PointPool Program Review – Note: Site shut down in 2007; see my post here.
Please click here to join.
Date Launched: Unsure
Reward Per Dollar Spent: Varies
Minimum to Redeem: 975 for a coupon book; 1,500 for GCs; 2000 for magazines
Prizes Offered: GCs, PayPal, magazine subscriptions
Full Prize List: http://www.pointpool.com/spend_alpha.asp
Earn Points For: Shopping, signups, website visits, referrals
Participating Merchants List: http://www.pointpool.com/earnon_alpha.asp
Limit One Account Per: Individual 13 years or older, with unique email address
Dollar Value of a Point: Approximately $0.004545 for $25 GCs (slightly higher for Shell GC); $0.003636 for $20 PayPal; $0.0045 for cheapest magazines
Daily “Free” Points: About 8
Value of those Free Points: About 3.6 cents per day
Common Rewards for Shopping and their % Equivalents (note: calculated including the current 35% bonus):
3 Points Per Dollar = 1.84%
5 Points Per Dollar = 3.07%
7 Points Per Dollar = 4.30%
10 Points Per Dollar = 6.14%
12 Points Per Dollar = 7.36%
15 Points Per Dollar = 9.20%
Notes: (1) Receive a 200 point bitcard (a code you use to deposit 200 points back into your account) with every magazine or GC redemption
(2) Some daily site visit points are hidden; either check unmarked links to see if you receive credit or sign up for our trivia email for the daily links
(3) Currently PointPool is offering 35% bonus on shopping offers in addition to their stated rates
Related Articles: PointPool Eliminates Free Points for Site Visits, Daily Trivia Answers in Your Inbox, 2005 Shopping Rebate Comparison, PointPool Promises Improvements, 2004 Year in Review, PointPool Reduces Value of Bitcards Free with Redemption, 2004 Shopping Rebate Comparison, PointPool Begins Sending Paid Emails
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
seams to take forever to credit and also had problems with checks unlimited purchase getting credit but they did finally credit the purchase.
But their rewards come really fast. Have made a second purchase throw them to see how it goes.
what exactly are point pool’s 50% bonus points?
Thank you.
Thru Jan. 31, PointPool is giving an extra 50% worth of points for purchases. This applies both to those offers that are x points per dollar (for instance, instead of 6 points per dollar you’d earn 9) and also to offers that give you a flat x points per purchase — for instance, a purchase at Wal-Mart (in their Electronics and Jewelry depts only) regularly gives you 500 points per purchase. Now, you get an extra 50%, or 750 points per purchase. Sweet, especially when you consider you only need 1000 points to cash out for a magazine subscription (or 1500 for a $5 GC)!
hi! i thought point pool was a pretty interesting site initially. i haven’t been able to log on for weeks now & they say it’s an aol problem. can’t seem to get beyond it. is anyone else having the same difficulty?
Linda, Just read your post and I do not have AOL but have trouble signing in also. If you go to Google and search for pointpool you can click on a link there and should be able to sign in. I can also sign in using this link http://67.117.51.130/
If you do it through Google, then when you click on a site to visit it will open in that window and not a new one. So I hold the shift button each time. Hope this helps.
I just wanted to say I finally reached the 1500 point mark!! Then I turned around and redeemed my points for a $5 Pizza Hut gift certificate.
Let me say, I was VERY impressed with the turn around time. I kid you not. I received the certificate in 4 days total- from the time I redeemed my points until I had the certificate in my hand. Plus, I’ve also received a 200 bit card.
They believe in promptness, which I truly appreciate.
Thanks Point Pool!!!
I joined Point Pool based on a recommendation from CompareRewards.com, and boy, I sure am disappointed. I made a purchase in early January that they have still not credited me for, despite posting numerous transaction inquiries on their Web site and sending e-mail to their customer service.
Worse yet, despite an initial reply saying they were looking into my purchase, they have not replied AT ALL. That’s usually the first sign of a bad company. It’s nice that they redeem awards promptly, as other posters say, but that’s of no help to me unless they actually award points for legitimate purchases. Does anyone have any advice on how to light a fire under Point Pool’s collective tushie?
I’m really sorry to hear about the problems at PointPool, Karin — especially since you joined on my recommendation! I forwarded your message to a contact I have over there and hopefully he can get you straightened out. If so, I hope you’ll come back here and post to let us know!
Becky
Hi Becky.
Wondering if you contacted your source over there at PointPool yet. I have still heard nothing from them despite even more e-mails, although they did award my points from a separate order, and quickly, too. I just can’t stand being ignored!
I just joined and am a little bit confused. On another rewards forum site that lists answers to trivia under pointpool it lists four 3 digit numbers. I don’t understand what this means. Could you please enlighten me.
Sure! After you complete the site visits, go up to the url, double click, and change the last 3 digits to the ones that are posted. You’ll earn an extra point for each one.
Hope this helps!
Becky: I still haven’t heard from anyone at Point Pool. It’s now been four months since my original purchase. Can you please send the name of your contact, or his/her address, to my e-mail address? I would much appreciate it.
WARNING: Typing in various other three-digit combinations to get more points for site visits is apparently against PointPool policy, and they may cancel your account if you do so. I was punching in various numbers for a few weeks with no problem, and then the other day I got this message when trying it again:
This is a formal notice that you are engaging in an illegal activity to gain incentive even after a plea from PointPool.
Our advertisers including GOOGLE pays PointPool based on reasonable CTR (click-thru ratio). That is a measure of click-thrus to impressions of advertisement banners throughout PointPool pages.
A few unethical members are jeopardizing PointPool’s financial future as well as other members hard earned points.
Your activity is tracked and logged. Any future activity will nullify your point balance as well as your membership.
Please go to http://www.pointpool.com and continue enjoying your membership with us.
Thank you for your cooperation.
The “plea” they refer to was badly worded and incredibly vague, so at first I wasn’t sure what I was being asked to do or not do.
Now it’s clear, so be warned.
P.S. I finally had to call Point Pool on the phone to get my account credited properly. Much to my surprise, this turns out to be an effective way to get results fast, even if you have to leave messages on voice mail. (It has worked for me with at least three other incentive programs.) They still cannot explain why my many e-mails were ignored, however.
I requested a redemption of points via a paypal payment from pointpool back in May. When I emailed them, they said they should get to it this week, now it’s been a few weeks since then. Anyone else having problems with redemptions?