I’ve never been big on the idea of joining a survey site to make extra money.
They’ve always seemed tedious, time-consuming, and low-paying. Plus, the idea of having my inbox cluttered with dozens of extra emails was even less appealing.
Then I took a step back and thought about it some more, and I figured why not give one of them a chance? I have some free time on my hands, and I can think of worse ways to spend it than taking a survey and earning a few dollars.
Choosing a site to use wasn’t easy, but the more I looked into them, the more I leaned towards Branded Surveys. Here’s what I learned when I signed up.
What is Branded Surveys?
Formerly known as MintVine, Branded Surveys is a website that pairs with market research firms and Fortune 500 companies to pay real consumers for their opinions. Those opinions are collected and used for marketing and product development, among other purposes.
Users can take surveys, and they’re paid for their time in points that can be converted to cash, gift cards, or charitable donations.
Before you sign up, here’s a review of Branded Surveys, as well as some pros and cons to consider:
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Sign-Up Bonus Earn your first dollar by creating an account.
nimbus33 Rating Legitimate way to earn extra money.
Branded Surveys pays users for their opinions. Users earn money by taking paid surveys that are redeemable for cash, gift cards, or as a charitable donation. The minimum cash-out threshold is 1,000 points, or $10. The site offers a $1 sign-up bonus for creating an account.
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Is Branded Surveys Legit?
Branded Surveys has a 4.5-star rating on Trustpilot with an overwhelming amount of “excellent” reviews from users. Users tend to be happy with the number of survey options, the variety of surveys, and the easy cash-out process.
Common complaints include surveys filling up too quickly, getting kicked out of surveys halfway through, not receiving the proper amount of points, and problems with prompt payments.
To protect user data, Branded Surveys uses secure server software and firewalls and promises to notify users electronically in the event of a data breach. They also state they don’t sell user information.
You must be at least 16 years old to join Branded Surveys.
Related: 17 Best Places to Take Online Surveys
Branded Surveys Review: How Does It Work?
Like other survey sites, Branded Surveys is simple to use. All you need to do is register for a free account, answer a few demographic questions, and you’re eligible to start taking surveys.
There’s no application to complete, and there’s no waiting period to find out if you’re accepted into their program.
Upon sign up, you’re automatically credited with 50 points, and you receive another 50 immediately after responding to your first survey.
Since you’re presented with some demographic surveys upon logging into your dashboard, you can earn at least 100 points within minutes of opening an account.
Branded Surveys uses their Survey Matching Engine to match users with survey opportunities.
This program helps streamline the process for users as it eliminates the need for you to search through dozens of options to find one you’re qualified for. Instead, you’re automatically sent the ones that match your qualifications.
Since I didn’t want to spend any time sifting through opportunities I might not even qualify for, the fact that they do the initial work was a selling point for me.
The more demographic information you provide, the more survey options you’ll receive, helping you more quickly accrue points. There’s no limit to how many surveys you can take.
However, if you’re like me and are hesitant to provide too much personal information, they do give you options to vaguely answer questions (or choose not to), but that lack of information might disqualify you from some survey options.
I decided I was OK with that because there are still plenty of choices.
Taking surveys
After setting up your account, you can log in to your account dashboard to see the surveys you qualify for. These are listed under “Survey Spotlight.”
You’ll also see the estimated time it’ll take to complete them and how many points you’ll earn, both of which can help you determine if it’s worth it to take the survey.
You’ll find anywhere from one to three survey options as well as opportunities to earn extra points (found under “Extra Earning Opportunities”).
In addition to surveys available through your dashboard, you can also have notifications sent to your email address. You’ll need to respond to all requests rather quickly; surveys can fill up or expire within minutes. However, if you’re able to take these surveys during your downtime, you can earn extra points and move through the tiers within a few weeks.
The only issue with these surveys is they often take quite a while to complete. The offers I received averaged around 20 to 30 minutes. That’s kind of a long time, especially if I wanted to take a few in a day. Since it was more time than I wanted to spend, I tended to not take as many as I could.
Related: Survey Voices Review: There Are Better Survey Sites Out There
Branded Elite program
Branded Elite is Branded Surveys’ tiered program that rewards users in the form of bonus points and extra earning opportunities for taking surveys. There are three tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
Your dashboard will reflect your earnings as well as your Branded Elite status. You’ll want to keep track of this status because the higher you progress through the Branded Elite program, the more options you’ll have for earning bonus points.
You must complete a certain amount of approved surveys to advance through the levels. At the end of each calendar week, the bonus points are added to your account. These points are in addition to what you’ve earned by taking surveys.
The percentage of bonus points you earn increases as you move through the tiers.
Related: 15 Legit Paid Focus Groups You Can Sign Up for Today
Email notification settings
One strength of using Branded Surveys is the ability to control how many survey options you receive via email per day. Rather than finding your inbox bombarded (or empty) with offers, you can set how many emails you receive and at what time of day you receive them.
If you know that you’re on your laptop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can set your preferences to only send surveys at that time, and you can opt for up to 10 survey notifications per hour.
On the other hand, you can choose to receive zero options while you’re asleep, meaning you won’t have an inbox full of Branded Surveys emails to review when you first log in the next morning.
I chose to only receive emails from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., and Branded Surveys has been good about honoring that preference.
If it gets to be too much or you want to quit, you can choose to unsubscribe from emails at any point. If you choose this option, you’ll only receive surveys when you open your Branded Surveys dashboard.
Cashing out
Once you’ve accumulated 1,000 points, worth $10, you’re eligible to cash out your winnings. You can elect for a cash payment via PayPal or Branded Pay, which is their proprietary payout option that allows U.S. users to receive payments directly to their bank account. You can also exchange your points for gift cards or make a donation to charity.
You’ll typically receive your cash or gift card within one to three business days. I haven’t earned enough points to cash out, but other users report that although it’s an easy process, it can sometimes take a while to receive their money, sometimes as long as 15 days or more.
Canadian and U.K. users might have different rewards options than U.S. users. Make sure you review the choices for your specific country.
Other Ways to Earn with Branded Surveys
In addition to earning points by taking surveys, there are other ways you make money with Branded Surveys.
Refer friends
Branded Surveys encourages users to refer friends to the site. When you sign up, you’ll receive a unique referral link you can send to family, friends, or social media followers. If they sign up and achieve Silver status, you’ll earn an extra 50 points for each person who registers with your link.
There’s no limit to how many bonus points you can earn through referrals, and it’s not that hard to achieve Silver Status within a few days of joining. It all depends on how many surveys you qualify for, how many points they’re worth, and how often you take them.
Complete the daily poll
Each day, Branded Surveys will add a daily poll to your dashboard (found under “Extra Earning Opportunities”). Taking this poll is fast (it’s usually one question), and nets you an easy five extra points.
Leaderboard bonuses
Branded Surveys offers a friendly competition among users, encouraging them to take as many surveys as possible in order to make it to the top of the leaderboard.
By staying atop the leaderboard, you can earn bonus points, up to 1,000, as well as a chance for entry into drawings for additional points.
Survey streak
Branded Surveys rewards users with bonus points as they complete streaks. For example, if you complete 12 surveys in seven days, you’ll earn a 5% bonus on points you earn. If you complete 30 surveys in seven days, that percentage increases to 15%.
Additionally, the bonus points percentage increases based on your Elite Branded status. The higher up you are, the higher the bonus points you’ll earn.
Promo codes
Sometimes Branded Surveys will send users promotional codes, typically through special contests or promotions. You can use these codes to add additional points to your account. This doesn’t happen too often so make sure you cash in on it when you can.
Review of Branded Surveys Alternatives
If you’re new to getting paid to take surveys, or you want to have a few options, here are a few other sites to consider.
Swagbucks
One of the most well-known survey sites, Swagbucks pays users to take surveys, watch videos, use the Swagbucks search engine, and perform a number of other tasks.
Swagbucks rewards users with points, known as Swagbucks or SBs. Once you reach 160 SBs, you can cash out for their lowest reward — a $1 Amazon gift card.
You can learn more about earning with Swagbucks in our review.
InboxDollars
InboxDollars is a survey-taking site. In addition to surveys, it also allows users to redeem cash-back offers and watch ads or play games to earn extra cash.
You get a $5 bonus just for signing up. Once you earn $30, you can cash out your earnings for a check, e-gift card, or prepaid Visa gift card.
Learn more about getting started with InboxDollars in our review.
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie pays users for taking surveys, testing products, and joining online and in-person focus groups. Like Branded Surveys, Survey Junkie pays in points.
Once you accumulate 1,000 points, you can cash out through PayPal, redeem them for e-gift cards, or transfer the cash equivalent ($10) directly to your bank account.
You can find additional information about Survey Junkie in our review.
Branded Surveys Review Summary: Should You Use It?
Branded Surveys is a legitimate way to earn extra money if you like spending time online taking surveys. It’s easy to use, there are lots of ways to earn points, and the payout process is relatively simple.
It’s a nice complement to other online gigs like getting paid to watch ads or videos or participating in focus groups.
Keep in mind that pay can be low for the amount of time you spend taking surveys, and sometimes the surveys can take a long time to complete. Given that, it’s a smart choice to combine taking surveys with another side hustle to maximize your online earnings.
