13 Ways to Get Cashback (Tried & Tested)

This post shows you how to earn money with cashback. You miss out on major savings if you don’t use cashback when shopping online or at the supermarket.

I made £1390.31 from cashback in four years using the apps and sites listed below. And I only bought things I needed anyway. If you want to save money, too, download the apps below.

🪧 Should you sign up through my affiliate links, I may receive a commission at no cost to you.

What Is Cashback?

Cashback is a way to make money without effort. Every time you buy a product eligible for cashback, you get back a percentage of the purchase price.

For example, the offer may be “spend £100 and get £2% cash back”. In this scenario, you get £2 if you spend £100. Your product would only cost £98. (Although you must pay £100 first.)

The specific details vary between promoters. Some may offer cashback for a particular product or website. Promoters may offer a fixed cashback sum or provide a percentage.

How Does Cashback Work?

So, why do businesses decide to give cashback? Often, it would be easier to reduce the price of a product. However, there is more to cashback than you may think. Rather than from the retailers, cashback often comes from a third party.

Cashback websites earn a commission for sending traffic to merchant sites. Then, the cashback websites can give you a fraction of that commission as cashback.

There are also other reasons why you may get cashback:

• Market research companies want your data. In return, they may pay you by offering cashback. These companies make a profit from analysing your data and purchase habits. Thus, they can afford to pay you.
• Retailers may reward you for opening an account (for example, at a bank). The purpose of this cashback is for you to try out new products and then buy more.

There are five main ways to get cashback:

1. Smartphone apps
2. Websites
3. Credit cards
4. Current accounts
5. Special promotions

My Cashback Earnings

I have used cashback as a way to increase my income since 2019. I’m using apps regularly for my grocery shopping. When I buy something online, I use cashback sites whenever I remember.

My total earnings break down as follows:

Cashback Method	Earnings
JamDoughnut	£278.91
Shopmium	£63.00
Airtime Rewards	£58.13
GreenJinn	£52.10
CheckoutSmart	£87.70
Cheddar App	£10.00
TopCashback	£677.84
Quidco	£37.50
OhMyDosh	£115.13
Extrabux	£10.00
Utility Warehouse	£0.00

1. Cashback Apps

While exceptions exist, apps let you earn cashback on grocery shopping. You can use most of these apps together to maximise your cashback income. I recommend installing the following apps:

1. JamDoughnut
2. Shopmium
3. Airtime Rewards
4. GreenJinn
5. CheckoutSmart
6. Cheddar App

I use an iPhone. If you have an Android phone, you may find more cashback apps.

1.1. JamDoughnut

JamDoughnut enables you to get cashback for buying gift cards. You can buy gift cards for supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s. You get a small percentage of cashback for each gift card, which you can withdraw as real cash.

You can buy gift cards for yourself to pay for your grocery shopping. Read more in my JamDoughnut review.

Use code 6SOB to get £2 free cash when you sign up to JamDoughnut.

1.2. Shopmium

Shopmium is a cashback app by Quotient Technology. Its parent company specialises in digital promotions, media, and analytics. Shopmium also delivers personalised digital coupons and ads.

The company is from the US, but Shopmium works in the UK. It offers cashback for all major UK supermarkets, including:

• Tesco
• Sainsbury’s
• Asda
• Morrisons
• Waitrose

Each cashback receipt you submit gets paid out immediately via PayPal. You never have to wait long for your cashback. This is an advantage of Shopmium compared to the other cashback apps and websites.

Use code q2766a when you sign up to Shopmium for a surprise freebie. Read more in my Shopmium review.

1.3. Airtime Rewards

Airtime Rewards helps you earn money passively with cashback. After you install the app on your phone, link it to your bank cards. Airtime Rewards then tracks your shopping at associated retailers.

Each time you use your card, you automatically earn cashback. You can exchange the cashback for discounts on your mobile phone bill.

This works whether you are on a contract or pay-as-you-go. Airtime Rewards is a legit app, and linking your card is safe. The app’s high rating on Trustpilot confirms this. Read more in my Airtime Rewards review.

1.4. GreenJinn

GreenJinn is another free cashback app. The app offers savings of around £30 per week if you buy all offers. Offers refresh every Monday.

The minimum payout threshold is £1.50, which you can reach quickly. Often, one or two purchases are enough for a payout. You get your money via bank transfer or PayPal.

Usually, withdrawing from GreenJinn is quick. The app approves receipts within a few hours. Occasionally, it can take up to three days. Read more in my GreenJinn review.

1.5. CheckoutSmart

CheckoutSmart has the greatest offer variety of all cashback apps. You can use it in many different supermarkets:

• Sainsbury’s
• Tesco
• Morrisons
• Asda
• Lidl and Aldi (although offers from these supermarkets are rare)
• Maltsmith pubs
• Boots
• Superdrug
• M&S
• Waitrose
• Ocado
• Co-op
• Spar
• Wilko
• Many others

On the downside, CheckoutSmart has the highest payout threshold of the cashback apps. You need to accumulate £20 of cashback before withdrawing your money. For amounts lower than £20, there is a 5% processing fee. Read more in my CheckoutSmart review.

1.6. Cheddar App

Cheddar App is a free payment app to send and receive money without bank details. You get cashback when you use Cheddar to shop at partnered retailers. Read more in my Cheddar App review.

You may also like my Shoppix review.

2. Cashback Websites

2.1. TopCashback

TopCashback is my favourite cashback site. It has a wide selection of offers with great cashback rates. The site is free to use with the Classic plan. As the image below shows, many of my cashback earnings come from TopCashback.

Withdrawing from TopCashback is easy. When an offer is payable, you can choose from many withdrawal options. Typically, it takes a few weeks before your money is available.

The payout threshold depends on the payout method. For bank transfers and PayPal, the minimum is £0.01. This means you can request a withdrawal after completing a single offer. Read more in my TopCashback review.

As a bonus, TopCashback also occasionally offers free games. You can win cash prizes or draw entries. These happen at special events such as Halloween or Christmas.

Opening an account with Topcashback is free.

2.2. Quidco

Quidco operates like TopCashback (read my Quidco review). However, Quidco has different deals and cashback rates than TopCashback. I recommend checking both sites to find the best deal.

Quidco also offers cashback for your offline shopping. With Quidco High Street, you link your bank card to Quidco. Then, you automatically gain cashback as you shop.

At the moment, Quidco High Street only has a few retailers. Linking your card is still worth it if you are a frequent shopper at any of them.

Opening an account with Quidco is free.

2.3. OhMyDosh

OhMyDosh offers cashback and pays for other tasks, including:

• Signing up to free websites
• Winning the Daily Dosh
• Referring friends
• Completing OhMyDosh bundles

The minimum withdrawal amount is £10. You can reach this amount quickly by completing Lightning Payout offers. These offers pay within three days and are ideal if you are close to reaching £10. Ordinary offers take a few weeks to become payable. Read more in my OhMyDosh review.

There are two payout options: PayPal and bank transfer. Bank transfers take about three days, and PayPal takes between one and three days. You usually get your money within hours.

Opening an account with QhMyDosh is free.

2.4. Extrabux

Extrabux is a cashback and couponing site. I do not recommend using Extrabux, though. The site has limited offers and issues with cashback tracking. If you want to know more, read my Extrabux review.

3. Cashback Credit Cards

With cashback credit cards, I advise checking the terms and conditions. Some cards will only award cashback if you spend over a certain amount. Others may charge a fee that will make the cashback unprofitable.

Top tip: Check whether you can pay rent through a cashback credit card. This may be possible if you are with a housing association.

If you do not pay off the card in full each month, the interest will wipe out any cashback benefits. Credit cards may also tempt you to overspend, so I recommend being cautious.

3.1. Utility Warehouse

Utility Warehouse is an energy supplier and service provider. The cashback card is one of its many products. It is a prepaid VISA card you can top up and use for everyday spending.

When you spend money with your cashback card, you earn up to 10% cashback. Read more about the Utility Warehouse cashback card.

4. Cashback Current Accounts

If cashback credit cards are not for you, try cashback current accounts. For example, Santander 123 offers 3% cashback for purchases with selected retailers.

Banks frequently change their current account offers. Before getting a new bank account, use comparison websites to get the best deal.

5. Special Cashback Promotions

Sometimes, retailers may offer cashback as a special promotion. Typically, you have to buy a specific product or a product group. For example, the retailer may offer to give you £50 cashback on your new laptop if you buy a case.

These promotions are a less reliable way to earn money with cashback. They are hard to find and not always profitable. Nonetheless, if you find a good offer for something you want to buy, take advantage of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Way to Earn Cashback?

The best way to earn cashback is to stack cashback apps. You buy an item once and scan the receipt using multiple cashback apps. You can get huge discounts on products this way.

Sometimes, you can also combine apps with cashback sites. For example, Airtime Rewards and JamDoughnut are compatible with the best cashback sites.

How Much Money Can You Make with Cashback Apps?

Using five cashback apps, I make up to £20 every month. This does not sound like much, but uploading a receipt after shopping takes less than a minute and is super easy.

I’m a single person. If you shop for your family, you can make much more. It also depends on where you shop.

Is Cashback Free Money?

Cashback is not free money. This is because to gain cashback, you first have to spend money. If you do not buy anything, you won’t get cashback. However, you may consider cashback as free money if you buy something that you need anyway.

How Do Cashback Apps Make Money?

Cashback apps make money from affiliate links, advertisements, and market research. The specific way depends on the app you are using. For apps, market research is the most common way. With this, the app sells your anonymised shopping data.

Earn Money with Cashback Summary

Cashback is a method to get money back if you make a purchase. It is an easy way to save money and requires little effort. There are different ways to get cashback:

1. Apps
2. Websites
3. Credit cards
4. Current accounts
5. Special promotions

Which cashback method you should use depends on the product you want to buy. You can also stack apps to increase your cashback. Remember that cashback is only profitable if you don’t overspend.

Read next: Sprive app review.

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