U.S. Dollar $9.95 per month Premium Account.

[Jevonv]

I pay United States Dollars $9.95 per month for a Premium Account.  I have not ever received a bonus of 1000 Lindens nor any Linden stipends like it says I would.  Can someone explain to me why I have not received these Lindens?  Is it because I am only paying $9.95 per month?  Also, why do I need a Premium Account when even if you are a Basic Member (Second Life is free), you can still purchase a Home and rent a Land to place it on.  Thank you for your time in helping me.

[Rolig Loon]

The first question is easy to answer:

When you register for a premium account, you get a sign-up bonus of L$1,000, deposited directly into your Second Life account once your premium membership has been active for 45 consecutive days. If you are not getting the stipend or your bonus,  you can call the Linden Lab billing team at the following toll-free numbers:

US/Canada: 800-294-1067
France: 0805-101-490
Germany: 0800-664-5510
Japan: 0066-33-132-830
Portugal: 800-814-450
Spain: 800-300-560
UK: 0800-048-4646
Brazil: 0800-762-1132

Long distance ( not free, but you can use Skype to save some cost ) : 703-286-6277
**Note: Support is offered only in English

The second question is harder for me to answer because I have never wanted to be a Premium member in 6 years.  One reasonable answer is that Premium members have access to Live Chat and can submit Support tickets in a much wider range of categories.  That makes a lot of difference to some people.  Premium accounts also have access to elite sandboxes that are much less likely to have griefers, and they can get occasional freebie Premium gifts (I think).  The big benefit for many people, of course, is the Linden Home or the 512 sq m land fee waiver.  If you want to live on the mainland, that makes living really cheap.  For me, none of those benefits has ever been appealing enough to make me want the change, but they do mean a lot to some people.  Read http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Premium-membership/ta-p/1054477  and make up your own mind.

[Lindal Kidd]

You need to be Premium if you want to own mainland.  However, there are, as you say, other land ownership options, and if they are to your taste, then you can perhaps save some money.

Premium has certain other benefits.  The weekly $L300 stipend, the one time $L1,000 bonus.  Better tech support.  Access to Live Chat.  Occasional Premium gifts.  Access to Premium-only sandboxes.  And a free Linden Home or a free 512 m2 of tier.

If you feel those are not worth the $9.95 per month, (or, annually, $72 per year = $6.00 per month), then downgrade!