AppTrailers

The next app that I'd like to review is one of the more simple video/ad apps out there. It is called AppTrailers and, as the name suggests, it rewards users for watching trailers for apps. More specifically, it rewards users for watching ads between app trailers. The number of points awarded per video varies with the number of videos previously watched on a given day. The points typically start at 7 or 8 points per video and quickly reduce to 3 points per video.

Each point is worth 1/10th of a cent. So, 1000 points equals $1. The payout options include transferring points to a user's Perk account at a 1-to-1 ratio (not sure why you'd do this but it is an option), gift cards and a payout to PayPal. The PayPal payout threshold is $0.50 which is very low and relatively easy to achieve in a day with 1 device. Also, there is no fee for the PayPal payout (unlike some apps). The interesting thing about this PayPal payouts is that it pays to the nearest 1 cent instead of whole dollar amounts. For example, if you have 530 points, the app will send 53 cents to your PayPal account (typically in about 1 business day).

A few drawbacks to this app include the following:

• It asks you "Are you still watching" every so often which requires you to click "yes" to continue. This limits the users' earning potential and makes earning less passive (technically passive earning is against the ToS).
• Sometimes, the app will get stuck on a full page ad that won't automatically move to the next video. This further limits the users' earning potential and makes the app even less passive.
• It was purchased by Perk relatively recently (hence the option for Perk points). It hasn't been fully absorbed into Perk. But when it does, it will likely lose the direct PayPal payout option. This would be unfortunate because the conversion rate is much more generous on AppTrailers than it is on Perk.
• It has a 7 device limit for the lifetime of the user's account. This means that every device used with a given user's account takes away from the limit and it cannot be undone. Also, a user is only allowed 1 account.
• It doesn't seem to work with virtual machines. I have only casually tested this, though.

Verdict:

AppTrailers is definitely worth it while it remains semi-separate from Perk. It isn't the best app for multiple devices (see drawbacks above), but it is good to use on your phone while you aren't actively using it. Also, the app's payout threshold is very low and it pays out regularly (I've earned about $3 in the couple of weeks I've had it). That is about as much as you can ask for from an app like this.

InstaGC

The next earning "app" I am going to review is really a collection of apps, surveys, tasks, clicks, videos etc. that all credit back to one website. It is called InstaGC and it can be accessed via PC or phone and it gives users many different ways to earn points. It has all of the typical ways to earn including; downloading apps, completing surveys (Peanut Labs etc.), watching videos (VideoLab, EngagemeTV), completing tasks, clicking specific links and ads, etc. The nice thing about InstaGC is that it is a repository for all of a user's earnings instead of trying to get payouts from specific video or survey site in specific.

Writing a complete review of InstaGC would take many pages. So, I am going to focus on the more passive earning methods and the payout options for this post. I'll revisit InstaGC as I delve further into the depths of earning methods etc.

The two most passive earning methods on InstaGC are likely VideoLab and EngagemeTV. Both involve watching videos and ads to earn points. Both are fairly passive.

VideoLab

First up is VideoLab (found under OfferToro on InstaGC). The name for this one is somewhat of a misnomer as it doesn't really show users many videos. Instead, it slowly cycles through a series of websites, some containing videos, and spends a total of 12 minutes viewing the sites and ads before crediting 1.4 points to the user's InstaGC account. Viewing 12 minutes worth of ads/sites typically takes about 15-20 minutes total due to the counter pausing while new pages load.

Sometimes, VideoLab will work flawlessly for hours and other times it will get stuck between ads and require intervention from the user. Also, there are times when it will run out of ads (typically toward the end of the month) which will limit earning potential. Lastly, every now and then, users will get briefly banned from viewing new ads. I am not really sure why this happens. However, it usually only lasts a day or two. Videolab only allows one device to be running at a time and it requires the page showing the ads and videos to be kept on top in the browser.

EngagemeTV

Next up is EngagemeTV. This android/PC app works very similarly to PerkTV in that it shows ads between videos. It credits 1.38 points to InstaGC (or many other options) for every 6 videos watched. As with VideoLab, there are times when it will run out of ads. Typically, I'll switch to VideoLab when this happens. Also, the app usually crashes after a few hours or so which requires intervention from the user.

EngagemeTV allows users to run multiple devices. If a user runs multiple devices, the earning potential increases quite a bit. However, it doesn't allow multiple devices to be running the same video playlist (Movie Reviews, Viral Videos, App Trailers etc.). In my experience, if a user runs 2 devices, the earning potential is roughly equivalent to VideoLab.

Payout Options

InstaGC offers many different payout options including cash, gift cards, charity etc. The typical payout threshold is $5 for ~500 points. The direct deposit option is my favorite payout method as it is a very simple way to put cash in your account. The threshold is $5 (for 500 points) plus a 15 point (cent) fee to get a direct deposit to your account. This rate is pretty reasonable when compared to other apps. Also, the payout will reach a user's account within a day or two.

Verdict

InstaGC is definitely worthwhile but it isn't quite as passive or lucrative as some of the Perk apps. If you've got additional devices or computing power, it is a good way to diversify your earning options to keep from getting banned by Perk etc.

For a bonus, click the link here to sign up: https://www.instagc.com/1608447

I'd love to hear what you think about InstaGC or if there are better passive ways to earn on it.