Cash Back for Online Shopping- Whys and Hows!
There are a lot of benefits to shopping online- the freedom to shop in your pajamas without putting on makeup or fixing your hair, saving gas money, convenience, and lots of online-only deals that save you money. Another fantastic thing about shopping online is that you can get paid to do it. Yes, PAID! Intrigued?
There are several cash-back programs that reward you for shopping- and if you are going to be doing a lot of online shopping, you will be missing out if you are not letting them pay you to do it. Here are some things to know:
-You can sign up at these sites (and a lot of times there will be sign-up bonuses!) for a free account.
-When you need to do online shopping, you will head to that site and search for your website where you want to do your shopping, and get to it from there. To further explain, you will head to Ebates (for example) and search for Gap using the search bar. All of the Gap offers and links will pop up (a big benefit to this is that you will often find special coupon codes to use to make your OOP even less!), and you will use one of those links to get to Gap. If you do not first go to your cash-back site and log in, you will NOT get cash back from your online purchase. It has to be through one of their links so that they can track it.
-You will then get a percentage of your purchase total back as cash, which accumulates in your account for a certain period of time. After that time is up, you will get all of that accumulated money BACK as a check!
-It can take some time for the money to post to your account. They want to make sure that the transaction goes through and that the item is not returned before crediting you.
-Your personal info (read: secure account information) is NOT shared with the cash-back site. They will have no access to your bank accounts or anything else, unless you purchase a magazine subscription through their site (Shop at Home, mainly).
-If they offer coupon codes for a store, sometimes you will not earn cash back for using a different coupon code than the one that is on your link.
There are several cash-back programs that reward you for shopping- and if you are going to be doing a lot of online shopping, you will be missing out if you are not letting them pay you to do it. Here are some things to know:
-You can sign up at these sites (and a lot of times there will be sign-up bonuses!) for a free account.
-When you need to do online shopping, you will head to that site and search for your website where you want to do your shopping, and get to it from there. To further explain, you will head to Ebates (for example) and search for Gap using the search bar. All of the Gap offers and links will pop up (a big benefit to this is that you will often find special coupon codes to use to make your OOP even less!), and you will use one of those links to get to Gap. If you do not first go to your cash-back site and log in, you will NOT get cash back from your online purchase. It has to be through one of their links so that they can track it.
-You will then get a percentage of your purchase total back as cash, which accumulates in your account for a certain period of time. After that time is up, you will get all of that accumulated money BACK as a check!
-It can take some time for the money to post to your account. They want to make sure that the transaction goes through and that the item is not returned before crediting you.
-Your personal info (read: secure account information) is NOT shared with the cash-back site. They will have no access to your bank accounts or anything else, unless you purchase a magazine subscription through their site (Shop at Home, mainly).
-If they offer coupon codes for a store, sometimes you will not earn cash back for using a different coupon code than the one that is on your link.
Ebates
This is one of my favorite sites. They run awesome promotions all the time, like gift cards or sign-up bonuses, plus they quite often have promos where certain stores will give you double cash back on your purchase! Here are some things to know about Ebates.
-You can go here to sign up for a free account.
-They have a huge list of merchants, and each merchant offers a different percentage of cash back. Each day they pick a merchant who offers DOUBLE cash back for that day only! To earn any cash back, you must use a link that originates on the Ebates site, and complete your transaction at that time.
-You will typically have your cash back credited within 48 hours, but some merchants won't credit until the return period is up. For those, it can take 30 days or so.
-Any money that you earn via cash back accumulates in your account for 3 months. At the end of that 3 months, if your account has at least $5.01, you will get a check for all of the cash back you have earned. If you do not have $5.01, it will stay in your account until the next month.
You can also have the money deposited into your Paypal account.
- Purchases paid for by gift cards or credits do not earn cash back.
- Some stores will give you cash back on gift card purchases. Go here to see that list of stores.
-You can be rewarded for sharing Ebates with your friends! Every friend that signs up for Ebates through your link- via email, FB, or Twitter, or your custom referral link- and makes a qualifying purchase of $25 or more gets you a $5 referral bonus! This will go into your account, but does NOT count towards the $5.01 minimum to get your check at the end of the 3-month period.
-Your sign-up bonus also goes into your account until the end of the 3-month period, when you will get it back in your check- but it does not count towards your $5.01 minimum.
-You can go here to sign up for a free account.
-They have a huge list of merchants, and each merchant offers a different percentage of cash back. Each day they pick a merchant who offers DOUBLE cash back for that day only! To earn any cash back, you must use a link that originates on the Ebates site, and complete your transaction at that time.
-You will typically have your cash back credited within 48 hours, but some merchants won't credit until the return period is up. For those, it can take 30 days or so.
-Any money that you earn via cash back accumulates in your account for 3 months. At the end of that 3 months, if your account has at least $5.01, you will get a check for all of the cash back you have earned. If you do not have $5.01, it will stay in your account until the next month.
You can also have the money deposited into your Paypal account.
- Purchases paid for by gift cards or credits do not earn cash back.
- Some stores will give you cash back on gift card purchases. Go here to see that list of stores.
-You can be rewarded for sharing Ebates with your friends! Every friend that signs up for Ebates through your link- via email, FB, or Twitter, or your custom referral link- and makes a qualifying purchase of $25 or more gets you a $5 referral bonus! This will go into your account, but does NOT count towards the $5.01 minimum to get your check at the end of the 3-month period.
-Your sign-up bonus also goes into your account until the end of the 3-month period, when you will get it back in your check- but it does not count towards your $5.01 minimum.
Shop At Home
My other favorite site! Here are some things you need to know:
-You can go here to sign up for a free Shop At Home account.
-Shop At Home has a huge selection of merchants, and not only offers cash back, but also access to tons of printable coupons, coupon codes, and even restaurant promotions.
-When you are ready to shop, use the white Search Bar at the top of the Shop at Home page to look for your store and then use one of their links.
-You will get a check with all of your accumulated cash back when your account reaches $20.
-You can NOT earn cash back for gift card purchases or purchases made WITH a giftcard.
-They also have a great referral program- when you refer your friends, they get a $5 credit for joining and you get a $5 bonus when they sign up and make a purchase within 30 days.
-You can only earn cash back when using a link that originates on the Shop At Home site- and you must complete the transaction at that time. If you add something to your cart and then come back later to purchase, you will not earn cash back unless you return to the site via a Shop At Home link.
-You can go here to sign up for a free Shop At Home account.
-Shop At Home has a huge selection of merchants, and not only offers cash back, but also access to tons of printable coupons, coupon codes, and even restaurant promotions.
-When you are ready to shop, use the white Search Bar at the top of the Shop at Home page to look for your store and then use one of their links.
-You will get a check with all of your accumulated cash back when your account reaches $20.
-You can NOT earn cash back for gift card purchases or purchases made WITH a giftcard.
-They also have a great referral program- when you refer your friends, they get a $5 credit for joining and you get a $5 bonus when they sign up and make a purchase within 30 days.
-You can only earn cash back when using a link that originates on the Shop At Home site- and you must complete the transaction at that time. If you add something to your cart and then come back later to purchase, you will not earn cash back unless you return to the site via a Shop At Home link.
