Lightspeed

One of the highest rated online survey companies is Lightspeedpanel.com. Lightspeed began a few years ago and since then has built a reputation as being a legitimate way for consumers to receive cash and other prizes in exchange for sharing their opinion about certain products.

Lightspeed is open only to residents of the United States and Canada. Only one person per household can sign up for an account. To join the panel, you need to complete a questionnaire requiring demographic information. You will also need to provide your e-mail address, telephone number and personal address. As is the case with many legitimate online survey companies, Lightspeed maintains a strict privacy policy. They will not sell your telephone number or other personal information to third parties. They also won't spam your e-mail inbox with hundreds of "free offers."

Once you've answered the application with truthful answers, you'll submit the form and receive an e-mail within 24 hours providing you with a link to your account. You'll be asked to use a password to access your account; you can use any password you like.

Lightspeed offers a "points" system. You'll earn up to 10,000 points for completing a survey or "marketing project." The number of points earned is determined by the length of time it takes to complete the survey. Once you have accumulated 600 points, you can easily redeem them for gift cards or cash. If you decide to redeem the points for cash, the funds will be deposited into your PayPal account within 30 days.

You can choose which surveys in which to participate by visiting the user-friendly website, where you can also keep track of your points. Lightspeed will also send you special survey offers via e-mail, so you should add them to your address book to prevent the e-mails from being misconstrued as "spam."

If you are inactive for nine months, Lightspeed will cancel your account any accumulated points will be forfeited. If you are in the process of joining several online survey companies, make sure to keep this account active so you don't end up wasting your time.

In addition to earning points by taking surveys, a lightspeed panelist can earn points by visiting websites and participating in certain activities, including games. Lightspeed posts the points to your account within 30 days after your participation in a survey or online activity.

Lightspeed is a fun and easy way to earn a few extra dollars online. Be forewarned, however, that if you earn over $600 in cash in a year's time, you will need to complete a 1099 form and declare the earnings on your income tax statement.

I'm actually glad I joined this site a few weeks ago. Since then, I've accumulated several hundred points for answering very brief surveys and playing one game on a website. I have not been flooded with unwanted e-mails from the site nor have I received any calls relating to my participation on this website. I like the idea that although the cash incentive is taxable after $600, you can elect to redeem your points in prizes that you can actually use, like gift cards. On the whole, on a scale of one to ten, I give Lightspeed an 8. It's honest, easy and fun.