Maximize Mypoints.com

Mypoints.com is fun. And it's free. Once you join, you click on ads to accumulate points and once you have at least 500, you can redeem these points for things like gift cards. I'm especially fond of this site because I have participated and redeemed my points and received a target gift card in the mail.

There's so much more to it though. For one thing, if you want to keep it completely free, you can take surveys and respond to the offers you receive in your email. You always get at least 5 points just for clicking on the offer and the points go into the thousands for actually buying something.

The most economical way I've found to maximize the use of this site is as follows: When I am going to buy something, whether it's online or at my local store, I check the mypoints website to see if they offer points on that particular purchase. For instance, a couple of years ago, I wanted to buy a particular make-up mirror at Linens 'n Things. As it was a gift I needed right away, I didn't want to go through their website and have it shipped. I also wanted to save the 20% that was offered as a coupon on the back of the sale paper. I wanted a lot and, as it turned out, I got everything I wanted.

Linens 'n things offers an in-store pick-up option for eligible items purchased on their website. That means you can pay for your purchase online and pick it up at the store. The advantages being you don't have to spend a lot of time at the store looking or even stand in long lines. They send you an email that you take to the store along with the credit card you used to make the purchase. When I made the purchase, I was able to enter the coupon code found on the coupon in my local sale paper so I indeed saved the 20% I would have saved had I taken the coupon into the store. Now for the fun part. Since I entered the linens 'n things website through the mypoints website, I was eligible to earn points on this purchase.

I earned 2 points per dollar which earned me 100 points for a gift I was buying anyway. Note: You can only earn points by entering the merchant website via mypoints.com. Do not go straight to the merchant website or mypoints.com will have no way to track your purchase. To summarize this one purchase I was making anyway, I earned 100 points and arrived at the store to pick-up my purchase without having to stand in line. Plus, I knew ahead of time that the item I wanted was in stock because the website deemed this an eligible item to pick up in-store. (The only problem I encountered was I was the first customer in my local store to have exercised this option. The manager had to help me, but I suspect the sales clerks were subsequently trained on this type of purchase.)

There are many options for redeeming points. There are over 70 name-brand merchants and even an option to donate your points to the American Red Cross. Of course, your points are converted into a cash donation first.

The key to getting free stuff from mypoints is maximizing the purchases you were going to make anyway. Thinking of joining BMG? Go through mypoints and earn 250 points while you're listening to your favorite tunes. Getting low on Avon? Earn 3 points per dollar when going through mypoints. I wouldn't recommend this option if you are already a loyal customer to a hard-working Avon lady, but you get the idea. Circuit City and Best Buy both offer 2 points per dollar.

Go ahead and check out mypoints.com today. If you're already a member, look again. You might have missed something.