Want Free Frequent Flyer Miles? Make This Part of Your Daily Routine

The only way I’ve known to garner airline miles and points is to swipe my credit card.

Spend $1, earn one point. Double the points when it’s a travel or dining purchase.

Honestly, it takes a while to accumulate anything substantial. That’s fine, though, because it’s passive.

Want to take more control over those points and miles? You can earn points and miles by completing simple tasks through eMiles.

What’s eMiles?

eMiles is a platform that rewards you in points for completing various tasks online. These might include taking surveys, signing up for a daily newsletter, watching ads, claiming shopping deals or going about your normal consumer behavior.

It claims you can earn $20 to $30 in rewards by spending less than an hour on its site.

So, I decided to put that to the test.

4 Ways to Earn Travel Points on eMiles

First thing’s first. You’ll need to sign up. Enter your email address, then answer a few basic questions. This takes less than two minutes, and you’ll automatically gain 100 points to get you started.

Next, watch a short how-to video and earn 25 points.

Now, explore and find ways to earn points.

1. Take Surveys

Look at the sidebar on the left side of your screen. You’ll find different point-earning categories.

My first inclination? Surveys!

The nice part about these survey options is each spells out exactly how long the survey should take and how many points you’ll earn.

The first one I took promised to take no more than 15 minutes of my time. I completed it in about nine minutes and banked another 182 points.

Other options included a 10-minute survey for 55 points, a 32-minute survey for 75 points and a seven-minute survey for 49 points.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t a match for many of these surveys, but most of them told me that within the first few questions — so I didn’t waste a ton of time. Plus, eMiles felt bad for me and gave me a pity point for each of those missed opportunities.

2. Sign Up For Stuff

Scroll through a number of sign-up offers to see if any might fit your interests.

If so, sign up and earn eMiles points, which can be used toward a number of travel-focused rewards.

A few offers available right now include:

• 75 points when you sign up for Brainer, a memory game
• 45 points when you sign up for Uber and take your first ride
• 180 points when you check your credit score
• 20 points when you sign up for Ebates
• 90 points when you sign up for a Target RedCard

Why not earn points for doing things you’d normally do?

3. Watch Videos

Select the “Interact” tab and see if there are any videos available for you to watch. Sort them by recommended, newest, highest rewards or lowest duration. You can also select video categories such as family and parenting, home and garden or sports.

Heads up: I didn’t have any videos available to watch in my queue.

4. Find Deals

If you’re an impulsive shopper, it’s probably best to avoid this section. However, it’s a great way to earn eMile points on purchases you’d make anyway.

For example, earn one point per dollar at TravelZoo. Or one point per dollar from ThinkGeek. You can even earn 225 points when you opt in for BarkBox’s monthly subscription for dog toys and treats.

It’s Time for Redemption

Collect a mound of points? Now it’s time to redeem them for travel perks.

With as few as 400 points, you can snag a $5 Starbucks eGift voucher or a $25 gift card voucher for Restaurant.com.

With as few as 500 points, you can start collecting airline miles and points. For example, 500 points will get you 500 AAdvantage miles (American Airlines), 500 Southwest points or 500 United points.

You’ve got options for hotels, too. For example, 500 points can get you 1,000 Hilton Honors points.

Hey, Amazon is even on there. Get 600 points for a $10 gift card voucher.

Within about 30 minutes, I had scored 310 points, which put me 90 points away from my first reward. The next day, I checked in to see if I qualified for more surveys.

After not qualifying for several surveys, I managed to snag two more and muster up 432 points, which made me eligible for that $25 Restaurant.com card. I added it to my eMiles “wallet,” where it’ll pend for up to five days before becoming available.

Whoo!

So if you’re ready to welcome eMiles into your daily routine (like I already have) — even if it is just 30 minutes a day — chances are, you’ll be able to stack up some points toward your next vacation or evening out.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. One of her goals is to visit every U.S. national park, so she’s all for free travel points. (Or free restaurant gift cards, ’cause food is good, too…)