Marketing research companies have been trying to entice people to sign up for surveys for years. And if you’re looking to earn a little bit of extra cash — just a little bit — online survey panels are an easy and effortless way to pick up a few bucks without leaving the comfort of your own laptop. If you choose the right service, like LifePoints, you’ll be guaranteed to earn points towards gift cards, charitable donations, or cash paid out via PayPal.
In this article we’ll explain how to sign up, build points, and earn gift cards and cash just from taking surveys with GlobalTestMarket’s new company, LifePoints. There’s no scam here, just a little bit of extra cash for a good bit of your time.
What Are GlobalTestMarket and LifePoints?
GlobalTestMarket, or GTM, is owned by Lightspeed Research, a multinational market research company, and has been offering paid online survey panels since 1999. In early 2019 Lightspeed merged GlobalTestMarket with LifePoints and discontinued the LifePoints mobile app. As of June 2019, you can still access www.globaltestmarket.com, but all GlobalTestMarket surveys have been moved onto the LifePoints system.
The advent of the Internet drastically changed the field of market research, allowing companies like Lightspeed Research to draw from a national and global audience rather than having to create in-person research events in major cities. To incentivize people to take surveys, GlobalTestMarket provided payment for users. Just like GlobalTestMarket, users can make actual money and earn points to trade in for gift cards to major retailers through the LifePoints system.
GlobalTestMarket and LifePoints claim that panelists earn more than $30 million a year in cash, and redeem rewards and gift cards with over 200 retailers. In addition, users can donate their points to selected charities.
How to Sign Up for GlobalTestMarket
If you’re ready to start earning extra cash at home just by giving your opinion, go to LifePoints. (You can also visit the original www.globaltestmarket.com site, which will redirect you.)
You’ll need to provide your full name, email address, and a username and password. You’ll also need to provide a physical address and your date of birth for verification. Once you’ve done that, LifePoints will email you to verify your email address. Clicking on the verification in your inbox automatically earns you 10 LifePoints. You’ll receive them immediately after signing up.
Once you log into the LifePoints dashboard for the first time, you’ll be prompted to provide more information about yourself so that LifePoints can match your profile with appropriate surveys. You’ll be asked about the number of people in your household, your annual income, and your ethnicity.
Answering these questions will earn you 10 more LifePoints and create new survey opportunities by pre-screening you for surveys that match your profile and background. Particular surveys might require you to provide additional personal information, such as a phone number, to earn LifePoints.
Now you’re ready to start taking surveys. At first you’ll be offered quick, small surveys (usually around 10 minutes long) for small point totals (usually 50 LifePoints). More surveys — some worth more points — will become available as you progress. You’re free to do as many surveys as you’d like at a given time. It all depends on what’s available on LifePoints, and which surveys your profile and background fit. For instance, if a survey is only polling married mothers, you’ll only be eligible if you fit that description.
Once you’re a LifePoints user you’ll be entered into quarterly sweepstakes. You can earn sweepstakes entries in multiple ways, even if you don’t complete a survey because of ineligibility. Each sweepstakes entry betters a user’s odds of sharing in a prize pool of $2,000 worth of LifePoints. The pool is divided each quarter among 103 winners.
One additional way to build your points as a LifePoints user is to send out survey invitations to friends. If you refer a friend to LifePoints, you can earn points every time your friends sign up to take surveys.
How to Redeem Your Points
As you complete surveys, your LifePoints balance will increase (you can check your number of points at any time by clicking the orange “LifePoints” tab at the top of the page). Sometimes points won’t appear instantly after completing a survey, which is why it’s best to check your totals page often to see which surveys have issued points. When you’re ready to spend your points, click the “Rewards” link at the top of the page.
LifePoints will direct you to their redemption page, where you can cash out your points in one of three ways:
Donate to Charity
LifePoints allows users to donate their points to UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. LifePoints offers three donation tiers for UNICEF: For every 165 LifePoints you cash out, the company will donate $1.50 to UNICEF. 550 LifePoints buys a $5 donation, and 1100 LifePoints is a $10 donation.
Gift Cards to Retailers
LifePoints features a huge selection of both online retailers and traditional stores across the United States, including Apple, Bass Pro Shops, Target, Major League Baseball, Google Play, CVS, and many others. One popular option is trading LifePoints for Amazon gift cards. With 1100 LifePoints, you can earn a $10 Amazon gift card.
Cash Out With PayPal
If you want to earn actual extra money from online surveys, PayPal is your best bet. You can trade LifePoints for cash payouts deposited to your PayPal account. Once you have 600 LifePoints, you can redeem them for a $5 credit on PayPal.
GlobalTestMarket Is Not a Scam: You Will Get Paid
Rest assured, you will get paid for your time spent taking online surveys, and you can earn cash via PayPal as long as you earn enough points. But reviews for GlobalTestMarket on SurveyPolice, a site dedicated to identifying scams for online survey users, have become increasingly negative since the company merged with LifePoints.
Many former GlobalTestMarket users have complained online that accruing points through the LifePoints system is slower and that the chances of “screen out” are common. “Screen out” is when a survey taker provides information that for one reason or another disqualifies them from a survey because of a company’s requirements.
LifePoints has tried to combat user fatigue with “screen out” by offering sweepstakes entries for users who are screened out of a survey. But that still leaves users without points, and sometimes “screen outs” occur after users have spent significant time on an individual survey for no points.
Sign Up for Other Survey Services to Get Paid More
LifePoints and the former GlobalTestMarket aren’t the only survey companies available for users looking to make money online. If you’re looking for more than just LifePoints, visit MySurvey first. MySurvey is a site that creates a database of available paid surveys for users depending on what country they live in. MySurvey updates their list consistently, so be sure to visit often to check your eligibility for new surveys.
Swagbucks is another service that offers more than just surveys to allow users to earn gift cards and extra cash. The Swagbucks system is identical to LifePoints — you earn points to trade for gift cards — but you can earn those points by shopping for regular consumer products at particular retailers or by watching online videos, and you can still take surveys.
Surveys Can Earn You Money If You’ve Got the Time
If you’re looking for a little extra cash, survey sites are a great place to make money online and at home. But be aware that you won’t get rich working for online survey panels. The amount of time required to earn LifePoints doesn’t even translate to minimum wage in most states. For instance, you need 1200 LifePoints to earn $10 via PayPal.
Most surveys on LifePoints average 8-10 minutes for 50 points. That means to take 24 surveys at eight minutes per survey, you’d need three hours. But if you’re willing to set a reasonable goal, like a $30 gift card to a popular restaurant, taking LifePoints surveys once or twice a day for a few weeks won’t feel like work at all.
It’s impossible to create a full-time job from taking surveys, but if you’re looking for just a little bit of extra money and you can devote the right amount of time to LifePoints, it’s an easy way to pick up an extra gift card for a meal out or a trip to the store.
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