There are many ways to earn airline miles and hotel points without flying or booking a room. My favorite method is taking surveys. I usually do a few per day to pick up some spare points. Here’s everything you need to know about taking surveys for points and miles.
Understanding the Different Survey Companies
There are dozens of survey companies out there. I focus on ones that partner with hotel chains and airlines so I can redeem survey points for airline miles and hotel points. There are three main companies that I use:
- e-Rewards
- e-Miles
- Survey Sampling International
I’ll go into detail about each, but I recommend using all three to maximize your points and miles earnings.
e-Rewards
I’ve written about the ins and outs of e-Rewards here. e-Rewards partners with the following airlines and hotels:
Airlines
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Alaska Mileage Plan
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Etihad Guest
- Frontier Airlines
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue True Blue
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- United Mileage Plus
- Virgin America Elevate
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotels
- Choice Privileges
- Club Carlson
- IHG Rewards Club
- LaQuinta Returns
- Le Club Accor Hotels
- Wyndham Rewards
To sign up for e-Rewards, choose a preferred loyalty program and sign up through their link (see this post for current sign-up offers). If you pick an airline, you can only redeem survey points with that airline and any of the hotel partners. If you pick a hotel chain, you can redeem survey points with multiple airlines but only with that hotel. e-Rewards is my favorite program and where I tend to focus my time.
Pros:
- Bonus points or miles for signing up
- Partial credit if you don’t qualify
- Multiple redemption options
Cons:
- Limits on the number of redemptions within a timeframe (varies by redemption option)
- Redeemed points/miles may not post instantly
e-Miles
e-Miles provides the opportunity to complete surveys and other types of offers for points. You can sign up through e-Miles directly. You will receive a small bonus and have access to the following redemption options:
- United MileagePlus
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Frontier Early Returns
- Alaska Mileage Plan
- Hilton HHonors
- IHG Rewards Club
Alternatively, you can sign up directly with United, Southwest, or Hilton to receive a bonus from that program. With this option, you can only redeem e-Miles with that program. This post provides links to these program-specific offers.
I think it’s worth signing up for e-Miles for the initial bonus regardless of how you choose to sign up. I use this site less often than e-Rewards but I find myself here when I’ve run out of other surveys to complete.
Pros:
- Bonus points or miles for signing up
- Variety of offers (not just surveys)
Cons:
- Can be difficult to qualify for surveys
- No credit if you don’t qualify (can be a big waste of time!)
Survey Sampling International
This company hosts survey websites for various hotel and airline loyalty programs. There’s generally a bonus for signing up and completing your first survey. I find these surveys to be hit or miss. Sometimes I screen in easily and earn a quick 50 miles for less than five minutes of my time. Other times, I spend 20 minutes just trying to find a survey I qualify for.
Here are the specific Survey Sampling International sites by reward program. Even if you don’t plan on using all of them, you can sign up for each to get the bonus.
Alaska Airlines
- The Opinion Terminal: 400 MileagePlan miles for joining and completing first survey
- 5 miles for each survey you don’t qualify for
Club Accor
- ClubOpinions: 300 Le Club AccorHotels points for Classic members and 600 points for Silver, Gold or Platinum members for joining and completing first survey
IHG
- Opinion Check In: 1,000 IHG Rewards Club points for joining and completing first survey
- 5 points for each survey you don’t qualify for
JetBlue
- Points for Surveys: Earn 400 TrueBlue points joining and completing first survey
United
- Opinion Miles Club: 300 MileagePlus miles for joining and completing first survey
Southwest
- Valued Opinions (Note: this site is not through SSI)
Spirit
- Miles for Thoughts: 400 Free Spirit miles for joining and completing first survey
Wyndham
- OpinionRewardsPanel: 500 Wyndham Rewards points for joining and completing first survey
Pros:
- Bonus points or miles for signing up
- Points post to account instantly
Receiving this error message can be very frustrating!
Cons:
- Can be difficult to screen into surveys
- Partial credit for not qualifying only given with some sites
- You can almost be done with the survey and get screened out (this is VERY frustrating!)
Final Thoughts
I’ve had a lot of success earning points and miles with surveys fairly quickly. I generally try to do an e-Rewards survey every day. If I have more time, I’ll use a Survey Sampling International site. If I have even more time, then I’ll move onto e-Miles. Surveys can be time-consuming, but it can definitely be worth your while for maximizing your points and miles. In addition to saving your points or miles from expiring, I’ve noticed that e-Rewards redemptions for IHG points count toward elite status!
