Keep a record of your confirmations

You’ll usually get some sort of confirmation after you complete a survey. For instance, after an academic survey, you may find a debriefing page. On this page, the survey company provides their contact information, which is useful if you need to contact them to check when your reward will arrive.

Another popular type of confirmation is the email you will receive from an online survey panel. If you don't receive a confirmation email after submitting a rewards request, make a note of the date on which you submitted your request on your calendar or save a screenshot.

Check your spam

If you requested a digital reward (for example, an e-gift card), double-check that it didn't end up in your spam folder. Search through your emails slowly; Sometimes, rewards aren't necessarily sent by the survey website directly, but rather by third-party reward processors, who may function as the sender. Check to see if you're missing out on any incentives that could be waiting for you in your inbox! If you requested a PayPal™payment, log in to your PayPal™ account directly. This is because checking your inbox for a PayPal payment confirmation email is less reliable than checking your PayPal™ account directly.

Get your mail

If you were supposed to get your reward by mail, make sure you gave the postal service plenty of time to send it to you. When opposed to digital rewards, physical rewards such as plastic gift cards or checks have longer processing times. Before you expect to receive these, ensure that you patiently wait for a few weeks.

Going forward

Keep a list of all the surveys you've completed. Don't put your whole trust in the survey site to keep track of anything for you. Keep a separate record on your own spreadsheet. Simply stop taking surveys for businesses with a poor reputation or do so with the understanding that you can run into issues when it comes time to collect your reward.

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