Can you really make extra money by taking surveys online?
LifePoints answers “Yes” by offering survey opportunities that trade a few minutes of your time for a set number of points, which can be redeemed for rewards like gift cards or a charity donation.
Since signing up is free and there’s no purchase necessary, LifePoints can seem like an easy way to grab some gift cards to benefit your daily life.
But is it really worth your time to answer a bunch of questions for what could amount to pocket change?
That’s what we’re here to find out.
In this LifePoints review, we’ll talk about how the site works, how much you can make, and how it compares to other paid survey options.
LifePoints is a legit paid survey site used by many people to make extra money online. Signing up is free and easy, but our testing found few available surveys and a high disqualification rate. Because of this, how much you can earn on the site largely depends on how your demographic profile and purchasing habits match up with the brands and manufacturers LifePoints works with.
LifePoints: Our Take
LifePoints, which is also known as “LifePoints Panel,” promises to be “the place to be for those who want to be heard.” In exchange for answering survey questions about your behavior regarding certain purchases, you receive a set amount of points.
These points can then be exchanged for free gift cards from a number of popular retailers. You can also donate your points to a number of charities.
It’s free to sign up and there’s no requirement to spend any kind of money in order to use the site. However, the seemingly boundless earning potential does reach a cap — and rather quickly.
After you sign up and complete your profile, a number of surveys are listed on your dashboard. Unfortunately, many of these surveys quickly reach their maximum number of participants.
So rather than having the chance to earn 50, 75 or even upwards of 150 points (each point is worth about 1 cent, depending on how you choose to redeem them), you end up with a “thank you” message letting you know that the survey has “filled up.”
While you may receive a couple of points in compensation, the number pales in comparison to what you were expecting.
Plus, those handfuls of surveys disappear after a short time, leaving you in a holding pattern until the next day’s surveys are posted.
In short, LifePoints is a website best used for downtime, with very low expectations in terms of earning extra cash.
You might find yourself only completing a handful of surveys before the well dries up. And since it takes 600 LifePoints to earn a $5 gift card, it may be difficult to earn enough points to actually cash-out.
What is LifePoints?
LifePoints is a website designed to match up consumers with brands wanting to do market research via online surveys.
The sign-up process is free and requires basic information, such as personal details, specifics about your income and household size, and information regarding the kinds of purchases you’ve made or will make within certain periods of time.
You’re compensated for your time in points, which can be redeemed for free gift cards to popular restaurants, Starbucks, eBay, Amazon, Kohls, Macy’s, Barnes and Noble, Bass Pro Shops and Google Play, to name just a few. Gift card amounts range from $5 to upwards of $100, depending on the retailer.
Surveys are listed on your LifePoints dashboard, along with an estimated timeframe necessary to complete the survey, as well as with the number of points you can expect to earn.
Some surveys are given a “TOP” designation, but there’s no indication of what exactly this means.
For example, in the screenshot below you’ll see a “Top” survey that takes 10 minutes and pays 75 points, while the one next to it, which is not “Top” rated, takes 11 minutes and also pays 75 points. Thus, “Top” surveys do not seem to award extra points.
Users should take the numbers they see in the Dashboard with a grain of salt.
Based on your demographic information and purchasing behavior, you may not qualify for any particular survey. In this case, you can expect to receive either zero points, or very few (less than five) as a thank you for participating.
New surveys are reportedly released daily, so LifePoints sends out emails to members inviting them to complete the day’s list of surveys. There’s also a large community area, where you can participate in giveaways, polls and task-related promotions. These may require you to have accounts on social media websites in order to be eligible.
Note that not all of the community activities reward your efforts with points.
LifePoints Sign-Up Process
Signing up for LifePoints takes about 15 minutes total. There are four steps outlined in the registration process, beginning with a page to enter your name, your email address and a prompt to create a password.
Next, you’ll enter your gender, birth date and mailing address.
And finally, you’ll be prompted to agree to the company’s privacy policy, membership terms and conditions, rewards program terms, and to be contacted by both LightSpeed (the market research firm that owns and operates the site) and LifePoints about offers and promotions.
Each task box includes a hyperlink to the corresponding terms you’re agreeing to, and the final question is basically just accepting the fact that you’ll be added to their email list.
Once you’ve completed those agreements, you’ll be prompted to check your email. After verifying your email and returning to the LifePoints website, you should be met with a second set of questions regarding your purchases within a certain time frame.
You may also be asked about your household size, how many children are in the house, what your race is and how much you make annually. Completing these questions finishes up your profile and rewards you with 10 points, in addition to the 10 points you receive for signing up.
After completing your profile, you’ll be brought to the dashboard. It’s here that you can choose from the available surveys.
You can also click on the “Rewards” tab in the top right corner to peruse rewards options; the “Community” tab to see what polls, giveaways and promotions there are to participate in; the “Help Center” icon for answers to FAQs; and “Account” to update your personal details or cancel your account.
Ways to Earn
Earning money via LifePoints consists of completing surveys and participating in giveaways and promotions.
Surveys are often hosted by third-party websites, which structure their questions in a variety of ways. Each survey lists an estimated time required for completion, along with a points value.
Navigating to the “Rewards” tab will allow you to access a log of your points earning history. Popups, denoted as “Quick Polls” on this rewards list, sometimes appear when you first sign in. These surveys ask singular questions but they don’t always show up when you log on to the site.
You may be asked to agree to sharing information regarding what ads you’ve been exposed to via certain online advertisers. You can change these settings at any time under your “My Account” tab on the upper right-hand corner.
Surveys are not rewarded based on the estimated time it takes to complete them. For example, when using the site for this review we found a 20-minute survey that listed 400 points as the reward, as well as a 25-minute survey that paid only 150 points. That said, it’s generally true that longer surveys reward more points.
The “Community” tab is potentially another source for earning points, but the results are similarly non-guaranteed.
The giveaways, promotions and polls you’ll find here really just act as ways for LifePoints to elicit your opinion — just on different platforms, and/or with no promise of rewards. That is to say, you’re still responding to a prompt, but there aren’t always points attached to your efforts.
Participating in LifePoints surveys requires little effort, admittedly. A fast internet connection does make it easier; a larger computer screen allows you to scroll through prompts faster as well.
Assuming you’re answering the prompts honestly, there’s little to no preparation required. It’s simply based on what you’ve purchased and how you feel about those products.
Regarding your return on investment, LifePoints lacks the quantity and quality of surveys found on some other sites. Surveys tend to fill up quickly (more on that below), so you’re really only completing a few at a time that are worth a handful of points.
The number of surveys is limited, too. This means you may only earn five points per day, which makes earning the minimum of 600 points — which is required to cash-out for the lowest-value reward option, a $5 gift card — difficult.
LifePoints Surveys
Surveys populate your dashboard, so I figured I would start with the first one on the list and move to the right horizontally to complete them.
The first survey listed said it took approximately eight minutes and rewarded 50 points. I entered in my gender and age, and was taken to a screen that notified me the survey had already filled up.
I was not awarded any points. Instead, I was taken back to my dashboard, where I clicked on the next survey that was first in line.
This second survey quoted 11 minutes and 75 points. Again, I didn’t get very far before I was met with the screen notifying me the survey had filled up.
This time, however, I did receive two points for attempting the survey. This process was repeated for my third survey, which quoted 25 minutes and 150 points.
After my third survey, I was met with a message that I had done all the surveys available for that day and that I should check out the “Community” page for more activities.
I was met with this same message when I logged in the next day, therefore preventing me from earning any LifePoints unless I were to check back in at a later time.
I closed the tab but did not log out. But when I navigated back to the LifePoints website to check on the “Community” tab, I was met with a “Quick Poll” that rewarded me one point.
In the end, I was only able to earn 26 points after two days of testing — and I never actually got to proceed to a survey.
This may be due to my demographic profile, or any other number of factors, and other users may experience different/better results.
Getting Paid
As far as getting paid by LifePoints goes, you can either choose a gift card or a donation. Both gift cards and donations list how many points are required to obtain them, as well as the corresponding dollar amounts.
While it may seem like a single point would equal a penny — as is true with Swagbucks, where every “SB” you earn is worth 1 cent — that’s not always the case.
For example, to get a $5 PayPal gift card, you’ll need to earn 600 points. But in order to donate the same amount to the Special Olympics, you only need 550 points. Meanwhile, A $25 gift card from Target will cost you 2,700 points — a slightly better deal than using your points for PayPal.
PayPal gift cards require you to have a PayPal account. Most other gift cards simply require you to meet the points minimum.
Points are available to use as soon as they post to your account. The only obstacle you might face in terms of getting paid is earning the minimum of 550 points (about $5) to cash-out.
The fact that surveys were full at the time of our logins does not instill much confidence when it comes to maximizing earning potential.
LifePoints Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Little to no effort or skill is required to complete surveys.
- Points are redeemable for gift cards for many popular retailers, so there’s plenty of opportunity to use points in your everyday life.
- Low-maintenance membership only requires you to sign in every so often to earn points; there are no daily minimums or other commitment requirements necessary to be eligible to earn LifePoints.
Note: Your points expire three years after being issued or after 12 months of account inactivity.
Cons:
- Earning opportunities are few and far between.
- Unless you fall into specific demographic categories, you may not qualify for many surveys.
- The return-on-investment is limited; you can probably make more money on other survey sites.
LifePoints FAQ
Yes, LifePoints is a legitimate website that offers you access to earn gift cards or the ability to donate based on how many surveys you complete.
Anyone over the age of 14 is eligible to join LifePoints. Simply complete their registration process to obtain a membership. LifePoints is available in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Russia, and Thailand, to name a few.
LifePoints states that “personal data will never be revealed, sold or traded.” However, there is an option to opt into letting LifePoints know which ads you’ve been exposed to. This is a prompt that will show up shortly after you log in for the second time. Know that you can change these settings at any time by going to the “Account” and “Data Usage & Preferences” tab.
No, points are only redeemable for a PayPal payment, gift card or charity donation. There is no cash redemption option.
Lifepoints launched its app in 2021, for both iOS and Android devices. As of April 2024, it has a 4.6/5 rating on iOS with over 7,700 reviews and a 4.2/5 rating on the Google Play Store with over 100,000 reviews.
We tested the app and found it was very user-friendly. The one downside, which is true for most survey apps, is that you may find yourself scrolling more to submit a response than on a desktop due to the limited screen size.
Nonetheless, the app is a much-improved experience over completing surveys on a mobile browser, and gives Lifepoints members the chance to earn money on the go.
LifePoints claims to offer product testing, but beyond mentioning it on their “How it Works” page, there’s no way to sign up for or inquire about it, beyond the help button. If you’re interested in product testing, we recommend signing up for i-Say by Ipsos or one of the sites listed in our roundup of legit product testing sites.
LifePoints Panel Review: Summary
In short, LifePoints is a legit online survey site but the earning potential is limited compared to the other options in the marketplace.
Going into this review, our plan was to spend time researching the different types of surveys available, evaluating how difficult they are to complete and how much they actually pay for your time.
Unfortunately, we were never able to get to that point. We attempted a handful of surveys, were disqualified from all of them, and were then told we’d attempted all of the available surveys for that particular day.
All survey sites have limited inventory and disqualifications are a common complaint among online survey takers. However, we’ve never run out of surveys on sites like Swagbucks and Survey Junkie, two sites where inventories are fairly large and disqualification rates are relatively low.
So while LifePoints is legit, we recommend starting with those two sites.
That said, your experience on LifePoints may differ from ours. Many people use and like like the site, so your demographics and purchasing habits may be a better fit for the platform. Since becoming a LifePoints member is a simple task that only takes a few minutes, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try.
Here are some more resources where you can find additional paid survey options:
Lifepoints is no longer a legitimate site. I should know because I had been a member for years. They started out as MySurvey, then changed to Lightspeed and then to Lifepoints. All affiliated with Kantar. They are now cancelling people’s accounts for no reason. When you contact tech support they say because there was a breach in their terms and conditions. When pressed further, they say they cannot give this detailed information because it’s a “secretive” investigation.
I used to make probably $700 a year being an “honest” panelist. When I checked out the site Survey Police, their rating was 1.5 stars out of 5. Review after review states the same thing that was done to me was done to other users. Even worse, now when a panelist attempts to collect their reward, Lifepoints shuts down their account. They have been reported to the BBB, and someone even contacted their state attorney’s office.
Unfortunately, Lifepoints is operating just within the law. I harassed them for quite a while insisting that they show me proof that I violated their rules. Of course their was none, so the help desk started to ignore my requests. Funny thing is, they continued to send me survey invites after they deactivated my account. I finally decided to unsubscribe.
Piece of advice to anyone considering Lifepoints: beware! Do your research before signing up. There are legit surveys sites out there, but many that are not.
I experienced EXACTLY the same thing. Avoid LifePoints or you’ll regret it!
I completely agree with everything you all are saying now. I have accumulated over 1300 points and I have been trying to redeem them for about a week now for a PayPal gift card and they keep telling me that they don’t have an account for my email address. However, when I sign in my name and information is all up there and it keeps letting me rack up more and more points.
My account was canceled yesterday on April 4,2023 without an explanation why. I’ve only been a member for 3 weeks and with any warning my account was suspended.
My account was cancelled the other day for “violating their terms and conditions.” I asked what I had done and was told they reviewed my account and that it would remain closed, but they couldn’t tell me what I had done. I have done all sorts of surveys for years, and never had this sort of treatment before. Definitely not a survey panel that I will be recommending.
Just happened to me too, and I asked them to tell me the reason for the cancellation and they would not, obviously they just do not want to credit me what they owe me.
I agree! After ten years with them, they did the same to me and never did anything I shouldn’t.
They lost just under 36000 points. I don’t see how they can work within the law because They are kicking people out and not paying them for work honestly completed. I’m writing my state’s attorney and congress representatives. I know of no brick-and-mortar places where people can legally be fired and have to forfeit pay for work already done. If this is legal, then the law must be changed.
The people who benefit from not paying you are the ones who can make the decision that you “violated their terms of service” and were “deceitful.” I was NOT, but they have absolute power and still get paid. They say they need to protect their integrity, but there IS no integrity in stealing from people who did nothing wrong.
Thank you, Cindy. I too have been a member of the Lifepoints Panel, and have not had any problems until about 4 months ago, when I suddenly was not able to log in. At first I tried changing my password, which was suggested. After changing my password about 10 times and still not being able to log in after each change, I began contacting customer service. I received e-mails stating my issue was being looked into. It was also suggested that I try a different search engine, which I did with the same results. I tried different computers — same results. I have even tried a different e-mail account and password and now am getting a “you do not qualify to join our community” reply. The funny thing is that I am still receiving survey invitations. The really frustrating part is the last time I was able to log into my account I had over 22,000 points to redeem. That was over $200 in Amazon gift cards. Maybe that’s why I can no longer log into my account. I guess I should have redeemed them when I had the chance. If there is anyone out there that can help, please do!
As someone who used LifePoints for several years I never had any problems until a week ago when I decided to redeem $40. A few days afterwards, I wasn’t able to log in anymore. I sent them a message to find out what was going on. To my surprise, I received an email back saying that there was a technical issue with my vouchers and they had to refund my points. Also, in that email they stated they had conducted a review of my account and claimed that I had violated their terms and conditions.
I’ve always given honest answers in the surveys I’ve completed, so I was extremely confused. I sent them a message through their “Contact Us” portal. I received an automated reply 20 minutes later saying that my problem had been escalated for review. Shortly thereafter, I received another message saying that I had violated their terms and conditions.
It further stated:
1. My account had been closed.
2. I lost all my points (nearly $50 worth).
3. They refuse to provide any proof or evidence of what I’m alleged to have done wrong.
4. They usually side with members (never did in my case) but there was overwhelming evidence against me.
5. My account is terminated and to have a great day.
I then decided to look up reviews of LifePoints and discovered all these other people with the same issues as of late. In these messages, I saw LifePoints replied and said to contact them and raise a ticket for investigation. So I thought I would do that and see what happens.
I received a response within an hour (again, such quick responses) with the EXACT SAME response word for word that I received earlier that day.
So your complaints are not even investigated or taken seriously. You get auto responses with the same text. I’m looking forward to seeing LifePoints’ auto-response to this review to say to contact them with all my info so they can investigate it.
Then I can get the same automated response for a third time 😂.
So in summary: sure they are ok to use for a little while, but after a that, they just randomly terminate your account, strip you of all your points, and never investigate — just give you automated responses. If this is something that appeals to you, then sure, go ahead and use them.
I am going through what seems like scam moves right now with them. However, I have barely been a member. I just attempted to get started two days ago, but right after, I realized I couldn’t log in. Not using Google, not using Facebook, not using my own password. I would always get “Account temporarily unavailable”, and emails saying that they are “working on it.”
I am ready to start working on them. We could do so much damage if we just picked at them and did what we are doing right here a few times each. I can’t stand that kind of lying and scamming. It is almost like bullying. I am going to give them part of today , just one nap and a wake up and if my account isn’t at least deactivated and them done with me and vice-versa, watch for the reviews coming from me. Everywhere you go about these dudes you will see something that I have written. Word.
I just had my account suspended after years of doing surveys and have over 2000 points from surveys I had completed. They gave me 6 possible reasons for the suspension and said they basically had nothing more to say. None of which is true as far as the reasons go.
There was no warning. On top of that when you complete any job you are supposed to be paid for what you did even if you are let go. So now I’m out being able to at least cash in my points. This is bad business. Do not use this company.
LifePoints canceled my account while I was in the middle of a survey and did not give me a reason why. I reached out to the support team, who was far from helpful. They gave me canned generic responses, which did not help me at all. They are not going to restore my access. The problem I have with this is that I had already earned a bunch of points and they will not redeem them for me…. THAT’S ILLEGAL!!! The least they could do is redeem the points that I had already earned. That is how LifePoints makes money….. they cancel your account and do not redeem your points, so they keep it all for themselves.
As stated by your many commentors, LifePoints is NOT legit. Just when I got to the point of being able to claim a reward, they canceled my membership and would only tell me that I had “violated their rules.” Total rubbish – I could not see anywhere in their terms that would suggest I had violated anything.
Lifepoints is fraud. They will cancel your account without notice if you don’t do a survey in 90 days. They won’t even tell you what you did wrong expect just to look at their TOS.
Like many people in the internet, my account was closed too and said they would not open the case.
Any lawyers here? What about a class action lawsuit against the company?
Michael: Lifepoints clearly states that accounts will be cancelled after 90-days of inactivity. From their terms of service: “To keep your account ‘Active’ means that you have joined the Panel and participated in a Survey or other activity on the Site within 30 days from your initial registration or within any 90 day period.”
They told me today my account was not closed because of the 90 day policy, that my responses we’re not honest.
I got bit too. A few weeks ago they closed my account saying that I moved them to my junk folder. I did not. Then I had to fight to get my points back, which took about two weeks. Then a few days ago, my account was closed again. Their response was that I more or less broke their rules. How can one break rules while filling out surveys? Not a happy camper with them at all!
I tried to log in to my account and got this message: “Temporarily Unavailable Sorry, your membership is temporarily unavailable. Please contact our Help Centre for support”.
So I did; a case number was assigned, and they replied, “We are working on it.”
A day later, I got the same generic line they told others: “LifePoints provides our clients with the highest level of data integrity. Therefore, we must ensure the integrity of the survey data we get from our members. We depend on our members to take their membership seriously, provide us with correct information, and honest and consistent survey responses.
We have reviewed your account and determined that your membership does not meet our quality standards and the decision has been made to inactivate your account.”We know this is not a favourable outcome for you and it definitely is not one that we take lightly. However, it is a necessary one for us to continue to be our best and keep our commitment to our clients.
The LifePoints Team”
I have been after them to find out what I could have done. I was in the middle of my Purchase Diary worth 1500 extra points, and it would have given me enough points to draw on 4 x $25.00 gift Certificates again.
They have left me out in the cold with no explanation.
I see other members have had the same experience over the last two months and have expressed an interest in a class action lawsuit for stealing our points and, most seriously, accusing us of not being honest.
I would join this suit and have already filed a complaint with BBB Canada and the RCMP Police Fraud Division to investigate LifePoints.
Stand by to Stand by Customer Support.
This was a total scam – when I got close to enough points to redeem – I was cancelled. I actually did read the terms and did not violate any policies except that I was close to redeeming points! Waste of time!! And no help or explanation given when I reached out the help center. Disappointing to say the least!
Well, I wish I’d seen this feedback before I wasted my time on Lifepoints. I had exactly the same experience. I completed several surveys, built up some points, and then tried to redeem them. And I got the “Your account has been temporarily suspended” message. Raised a ticket and got a reply saying I’d violated their Terms and Conditions. Complete scam!