What's the best cash-back site for online shopping?
Since we're nearing the holiday season, when people do an awful lot of online shopping, I thought a rundown of my favorite cashback sites might be helpful to you all.
Cashback sites are basically companies that operate on an affiliate basis with hundreds of online stores. The stores give the cashback sites an affiliate commission, and the cashback sites give you, the consumer, a portion of that commission when you make a purchase.
The cashback rates rarely exceed 10%, but since you can stack the cashback rewards with discounts, sales, and coupons, I'm always game. I figure I might as well add another small discount to my purchase!
There are a LOT of these types of sites out there, but there are three main ones that I check when I'm making an online purchase.
1. TopCashBack
This is almost always my cashback site of choice.
Why?
- Their site is easy to navigate
- They typically have all of the stores I need
- Their cashback rates tend to beat other sites' rates
- The cashback is payable in a fairly speedy manner
Aaand, if you redeem your cashback for an Amazon credit code, you get a 2.5% bonus.
(Which, ok, isn't going to singlehandedly enable you to retire early, but it's something!)
Plus, TopCashBack has the best new-signup bonus, so if you pick just one to join, this is my top recommendation.
Top Cashback Sign-up Bonus
When you sign up with TopCashBack, you get a $10 bonus, payable when you earn $10 in cashback.
2. Rakuten
Rakuten (formerly Ebates) is the oldest cashback site I belong to. I joined in 2001, which isn't long after they opened their doors in 1999!
Rakuten's cashback rates tend to be slightly lower than TopCashBack's, but sometimes Rakuten has a merchant that TopCashBack doesn't.
And since cashback rates fluctuate, it's a good idea to just check before you purchase.
Rakuten Sign-Up Bonus
You get a $10 bonus for signing up with Ebates, payable when you earn $25 in cashback within 90 days.
(Quite do-able if you do a lot of Christmas shopping online.)
3. Be Frugal
I've been a member of BeFrugal for a while now, but due to their somewhat dated and hard-to-navigate web design, I hadn't used it much. However, they did a complete overhaul of the site this year, and it is way, way easier to use now!
BeFrugal doesn't seem to have as many cashback store options as my first two choices, but they do have some decent offerings, like 30% cashback on Amazon magazines, and 8.5% cashback on men's and women's shoes from Amazon.
Be Frugal Sign-Up Bonus
When you sign up for BeFrugal, you get a free $10 bonus, payable when you earn $25 in cashback within 90 days (again, quite do-able if you do a lot of Christmas shopping online.)
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What cashback programs do you use? Any we should know about that beat even TopCashBack?
I use either the deals link through my Discover credit card web site or the Shop Anywhere link through Jet.com. With Jet.com you get the rewards to be used on their web site so it's not strictly a cash back program but I buy enough things that there it's worth it.
Quite disappointed that the Amani ya juu giveaway requires a newsletter sign up. Tired of junk mail that I would have to deal with later. On the other hand, I will go back to their website and shop anyway. Thank you for sharing A-y-j with your readers.
It's just their email newsletter, if that makes any difference to you. No physical mail!
I use a separate email address for all stores and newsletters. Makes it easier to keep your primary addy junk free. I don't give my primary one to any company. It's then easy in Gmail to forward your separate emails to 1 account so you can check them all at once.
Thanks for sharing! I think it is all based on personal preference and which stores your frequent. I have had the most success with Swagbucks, their Amazon gift card payback is the bomb.com! I like to shop from local vendors for most of my Christmas shopping to help keep local people employed (I'm sure one person doesn't make a difference, but I like to think so). Unfortunately, we don't have a local bookstore other than that library, so if there is a book(s) I must have in my bookshelf, I use my Swagbucks to purchase!
I don't know why I haven't checked that out...I do have Swagbucks, but I've never remembered to try shopping through their cashback program.
It's fairly easy! If you agree to put Swagbucks as an addon to your browser, it automatically notifies you when you visit a retailer's website.
Love TopCash Back since they have Cardpool as one of their stores. Not a huge cashback amount but it adds up in combination with discounted gift cards.
Yep, that's my philosophy too...a little extra money for a small amount of effort? I'm in.
Hmm... I need to check this out. Top Cash Back offers cash back for Shutterfly, which is great if you are planning to order a gazillion Christmas/holiday cards...
My favorite by far is Giving Assistant.
I use Receipt hog, an app on my I-phone. I scan in my receipts (at home or when I'm out) and earn points towards Amazon or paypal gift cards. So far I've earn $60 and I'm almost at $90!
I have be using swagbucks lately as it pays better than some sites, and then mypoints for the stores not on swagbucks. simple and easy
I use Ebates diligently. I love that they have almost all the stores I use frequently. Just make $10 from my Kohls purchases today. Yay!
I have never been able to successfully sign up for TopCashBack. I enter my email, but never receive a confirmation email. I suppose I should email their customer service, but I just revert back to Ebates and continue on my merry way 🙂
I like Zweet and I just discovered Checkout 51. I live in Canada, so maybe not applicable in the US.
They both send checks after 20$
I tend to check eBates, SavingStar, Discover, and sometimes the airline rewards programs. There can be a big difference in the rebate amount between the sites.
I know there are several websites that will show you the rebate amounts for the various cash back sites, but I forget to use them. It looks like CashBackHolic.com does a good job. You find the company you plan to order from and they show you the various rebates available. I hope I'll remember to use it in the future.
I never even thought about using another--I've been using Ebates since 2002. It is especially awesome now with their internet browser plug in, makes it so much easier to shop because it reminds me. Before, I would often forget about shopped through Ebates and missed out quite a bit! lol.
I like mypoints, as I don't buy a lot of stuff, and with mypoints, I've been able to earn a few hundred dollars in gift cards just by clicking on their link emails.
Top Cash Back is my favorite site as well, but I do like Giving Assistant as well. I check the offers first to see which one is best!
I usually check Mr Rebates, Swagbucks, and UPromise for rebates. UPromise applies my rebates directly to my student loans and doesn't make me wait to get to some minimum amount, which is nice, although they don't always have the highest reward. I've found Mr Rebates to generally be the highest of the three. I'm tempted to check out some of the others you mention, but I think I need to restrain myself. If I have too many rebate sites going, I'll never get to the point of being able to actually redeem from any of them!
Hi Kristen. You should also check out Splender. Their rates are consistently better than Ebates, they pay me through Paypal, and everything appears to have tracked accurately so far. They've also got a referral program which has given me some extra cash for getting friends to join too.
I just started using cashback and am very new to this. I will definitely check some of them out.