Stephanie’s Springboard America Review

Springboard America is a U.S. survey panel that I’ve been a member of for a couple of years. Although it’s not one of the more popular survey websites out there, they do pay and send me a few survey invitations a month. I also enjoy taking most of their surveys. The simple, consistent format of their surveys makes them more enjoyable to take compared to some other survey websites. The survey topics are also pretty diverse, ranging from political issues to what types of technology you use.

Getting Started

To join Springboard America, simply click the yellow “Join Now!” button on their homepage. You will then be asked to fill out a series of questions about yourself. Just for joining, you will be entered into their $1000 Sweepstakes and be signed up for their monthly email newsletter.

If you ever want to update your information after you register, you can access your “Profile” page. To do this, click on “Update My Profile” to the left on your Member page. Then click the yellow “Update My Profile” box at the bottom of that page. It’s important to keep this section updated so you get more surveys that you qualify for. You can update your address, employment status, household income, education, and other information like your religion and household responsibilities.

Taking Surveys

After registering, you will then be eligible to take their surveys. Survey invitations are sent to your email address when you have a survey available to take. You can also access the surveys by logging into your account and checking your Member Portal page. Since there are only a limited number of people wanted per survey, it’s best to take the survey as soon as possible after receiving the email. Quotas fill fast, and the longer you wait, the less likely it is that the survey will still be open. If there is a specific date when the survey will close, it will be listed in the email.

Taking their surveys is very easy and pretty much self-explanatory. Most of their surveys are hosted through their own website, although they will sometimes redirect you to other survey panels to take their surveys. If that happens, you are always taken back to the Springboard America website after you are done to confirm your participation. After every survey, there will usually be a page where you rate your experience with the survey and what you liked and disliked. Filling in any additional information is optional.

Survey topics are quite varied. The majority of the surveys I take with them have to do with consumer products. There are quite a few surveys on technology products, food, politics, and social issues. Some surveys will have you evaluate new products that haven’t been introduced to the market yet. One that I took recently had to do with a new type of camera. Another asked me what I thought of certain calendar designs.

Rewards

Rewards usually amount to about $1.00 to $2.00 per survey, but it can vary. The highest survey reward I’ve gotten is $5.00 for one survey, while the lowest is $0.25. The reward amount is specified in the invitation email. Survey dollars are awarded to your account after the survey is closed. If you don’t qualify for a survey, you are automatically entered in a Sweepstakes drawing. You can check which surveys you’ve taken and how much you’ve been rewarded by clicking on “My Participation History” at the left on your Member page. All the surveys you’ve ever taken are listed here. You can sort them by date, survey number, or amount rewarded. Your current balance of Survey Dollars is also listed to the left on your Member page.

The main issue I and many others have with Springboard America is that their cash-out threshold is too high. You have to reach $50.00 before you can cash out for a check (they do not offer gift cards). They also offer PayPal now, which I believe they added recently. It can take months to earn enough to cash out for $50.00, especially if you don’t get many survey invitations from them. I only get a few survey invitations from them a month, so it takes a long time compared to other survey panels with $50.00 cash-out thresholds like Global Test Market. Because of this threshold, I’ve only cashed out with them three times the entire time I’ve been a member. I currently have $38.26 in my account, but it will probably take another month or two at least to reach $50.00. A $25.00 threshold would be much more reasonable.

Conclusion

Despite the high cash-out threshold, though, Springboard America is still a very good survey panel that I think every survey taker should add to their list. You may not get many surveys a month and it may take a few months to cash out, but their surveys are enjoyable and every little bit counts. I highly recommend trying them out.