Just got a note from Scott Dudelson, the CEO of SwagBucks, who wants everyone to know that SwagBucks has just added a redemption for PayPal!
You can choose to cash out your SwagBucks for PayPal at a rate of 80 SB for $5 PP.
This is obviously not as good a value as 45 SB for $5 Amazon, but for those of you who would rather the cash, it's still a great redemption (especially compared to 125 SB for a $5 Barnes and Noble GC or 130 for a $5 Starbucks GC -- request PayPal and buy your own Barnes and Noble or Starbucks GC for cheaper).
To entice anyone who hasn't yet joined SwagBucks to give 'em a try, they've issued a new SwagBucks code: enter CASHISKING when you register for a new account (aff) and they'll start you out with 5 SwagBucks!
Does SwagBucks pay? They've paid me...again and again! See Swagbucks payment proof from my account!
Ebates.com (aff) will be sending their Big Fat Checks soon, as they do 6 weeks after the end of every quarter. Today's the last day of quarter 2, so if you haven't done so already, log into your Ebates account and be sure your balance is over $5 in personal cashback earned to get your check for the quarter! Referral earnings and your signup bonus do not count toward the $5 minimum for payment!
If you need another couple of dollars to get you over the $5 minimum, here are a few ideas:
- Use your FSA medical debit card to place an order at Drugstore.com! $50 orders ship free ($25 for new customers) and you'll get 7% cashback to your Ebates account without spending a dime out of pocket!
- Order a magazine or two through MagsForLess (16% cashback) , MagazineLine (20% cashback), or ValueMags (20% cashback) -- they don't charge shipping or tax on subscriptions! MagsForLess sells 51 issues of OK magazine for just $14.69, and 52 issues of Soap Opera Digest is just $8.99 (add another year for $5.99 more)!
- Get $6 cashback and a free 2009 Entertainment Book when you prepay for a 2010 Entertainment Book! (Search on Ebates for "Entertainment" and click through the $6 link.)
These are just a few of my suggestions -- there are a lot of great deals to be had on Ebates, but if you want that Big Fat Check in a couple of weeks, you need to shop TODAY to get your balance over $5 before the quarter ends!
Not a member of Ebates? Get a $5 bonus when you join with my link -- thanks!
Alice.com (aff) is giving a free $10 bonus with a $50 order when you join with the referral link of an existing member. My referral link is here -- thanks!
I reviewed Alice.com on the day of its launch, and I did a follow-up Alice.com review after a day of using the site. I placed an order on Tuesday morning, got shipping confirmation just after noon, and according to UPS tracking, it's out for delivery today...pretty amazing for free shipping, especially combined with the deals I got using Alice's electronic coupons.
Alice.com is the brainchild of the guys behind Jellyfish.com, which was bought by Microsoft and is now known as Bing Cashback. They know a little about shopping sites. ;) You'll definitely want to join Alice.com (my referral link will give you that extra $10 off) and give it a try! Be sure you check out "Other Ways to Shop" on the top right, then "Shop the Best Deals." This is the best way to find the deeply discounted products! Enjoy!
In a blog post last week by the the co-founder of YouData (aff), Trae Nickelson, he admits that the "experiment called YouData" was hitting a bit of a snag: there are more members than there are ads for them to be paid to view. He asserts that this is only temporary and that advertisers are happy with the results they've gotten from the ads viewed on YouData.
During the first week of March, YouData introduced a referral program, which no doubt helped contribute to the "recent explosive growth" the site has experienced.
The membership growth is a good thing, says Nickelson, as having a larger membership base will make YouData a more attractive advertising option to big companies (as opposed to some of the very nice but somewhat obscure advertisers I've seen on the site so far).
YouData has plans to attract more advertisers, mostly revolving around hiring more salespeople and undertaking marketing efforts to let potential advertisers know what YouData is and how it works.
But in the meantime...I may have had one ad available to me in the last three weeks. That's one heckuva lull in business. I hope they can get the attention of some advertisers and FAST, because all excuses and pretty charts aside, my interest in YouData is rapidly waning.
If you're active on Twitter and you're a Swaggernaut -- that is, a faithful member of the SwagBucks (aff) search and win program -- you really need to follow @Swag_Hourly, which sends out an hourly tweet with the name of the hourly 5 SwagBucks winner, a new feature that started last week.
Also, if you're not already following @Swagbucks, the official SwagBucks twitter account, be sure to follow them, too, because they give out occasional bonus SwagBucks code hints AND they've just started posting a daily bonus SwagBucks code that's only good for 5 minutes, so you have to be on top of it!
If you're a member of the BzzAgent word-of-mouth program, and you've always wanted to chit-chat with the great voice of BzzAgent, Jono (Jon O.), he's doing a live chat on Gather.com tonight from 8 to 10pm ET.
To participate, go to http://bzzagent.gather.com/ and look for the post titled, "Live Chat with BzzAgent Jono, Wednesday 6/24 @ 8PM ET." The chat will take place within that post.
Not a member of Gather yet? You'll need to create an account here first (my referral link; thanks).
The founders of Jellyfish.com (sold to Microsoft as Live Cashback, recently renamed Bing Cashback) are at it again! Today, Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire launched a new shopping website, Alice.com (aff), which WILL revolutionize the way you shop for household goods! And although it's not a cashback site per se, I'm reviewing it here anyway. ;)
First of all, you want to join Alice with the referral link of an existing member (that's mine, obviously!) because when you do, they'll give you $10 in account credit once you spend $50 on the site. Plus, they'll kick back to the referrer 3% of what you spend for the first year.
Alice is totally free to join, by the way -- no membership fee required.
So, you sign up for a free account on Alice.com and then you can shop for just about any household goods you want. There are a couple of things that come together to make for some outstanding prices on Alice.com:
1. Free shipping. They ask that you order at least 6 items, but your first order, they'll let you slide on this one.
2. Sales tax. They do charge it, but there appears to be a good bit of savings here compared to what I normally pay in-store (maybe they charge state tax but not local? Not sure).
3. Coupons are available and can be applied electronically. No coupon clipping is required! There are some limits, obviously (I found a limit of one on several items, but was able to get two with the coupon-reduced price on some other items).
If, like me, you are VERY conscious of what items cost in-store, you'll see that some prices on Alice are just "okay." You may do better in-store buying store-brand items or loss leaders (you know, those ridiculously low-priced weekly specials they have sometimes to get ya in the door and entice you to buy other items that aren't marked way down). But if you cherry-pick, there are some totally amazing prices at Alice.com!
Let me give you some examples:
Crest Whitening Baking Soda, Fresh Mint, 3.8 oz: $1.11 minus $.50 coupon = $0.61
Ritz Crackers Reduced Fat 14.5 oz: $3.99 minus $2.80 coupon = $1.19
Slim-Fast Optima Muffin Bars, Apple Cinnamon (6 ct.): $4.36 minus $3.05 coupon = $1.31
Dry Idea, 2.5 oz (assorted scents): $3.69 minus $2.00 coupon = $1.69
If you click Other Ways to Shop on the top blue menu bar, you can click Shop the Best Deals and it'll display the top 50 most popular items, and the top 50 highest percentage off items.
You can set up reminders at Alice at specific intervals to remind you to reorder past purchases.
There are a TON of other options on the site including the Neighborhood where you can chat with other shoppers (a LOT of familiar Jellyfish nicknames online this morning).
You'll definitely want to get in on the deals at Alice.com. Go now! Sign up with my link -- you won't regret it!
Update, 6/24: You may also want to read my review of Alice.com on Gather.
QuickRewards.net launched a promotion with The Home Depot today where members will receive 3% cashback on all gift card purchases plus an additional $1 bonus for every $25 gift card order (capped at $5 in bonuses, though the 3% isn't capped). $100 in Home Depot GCs would earn you $7 cashback (3% plus $1 for each of the $25 GCs). Pretty good deal if you were planning to make a purchase in-store at Home Depot soon anyway.
The promotion runs through Father's Day. Join QR here (aff) and see the details on the promotion here.
Ebates.com's CEO Kevin Johnson was interviewed for a June 4 article on RetailTouchpoints.com. In "Ebates Cash-Back Shopping Site Scores Double-Digit Sales Growth for Retailers," Johnson says that the average quarterly rebate for Ebates (aff) members is $30, though some members' checks are in the thousands of dollars. Membership is at 8 million, up 2 million since last year.
Overall, Ebates' merchants are doing very well, according to the article. Even though the last quarter of '08 was disasterous to some merchants, Ebates merchants saw a 60% improvement over the prior year's performance (and those who participated in the holiday shopping promo were up 90%). Appliances and department store purchases saw the biggest growth.
He attributed Ebates success in part to the close relationship Ebates has with its merchants, who often provide exclusive promotions to Ebates members.
Today, in a press release entitled, "Recent Ebates.com Survey Reveals 2009 Father's Day Shopping Trends," Ebates says that 25% of their members surveyed plan to spend over $100 on Father's Day gifts despite the recession. Dads want a special dinner and tech gadgets. Clothing's also listed as a popular gift (though it's not clear if that's what dads want or what shoppers are intending to buy).
If you haven't checked out the bonus cashback offers at Ebates for Father's Day, you should check 'em out while you can -- they've upped their cashback rates for Cabela's, Dell, Home Depot, HP, HSN, Omaha Steaks, Radio Shack, Sears, Snapfish, and Sony Style.
Not a member of Ebates and want to check 'em out? Get a $5 bonus when you sign up here (aff) and make your first purchase!
SwagBucks added a new redemption today for members of its search-and-win program: check the Swag Store's new Video Games & Consoles section for thousands of titles for the PSP, Xbox360, Wii, and PlayStation 3! as well as classic video game systems like the Dreamcast and the Game Gear!
The way SwagBucks works is, you use their search engine when you need to find something on the web (I set SwagBucks.com as my home page so I never forget to use it), and randomly after your searches you'll be awarded "SwagBucks," redeemable for gift cards and prizes. You can also get free limited time SwagBucks codes on their blog, Facebook, or Twitter accounts, and you can win them in various contests like the Tuesday Phrase that Pays. You can earn SwagBucks when you trade in old cell phones or when you submit a picture of yourself with some swag you received from the site. I've earned (and received) over $1,000 in gift cards with this program since I joined last year (thanks in large part to my many friends searching with me -- when your friends win SwagBucks, you win, too)!
If you haven't signed up yet for SwagBucks, I have a special SwagCode for new members joining today with my link: enter COMPAREREWARDS1 when you join and they'll start you off with SIX SwagBucks!
I hear SwagBucks will be releasing even more new site features this week...stay tuned!
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on Tuesday that Microsoft Live Cashback (now Bing Cashback) filed suit on May 21st against unnamed defendants for breach of contract and violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
The complaint, filed in King County Superior Court, alleges that these currently unidentified parties (named as John Does 1-10 in the suit, pending their investigation and identification) "obtained and attempted to obtain Live Search cashback payments under false pretenses...by using automated processes to access Microsoft's services, and by maintaining more than one Live Cashback account" in violation of the program's terms of service. Microsoft claims it's out over $5,000 in expenses related to detecting and preventing these parties from unauthorized access to the service. They also say that the defendants "obtained moneys to which they were not entitled...the value of which exceeded $5,000 over a 1-year period." They're asking for damages to be specified at trial.
Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster told the Seattle P-I that this case involved fraudulent credit card use for Live Cashback purchases and that this was a necessary step to further investigate who exactly was responsible for it.
I'm sure that all cashback programs have some issues with credit card fraud. Someone uses a stolen credit card to make a purchase, gets cash back to their account, cashes it out, and then after the fact the credit card owner realizes what's happened, disputes the charge, and the cashback site is left in the hole for what they paid the crooks.
Microsoft may be going after these guys more aggressively because, well a) they're MICROSOFT and they can afford to, but also b) because they direct-contract with merchants rather than using an intermediary affiliate network as the other cashback sites do. The transaction data's more available to them and the damage is more direct.
It's a shame that a few rotten apples can spoil the barrel. I hope that Microsoft finds these guys and makes them pay back what they stole. Theft is theft, even when perpetrated against a megacorporation that could probably afford to write it off without blinking.
MrRebates (aff) has increased their cashback rates at 100+ stores through June 21st in a Father's Day shopping promotion. Some of the bigger rate bumps include Cell Phone Shop at 15% (up from 10%), Current Catalog at 12% (up from 7%), Designer Linens Outlet at 10% (was 4%), Iolo System Mechanic at 20% (was 15%), Kodak Gallery at 14% (was 8%), Perfume Worldwide at 11% (was 5%), Sports Authority at 8% (was 3%), and Vitamin World at 11% (was 6%).
There are smaller rate boosts at other stores, too, and MrRebates' rates are very competitive to begin with. Definitely worth checking out as you get ready to shop for Father's Day!
Bing Cashback's regular cashback rate for popular electronics retailer TigerDirect.com, if you go through the main portal site, is 5%. However, using the Bing.com search engine to find the secret bonus rate (keyword : laptop) had been bringing it up to 8.2%. Now they've bumped up Tiger Direct's cashback rate to an amazing 15%! Go to Bing.com and search for laptop, look for the sponsored result (with a gold coin beside it) offering 15% at TigerDirect, and click through to activate cash back! (Don't see it immediately? Refresh the page a time or two!)
Electronics sites usually pay in the 2-3% cashback range, so this is a fantastic rate. Be sure you compare prices before you buy, though, because it's not a deal if it's over 15% cheaper elsewhere! And remember to factor in sales tax (Tiger Direct only charges it to residents of FL, IL, NC, and TX) and shipping, too.
A member of CreationsRewards.net approached me yesterday and asked me to look into his account being deleted. He said that there were other complaints on the rewards forums about similar cases and he was concerned that this was an indication that Creations had become some sort of scam, deleting members to avoid having to pay them. I've known Creations' owner Chris for years and really doubted that was the case, so I emailed him to ask what was up.
He responded quickly and as courteously as always, and he provided me with the following causes for a member's account deletion:
"1. Opt-out. When a user follows the opt-out link on the bottom of any Email we send out, they are immediately removed. This process is automated since with our volume of users and other daily tasks, it would be impossible to add manual processing to this task. The link is on the very bottom in small font to prevent accidental clicking, but we do occasionally receive Emails from users several days after they had clicked to opt-out inquiring about their account.
2. Spam Complaints. Anytime a user clicks "This is Spam", "Junk", or any other spam button within their Email software, CR receives a notification of such action. To keep CR's E-Mail reputation high, we remove all complaining members from our database. This is not only to keep our complaints low, but to comply with the expectation of the ISP to treat complaints as those who don't want our Email. This is where most accounts which want to be reinstated fall into. Users typically select all their unwanted mail and click Spam/Junk versus deleting it. Marking CR mail as spam not only harms our reputation with ISPs, but also results in account cancelations for users who are incorrectly marking our mail as spam when they have double opt-in to our program.
3. Bouncing Email. Any hard bouncing Email address is immediately removed from our database. Hard bounces are defined as mailboxes which are over-quota or are invalid mailboxes. The exception is if CR's Email is blocked to an ISP, this will not result in removal."
These all seem like pretty valid reasons for account deletion to me. Chris went on to say that #2 seemed to be triggering the greatest number of complaints and that he's working on a plan to minimize the deletions due to false spam claims, but obviously he does still have to comply with ISP expectations. In other words, if you say it's spam, your internet provider will expect Creations to opt you out (delete your account).
If you find your account was deleted in error, the process is as follows:
1. Create a new account using the same login (email address).
2. Click the link in the confirmation email to confirm your account.
3. Contact support using the form here and forward them a copy of the most recent email you have from Creations (it will show your point balance).
You should find the points reinstated within a couple of days.
CreationsRewards is a good rewards program, imho, and not a scam at all. They've paid me many times and I recommend them highly. Earn for shopping, visiting websites, completing surveys, even playing trivia! If you're not a member yet and would like to check 'em out, click here to join with my link, please -- thanks!
First it was Jellyfish.com. Then it was Live Cashback. Now, yet another name change (though this time, there's no change in ownership -- it's still Microsoft but by another name), to Bing Cashback.
The switchover happened around midnight, and while it's cosmetically a little different, I don't see any other big changes to the program. If you're used to going to the site by typing in cashback.live.com, it will automatically redirect you to the new address (http://bing.com/cashback). To see all stores and their standard cashback rates, click the orange tab on the top left to "cashback stores" -- or on the top right click "Shop cashback stores."
As was the case with Live Cashback, there are still hidden cashback rates to be found by going directly to Bing.com (vs. Live.com) and doing a search for specific terms. Most of the search terms I mentioned in my post last Thursday still result in an offer for bonus cashback or cashback at an unlisted merchant, with the exception of "cosmetics" and "watch" (Drugstore and Overstock, respectively). It wasn't unusual for Live.com to have hidden cashback search terms appear and disappear from time to time, so I fully expect Bing to follow suit (in other words, try these and other terms later and you may get the cashback offer then). Update, 6/2: While Ebay sponsored results are showing up offering 8% cashback, when you click through, the green banner on top of Ebay saying that "cashback is active" is no longer there. Waiting on word for whether they will honor cashback at Ebay without the banner -- will update when I get a response.
Using Bing to do price comparisons with cashback factored in is pretty much exactly like how it worked way back in the Jellyfish days, except that in addition to a "compare prices" tab, there are tabs for user reviews, product details, and expert reviews. I've never liked the price comparison function because it leaves out too much information -- I want to know what the product sells for (not just what it is after cashback, because I need to know how much I'm out of pocket upfront), I want to know how much shipping is, and I want to know whether sales tax is charged and if so, how much it'll be.
Here's an example of what I mean:
Look at the Bing Shopping results for a Canon Rebel XSI:
It tells me that the cheapest price is at CentralDigital, that I'm getting 6% cashback, and that the "price" is $647.66. But when I click through to the store,
I see that I'm actually out of pocket $689.00. (Though I still don't know if these guys are going to charge me tax, so it may actually be more.)
The final cost of the item after cashback is important, yes, but it's also VERY important to know how much I'm going to have to float for 60 to 90 days, until my cashback is available.
And what if these guys charge tax? We have an almost-10% sales tax where I live. That may be an extra $69 tacked on. Theoretically, the number two listing (Digital Foto Club, for $671.95 after cashback) could be a better deal if their shipping cost is low and they don't charge tax.
This isn't a problem unique to this latest incarnation of JellyBing; it's been like this from the start, but I had really hoped to see an improvement in this aspect of the cashback program and it's just not there. Yet. (A girl can dream!)
Updated daily!
MyPoints (aff) is doing a promotion called Double Days, where they double their shopping rate on one selected merchant every day.
The Double Days Merchant for today, Friday, June 5, is Designer Linens Outlet, at 6 points per dollar versus the usual 3. This translates to a rebate of approximately 4.2%.
If you're not a member of MyPoints.com and you'd like to sign up, earning points redeemable for gift cards for doing things like reading emails, answering surveys, completing polls, and shopping, please click here (aff) -- thanks!
Upromise (aff) recently added a Deal of the Week -- one featured merchant will offer increased rebates for one week only.
This week's merchant is Drugstore.com, where through 6/5 you'll earn 10% cashback vs. the usual 5%. (Note: you can get 20% for Drugstore.com purchases through Live Cashback instead -- read my post here on how to do it!)
I've made a couple of posts in the past about how you can sometimes receive a higher cashback rate than what's listed at Live Cashback (soon to be renamed Bing Cashback) by using the Live.com search engine and clicking through the sponsored results (look for a gold coin and compare the cashback rate offered there to what's offered on the Live Cashback website).
Getting a higher cashback rate to appear in the Live.com search results requires knowing what to search for -- the trigger search terms can be elusive and they change, as does the special cashback rate. So there's a lot of trial and error required, refreshing the search results page, or scoping out various message forums to stay on top of it.
Here are a few search terms working today at Live.com to get you some of the secret cashback rate boosts (Note: you don't have to buy what you search for -- the search term just triggers the cashback boost which will apply to your entire order). If you know of others, please leave a comment -- thanks!
- tmobile (You'll be offered 35% cashback at T-Mobile which isn't listed at all on Live Cashback -- note it doesn't apply to prepaid refill minutes)
- luggage (You'll be offered 25% at Ebags, vs. the listed 11% on Live Cashback)
- cosmetics (See the sponsored result for Drugstore.com -- you'll be offered 20% cashback instead of the listed 10%)
- watch (You'll be offered 12% from Overstock, listed on Live Cashback as 2-7%)
- laptop (You'll be offered 8.2% from Tiger Direct, vs. the listed 5% on Live Cashback)
- ipod (See the sponsored result for Ebay -- you'll be offered 8% cashback; Ebay's not even listed on Live Cashback's website)
If you're unfamiliar with how Live Cashback works, get all the full scoop at their FAQ.
In an almost desperate-sounding message today from Wellness360 (aka Aperture Health) Chairman Thomas Banks (via Cindy Wells), the company acknowledges the impact of "difficult times" and makes a plea for members' "assistance" if they want to "enjoy economic rewards" via their site: visit at least 10 pages on the site every day. If at least 25% of the site's 67,000 active members do so, says Banks, the website will hit the 5 million+ page views per month minimum that he says paying advertisers require to invest their advertising dollars on Wellness 360.
According to Banks, Wellness360 is receiving between 1.5 and 3 million page views per month, which would put it at a third to a half of what they need to attract advertisers.
IMO, the email comes off as bribing members with the promise of economic rewards for artificially inflating page views to entice advertiser revenue. "The success of wellness360 rests in all our hands…for together we can become a force that advertisers cannot ignore." Wait, is the purpose of the site to educate and motivate members toward a healthy lifestyle, or to manipulate page views to fleece advertisers?
Just FYI: According to Aperture/Wellness 360's company's profile on Yahoo Finance, Mr. Banks pulled down a salary of $182,000 last year and exercised an additional $247,000 in options...despite the fact that the company had a net loss for the year of $657,000.
So let's be real, folks: this company isn't a non-profit, and its sole purpose isn't to help members earn money -- their 10 employees want to keep their jobs. Appealing to their members' desire to get paid for all of the points they've been accumulating for the past year is just a means to that end.
I pointed out in March that Wellness 360 was having serious problems and that its quarterly financial report released in February showed that the company had "no revenue" and only $5,329 in cash as of December 31st. What I didn't note at the time is that within a week of that report's release TWO of the company's directors stepped down (see here and here).
The company issued a press release in January to announce it had enrolled 400,000 members. Now they're saying that only 67,000 are active on the website?
Something's fishy in Denmark, folks. My recommendation in March was to avoid Wellness360 except for casual use; don't expect to get paid for your activity there. Today's email has done nothing to justify a change in my position.
Hit Continue Reading to see the full text of today's email from Aperture Health/Wellness360.
These two programs don't send out email newsletters, so you may forget to use them -- here's your reminder that Fridays are paydays for members of the YouData program (aff), which pays you to view ads (they haven't sent this week's payments yet so hurry and check to see if there are available ads for you to view!), and Fridays are also Mega Swag Bucks Day over at SwagBucks.com (aff), where you earn SwagBucks redeemable for gift cards and merchandise when you use their search engine to search the web.
I earn somewhere in the range of $.40-$.80 each week (paid to PayPal) on YouData for less than 2 minutes of my time, and I just checked my SwagBucks account and saw that I've earned (and been paid!) $1,020.00 through my searches and my friends' on SwagBucks in just over a year! (I search through the main SwagBucks.com site and choose Amazon GCs for my redemptions -- you get the best point value that way.)
Both great programs; I highly recommend them!
In a press release today, Ebates (aff) reported an increase in year-over-year sales of 17%. They say their average order size is over $100, and that year-to-date they've seen an increase in appliance purchases of 209%, department store/mass merchandisers of 121%, and health & beauty of 64%. (See the release for more data.)
They have over 1000 merchants now, says the press release. Wow.
Kevin Johnson, Ebates' CEO, is quoted as saying, "Many of our members can afford to pay full price but they're all too smart to do so." You're darned right! NEVER pay full price, people!
I've been a member of Ebates for years and I LOVE them! They have great cashback rates and excellent customer service. I enjoy getting my quarterly Big Fat Check (actually got my latest one in the mail today for $88). Recommend 'em highly!
If you're just discovering CompareRewards as a result of Gregory Karp's Spending Smart column in the Tribune, welcome to the site! Glad to have you here! I've been posting reviews and news on rewards programs, including online shopping cashback sites, since 2001. I've been using them myself for much longer than that!
Online shopping portals, as discussed in Mr. Karp's article, are one of several types of rewards programs which allow you to earn cash or gift cards for shopping online. This is how cashback shopping sites work:
Instead of typing into your browser "www.Target.com", for example, you instead go first to your favorite online shopping portal like Ebates or MrRebates, and click through the link THEY provide to Target.com.
Either way, you end up at Target.com. But when you shop through the portal's link to Target, the portal is paid a commission for your purchase...and they SHARE IT WITH YOU in the form of cash back! Pretty sweet, huh?
Many of the shopping portals will even provide coupon codes for the stores to help reduce your out of pocket cost.
Each rewards program is different -- for example, they vary in the cashback rates they offer for each merchant, the way you receive your cashback and the waiting period for it, who can participate, etc. The mission here at CompareRewards is to lay out the differences so you can decide which program or programs are best for you!
When Mr. Karp asked for my top 3 most highly recommended shopping portals, these are the three I chose and why. I've been a member of all three of these programs since their doors opened, and I can vouch for them as being reputable -- I know people in management at all of them and all three have paid me many times.
In no particular order:
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- Who can join: Anyone 18 or older
- Payment method: PayPal or check (checks only available to U.S. residents)
- Coupon codes: Provided where available
- Minimum in accumulated cashback to request payment: $10
- Length of time between shopping and receiving reward: Up to 90 days plus 5 business days for processing
- Ways to supplement your balance besides shopping: Referring a friend to the program
- Notes: Every year I do an annual comparison to see how much each rewards program pays for shopping at a selection of popular online retailers. Extrabux did an outstanding job in 2008's cashback comparison, offering the highest, or second highest, percentage of cash back for 59% of the retailers I compared! They've also increased the number of stores for which they pay cash back from 775 to over 1,000 in the past few months.
- Who can join: U.S. residents only
- Payment method: PayPal or check
- Coupon codes: Not permitted. Using coupon codes will void your cashback.
- Minimum in accumulated cashback to request payment: $5
- Length of time between shopping and receiving reward: Usually 60 days (but up to 90), plus 7 to 21 days for processing
- Ways to supplement your balance besides shopping: None
- Notes: Annual cashback's limited to $2,500 a year, and purchases made for resale or business purposes aren't eligible for cashback (except some eBay purchases). They do pay the highest cashback rates online for most of their participating retailers...BUT they don't reward for many of the top retailers like Target, Kohls, Macys, Dell, Borders, Office Depot, etc. If you use their Live.com search engine, though, within the sponsored results for a search you'll sometimes be offered cashback from an unlisted retailer, or a higher cashback rate than normal on a listed participating retailer.
- Who can join: Households in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
- Payment method: PayPal, gift cards, merchandise (including magazine subscriptions and t-shirts; merchandise is only mailable to the U.S.)
- Coupon codes: Provided for some merchants; others available upon request
- Minimum in accumulated cashback to request payment: None for PayPal (request payment at any time), gift cards start at $1 but most are $5
- Length of time between shopping and receiving reward: Usually within a week for PayPal, within two weeks for gift cards or merchandise
- Ways to supplement your balance besides shopping: Complete online surveys, visit websites, enter contests, play games, print coupons, watch videos, request catalogs/brochures, sign up for newsletters, refer friends
- Notes: Unlike other programs, they waive the "pending period" that other programs have in place to account for shopping order returns. As a result, it's fairly common to receive your cashback within a few days of making a purchase versus up to 3 months on the other programs. The tradeoff is that cashback rates, while still very competitive, may be slightly lower.
There are many other great online shopping rewards programs that I can recommend, but having to narrow it down to just three, these would be my picks.
I provide news and reviews on many other types of rewards programs than just cashback shopping portals. For example, you'll find news here on "clip and redeem" points programs like Kool Aid Points. I also cover store-based rewards programs that give you store credit for your continued patronage like JCPenney Rewards and Best Buy RewardZone.
But there are still other rewards programs that allow you to earn cash and gift cards without spending a dime! These include survey sites like Lightspeed Panel, search and win sites like SwagBucks and Winzy, and the fairly new YouData which pays you to visit websites targeted to your demographics.
Use the links on the sidebar for more information on other programs, and if you have questions or would like other program recommendations, I have a real passion for this subject and would be happy to chat with you in email!
Thanks for stopping by CompareRewards! I hope you'll bookmark the site or use the form below to sign up for email notifications when new content is added.
No joke, huh?
The results of a survey by ForeSee Results were just released, and they show that customer satisfaction among most of the top 100 (by sales volume) internet retailers dropped in the past year. The ratings of over half of the top 100 dropped, while only 16 improved (the biggest improvement was Kohls.com, up 6% over last year). One of the reasons the survey company found was that price was much more of a determining factor on satisfaction compared to prior years.
Bank of America released the results of their Consumer Purchasing and Saving Habits Survey last week which also confirmed the Frugal Is Cool phenomenon. 80% of the consumers surveyed said they were more aware of how they were spending their money. They also found "a new culture of thrifty spenders is emerging to make every dollar stretch further." Their tools: more research and comparison shopping before making a purchase, eating in more, the use of online and mobile banking tools to monitor their finances more closely, and the use of retailer and credit card rewards programs.
The results of these surveys aren't surprising in the least, given the current economic climate. People are making more informed financial decisions, finding ways to make the most of their money, using more coupons (for example, see my friend Ginger's blog, Attention Target Shoppers, which matches up current newspaper and printable coupons with sales at Target stores), and yes...people are relying more on online shopping rewards programs to help squeeze every little bit of value out of their dollar.
Kohls.com has higher customer satisfaction ratings this year, do they? Then why not shop through a rewards program's link to Kohls and get 2 to 3% cash back while you shop? Similar or higher cashback rates are available for almost all of the top 100 retailers on the list ForeSee provided. Take a look at my most recent cashback rates comparison report and you'll see which rewards programs have the best cashback shopping rebates.
If you're using price comparison tools, coupon codes, and paying by rewards cards, you're still leaving money on the table -- up to 30% cashback through rewards programs. Let me know if I can suggest a program for you based on your own specific shopping preferences (if you travel a lot, if you buy for a business, if you prefer PayPal vs. gas cards vs. Disney Dollars, etc.). But optimizing your rewards program usage isn't as important as simply using any rewards program -- getting some reward is better than getting none.
Yep, we're talking almost free here -- 5 cents an issue. Gotta love it! Here's how:
1. Create an account on Ebates here (my referral link; thanks!). They're a ten-year-old, very reputable cashback shopping rewards program -- I've been a member for years and have been very happy with their cashback rates, reliability, and customer service.
2. Log into your Ebates account and in the search box, type MagsForLess to pull up a discount magazine website called, duh, MagsForLess. Click through to the store (you'll be activating 16% cash back).
3. On MagsForLess, click on Soap Opera Digest (in the left-hand menu). Choose one year for $8.99 (2 and 3 year subscriptions are cheap, too). No shipping's added, either! Add it to your cart and check out.
For 52 issues of Soap Opera Digest, you'll pay $8.99 out of pocket but you'll get $1.44 (16%) cashback PLUS a $5 bonus from Ebates for signing up and making your first cashback purchase through their site -- so your net cost is just $2.55, or 'll just 5 cents an issue! Sweet, huh? ;)
You may also want to snap up a subscription to OK! Magazine while you're there -- new subscribers can get it at MagsForLess for $11.30 (for 51 issues), before the 16% Ebates rebate!
And be sure to take advantage of the Mother's Day cashback increases at some of Ebates' other merchants, too!
