Earn Some Extra Cash With These 5 Reward Apps

With the cost of everything going up stretching tight budgets even further we’re all looking for ways to save a little more and earn a little more. This desire has resulted in reward apps growing in popularity.

Related read: 12 Ways To Save $1000 In 30 Days

I see more and more people, particularly stay-at-home moms, saying that one of their side hustles is using reward apps so they can earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards and cashback that can be deposited into their bank accounts.

(I am not a financial expert. All information is based on my own personal experience and research. This information is not meant to be financial advice and is just for educational purposes. This post includes some affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.)

I found out about reward apps a few years ago while talking with some co-workers. I was skeptical I’d be able to earn anything of significance from them, but I gave them a try. 

Since that time, I’ve tried out several reward apps. Some of them didn’t have a large enough payout for me, and some took too much time and effort for very little payout. Several others were really easy and effortless to use and had good payouts. Here are the ones that rose to the top for me.

1. Shopkick

If you like to go shopping at department stores or visit the mall this could be a good reward app for you. Shopkick lets you earn Kicks (their version of rewards points) for doing things like visiting stores, scanning products, purchasing products, or watching videos. You then get to redeem those Kicks for gift cards.

How it works

After creating an account (psst...here’s my referral link so you can quickly create an account), there are six main ways you can earn Kicks

• Visit certain stores: The Shopkick app will show a list of nearby stores where you can earn Kicks. The way Shopkick knows you visited the store is by you opening the app at the store’s entrance and having your location and Bluetooth settings on.
• Scan product barcodes: When visiting certain stores, you can get Kicks by scanning the barcodes of products that are listed in the app.
• Make purchases with a linked card: Some stores allow you to earn Kicks when you purchase products using a debit or credit card linked in the app. For debit cards, they must be run as credit at checkout.
• Shopping online: You can sit on the couch or in your bed and shop using the online deals noted in the app.
• Watch videos: Scrolling through the Discover section of the app, you’ll find some brand videos that you can watch and earn a few Kicks as compensation.
• Invite friends: This is pretty straightforward. Invite friends to sign up and use the app.

How much I’ve made

I’ve been using the app for about three years and have earned over 35,000 Kicks. I’ve redeemed my kicks for Papa John's, Walmart, and Target gift cards.

I mainly earn my Kicks by walking into stores such as Walmart and Target and scanning products while I’m shopping. I’ve also been able to earn some Kicks by using a linked card to make purchases at stores like Ulta and Marshalls.

Sign up for Shopkick.

Related read: 10 Easy Ways To Save Money On Groceries

2. Ibotta

Out of all the coupon apps out there, I think Ibotta is the best. Ibotta is meant to be the digital replacement for coupon clipping. So it’s no surprise that the majority of their coupons are for grocery items, and just about every well-known national and regional grocery chain is listed.

While grocery seems to be Ibotta’s sweet spot, you can also find rebates for some purchases made at clothing, drug, and beauty stores, as well as restaurants and movie theaters.

One of the things I love is that you earn real cash and not points that have to be redeemed. You can get your earnings through a PayPal or Venmo payout or a gift card to select retailers.

How it works

• Sign up and create an account
• Select the category and store within the category you’ll be shopping from. Then scroll through and unlock the offers you want.
• If you physically went to the store to buy the product featured in the app, upload the receipt. There are some stores that allow you to connect your store account so you don’t have to manually upload receipts.
• There is also the option to shop online with some stores and earn cash back.
• Once Ibotta confirms your purchase meets the reward requirements, your account is credited.
• When you’ve earned $20, you can get a payout as cash or a gift card.

How much I’ve made
I’ve used the app for a few years now and have earned back $377.94 that I’ve had paid out as cash and gift cards. 

Sign up for Ibotta 

Related read: How To Use Ibotta To Save Money On Your Groceries

3. Rakuten

I've been using Rakuten inconsistently for several years now, and honestly, I was more consistent with using it because I had left some money on the table.

Rakuten is a cashback app (they also have a site) that you use when purchasing from your favorite brands. When you use the app and make a purchase, you get cashback.

The awesome thing is you can shop at hundreds of online stores through Rakuten, such as Amazon, Walmart, Kohl's, Ulta, just to name a few. You can also earn cashback on some in-store purchases and on travel. The cashback varies with each brand, and sometimes there are special double cashback offers for some brands, so depending on the amount of your purchase, you can get some serious cashback.

Cashback is paid out every three months when your balance reaches or exceeds the $5 minimum.

How it works

• Download the app to sign up and create an account
• When you're ready to shop, go to the app and find the store you want to shop at. (If there are certain stores you shop at a lot, you can bookmark them so you don't have to search every time.)
• If you're going to shop online, click the store's Shop Now button. This will take you to the store's site, but you'll be linked to Rakuten. If you're shopping in-store, you'll want to add that store to your Rakuten account and use your linked payment card
• After you've made your purchase, Rakuten will credit your account
• Once you earn more than $5, you can cash out
• You can also earn money by referring friends to Rakuten, them signing up, and making qualifying purchases within a certain timeframe.
  

How much I've earned

Since joining Rakuten I've only earned over $200. That may not seem like a lot, but it makes sense, as most shopping trips earn only a couple of dollars less, as the cashback percentages for the stores I frequent online tend to be 5% or less. Plus. I don't do a lot of shopping.

Sign up for Rakuten.

Related read: 5 Ways To Earn Amazon Gift Cards

 

4. Honey App

Similar to Rakuten, Honey App gives you cash back on purchases made at online stores by searching for store coupons and coupon codes to apply to your purchase.

When I bought some items from Ulta.com Honey App applied an Ulta coupon for me during checkout! Additionally, Honey will find better prices for you on Amazon.

How it works

Download the Honey app from your phone's app store. To sign up, you have multiple options: your email,  Google, Facebook, PayPal, or Apple profile. 

When using the app, you can find deals by browsing through the top coupons, or you can shop on retailer websites via the app. There will be a toolbar that shows up letting you know if there are any promo codes for that retailer, which Honey will automatically apply when you check out.

How much I’ve earned

I’ve found that the cashback percentages for Rakuten tend to be bigger than for Honey, so I use Rakuten more and, as a result, haven’t earned much for Honey. So far, I’ve only earned 114 Gold points, which equals $1.14. This means that as of my writing of this, I haven’t been able to cash out because it takes a minimum of 1,000 Gold.

 

Sign up for Honey App 

5. Fetch 

This app is a little different from the other ones in that you upload receipts and aren’t dependent on interacting with specific stores or products. Fetch is really easy to use, and it seems to be growing in popularity.

How it works

• Download the app <<<https://referral.fetch.com/vvv3/referralemail?code=GRGFT>>> and create an account 
• Snap receipts from your recent purchases, or you can connect your email to the app so digital receipts can be scanned
• For each receipt, you’ll earn some points
• Once you’ve earned at least 5,000 points, you can start redeeming them for gift cards to retailers like Ulta, Amazon, or Walmart, or other rewards
• Sometimes, there are bonus points you can earn if your receipts are from certain stores or have specific products on them
• You can also earn points by getting friends to join and snap a receipt within a certain time period

How much I’ve earned

In the three years I’ve used the app, I’ve earned over 27,000 points and have been able to redeem for some gift cards in the $5 and $10 range. 

The more receipts you snap, the more you earn, so I’ve even seen people saying that they get receipts from family and friends to snap so they earn more points.

Sign up for Fetch

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