Is Point Club Legit? Or Just Another Survey Scam Trying to Rip You Off?

Welcome to my review of Point Club Surveys.

Looking to make money online? One of the most frequent questions I get is doing surveys.

It's true, you can earn some money doing surveys, but it depends on which companies you sign up with. Some are good, some are not so good, and many of them are scams.   

In this review I'll talk about how it works, what you can expect, and of course… is Point Club legit?

Disclaimer:
Please note, I am not a member or an affiliate for Point Club. This review has been researched with information and/or testimonials that are available online in the public domain. Any recommendations and/or conclusions are strictly opinions and may not apply to, or agree with, all persons or situations. See full disclaimer for more info

What is Point Club?

Point Club is an online survey company that rewards members for sharing their opinions about consumer products, services, and brands.

Paid surveys are becoming a favorite approach by many to make a little extra income, but again… not all of these survey sites are good.

I’ll go over Point Club’s basic details first, and then get into the good stuff… the reviews, complaints, and what some members claim to be shady tactics.

Based in Encino CA and getting their start in 2015, Point Club is one of the newer survey sites.

It’s clear they’ve put a lot of effort into being one of the best market research companies out there, but good intentions don’t always meet reality. I was optimistic about Point Club at first, but things began to unravel when I began digging deeper… including when I learned they had an F rating with the Better Business Bureau, and their accreditation had been revoked.

But, before we get into that…

How Does Point Club Work?

Like most online survey sites, Point Club works with clients (survey hosts) who are willing to shell out money for your thoughts and opinions.

As simple as that sounds, it gets a bit more complicated when put into practice.

Point Club has a clean uncluttered website and they make it easy for you to sign up. You can either do it old-school (my preferred method) using email, or log in with your Facebook account. 

At this point (if you’re unfamiliar with paid surveys) you’ll be asked questions that most people would consider too personal for sharing online with people you don’t know.

It’s one of the reason’s I’m not a fan of making money through market research.

Surveys are created with a specific demographic in mind, and to make sure they target the right audience, certain personal information is required. This can include things like family income, medical history, the financial institutions you bank with, and so on…

It’s not always the case… but if you’re going to do paid surveys on a regular basis, you can expect at some point to be asked these types of questions. 

Who is Point Club For?

Point Club is for the person who is just looking for a few extra bucks every now and then. It’ll require some spare time, but generally online surveys are simple and fun.

Who Is It Not For?

It’s not for people looking to replace their job by making legit money online.

The web is a powerful tool that gives you leverage, if you use it right. You can produce something once and get paid many times over for it… quite often for years.

Point Club, and all paid surveys, are zero-leverage activities, meaning you only get paid once for the work you do. There is no passive income potential.

I can only speak for myself, but I prefer to do something once and get paid over and over, which is not the case with Point Club.

How Much Does Point Club Pay?

Your earnings are accumulated as points. Each survey pays on average between 200 to 2000 points.

It might sound like a lot… but the points to dollars conversion isn't great.

1000 points = $1.00

So… 200 to 2000 points is equal to $0.20 to $2.00 per survey. Most people report earning, on average, $1.00.

The number of points a survey pays depends on things like the length of time it takes to complete, the urgency (how soon does the client need it), and how specific it is.

If the questions target a very specific audience (for example… people in downtown Seattle who ride blue bikes to work on Wednesday in the rain) the survey will pay more.

Point Club also has a loyalty incentive that increases your “member level” based on the number of consecutive days you log into your account. If you log in for 100 days in row, you’ll reach level 10, which pays double points.

It’s a great incentive, but the bonus is still baked into the 200 – 2000 points per survey they advertise… meaning, your average will still be around $1.00/survey even if you log in everyday.

Minimum Payout

Like most make-money-online companies, there's a minimum payout you must reach. Point Club requires that you accumulate 25,000 points ($25) before cashing out.

But here’s the thing… a lot of complaints revolve around this minimum payout because you don’t always get paid for participating in surveys (more on that in a moment).

It may be perception, or it may be coincidence… but it’s not uncommon to hear people complaining about the frequency of unpaid surveys increasing as they get close to the minimum threshold, making it difficult to cash out.

When people begin to doubt if Point Club is legit, it's usually because of this.

When you do reach 25,000 points though, you can redeem them for cash via PayPal, or for gift cards (everything from Amazon, Tango, and Xbox, to various restaurant, retail and entertainment cards).

Other Ways to Make Money With Pointclub

Point Club has a daily Sweeps draw with a grand prize of 10,000 points. You can enter once per day by giving likes on Facebook.

They also say you can earn money through various contests, quizzes, and polls… however, among a hundred or more reviews on various blogs, forums and social media, I didn’t see much discussion about these other opportunities.

Is Point Club Legit?

Personally, I’m not going to call Point Club a scam… but I'm also not going to say they're legit… 

I think it’s important to look at the complaints and accusations being made about them, which highlight some potential issues you should be aware of.

I mentioned earlier that their accreditation with the Better Business Bureau had been revoked, and the reason given is for failing to respond to customer complaints.

That’s bad enough, but let’s look at one of those BBB complaints (and there are many others around the web making a similar claim)…

Again, to be clear… I am personally not making this accusation, or calling Point Club a scam. These are claims made by others that anyone planning to invest their time into Point Club should be aware of.

What If You Don't Qualify?

The other issue with Point Club (and most online survey sites) is that you’ll begin filling out a survey, or you may even finish it… and then be told you’ve been disqualified, or that the quota has already been met.

In either case, you don’t get paid.

There are legitimate reasons for this.

Sometimes the survey host will add “gotcha” questions (or red herrings) within the survey to make sure you’re paying attention (not just clicking randomly to complete as many surveys as possible). They also do it to prove you actually belong to the demographic they are targeting.

Other times there may be more people filling out a survey than the client needs, and when they have enough, they pull the plug and people get a “Quota full” or “No longer required” message.

The problem is that some survey sites take advantage of this and rip people off…

I'm not saying Point Club is cheating people… but we can't pretend it's not tempting for them to use these excuses to disqualify people, and never pay them.

Companies that do it deliberately, are definitely not legit.

Point Club Reviews and Complaints

I originally thought that most of the comments and reviews about Point Club were positive. People were saying great things about them.

But then I learned they were crediting people with points to write positive reviews.

I’d normally share all the good things people were saying… but knowing those reviews were “bought”, who knows if they are honest.

This occurred in June of 2018… and sure enough, if you look back further (before June), the reviews are not good.

Among the complaints, people are saying…

• It takes a long time (sometimes months) to reach the 25,000 point minimum, and even then, when points are being redeemed, it can take several weeks… if your account doesn’t get cancelled first.
• When you complete a survey, your points are “pending” until cleared by the client. According to Point Club, this should take 2 – 13 days. However… some are claiming their points remain in the “pending” state for several weeks, or even months.
• Poor support and non-responsive (a legitimate compliant considering the BBB revoked their accreditation for that exact reason).

Final Thoughts

At this point, I usually point out the things I like, and the things I don’t like, but I’m a little overwhelmed by the problems being reported.

A few complaints are normal… but with several, or even dozens of people making the same accusations about Point Club, it becomes hard to NOT question if they're legit. 

Is it worth your time to even bother?

If I had to pick out something good to say, the daily Sweeps I think are a good idea. I also like that they add $5.00 (in points) to your starting balance when you join.

But, none of that matters if they don’t pay you… which, if you believe what people are saying, is a significant risk with Point Club.

There are other options out there to make money online, and even earn passive income, so unfortunately, I can’t recommend Point Club at this time. That may change in the future… but for now, there are too many risks in my opinion.