After a thirteen-year run, the get-paid-to (GPT) site CashCrate is closing up shop as of April 1, 2019. They're no longer accepting new accounts, and existing members have until the end of next month to earn the $20 to get paid, or else their balance for cash or free gift cards goes bye-bye.
Originally I signed up to help a fellow blogger who had run into some hard luck — I think some things were stolen or something like that. I signed up for enough things to make my payout of $10 (at the time) and he earned a little bit of commission from my “efforts” that ever-so-slightly defrayed whatever loss he had suffered.
Following that, I reached the payout threshold a few times for clicking a few times here and there. I have to speed it up a bit with the impending shutdown of the site, but I can get one last check out of them. (Yes, a paper check. Remember those?)
Alternative GPT sites post-CashCrate
There are still lots of other GPT sites that offer pocket money for easy online tasks like watching videos, searching the web, signing up for free and paid offers, and offering your opinions.
Here are five of the ones I'm still following:
Swagbucks
As far as GPT sites go, Swagbucks is the one I follow that is the most fun. Lots of different kinds of opportunities to earn points called SB which can be used to get free gift cards, PayPal deposits, and more
Swagbucks regularly runs “competitions” for extra SB, as well as Swago, which is a combination of Swagbucks and Bingo. They also have a trivia app called SwagIQ; I tried once and got eliminated at question 8 out of 10. Those that got all ten questions correct took between 500 and 600 SB each, which translates to $5-$6.
I've earned well over $1,000 in gift cards from Swagbucks. They've been unfailingly prompt with payments.
InboxDollars and SendEarnings
I mention InboxDollars and SendEarnings because they're very similar-looking sites. And for good reason: They're run by the same company!
Both sites offer cash for doing surveys, watching videos, searching the web, reading emails, doing offers, and more. Searching the web on four separate days in a week earns a nickel, and searching multiple times a day can earn more.
InboxDollars and SendEarnings have been around since the turn of the century, and they have a track record of making payments. I've gotten several checks from them. (Yeah, those weird check things again!)
EarningStation
I like EarningStation for a number of reasons.
- Fairly low payout. The payout for EarningStation is only $10; other sites make you get to $25 or even $30 before paying out.
- Easy daily tasks that pay better than average. There are several no sign-up, do-a-few-click tasks that pay 2 cents apiece.
- Regular high-paying emails. EarningStation regularly sends out emails and bonus codes worth 5 cents apiece.
- Streak bonuses. Earn 25 cents for ten straight days (including all of those easy tasks above), and you get a $1 bonus, plus …
- Bonus wheel spins. I got a $10 gift card outright on one of my wheel spins. Boom! Free gift cards on top of everything else!
You can start up now with EarningStation by clicking here!
InstaGC
InstaGC (think “instant gift card”) is another fairly old site that has a good following and nearly instant payments when you reach threshold (which is as little as a buck!)
There's a wide variety of tasks: watching videos, filling out surveys, signing up for offers, etc., from a lot of different providers; there's always some way to earn if one way is down for whatever reason (this happens).
InstaGC also has an active chat feature that's regularly monitored by InstaGC support. People regularly get quick answers to their questions on there.
I've gotten a few payouts from InstaGC; check them out and give them a try!
MyPoints
Another oldie but goodie, MyPoints was recently bought by the same company that owns Swagbucks. Some of the features that work well at Swagbucks are now integrated into MyPoints.
The best feature about MyPoints is the regular flow of points simply for clicking on emails. I set up a filter in Thunderbird for these emails and other similar ones, and handle them all in a few minutes a day.
MyPoints has been the source of numerous Starbucks gift cards over the years. They've kept me around for well over a decade and you can start now as well!
