoop!
Last week, Memolink had a one point site visit that could be clicked multiple times for credit. This was a programming glitch -- an error on Memolink's part -- but their reaction to it was not to simply take back the extra points. ML took advantage of this opportunity to delete user accounts, in some cases accounts with large (9,000+) point balances or accounts with outstanding redemptions which ML cancelled.
This is their explanation, from the email they sent to members inquiring about their inability to log in: "Memolink may remove points from a members account and/or and terminate said account if we feel that the member has violated the spirit or intent of our partners offers or the Memolink program. If a Memolink account is terminated by Memolink, all accumulated points are forfeited and any pending prizes canceled and forfeited as well. This decision is final."
The email says they only nuked the accounts of people clicking the link >25 times. There are already forum posts indicating otherwise (yes more than once, but way fewer than 25).
With wording as broad as this: "if we FEEL that the member has violated the SPIRIT OR INTENT...", doesn't this pretty much give them free reign to delete just about anyone?
Is it fair for ML to delete OUTSTANDING REDEMPTIONS because someone clicked a link multiple times (which was ML's programming error in the first place... if it was indeed an error)? Those points were earned and cashed in way before this incident.
I'm sorry, but I think the timing of this is way too coincidental to be...well, coincidental. My gut feel is that either a) Memolink set those people up by intentionally putting in a link that could be clicked multiple times for credit and would give them (lame) grounds for deletion, or b) Memolink took advantage of THEIR OWN ERROR to delete those users and help cancel their debt.
Memolink continues their downward spiral. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
