Update: EarningStation is now closed.
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EarningStation is now closed! See the image above.
In this era, two things cut across every individual. One, the money you earn is probably not enough and two; you can always supplement with something over the internet.
That is why I am doing this review, I would like to educate you on everything about earning station and whether it is good enough for you to join.
Table of Contents
All about EarningStation
EarningStation was established in 2011 by Matt Hynes. After three years in 2014, critical mix acquired ownership and now it belongs to Massfinity, an online marketing company with its headquarters in Woburn, MA. The company refers to itself as a loyalty reward platform that rewards its customers for undertaking various activities at the site.
Signing Up and Getting Started
This stage is relatively easy alike its competitors. All you need is a valid email address and a password. When you are ready to join, you head up to the website, input a few details like the username and password and the email address to confirm the registration of the account.
After that, you will be prompted to fill in a few details under my account information. Some of these details include; the city, street, physical address, phone number, and zip code.
Once you are done, you will be rewarded a cash bonus for signing up. You can also earn an additional $10 by joining 5 of the company’s partner survey sites. You can do the qualifier questionnaire and be well on your way to start earning.
There are a few details you will have to know before you can sign up, they are:
- You have to be above 16 years of age. Previously it was 18, but as of 8 months ago, a 16-year-old can start earning as well from the site.
- You have to be a USA citizen. This is also a new development.
- The email address you use has to be correct and valid as it will go hand in hand with your payment details.
- The phone number you input should also be exclusive to you as you receive rewards as one and not a household.
- Don’t worry nonetheless as you can always change the input data from my account information tab.
Tasks
Just like any other ‘get paid to’ site, they also have a wide array of activities you can do on the site. They include;
Taking Surveys
This is the most common task on the site because of the simplicity involved. All you do is fill in a few questionnaires in a short while like 15 minutes, and you are done. You can earn around $1 to $4 per survey.
But it has limitations; you will have to qualify to survey as some of them will deem you as not a match. The type of surveys you do goes with your status according to status, age, race, background, life experience among other demographics. Otherwise, it is still the most productive activity on the site.
Web Searching
This is as easy as you looking for information through the site rather than the use of Google or Bing. You will earn points that you can redeem later on or an entry to a spin wheel sweepstake. If you are a fun of internet searching, you might as well use the site to earn you some extra dollars for doing so.
Playing games
The site also allows you to play a bunch of games but only the casino games. Unlike other sites, they do not have free games to play. You will be required to cash in some dollars to play then you earn some cash backs.
Sounds counterproductive.
Even still, you will be given a 20% cashback on every dollar you use. After playing the game, you will have to fill up the captcha then you will be eligible for payment. Your reward or cashback credits will be seen in your account between 2 days to 45 days later.
Reading Paid E-mails
This site calls this task reading Ernie’s mail. You will be paid for opening and reading an mail. The emails usually have tasks in them so you will earn something extra from this gig. Reading the emails will be about $0.01 to $0.50 more in your account.
Shop Online
If you are a shopping fanatic and you love doing it online, the site will give you a chance to earn points by shopping through their website. With every purchase you make, you are able to receive a cashback, or you can use various coupons and discount offers.
Offers/Deals
This is also lucrative to do. You will earn cashback offers from the company’s partner, Groupon. The five out deals for 5.5% cashback to your earning station account for every purchase you make. The page has free and paid offers; you will have to sign up for a site and purchase a product or service. It is not mandatory. The paid offers usually pay more.
Referrals
This is a refer a friend program where you will not earn points but a 10% share of what your friend is making. So keep in mind that they do not give you incentives for just referring a friend. They have to start working and earning for you to get something in your account as well.
Watching Videos
The site has videos/ express videos that pay you to watch them. You will earn a few cents for watching the news, entertainment, music videos, and other profiles. This ask also requires you to fill a captcha to make your money. For about ten videos you could earn $0.02.
Testing Products on a Trial
Many companies work with Earning Station to test out their products and applications before they are introducing them to the market. Your role will be to download and test the applications. You will be prompted to input your contact information among other information. Your credits will be received after two days/ 48 hours.
Other activities you could do include reading polls, listening to music and spinning the wheel. It is a bright multicolored wheel at the top right-hand corner where you will spin and get a chance to win cash prizes.
Earnings
The website allows you to earn points, rewards or credit that you can redeem for gift cards or cash. If you would like to check on your earnings, you can have a look at the drop-down menu and click on the transactions tab.
You can earn rewards and virtual rewards, but you will have to qualify. There are specific requirements you will need to meet for digital rewards. The site has paired with Authy and Imperium, the industry-leading verification service to question you on two checks about personal security issues. You will be required to pass both checks, if not you can email the support team for more information.
There is also a new financial incentive by the site called earning streak. This is whereby if you make over $0.25 daily for ten days, you will be credited with an additional $0.25. Every ten days it will add up till you get to $3.50. That is the maximum reward.
But do not be frightened; after that, it doesn’t mean you move back to basics, you will keep earning that amount. For 30 days it is triple, and 50 days it is about a quadruple. The earning streak earns you the cash bonus and a chance at spin and wins wheel.
You can also earn a few extra dollars or pennies by use of the bonus codes. A bonus code is a string of text, word or phrase where you can redeem for various cash prizes and rewards. Just ensure you redeem as soon as you receive the code as they tend to expire.
You can get the bonus codes from various social media sites like; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Pinterest, Google+, blogs or emails from earning station.
Payments
The minimum threshold for the website is $10 for the gift card but $25 for a cash prize. The site provides its currency by use of station dollars. For withdrawal, you will have to get to the 1000SD threshold as the equivalent of $10. The station dollars can be exchanged for physical merchandise, gift cards or virtual cards from Amazon, Paypal or visa.
Gift Cards
There are different types of gift cards available to members. They include; $10 gift cards from Facebook, hallmark, home depot, office depot, best buy, AMC and Boston market. The $25 gift cards from Amazon, Macy’s and on the border. There are also digital gift cards like $25 Amazon Virtual, $25 Virtual Visa and $25 PayPal.
They are mailed to you via the U.S postal mailing service, and you will be given an estimated date of arrival that will be 4 to 6 weeks later. If at all you are in a hurry, you can pick the virtual gift cards that are given out after 1 to 5 business days. The virtual card may come as a digital code in your email hence why I said you have to sign up with a proper and valid email address.
You can only redeem $50 a day. But the range of gift cards available is over 300 from Best Buy, Amazon, and Apple bees.
Cash Prizes
You can receive cash via Paypal, but you will have to qualify to be sent via this method. The approval process is 4 to 6 weeks depending on the amount you want to cash out. Once approval is done, expect payment between 1 to 5 business days.
Advantages and disadvantages
Pros
- It is free to use
- Versatility is the order of the day. A lot of tasks to do on the website.
- The survey board has many surveys compared to other sites.
- You can double your point with the earning streak.
- There are reliable methods for payment to the workers.
- You can have four accounts per household although you will need a personalized phone number for everyone.
Cons
You have to qualify to take a survey.
It can be a waste of time when you keep filling questionnaires then find out you are not a match.
It takes a reasonable amount of time to get to 1000SD.
The point has expiration dates.
The cash withdrawal threshold is relatively high, $25.
GSN credits take up to 45 days to be seen in your account. That is a long time.
Additional information
Is it legitimate or a scam?
After reviewing numerous sites and reviews, I can ascertain that the site is legitimate. It has not been accredited by the Better Business Bureau website, but it may not be a significant factor. It has a rating of 2.5/, about 60%. It has an equal amount of complaints and good reviews, so it is not a scam as people do receive their hard-earned cash.
Complaints and Reviews
There have been several complaints and reviews posted on their page, but what stood out were two issues.
- They have terrible support. You could email or message them, and they take a while to reply.
- Members not being credited for completing offers. This issue should be reported to their support site but before you do that ensure you have proof.
This is because of their policy. According to them, possible reasons for not receiving the credits to your account are the following:
- If you did not fulfill or meet all of the requirements necessary. Please check EarningStation’s interstitial page for offer details.
- If you have already completed or attempted the survey through another source.
- Not all surveys credit in “real-time”, some surveys can take up to 45 days to credit.
- You have security settings that are blocking or not accept third-party cookies. Please make sure you are allowing cookies to be tracked, this setting can be found within your browser settings.
- Our third-party advertiser marked you as a “speeder” which means you took the survey in a time marked you, which is too short to have read all of the words and given thoughtful feedback.
To ensure that you receive credit for surveys you did complete please keep all proofs (emails, screenshots, text messages, etc.) of completion for your records. When emailing customer service, please include all proofs along with the approximate time and date of the survey completion, as you will be asked for this information.”
FAQ
How long do I have to stay active for me to retain my account balance?
If a member stays inactive for over 90 days, their balance is forfeited without any notice whatsoever, and there is no refund of points. Therefore, the member has to maintain activity within every 90 days.
Can a member’s account balance expire?
Yes, the balance can expire 12 months after being rewarded. The site claims that any balance that is not redeemed within a year from the date of accrual will be voided at EarningStation’s discretion’.
Conclusion
Earning Station has a few perks that will certainly keep people coming to the site to sign up. They may also have some concerning disadvantages like you will have to spend money to earn some more for the games and the fact that you make more cents than actual dollars, but it is worth trying out.
It is better to have something extra than nothing at all. So don’t be afraid to sign up and get started.
Would I recommend it?
I can recommend you to give it a try and see if it fits your taste. But, do not try to replace it for your 9 to 5 job because it is not worth leaving your job. If it’s just something extra for the pocket, please go right ahead and sign up.
See also: Best Paid Online Survey Platforms