... I always appreciate your input into my reviews, as it helps me make them more helpful for the prospective consumer (who may or may not actually BE you!
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Advantages: You earn POINTS (and eventually money) for reading your e-mail and buying online; you can choose to earn shares instead. Disadvantages: You need to remember to use the site to buy to get points.
...always go to themutual.net or MutualPoints.com if I wanted to buy something in particular - just to check if I can get points from both at the same time - links exist to TESCO and Boots; Waitrose and Woolworths; LloydsTSB Bank and Barclaycard, MORE Th>N Creditcard and Accucard; Consumer interest sites, Ciao! in fact, to more than 300 partner sites - over 500 merchants included.
As I have claimed rewards worth over £80 since ... ...my themutual.net share balance I believed they were being loyal to me. I used to be able to swap between points and shares as preferred rewards but now they seem to be only offering me points, and my "shares" record has disappeared: where?
And I Really Was Being Loyal to Mutual Points®
Although I still want to use this site as my first port of call, I am finding it more difficult to find what I want. ... more
These days, everyone is looking for loyal customers. But the customer is also looking for "Value for Money" and "Reliability of Service" with his/her shopping. When you start exploring the Internet, your problems are magnified a thousand times. Where do you begin?
Unfortunately, they have changed their website to a "more modern" design which is much like the old Ciao! in that it is a Mainly Orange and Black on white ~ I DO HATE looking at the WEBPAGE now! I still use the site first to order things; I regularly click on e-mails received; I have even recently claimed a further £25 check. BUT I CAN'T FIND MY WAY!
They have even added new features where you can add bargains for other people to use, and give YOU, as the bargain-poster, extra points when someone uses the bargain.
But they have changed the way the site works, and I find it really difficult to find things I took for granted. My lovely pale blue dyslexic-friendly site has gone. And with it my confidence.
If for any reason YOU are not satisfied with YOUR experience with MUTUAL/MYPOINTS see below. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ADDED!
I have updated this review with CONTACT details at the bottom; I have also added the text of my e-mail from customer services and a few other minor details as suggested by members in comments and in guestbook messages, so if you have read it before, and commented, I thank you. I always appreciate your input into my reviews, as it helps me make them more helpful for the prospective consumer (who may or may not actually BE you!
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My first port of call these days, before I purchased most things online, was a loyalty-based website - "MutualPoints.com" aka "theMutual.net" - you can use their search features to access hundreds of different websites for shopping, financial services, book clubs, stationary supplies, car-hire, accommodation and flights - and get rewarded for your use of the website by being offered either "mutual points" or "the mutual shares" for your loyalty. In fact, so many different types of services are represented that you are advised to ALWAYS start from their home page, no matter WHAT you are after. You can even do a general web search using Kelkoo (earning 6 shares or 3 points) or do a site search (earning 1 point or 1 share per search up to 5 searches per day).
IF the company you choose has their OWN loyalty scheme in operation, you benefit from that also, to the full extent of your participation.
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HOW DID I GET INVOLVED IN THIS SCHEME?
Several years ago I was invited to join two different web-programs. One was called themutual.net - when you signed up, you were given a certain number of "shares" in themutual.net, and you could earn more shares by using internet companies recommended on their site to make purchases. This was equivalent to you receiving your OWN commission for introducing yourself to them as a customer. You also received a minimum of 1 share just for opening your e-mail and receiving it. The top of each e-mail had a line which stated "For receiving this e-mail you have received <x> share(s) in themutual.net." I built up shares very slowly, and noted with interest when TheMutual.net stated that it was now trading on the stock exchange and gave a share price. Your share holding had to be worth £25 or more for your "shares" to be exchanged for REAL shares on a designated date periodically. There was a stock market / investment advice newsletter available to subscribers which I also signed up for and received in my e-mail as I was working on an accounting qualification, and felt it was useful in my studies.
When you signed up, your e-mail address was your username and they assigned you a randomly generated six-digit password.
The Other program was called "MyPoints.com" and was basically an "introduction service" to various companies services on the web. The basic concept was that you would fill out a profile. You would then be sent e-mail opportunities based on your interests. The more interests you professed, the more e-mails you were sent. You received anywhere from 5 "my points" to 25 "my points" just by clicking on a link and visiting the suggested site. Basically, this was a payment for reading someone's advertisement. There was no obligation to purchase anything, but if you did you were also rewarded with extra points. To be credited with these it was essential that you used the same name, address and e-mail address as you used when signing up for MyPoints.
In fact, to receive your points for clicking the link, you did not even have to wait for the page to fully load - it was sufficient to click the link, and as the page began to load, your points were authorised. You could slowly build up points just by reading e-mails. At my college, it was not always possible to access certain sites, so a way to check if the points had been assigned was to re-click on the link. If a box popped-up which stated "Points from this offer are only given once in 365 days" you knew that the points had registered, even if the resource had been blocked by the college "firewall" and you had not managed to see the offered webpage site.
I basically said I was interested in everything and clicked on every e-mail I received, deleting "used" e-mails and closing websites. I registered for the free "The Daily Draw" which also gave you adverts to click on in order to register your numbers and possibly win a prize. Registering with and playing The Daily Draw also gave you "my points" - and cost nothing but a few minutes of your time. You could play twice a day (with an hour between plays) and win anything from a £2 CD WOW voucher to real cash prizes. Playing 8 times in a month gave you 50(?) "my points."
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YOU CAN EVEN BLAME "MY POINTS" FOR MY PARTICIPATION HERE
On 17th October 2002 MyPoints® BonusMail® said to me, "WANTED OPINIONATED CONSUMERS. Jessie C E, you're invited to join Ciao's consumer panel." I clicked on the link, joined the panel, and the rest, as they say, is HISTORY! ( or rather Ciao!)
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When my "my points" level reached the minimum redemption level I redeemed them for an ASDA £10 shopping voucher which I received in the post and promptly spent on my shopping.
I also signed up for the MY POINTS credit card (an MBNA MasterCard) - where everything spent using the card gave you points, with an initial 500 points when you made your first purchase. It also started with a 0% interest rate for transferred balances.
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SO WHAT HAPPENED TO "MY POINTS" ?
About a year ago we were given a questionnaire by themutual.net asking our attitude towards shares and loyalty points - which did we prefer and what other services would interest us? Did we want "High Street Vouchers" or cash? In what way(s) did we believe the service could be improved?
We did not know it at the time, but there were negotiations going on between My Points and The Mutual to amalgamate what was essentially the same service but with slightly different rewards.
I received an e-mail 26th September 2003 announcing the change from MyPoints to MutualPoints - explaining the new advantages we would receive by the combination of the two services into one bigger service.
New partners were added also, to make it even more advantageous to use the (now combined) site. And you retained all your cumulative loyalty bonuses from both sites - with the added bonus of being able to choose which of the two bonuses to accumulate - and to swap rewards whenever you wanted - one month you could build up Mutual Points, the next month you could build up your shareholdings in theMutual.net. Any rewards which were earned while you opted for one reward would be granted when they came through in the form they were earned - ie if you opt for MutualPoints this month and make a purchase through a participating partner, you will receive those rewards as points, even if they do not come through to your account until after you have changed your preference to shares, and vice versa.
Usually these rewards are added to your account within 60 days of the transaction - when the partner informs MutualPoints that the transactions have cleared. The partners seem to transmit the information in blocks - but if you believe that you should have been given points and have not seen them recorded within 60 days, do follow it up, as customer service is keen to assist you. I am curently following up transactions with some success.
To access the combined record of all rewards gained (and claimed), you go to www.themutual.net OR www.mutualpoints.com and use your old themutual.net password to login. There is a section which itemises a list of all points and shares earned - whether by accessing e-mails or making purchases. More information about how you do this is detailed in my next section.
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HOW THE SITE WORKED WHEN I FIRST WROTE THIS REVIEW:
On the home page there was a greeting line and then a series of account management tabs. There were advertisements down both sides for some of the Partner Sites - with information as to how the rewards are calculated for your participation on the partner sites.
Top tabs were: Home / Fast Points (partner sites who give points for sign-up) / Lottery (four sister lottery sites) / Shops by Category - if you are looking for a particular type of product / All Merchants - an alphabetical list of partners.
Personal Account Management Tabs: Redeem Points (where you go to claim your rewards) / Refer a Friend (where you can fill in e-mail addresses of persons you think might be interested in more information) / My Rewards (where you can see a breakdown of all the points you have earned under what categories of earning) / My Account (where you change preferences and update any details) / and Sign out.
Your basic site search facility sat under the shaded area of tabs between the advertisements, and was very easy to use - with a choice between all results and going directly to the most likely site. All results brings up a typical search results page where all highlighted references are drawn out of the advertisements of the appropriate site linked so you can examine the results "in context" and decide if it is what you want.
NOW IT IS MUCH SIMPLIFIED AND AT THE SAME TIME MORE INACCESSIBLE: What a difference a little thing like a colour makes! Categories sit on Orange tabs. At least the advertisers retain their own colours.
You can shop by categories or by individual searches for items or stores.
There are "Shops of the Week" ~ "Latest News" ~ "Top Offers" ~ "Most Recent Bargains" ~ and even a gift finder.
But, with an overwhelmingly Orange site, I hate to visit the pages.
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I used to always go to themutual.net or MutualPoints.com if I wanted to buy something in particular - just to check if I can get points from both at the same time - links exist to TESCO and Boots; Waitrose and Woolworths; LloydsTSB Bank and Barclaycard, MORE Th>N Creditcard and Accucard; Consumer interest sites, Ciao! in fact, to more than 300 partner sites - over 500 merchants included.
As I have claimed rewards worth over £80 since joining - and I was intermittantly building up my themutual.net share balance I believed they were being loyal to me. I used to be able to swap between points and shares as preferred rewards but now they seem to be only offering me points, and my "shares" record has disappeared: where?
And I Really Was Being Loyal to Mutual Points®
Although I still want to use this site as my first port of call, I am finding it more difficult to find what I want.
I use the e-mail links more than the actual site ~ Are you still loyal to me, Mutual Points®? I wonder.
MUTUAL Points.com (formerly MyPoints Europe Limited) 2nd Floor 39 Hatton Garden London EC1N 8EH
Tel : 020 7440 9310 Fax: 020 7831 2727
www.mutualpoints.com
MutualPoints Limited Registered in England, Number 3920452 VAT Number 756 4733 04
------------------------------------------------------------- * * * I had a very friendly covering letter with my cheque, concluding "Thank you for your support and I hope you continue to use our service. Yours sincerely, Peter Coveney, Financial Director" The contact information above also comes from my letter received.
------------------------------------------------------------- * * * * The text of my e-mail from Customer Services:
"Dear Jessie,
"We receive periodic reports from merchants that can take up to 60 days or in some cases, more to come through. Only when these reports have been received can we allocate points due to members.
"If it has been more than 60 days Please specify which merchant you transacted with and when, the amount of money spent (if any) and the total amount of points due to you and I shall look into the matter.
"Once a member has requested for a cheque, it can take upto 21 days to be delivered. "Thank you for your enquiry!
Advantages: It pays. (£25 every 3 months) more at the begining. Disadvantages: Need to remember to click.
...became a member of the MutualPoints.com in 2002, it really doesn`t seem that long. Basically it is a reward site. Back then I didn`t really know much about them and I would sign up to things and receive mail to accumulate more points. One day I decided to redeem my rewards, the email stated that they would send me a cheque for £134. I couldn`t really believe it, I didn`t think the cheque would arrive, it did and I paid it into my bank account without ... ...details, but I had clicked on various sites with big rewards, I could not click on these and be rewarded again. However, I was hooked. I have not been clicking every day since 2002, I have had periods when I haven`t bothered, but now, if I am on line, I will click and earn points and convert to cash which is paid by cheque, at a later date.
What is mutual points?
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Mutual points is a well laid out and easy to navigate ...
spottydog2 25.01.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MutualPoints.com
Advantages: Fast Pay-Out (Comparatively) Disadvantages: Only if you visit their web-site everyday
Yawwwwwwn. Yes, here's yet another of those web-sites that promise you a few pennies in return for a minimal outlay of your precious time. Zzzzzz. But if I may just prod you awake for a split second or two, I'd like to share with you the fact that I just made £20 in 51 days, and I didn't have to buy anything! Admittedly, £20 to your average lawyer or psychotherapist is probably what you earn just drinking your morning coffee, but to me (living as ... ...as "Eastern Europe") this is the equivalent to a small food parcel. Even if you are a top-notch attorney, £20 still buys (I believe) a round of alcoholic beverages for 3-6 close friends, depending on the size of your wine glass, of course, so why not give it a try?
Let me introduce you to www.mutualpoints.com. This is a website which allows you to collect points by doing any of these three things:
You can a) buy goods online from over 500 shops, ...
Tricksty 25.09.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MutualPoints.com
Advantages: Easy to use site, good rewards, personalised, earn money Disadvantages: Can take a while to build up points
...Summary
In my opinion Mutualpoints.com is a great site to help you earn a few extra pennies. Points are awarded to your account very quickly and you get an email notification when your account has been updated with your new rewards. You can also click on your account to see exactly what points you have earned and when.. I have never had a problem with points not being credited to my account which I have done with other cash back sites.
Overall, ...
daylehall 03.03.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MutualPoints.com
Advantages: I just received a £50 cheque in the post! Disadvantages: You won't make a living out of this.
...5 points respectively for choosing mutualpoints.com as your home page and for adding it to your favourites, a total of 10p. Subscribe to Mutual news, a lunchtime newsletter for another 10 points.
☺Reward mail. By clicking on the 'my details' link, you come to a page where you have to enter your personal detail (after all, if you want that check in the post, you need to give them your address) and here you can also elect to receive reward mail ... ...this, you also have a choice of how often you want to receive them (up to 3 per day if you so wish), and whether you want to opt out of emails advertising alcohol products, gambling or over 18 stuff. I feel this to be another plus point of this site. When you receive the email, there are a number of possible scenarios. The most common type of email will ask you to click on a link to visit the site of a company and reward you with 5 points for your ...
weetoon 22.07.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MutualPoints.com
Advantages: Reliable and profitable way of doing all your shopping and get serious monies back Disadvantages: addictive and can sometimes take a while to get your points
...have been a member of mutualpoints.com since the days of it being themutual.net and the premise has not changed since then except that you are rewarded with monies instead of shares.
How it works.
After a simple and quick registration process, you can begin earning points immediately which once reached 3000 you can exchange for a cheque for £20. for every 750 over 3000 you receive a further £5. You receive points in a number of ways:
Opening emails ... ...emails a day with offers that reward you with points for taking up these offers. These can range from openingh betting accounts to taking surveys. Most emails reward you with 5 points just for opening them up.
Searching - You are rewarded with 5 points each time you search for a product via Kelkoo (once a day) and Pricerunner (5 times a day) and again through Carsource with 3 points (once a day)
Puchasing Products - Mutualpoints has a vast array ...
Funzo 27.12.2007 (30.12.2007)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MutualPoints.com
