When I first heard about applications that let you earn money by buying other things, I have to admit that I was skeptical at first.
I came from a traditional background, and tradition dictates that you earn money to buy stuff and not the other way around.
However, hearing about NCP Mobile, otherwise known as the National Consumer Panel Mobile, intrigued me so much that I decided to try it.
Admittedly, I couldn’t help thinking about things like “Is NCP Legit?”, “What if I get scammed?”, “How does this even work?” but after some research and eventually trying the app, here is what I found.
What Is NCP?
NCP Mobile is a market research app that rewards you with awesome gift cards and merchandise by scanning your shopping purchases receipts.
It is run by NielsenIQ and IRi, two of the leading companies specializing in data analytics and consumer intelligence.
What amazed me most about NCP is that even before they translated their services to better suit the age of technology, they have been doing this for quite a while now. That’s all the way from 1942, when it was first started by Samuel G. Barton, Jr, founder of the Industrial Surveys Company.
In its early days, NCP started by conducting door-to-door interviews and surveys conducted to 4,000 households every two weeks. Talk about dedication!
Is NCP Legit?
Trying something new is really daunting for me, so I always conduct my own research before delving into it on my own.
From my research and current usage, I can confidently say that NCP mobile is a legitimate rewards application.
Its two owners, the aforementioned NielsenIQ and IRi, are respectable and well-founded companies in their respective fields.
Judging from independent Google Play and App Store reviews, NCP Mobile’s cons do not include false rewards. Complaints about the app are mostly just about the lengths of some of its surveys.
How Does NCP Work?
Download NCP Mobile
With over 1 million downloads and overwhelmingly positive reviews, NCP Mobile is one of the leading shopping rewards applications.
You can click this link if you’re an Apple user or this link if you use an Android device.
Sign up for NCP Mobile
After downloading the app, I was asked to create and apply for an account. Unfortunately, only those in the United States will be able to create one.
The app asked me for a bunch of personal information such as my name, email address, contact number, address, names of people in my household and its composition, ethnicity, education level, income level, and some products that I buy regularly.
However, there is no guarantee that your account application will be accepted, and you will have to wait for a slot to open up should you be put on a waitlist.
Select a Store and Input Your Purchases
After creating and having my account approved, I was then able to earn points by inputting my purchases with the barcode scanner function.
I got to say, I’m really impressed with the receipt scanning function of this mobile app. It makes it easy to make receipt submissions.
I can rest easy in staying on top of my shopping receipts, too, especially for budgeting purposes.
Fill up Information About Your Purchases
Afterward, the app asked me several questions about my purchase, such as whether or not it was bought at a discounted price or if I would buy the product again in the future.
Answering this last part was a bit of a hassle for me during my first try, but hey, if I earn some, I gotta give some, right?
Submit Your Filled-Out Survey
Validation of submissions could take some time. I got mine a few days after submission.
Since I’m new to the app, I only received 150 points for my charter-level submissions. I’ll elaborate more on this later.
Answer Some Additional Surveys
The app also asks me to answer some quick surveys from time to time. I find this a good way to earn points between shopping times.
How to Earn More Points With NCP
After scanning items and submitting my first batch of barcodes and surveys, I once again became skeptical and wondered why no points were immediately registered to my account.
I gave it a few days to see if the developers needed some time to validate my submission, and lo and behold, I got my 150 points. Some submissions were validated faster than others, and I have yet to have a rejected submission so far.
I also discovered several bonus points through some events or actions. Your signup bonus costs 1,000 points, welcome surveys will give you 500 points, and birthday bonuses give you an annual 250 points.
A 3-month anniversary bonus is also worth 1,500 points, your 6-month anniversary bonus will get you 1,000 points, and your annual anniversary bonus gives you 1,000 points.
There are also several levels of membership in NCP Mobile, depending on how long you’ve been an active member.
Currently, I’m still at Charter-level membership since it hasn’t been more than six months since I registered.
Below are more details on how NCP Mobile memberships work:
- 0 to 6 months – Charter: 150 points per weekly submission.
- 7 to 12 months – Bronze: 200 points per weekly submission.
- 1 to 2 years – Silver: 225 points per weekly submission.
- Two years – Gold: 235 points per weekly submission.
- Three years – Platinum: 245 points per weekly submission.
- Four years – Double Platinum: 255 points per weekly submission.
- Five years – Triple Platinum: 280 points per weekly submission.
- 6+ years – Excellence: 325 points per weekly submission.
3 Alternative Apps to Explore
If you want to explore more shopping rewards applications, you can check out the following apps below:
Fetch Rewards
Like the NCPMobile App, Fetch Rewards is an app that allows you to gain rewards by uploading purchase receipts of their partner brands’ products.
What makes this app good is that you are not limited to certain retail companies or specific stores as long as you buy their partner’s merchandise.
Checkout 51
Checkout 51 is another shopping rewards app available only to the US and Canada. They release weekly promotions with their partner and sponsored companies, including gas stations.
Buying from these companies could earn you cash rewards, in contrast to NCP Mobile’s technically cashless transactions and Fetch Rewards’ non-store-specific rewards.
Stan’s Gigs
If you’re browsing for shopping rewards apps, chances are you like free stuff too, like me. In Stan’s Gigs, we will be sure to give you the best and first dibs on free sample products up for market research.
I have opportunities that don’t require you to reach a specific number of receipts per week. Some won’t even require any form of receipt scanning at all.
To learn more about what I have to offer, you can sign up for my newsletter.
NCP’s Legitimacy: The Verdict
I’m a frugal person through and through. If I could save even just a few quarters, I would.
However, even a frugal person like me has basic needs for weekly supplies, which is why I find apps like NCP Mobile and its gift cards to be heaven-sent.
If you’re like me, who wants to take frugality to another level, or even if you’re just someone looking to save some hard-earned cash in the long run, I strongly recommend that you try NCP Mobile.
It’s one of the best receipt scanning apps out there. As long as you have the barcodes of items, you won’t run into any issues. Its sign-up is a simple process.
So, what do you think? Is NCP legit? Based on my personal experience and research, I can confidently say it is.
I am a father to a beautiful baby girl, a husband and a serial gigster 🙂 I live in Toronto, Canada. My claim to fame: I made thousands of dollars from focus groups and surveys over the last 15 years. Studied Marketing in Ryerson Univerity and worked in Marketing and Marketing Research for the last 14 years+ My mission is to educate others how to be successful with side hustles. You can contact my be email or on Facebook.
