MyPoints is a rewards program that gives you the opportunity to earn free gift cards by reading e-mails, completing surveys, and purchasing from online retailers through their site. Each action has a point value associated with it, it doesn't take too long to earn gift cards, and many of the point opportunities are free.
There is a difference in the number of points it takes to earn gift cards from different merchants, though. Right now a $25 gift card from the participating merchants cost between 3,250 and 3,800 points. I've categorized these merchants below as having anywhere from cheap gift cards on MyPoints to expensive ones:
- Cheap cards: Bath and Body Works, Black Angus Steakhouse, Bloomingdale's, Callaway Golf, Foot Locker, Gap, Harry and David, Lids.com, L.L. Bean, Macy's, Magazines.com, Metromedia Restaurants, Newport News, Omaha Steaks, Spiegel, Timberland
- Somewhat cheap cards: Bass Pro Shops, Bon-Ton, Brunswick Zone, Chili's, On the Border, Maggiano's, Motherhood Maternity, Old Navy, Olive Garden, Overstock.com, Panera Bread, PBTeen, Pier 1 Imports®, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Red Lobster, REI.com, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Sally Beauty Supply, Staples, The Ritz-Carlton
- Moderately-priced cards: Applebee's, Baja Fresh, California Pizza Kitchen, Cracker Barrel, Kohl's, Lord & Taylor, Papa John's
- Somewhat expensive cards: CVS Pharmacy, JC Penney, Lane Bryant, Outback Steakhouse®, Sears, SUBWAY®, Walgreens
- Expensive cards: BP, GameStop, GiftCertificates.ca, Home Depot, Hyatt, iTunes®, K-Mart, Lowe's®, Shell, Steve & Barry's, Target, Wal-Mart
Here's my take on why the cheap ones are cheap and the expensive ones are expensive. The cheap cards are for merchants that either don't have a lot of locations or ones that sell products with a very high markup. So it's more of a “sell” to encourage people to get these gift cards. The expensive ones are for easily-found retailers that sell products at relatively low margin. Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot are good examples. These gift cards are likely more popular and thus MyPoints charges more for them to keep up with the demand.
Anyway, this is a pretty complete list of retailers that have free gift cards available on MyPoints. Again, the points are pretty easy to get, and they send the gift cards fast in my experience, so why not join MyPoints and get started?
I am intereested in joining MyPoints, but I am concerned that they may be like so many other surveys where you spend a lot of time and with little or no rewards.
I have redeemed my points for two Burger King cards for my sons and a Wal-Mart card. I currently have about 1300 points and will soon get a bath and body works card for my wife.
Does one have to claim this type of thing as income earned for tax purposes at the end of the year? I always wondered.
I love My Points. But I agree–the point system doesn't make a whole lot of sense. For example, Barnes & Noble is one of the "cheapest" cards offered, while Starbucks falls into the moderate catagory. Why the difference?
I am a MyPoints member through BzzAgent. The points do add up quickly and I usually get between 6-10 emails per day with opportunities to either accept or not. On just no cost things (points you don't have to purchase anything to get), I average between 150 to 250 points per week.
Good luck and enjoy!
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