Things in the Sky

This summer, I began participating in two services, e-Miles and e-Rewards, that can provide frequent flier miles (I participate through Northwest). Since each of these services is available for multiple airline programs, I thought it would be worth writing about them.

E-Miles members earn miles by looking at advertisements, usually in image or video format. After viewing the advertisement and answering a couple of questions, the user receives some miles (usually five). Users can then participate in the offer to earn more. For example, I could donate $20 to an advertised charity for an additional 100 miles.

To be honest, unless one actually participates in one of the e-Miles offers, it is going to take a long time to reach 500 miles. The basic promotions only give 5 miles, and they’re aren’t too many new ones coming in every week. There are some ways to participate further without paying, like signing up for the newsletter of a advertiser, but actions like these only yield about 15 miles.

The only reason I reached 500 miles this month is because e-Miles gave me a good number of miles (I was about halfway to 500) for signing up and taking a few surveys to set up my profile. It could take more than six months for me to reach 500 again if I just do the free 5-mile offers.

The biggest problem I’ve noticed is depositing miles into my WorldPerks account. I made a deposit about 20 days ago, and it is still pending. While the website does say this process can take 8-10 weeks, it is much slower than e-Rewards.

According to the e-Miles website, one can earn miles and points with AirTran, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Hilton , Northwest, and US Airways. Choose wisely – once one picks a program, her or she is stuck with it. E-miles does offer a few exemptions, though. For example, if Northwest dropped service to PVD altogether, I probably could shift to another program. (Edit: According to e-Rewards customer service, they will not change the sponsor “for any reason.” Annoying.)

Like e-Miles, e-Rewards members are stuck with whatever airline they choose when they sign up. But, there is some more flexibility in terms of rewards. While I can only earn airline miles with Northwest, I can also redeem my e-Rewards currency for Hilton points or other items, like free magazine subscriptions.

One earns e-Rewards currency by taking surveys, and they amount varies from survey to survey, as some are longer than others. If one doesn’t apply to the survey after starting it (for example, I can’t finish the survey because it isn’t looking for males 18-24), a small amount of e-Rewards currency is given.

E-Rewards award redemptions have been very fast for me. When I reached the $50 level of e-Rewards currency, I chose to receive 1,000 WorldPerks miles (the $50 voucher didn’t seem worth it based on the restrictions). My WorldPerks account was credited with those miles instantly. I would recommend looking for any sign-up bonuses your airline may offer. When I signed up with Northwest, I received 250 WorldPerks miles for doing my first survey.

I think both of these programs are a good way to earn some extra miles, though they each have their pros and cons. E-miles participation takes less time than e-Rewards, though the latter usually gives extra credit for longer surveys. E-Rewards offers more rewards for credit. E-Miles seems to take to earn enough miles, and the only way to earn faster is to participate in offers (a process that usually involves payment). I would recommend trying out each program – there’s really nothing to lose, and one can earn some free miles.