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There are more ways to make money online than ever before. One of those ways is to get money when you shop. You can download apps to your favorite mobile device and get money just for doing that you already do. Here are some of our favorite apps that pay you to shop.
Table of Contents
1. Ibotta
The Ibotta app is one of the leading apps to making money when you shop. Just download it via iOS or Android. Before you start to shop you have to carry out simple tasks.
These simple tasks could involve watching something, giving your opinion, or just clicking on something. This takes mere minutes to complete and can be done while watching TV.
You even get a $10 registration bonus after scanning your first receipt.
Once you’ve unlocked your rebates you can shop at any supported store. As of this writing, there are over 300 different stores you can shop with, including Walmart and Target.
Scan your barcodes using the app and take a picture of the receipt. Submit it to the app and your purchase will be verified. Rebates are paid out via PayPal or through a number of gift cards. The money goes into your account within 48 hours and you need $20 minimum to withdraw it from your account.
2. Swagbucks
The Swagbucks app is a simple app because all you have to do is shop through the Swagbucks app. Within their shopping section they have a series of offers and stores to choose from.
The special offers are time-limited, whereas the stores themselves offer roughly the same number of rewards regardless of when you shop.
Every time you shop through the Swagbucks app you’ll earn something called SB points. These SB points are used for the rebates. They include all major stores. For example, you can get 7% cashback for every dollar spent at Walmart, as of this writing. So for this offer you would receive seven SB points.
You can earn even more points by filling out online surveys, watching online videos, and multiplying your SB points through taking advantage of time-sensitive shopping deals.
There are two ways to trade in SB points. You can claim it as cash or in the form of gift cards for your favorite stores. Payments are made just through PayPal and take up to 14 days to process.
3. Trunow
Trunow gives you 1% cash back for your total fuel purchase price. All you have to do is scan your gas receipt and wait up to 48 hours to receive your cash.
Rewards can be claimed for either gift cards or direct deposits to your PayPal account. Receive a $2 bonus when you sign-up using promo code TOF19 and scan your first receipt.
The great thing about Trunow is that it also has a feature that allows you to search for the cheapest gas station near you. Save both time and gas trying to find the cheapest fuel prices.
4. Shopkick
Shopkick allows you to shop and earn in three different ways. The first method is to scan receipts on qualifying items. The second method is to link your credit card to your account and make purchases at participating stores. You don’t have to do anything to earn money this way because the purchase will automatically be registered by the store and the app.
The third and most efficient way to earn money via this app is through scanning items. You’ll use your smartphone to scan barcodes at participating stores. Shopkick wants this information so it can help out market research companies it deals with, which is why this is an option.
Take note that when you buy, the points you earn could take up to 30 days to appear to account for returns policies. With your points you can purchase gift cards from the store. There’s an enormous range of gift cards to choose from, including from Macy’s, Walmart, and Starbucks.
5. Ebates
eBates is a slightly different type of company for shopping and earning money back. They’re a highly specialized affiliate marketing company. Through the eBates app, you’ll be able to choose from a list of online stores and make purchases through them. Sometimes it’s whole stores you can earn from and sometimes it’s specific products. You must click on the link through the eBates app to get the tracking code.
Shop through the store like you normally would. As long as you make the purchase within 24 hours of clicking through from eBates the purchase will be credited to your account. The amount you get back depends on the store. For example, Walmart might pay you back 2% through eBates.
You can even link your credit card to eBates and qualify for in-store cash back, which works in exactly the same way. All you have to do is press the ‘Link Offer’ button on your account.
It usually takes about a week for the purchase to be credited to your account. Only after the cash back has hit 60 days old can you get paid. Payments are dispensed via PayPal or check four times a year in February, May, August, and November.
6. Cash Crate
Cash Crate is one of the most established apps on the web today. There are over six million members around the world and you can earn a complimentary dollar just for signing up. There are many ways to earn money via Cash Crate, but the main one is by shopping at the right online stores. It’s how you earn the most amount of money.
Most major stores are supported and all you have to do when you shop is click to your store through the Cash Crate app. Take note that the cash back amount depends entirely on the store, so it’s worth comparing different stores and their prices. Some retailers can take up to a month to credit cash back on purchases, however.
To get paid you have to earn at least $20 to request a check. Requesting a check means you’ll have to wait up to four weeks to get paid. Cash Crate includes a Check Gallery where members take a picture of their checks to show the site is genuine.
Normal ‘Bronze’ level members can also use Dwolla or check to get paid. ‘Silver’ level and above have access to PayPal and direct deposit. With PayPal payments are sent on the 1st of the month and with direct deposit it usually takes between five and seven working days.
7. Checkout 51
Checkout 51 should be added to your weekly list of apps to use. Every Thursday morning a brand new list of offers are published. These offers are relevant to different stores every week, and offer good cash back offers. There are only a limited number of these offers, so we recommend checking out the app within 24 hours of Checkout 51 publishing the new list.
Check the terms and conditions of each offer because some can be used more than once. All you have to do is purchase the relevant item at the correct store and take a picture of the receipt via the mobile app. Once Checkout 51 has verified the purchase the cash back amount will be credited to your account.
Once you reach the $20 minimum they will send you a check. Some unconfirmed reports have even said that if Checkout 51 has a hard time verifying some purchases they have contacted the manufacturer and received the rebate directly from them.
8. SavingStar
SavingStar is all about buying groceries and saving money on your weekly grocery trip. To begin with, download the app and register for an account. You then need to register your existing shopper’s cards. There’s a big list of major retailers accepted, including Walgreens.
Once you’ve registered the cards for your account you’ll see a number of available offers. It’s worth checking back every day because some offers are only available for twenty-four hours. For example, Freebie Friday can only be selected on Friday; although it’s eligible for longer than that.
The coupons published expire at the end of the month. Most coupons available are copies of those you’d find on paper. To save even more money, we recommend finding the paper coupon and using the SavingStar to claim double savings.
All savings from SavingStar are kept in your account. The payment options available are PayPal, direct deposit, or you can get an Amazon gift card. The speed of the money being credited to your account depends on how quickly the store reports it. Smith’s, for example, can take up to 14 days.
9. Receipt Hog
Receipt Hog is a market research company that wants to study the purchasing patterns of ordinary people. That’s why their app pays out money for your receipts. All you have to do is download the app and take a picture of the receipt through the app. Most major grocery stores are valid to use with Receipt Hog, including Walgreens.
There are multiple tiers of membership. The more receipts you submit the higher your level. At higher levels you’ll earn more coins. It doesn’t matter what you purchase or what brand you purchase something from, as long as it’s from the qualifying store. You can even complete short surveys to get extra coins. These are delivered to specific members only, though.
The current payment scheme is that 1,000 coins have a value of $5.00. Keep the coins in your account and they’re worth more. For example, 1,800 coins have a value of $20.00. You can also donate your cash to selected charities, including the American Cancer Society.
Payments are delivered within seven days of cashing out.
10. BerryCart
BerryCart is a shopping app that lets you earn cash when you purchase healthy foods. For BerryCart to feature an offer the food usually has to be organic, gluten-free, or non-GMO. Browse the website to find the foods that they support. BerryCart handpicks certain foods from stores like Safeway, Target, and Whole Foods.
When you go out to the store to buy these foods you just have to take a picture of the receipt. What makes this app stands out is BerryCart always credit money to your account within 24 hours. You don’t need to wait for the store to report the transaction.
BerryCart pays out either through PayPal or via selected gift cards. It usually takes between seven and fourteen days for your withdrawal request to be authorized and for the money to reach your account.
11. MobiSave
MobiSave is another app where all you have to do is shop in the right places and you can take advantage of offers. Most of the offers on the website are time-sensitive, so don’t expect to see them and buy in a few days. There have been some instances where readers have failed to cash out in time yet have already claimed the offer. In some cases MobiSave has credited them with the amount anyway.
All you have to do when you buy the relevant item is to take a picture of the receipt. You’ll receive a small amount in the form of a rebate each time you buy. The amount depends entirely on the product and on store.
You get paid through PayPal. The good news is, unlike other stores, there’s no minimum payout. Money is paid out within 24 hours of making the request, no matter how much you’ve asked for.
12. PunchCard
At first glance, PunchCard seems like it works in the same way as all the other apps on this list. It’s an app that covers practically every known store brand in North America. To get started, all you have to do is share your location and the app will reveal the valid stores. You can search by location or by category.
When you go to the store you need the receipt for your purchase. Take a photograph of it with your app and upload it. Receipts must be less than five days old to qualify for PunchCard.
Each time your receipt is accepted you’ll spin the wheel within the app. Where the wheel lands determines how many points you get. These points can be used to claim rewards later.
Unlike other apps, you get rewards not cash directly. With the points you can get entries into contests, buy physical products, or reclaim the points as gift cards.
13. Walmart Savings Catcher
Walmart Savings Catcher is Walmart’s own brand for earning cash back at their store. This is ideal only if you happen to shop at Walmart on a regular basis. The app is simple to use. Whenever you shop at Walmart you should keep your receipt and scan it into the app. This can be done through taking a picture or typing in the number on the receipt.
Walmart will list the products you purchased and search for the same product in other stores for three days. If they find anything cheaper they’ll refund the difference via a credit. Take note this only applies to brand products, rather than store brand products.
Take note that only local stores are searched and it doesn’t count the online store. Any credit you do receive is delivered via a Walmart gift card or through a BlueBird American Express credit card.
14. TopCashBack
TopCashBack lets you make money back when you shop. They claim to provide its users with 100% of the rebates and they make their money via the various bonus thresholds they meet through the retailers. Every time you want to make a purchase, you must do it through the website itself. This will give you the tracking code needed to register the shopping trip.
The rebates you can claim depend entirely on the product you happen to be buying and the store you happen to be buying it through. Earnings are credited to your account within seven days of purchase.
You have a number of payment options on the table, including Amazon gift cards, PayPal, and direct deposit.
15. BeFrugal
BeFrugal offers a signup bonus of $10. Beware that you don’t get this bonus for registering for an account with your email address. You need to earn $25 cash back in the first 90 days to qualify for it. Your main method of getting cash back will be through making online purchases. Most major stores are present on this site.
We also recommend checking out the ‘Daily Deals’ section to find out about some of the time-sensitive deals available now. These tend to come with bigger rewards.
You can also earn money through making offline purchases via the deals available. Places like Subway and Olive Garden are just some of the stores you can visit offline and gain a rebate from.
BeFrugal is an affiliate marketing company. Any offer you make will either come with a code (if buying offline) or a link you have to click on (if buying online). Payments take 10 business days to process because BeFrugal needs to get the data back from the relevant stores.
PayPal and Amazon gift cards are just two of the ways you can get paid with BeFrugal.
16. bevRAGE
Note: This app is no longer available. You can check out a great alternative called CoinOut.
bevRAGE allows you to earn cash back on the drinks you buy both online and offline. Avid liquor drinkers can potentially earn a lot of money from this app. After you sign up for an account you only have to browse the list of different cash back deals available to get started. These cash rebate offers are available online along with bars, liquor stores, and restaurants. Use promo code FRUGAL to get a $1 bonus after scanning your first receipt.
Once you show evidence of the purchase, through taking a picture of your receipt via the app, you’ll be paid within 48 hours of making a purchase. This makes it one of the fastest apps on the market for this kind of thing. There are no limitations on how often you have to make a purchase.
There are two methods to get paid with bevRAGE. Through PayPal all payments are processed within 48 hours automatically. If you want to receive a paper check you need to have at least $20.00 in your account first. It will take at least two weeks for a paper check to be processed.
Top Tips for Making the Most of These Apps
The reality is that it can take some time to actually earn a worthwhile amount of money. There are some ways to increase the amount you earn without changing your habits, though.
Use the Referral Program
The best way to earn money from these apps is through the referral program. You can earn some sizeable sums through getting people to register for accounts via your affiliate links. This is by far the fastest way to earn a good amount of money.
Save it for Big Ticket Items
Bigger savings are always made through big ticket items. This is because practically every rebate is given as a percentage not as a flat rate.
Take Advantage of Your Credit Card
Linking your credit card and buying everything via the card can lead to you getting paid twice. You’ll get the points via the rebate app and you’ll get things like air miles through your credit card provider. If you have a better credit rating this will be even more valuable.
Final Thoughts – Shop and Save
These apps make it easier than ever to shop and save. With most of these apps all you have to do is remember to take a picture of your receipt and plug it into your respective app. Over time you have the potential to earn quite a lot of cash back. Thanks for reading and happy frugaling!