Ten things you (probably) didn't know about Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys (formerly known as Mintvine) takes a bit of a backseat to the other main GPT sites, but when used well can be a great earner, and if you can spare a few minutes a day to add it into your GPT repertoire, you'll soon see you can earn well from it alongside other sites.

Not a member? You can join Branded Surveys here.

Here are 10 things you may or may not know about Branded Surveys:

There's a Daily Poll

Even if you never do anything else on Branded Surveys, the Daily Poll can earn you up to $5 a month for just 2 seconds of your time a day. As a basic (Bronze member) you get 5 points a day for the poll and 25 points if you complete 10 in a row. As you rise up the ranks (more about that later) the points increase.



Read more about the Daily Poll on Branded Surveys here.

You get better DQ points than most sites

That 1SB DQ point from Swagbucks is great, and we all love the Tap DQ points on InstaGC, but for basic DQ points with no faffing, I love Branded surveys. I've had anything from 1 point up to 50 points for DQing from a Branded Surveys survey, but I have heard rumours of 70 points - and they clear immediately which can be a great boost if you're just a few points away from that cashout level.


So stop ignoring and deleting those Branded Surveys emails, a few clicks and you could be adding to your points balance without even having to complete a survey.

It's slow to start

When you first start it's easy to be discouraged on Branded Surveys, as all survey points pend for 14 days. That means it can seem like a long hard slog to get to the 1000 points cashout criteria. But stick with it - once you're into a routine, points will be clearing every day and you'll soon see that you can cash out more regularly.


1000 points is $10 to Paypal, or to a number of giftcards (including my favourite, Pizza Express). Payment takes around 5 days, sometimes quicker, and currently $10 Paypal is showing as #7.31 in my pending withdrawals.

The more surveys you do, the better points you get

Branded Surveys runs an 'Elite membership' system upon where you become a Bronze Elite member on joining. The more surveys or offers that you do, the more points you earn towards becoming a Silver and then Gold Elite member. 10 points from surveys or offers gives you one credit towards your membership level. You need 60 credits to get to Silver and 210 credits to get to Gold.

Once you achieve either of the higher levels, the points increase for tasks that you do, as you can see from the table below.

You can skip surveys with no penalty

While the survey offers via email are often quite high points, the ones on the site itself can often be lower points than you would like. But no need to worry, you can skip surveys with no penalty and you won't be offered them again.


But here's where Branded Surveys are different - not only can you skip the surveys, you can tell them why you skipped them! Too long for your liking? Let them know! You're not spending 15 minutes for 30 measly points? Let them know! They say this feedback helps them for future surveys, but even if it doesn't, it makes me feel better to let them know how unrealistic some of the offers are!

EngagemeTV runs quicker for Branded Surveys

Lots of us run EngagemeTV for Instagc or Earnably, Swagbucks or Grabpoints, but in our recent study, we found that it credits more quickly on Branded Surveys, with you having to sit through fewer ads in order to receive points. The table below shows the comparison and you can read more about it here

They have offer walls too

While Branded Surveys have fewer offer walls than some of the other GPT sites, often the points available can be slightly better. So it's worth checking there before doing an offer on another site if you've seen it on OfferToro, Personaly, PeanutLabs, Adwall, TrialPay or AdGate.

They have 'The Complete Challenge'

The Complete Challenge is a daily, weekly and monthly draw to win additional points. You will automatically be submitted for Complete challenges when you complete a survey.

The amount of entries you receive depends on the Elite membership level you are at - each survey you complete will earn you 1 ticket if you are a Bronze member, 2 for Silver and 3 for Gold.
It seems that the prizes for these Challenges vary, but it's an extra chance for extra points with no extra effort.

Bonus points can be awesome

In much the same way as there are points awarded for completing 10 polls in a row, there are also extra points up for grabs if you complete a certain number of surveys in a certain number of days.
Once you reach Silver membership, completing 10 surveys in 7 days will get you an extra 100 points. Completing 30 surveys in 7 days gets you an extra 150 points. This rises to 200 and 300 points respectively if you are a Gold member. Those points add up!

Their referral scheme is confusing, but worth it

When they were Mintvine, Branded Surveys had one of the most lucrative referral schemes out there. However that has now changed slightly. You still get 10% of your referrals earnings for life (on surveys and offers only). But the signup bonus (that used to be 50 points per referral) has changed.
Now, in order to get a bonus, both you and your referral have to reach Silver Elite Membership. Once your referral reaches Silver, if you are Silver you get a bonus of 50 points. But if you are Gold, you get a whopping 200 points, so it's definitely worth going for Gold!


So, while it may not become your biggest earner, I think Branded Surveys is still worth thinking about - it's kept me in Pizza Express vouchers for a good few months and while I wasn't sure at first about the changeover from Mintvine, I'm pretty much sold. You can join here if you're not already a member.

Did you learn something new from the points above? Were you not convinced before but now want to become a Branded Surveys member? Come over to the GPT Genies Facebook group and let us know, or leave your comments below.

Learn how to use Branded Surveys

This post has moved to http://gptgenies.com/2018/03/learn-how-to-use-branded-surveys/ - please amend your bookmarks

Mintvine minitip - How do I know when I will get my cashout payment?

Lots of people in the Facebook group asking how long it takes to cashout on Mintvine.

The short answer is 7 days but often sooner, but if you're looking for more concrete confirmation, here's how to check.

When you log in to Mintvine and see your totals, underneath that is a button labelled 'Withdrawal Status' - it looks like this:

Clicking on 'Withdrawal Status' gives you something like this:

You can see from this that I requested my withdrawal on 21st September and it is expected by 28th September. That's their quoted 7 days cashout.

However, if you look at my previous cashouts:

This one took 4 days:

This one took 3 days:

And this one took 5 days:

It's very rare in my experience for a Mintvine cashout to take the full 7 days, but it's always best to err on the worst case and allow 7 days fro your Mintvine payment to arrive.

Not on Mintvine? I cash out a minimum of 1000 points ($10 Paypal / Amazon or currently £10 Tesco vouchers) every 5 days or so. Join me on Mintvine now.

Mintvine - Earning Mintvine points via Engageme.tv

If you're getting a bit fed up with doing surveys on Mintvine but still want to earn points, Engageme.TV is a good way to do that.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a quick way to earn points, but if you're able to leave it running while you do other things then the points soon add up.

To access engageme.tv, first go to the Mintvine site and click on 'Offers':

Once on the offers section, you need to click 'Adwall':

You'll then be given the option of choosing an Engageme.tv category - different categories have different amounts of ads. I usually choose Food and Cooking to start, but often change througout the day.

Once you've clicked on a section, engageme.tv will start running. DO NOT LOG IN! For it to run with Mintvine, it needs to say 'Earning with: Other' and logging in won't give you a Mintvine option.

Points wise, you'll get 1 point for every 3 ads you see. Unfortunately ads don't always show, so you may need to keep an eye on it to start, and change categories if you're getting no ads.

Not on Mintvine? Join me here.

Read Jade's fab Newbie Guide to Mintvine here.

Engageme/tv not working for Mintvine? Try it for Grabpoints instead here

!!Mintvine alert!!

Up until yesterday PM, cashing out on Mintvine, it was 1000 points for £7.49 on Paypal or £13.10 on Amazon - we've said for a while they got the exchange rate the wrong way around.

It seems that they have realised this and now it is much of a muchness, with Amazon being slightly better at around £8.00 per 1000 points.

They have not alerted anyone to this. If you were cashing out on Amazon purely to get the better rate, it may be that Paypal is now better for you.

Please can you share this post anyone you think may be affected by this and I'll try and remember to bump it regularly over the next few days.

I know it's not great, but it was only a matter of time, and we've had it good for a while :)

Mintvine minitip - I can't verify my mobile number!

In order to get your first cashout from Mintvine, you need to verify your phone number, but it seems that many of the members of our Facebook group dedicated to Swagbucks, Mintvine and other survey sites and apps are running into issues when getting to this step.

The problem, it seems, is that Mintvine simply cannot verify UK mobile numbers in the usual way by sending you a text message with a code that you then put into the website.

There are 2 things to try to get around this:

1) Try putting in a landline number - many members have found that this works and verifies immediately. It doesn't send a code or anything, just ticks off the verification.

2) If this doesn't work then the only option is to contact Mintvine. Their customer service is usually pretty good and they verify you manually within a few hours. You can contact them via the Help tab on the website menu.

Once you're verified you should be able to cashout with no problem.

Let us know in the Facebook group if the landline trick worked for you!

Not on Mintvine? Regular, easy surveys, offers and videos to watch, cashout at 1000 for $10 in a variety of ways including Paypal & Amazon. Join me there now!

When will I receive my cashout?

You've completed the surveys, watched the videos, subscribed to the offers and the time is finally here to cash out - you've made money and you're excited to receive it!

But when will you receive your hard earned Paypal payment / gift voucher? Many thanks to our Facebook group admin Jade for putting together this list of cashout times for the most popular sites and apps.

(We'll be updating this as we go along so new ones could be added at any time - it might be worth bookmarking this page so you can refer to it at any time.)

Cashout times for popular sites and apps in alphabetical order:

• AttaPoll - Almost instant to PayPal, definitely receive it the same day you redeem.
• Citizen me - Instant to PayPal as soon as you've completed a paid activity
• Embee Meter - Almost instant
• Lucky Leftovers - Approximately 3-5 working days
• Mintvine - Approximately 7 days once the cashout had cleared, can sometimes receive sooner.
• OnePulse - Instant to PayPal
• People.io - Approximately 48 hours to receive your reward
• Prolific - Can take up to 5 days. Appears to be a trend of cashouts being received on a Friday.
  Minimum cashout limit is £5
• Qmee - Instant to PayPal, no minimum cashout limit
• Shopmium - Can take a few hours to receive from redeeming
• Shopprize - Can be instant but can take up to approximately 5 days
• Swagbucks - Can take up to 10 business days. Sometimes can come a lot sooner but also can sometimes take longer due to the demand of a specific giftcard you are ordering / the amount of stock they have of that giftcard at the time you redeem.
• Vypr - Can take up to 7 days. 10,000 points = £5

Cashing out on a site or app we haven't mentioned? Come and ask in our Facebook group to find out when you'll receive your payout and we'll add it to our list.

Want to thank Jade for collating this info? Sign up to Swagbucks, Mintvine or Prolific now!

How I make £300 a month from survey sites and apps with minimal effort

This post was written in July 2017 - my routine has changed a little since then, look out for an updated post soon!

Over in our Facebook group people have been asking how I can possibly earn so much from apps when I claim I spend so little time on them (implying something? ;) ) so this post is to explain and hopefully help a few people out. It's a very quick and dirty post so there are no screengrabs or pretty pictures in it. It is quite long though, please read to the end before asking any questions x

Throughout the post there will be links to the various sites and apps highlighted in green, and in the main they will be referral links. There will also be links to other posts that might help you out.

OK, so...

I'm an early riser - my alarm goes off at 5am and the first thing I do is switch on the radio and get back into bed :)

Then I follow this quick routine (I've numbered things for ease of reference)

1) I start with my phone apps - first I check Attapoll for any surveys and check my balance and cashout if neccessary (less than a minute)

2) I then check VYPR for any steers that have come in overnight and any cashout (less than 2 minutes)

3) Next is Citizen.me (check your app store) where I do a couple of the non earning surveys and any paid ones - this cashes out automatically so I don't need to check that (2 minutes)

4) After that I check OnePanel (check your app store) and do any non paid and paid ones, and of course check if I can cashout (2 minutes max)


6) I check Tipps and leave a quick review for a local restaurant, just ticking boxes and giving stars, no typing involved (1 minute)

7) Lucky leftovers is next - I've set this up to send max texts to each competition so all I do is check if I have a cashout (30 seconds)

8) People.io (check your app store) usually has some quick questions to answer so i do those now (30 secs)

9) Panelapp (check your app store) just adds points for checking in so that's another 5 seconds

10) I check Shopprize  (no longer open to new users)to get my daily login bonus, see if I have any referrals and cashout if necessary (I don't scan receipts so 15 seconds max)

That's all my non Swagbucks phone apps done in less than ten minutes while I listen to the news

Then...

11) I set the Swagbucks SBTV app running videos. I have favourited all the ten second ones and run my favourites list. I leave my lovely warm bed and jump in the shower. By the time I get out I've made another 10sb on SBTV, maybe more if it's run bonus rounds too.

12) I then set EntertaiNow TV Swagbucks video app running, choose 'short clips' and leave it while I go and make coffee, breakfast and packed lunches. While I'm in the kitchen I fire up the laptop and...

13) I set Swagbucks ToolbarTV going on the website

14) I also look to see if there are any autorun Ncraves that can run while I make and eat breakfast

15) By the time breakfast is over, EntertainNow has run so I start Sportly (another Swagbucks app) while I do housey thing like load the washing machine, do the washing up, water the garden etc.

16) I check into the Facebook group and approve any posts, new members and answer any queries

17) By now it's 7 o clock and the rest of the house is leaving, so it's time for another coffee :)

18) I check in on Mintvine and Prolific to see if i have any cashouts on there. I do the daily poll  on Mintvine. If there are any short studies on there (under 10 mins) I might do one or two, but I don't do this every day.

19) Sportly has finished now so I load up Lifestyle TV and set that running on short clips

20) I check the Facebook group again and check whether there are any short Gold surveys on Swagbucks (on laptop). I also set another Ncrave going if there is one

21) I then mooch about in the Facebook group until 8am when Swagbucks starts again, hopefully I'll have run the Indy music swagbucks app too by then, but I don't always.

It's now 8am and active time on Swagbucks is a maximum of 15 minutes (if I've done a survey) Let's say another 10 mins each on Mintvine and Prolific if i've bothered to do studies on there.

22) So now I set SBTV Swagbucks app running again and start the process of running the apps again - I don't watch the videos, I don't babysit them. I just let them run until they've finished and then start the next one.

23) I spend a lot of time in the Facebook group helping people out, while also administrating my other groups (some of which I do for fun, some of which clients pay me for) and Facebook pages, and also writing blog posts for clients. I might occasionally do a quick Prolific survey if I think it's worth it, and I also try to complete my Swagbucks to do list.

I work for the rest of the morning. At lunchtime I check all my phone apps again.

Throughout the day Ncraves are running where possible and Watch is running on another tab in my browser. The Swagbucks apps are running on my phone or tablet. I don't have to do anything except move them on occasionally, which I can do in a second because I'm working online anyway.

To my routine I've added InstaGC, which I mainly run videos or throughout the day (more on this another time, but sign up and PM me on Facebook and I'll help you out).

And that's it! Unless someone posts a tasty Prolific study in the group and I can take a break, I don't do anything else other than mooch in the FB group, work for clients and the occasional foray out into the garden.

In the evening I have the usual household stuff to do - walk the dog, make dinner, clear up, make sure everyone has clothes for the next day, bath and bedtime etc. Then I can sit in front of the TV, all the while Watch has been running. Ncraves has finished by this time unless i'm really lucky :)

I watch TV with my partner, or do stuff in the garden. If I'm watching TV I might do the occasional survey on my phone, but that's it. If someone in the group mentions a decent Discover on Swagbucks I'll do that too, but I don't worry about Discover as long as I've reached my daily goal.

Weekends the before 8am routine is probably the same, then I just set apps and Watch running on Swagbucks and do normal family weekend stuff.

So, as you can see, although it seems like I spend all day doing this stuff, my actual active time is not a lot. I might do VYPR steers in front of the TV, but that's no different to playing Candy Crush or reading a book, which is what I would be doing if not doing this.

Some days I do nothing apart from the apps as I don't have the time or I get distracted by work. I'd say at least one week a month I do nothing on Swagbucks.  Yet throughout my apps and sites, in May I made over £300, August over £500. I'll update this post when I get a minute with the actual figures for each month but the total between Jan and September is well over £2500.

I hope this has helped some of you see how you could get into a routine and streamline the process, if it has, come and tell me in the group. If you have any specific questions, make a new post in the group rather than add to an existing one, so that I can be sure to see it.

I'm working on a post about getting referrals, (a quick one is here) as they're a good part of making money on some apps and sites, so make sure you're in the group if you want to know when I've finished it.

How do I make money from Mintvine?

I'm a massive fan of Mintvine. It's kind of a rival to Swagbucks, but a lot easier to navigate and there seem to be more surveys available at any one time.

I'm going to presume that you're completely capable of signing up and following the instructions for the initial 'getting to know you' questions (plus I'm being lazy), and that you now have an account and are not sure what to do.

I'll share with you the things that I do if I'm focused enough, each day.

Daily Survey

The easiest way to earn 5 points every day is to do the Daily Survey. Scroll down and you will be given the option to take part (I've done mine already which is why it's already filled in)

There's a new one each day and that's 5 points per day. Time taken: 5 seconds.

Survey Street

The first thing you see, top right of your screen or via the menu, is Survey Street.

The steps are easy:

1) Click on 'Go Take My First Survey' - you'll see something like this:

Scroll down and you'll see you have to agree to a few things before you can take a survey:

You have to tick those 3 boxes before you can proceed

2) Take the survey:

You won't necessarily see the exact screen I have above, but you'll be on your way to your first survey.

Things to know:

• You may not qualify for every survey 
• You may have to answer a few questions before you find out you don't qualify
• Different surveys have different times and different values

You'll be offered other surveys once you've finished one - it's up to you if you do another one or move on to:

Rewards Road

Underneath Survey Street  you should see Rewards Road:

Basically it's just another version of surveys, but each one of these is worth 70 points each. You don't have to agree to anything like before, you just do the surveys.

You'll see this screen once you click on 'Go to Rewards Road':

Click on 'Continue' and you'll get to a screen like this with a few qualifying questions:

Answer the questions and you'll be offered a survey:

As before, you could be disqualified after answering a few questions. Unfortunately that's just the way it is.

These are the main ways to get points on Mintvine. I'll cover some other ways in future blog posts.

Things to note:

• Points 'pend' for 2 weeks, so while they will show as part of your total, you won't be able to withdraw them until they're approved.
• Mininum cashout for Mintvine is 1000 points.
• 1000 points equals $10
• Once you have 1000 points, you can cashout any amount beyond that, so for example 1264 points will get you $12.64
• HOWEVER, 1000 points is just £7.49 via Paypal, but £13.10 on Amazon so Amazon cashout is MUCH better!
• Mintvine takes around 5 days from requesting a cashout to receiving it

If you're not on Mintvine already I'd highly recommend it - unlike Swagbucks and other survey sites there seem to be a LOT more surveys available and if you can qualify for them then the points add up pretty quickly.

If you have any Mintvine questions, post them in the comments below and I'll answer them in future blog posts, or pop over to our Facebook group and join.