Sick of Wasting Time in Line? This App Helps You Earn Money While You Wait
Who enjoys sitting at the airport, killing time in waiting rooms or spending an hour at the DMV? Not me (and probably not you, either). That’s why I love finding new ways to turn otherwise wasted time into money.
I also like taking advantage of easy ways to earn extra cash, and the Instant Rewards app is about as easy as it gets if you already have an iPhone (or iPad or iPod Touch). If you want to turn your wasted time into a little bit of extra money, you might want to give this app a try. Here’s how it works.
How to Earn Money With Instant Rewards
To get started, you’ll need to download Instant Rewards from the app store (it’s only available on iTunes at the moment).
Register with your name, email address and a password — that’s it. Start racking up points by completing simple tasks like:
- Watching a video
- Completing a survey
- Sharing something on Facebook
- Downloading other apps
- Completing an offer
- Tweeting
- Posting photos on Instagram
Your points are worth a penny each, and when you get to the minimum payout of 750 points ($7.50), cash out via PayPal or an Amazon gift card.
What Do Users Say?
Marilyn Chau rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars on iPhoneAppPreview.com, noting “a few bugs in the system.” Flashpoint Media, the maker of the app, says they’ve fixed the issues in the latest version, and Chau’s review was generally favorable. She called the app layout “very user-friendly,” said it was easy to find offers to complete, and she summarized with this:
“Overall, this app delivers an easy way to make money and will appeal to individuals who have used internet-based points/cash rewards programs in the past, but for anyone who gets easily bored with little tasks, Instant Rewards is probably not the ideal app…”
Chau makes a good point: not everything you do with the app will be fun or interesting. But making money from these “little tasks” might be less boring than watching the clock while standing in line at the bank, or staring into space while riding the train to work. And thousands of customer reviews give the Instant Rewards App an average of 4.5 of 5 stars.
A review on TheJewishLady.com notes the following features:
- Easy interface
- No fake surveys you don’t qualify for
- Short 15-30 second videos
- Cash out to PayPal
- Variety of non-spammy tasks
I especially like that second point; I hate starting a survey only to be disqualified five minutes into it (that’s one reason I don’t recommend a lot of survey sites on The Penny Hoarder). The review did mention that there isn’t a tour of the app once you’ve downloaded it, a feature which might make it even easier to use.
How Much Money Can You Make?
You aren’t going to get rich with this app (or any similar one), but every little bit helps, right? At SavvySavingCouple.net, Amy says the money she makes “pays for things like newspapers, and coffee,” and adds:
“The fun thing about apps like Instant Rewards is that I do have to “work” to get the money, but it is soooo darn easy!! At night when I’m on my couch, I can simply watch app trailers, like Facebook pages, and even take simple surveys to get points. 100 points = $1.”
Another user says the surveys she’s been doing pay 15 credits (15 cents), but some are only one question, and none are more than 10 questions. She says “The other tasks are polls, downloading apps, playing games, doing slot machines, sharing photos, logging your exercise and activity; a lot of them are signing up for sweeps and product information.”
On her blog, user Tammy Litke points out how to make a bit more money — tell others about this app. She suggests using the bonus code you’re given to refer family and friends to Instant Rewards. When they sign up, you earn 10% of all the credits they make.
Instant Rewards claims, “With our high-paying offers many users earn over $10.00 a day!” You’d likely have to complete quite a few tasks to reach that goal — unless you recommend the app to a bunch of friends in order to rack up those 10% commissions — but every little bit counts.
In any case, you might enjoy making a few extra bucks from a free app. And if, like me, you hate wasting time, you can start making a little bit of pocket money when you’re stuck in a line or waiting room. Turning wasted time into a bit of extra cash is always a win in my book.
Your Turn: What do you think? Have you tried Instant Rewards? If so, tell us about your experience.
