Taking mindless surveys

[chrisinhouston]

Not long ago the United Miles program started something called Opinion Miles where members can take random surveys and earn miles for their accounts. These aren't miles that get you status but could be used for tickets. Typically the surveys take 10-20 minutes and you they pay 50-100 miles per completed survey. So once or twice a day I sit here and do a couple. So far I have earned 3800 miles! Not bad but you don't qualify for every survey depending on your answers to certain qualifying questions and what the research group is looking for. So if it is a survey on soft drinks and you check the box saying you never drink them you usually are redirected to a screen that says "This survey is not right for you."

Almost all the surveys start out asking for either your date of birth or your age and gender. Then it usually asks what state or zip code you live in and then your ethnicity. No matter what you check the next question is always "are you in any way of Hispanic origin?" or something like that.

Some of the surveys are interesting, some are downright boring. Lots of surveys on cell phones and cell phone providers. Lots of surveys on junk food and soda and bottled water. I enjoyed a few on politics and advertising.

There are always some strange questions, I think to make sure you are being honest or paying attention or not some automated software answering the questions. I've been asked several times if I own a ferret or to check off health symptoms like flatulence, constipation and other strange things. Once and awhile I get to the 98% mark of completion and it says it isn't the right survey which pisses me off because they wasted my time and got a lot of answers without paying me.

I'm mostly honest but sometimes I pretend I am someone else and give all kinds of false answers about me personally, like I am a woman with a very rural zip code in Alaska and I am African American with a mix of Pacific Islander and just 22 years old.