Major U.S. airlines encourage passengers to remain loyal to their brands by offering incentives to travel with them.
American Airlines AAL has its AAdvantage program that allows its customers to earn miles for more than 1,000 flights globally and to receive benefits such as upgrades and car rentals.
Related: Southwest Airlines makes major change that passengers won't like
On Delta Air Lines DAL, flyers can take part in SkyMiles, a loyalty program that offers similar travel-related perks.
MileagePlus is a United Airlines UAL program that incentivizes flyers to take advantage of priority boarding and lounge access.
Southwest Airlines LUV offers its straightforward loyalty plan that earns its travelers' points based on the cost of a ticket.
But there is one way to accumulate these benefits without having to drop a dime.
Shutterstock
Taking surveys can help accumulate benefits
Travelers can increase their points for less expensive travel by simply filling out some forms.
That's because survey companies compensate travel providers when they refer people to participate in their studies.
The surveys involve topics such as marketing and politics and typically take about 15 to 30 minutes to complete.
American Airlines, for one, grants loyalty points for completing the surveys. The number of points earned is generally less than 50, so it takes some time to make it worthwhile.
Travel writer Kyle Olsen, reporting for The Points Guy (TPG), explained a bit about the process.
"Curious about the process, I enrolled in American Airlines' Miles for Opinions program," he wrote. "Upon completing my initial survey, AAdvantage members are rewarded with a bonus of 250 miles. Adding my AAdvantage number to the landing page proved to be a simple task."
"Subsequently, I was directed to a page where I encountered an array of personal questions," Olsen continued. "A user willing to answer these questions would likely be presented with a survey to complete."
These initial questions involve demographic topics such as one's income and race.
Points obtained can be pretty small, but sometimes sign-on bonuses can be significant.
In one case pertaining to a traveler's hotel stay, a person received a 10,000-point Hilton HLT bonus for filling out one survey.
"That's worth $60 per TPG valuation — which might be more worth your while," Olsen wrote.
"On Nov. 8, another TPG staff member received an email from JetBlue JBLU, stating that they could earn '400 TrueBlue points when you sign up for Jet Opinions and complete your first online survey,'" he continued. "Additionally, you'll keep earning TrueBlue points with each additional survey. If you want to add a few extra points to your bank, this could be an easy way."
Olsen summed up the potential benefits of participating in the surveys this way:
Earning points and miles without having to spend any money is appealing. However, you'll likely need to be comfortable answering personal demographic questions to earn points and miles through surveys.
Additionally, beyond the occasional welcome bonus, you won't get much in terms of a return on your time investment.
Still, it's worth considering as a way to earn a quick bump in points and miles, particularly American Loyalty Points.
Get exclusive access to portfolio managers and their proven investing strategies with Real Money Pro. Get started now.
