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Stocking your freezer with game you hunted, growing a garden, canning, sales, mailing in rebates and clipping coupons use to be pretty much the only ways to save on groceries. However, times have changed, and cashback apps have become a part of that change.
A cashback app is a thrifty shopper’s best friend when it comes to saving on groceries and more! With a quick snapshot of receipts, shoppers earn extra spending money. Some apps even allow linking of debit, credit and loyalty cards for instant savings. But that’s not all, connecting a Walmart Grocery and Amazon account makes saving easier.
Just like clipping coupons, finding the best apps can take time, which is why I decided to try out several grocery rebate apps to help save you some time, and possibly aggravation as well. What follows is a rundown of what I think are the best apps to help you save on groceries and more.
What are Cashback Apps?
The cashback apps referred to in this article is software you install on your smartphone to help you save money while shopping for groceries. Some apps mentioned here have grocery coupons. To receive the discount, you take pictures of receipts and upload them. Then you receive a rebate in the form of digital currency or points you can later redeem for cash or gift cards.
A few other cashback apps just require you to link your store loyalty cards or most used credit and/or debit card, and after you use your loyalty card or pay with the linked card, you get instant savings or cash back. These are popular with frugal shoppers who would rather not mess with snapping pictures of their paper receipts and uploading them.
Best Cashback Apps for Groceries & More
Checkout 51
This company offers savings on a variety of brand name grocery items and household products, and on occasion there are offers for “any brand” products.
Many of Checkout 51’s offers can be claimed multiple times. New offers are added every Thursday at Midnight, and you can filter offers by store as well as category.
If you prefer to save using a computer rather than your mobile phone, all you have to do is head to Checkout 51’s website and log in to your account.
How to earn grocery and other rebates with Checkout 51’s cashback app:
- Add the savings offers you want.
- Go shopping in person or at an online store through the Checkout 51 app.
- Keep all the receipts from your in-store shopping trips.
- Tap “redeem” in the app.
- Select the offers on the receipt you’ll be scanning.
- Snap a photo of the receipt then submit it for your rebate.
Minimum payout: $20.
Options for receiving payment: Paper check.
Dosh
Unlike most of the other rebate grocery apps, Dosh doesn’t need you to snap photos of your receipts or activate coupons. Unless you’re going to shop or book a hotel online, the cashback is automatic.
If you’re comfortable linking your most used debit and/or credit cards, you’ll love saving money on groceries, dining and more with Dosh’s cashback app!
How to start saving on groceries with Dosh:
- Download the app, then sign up for a free Dosh account.
- During the sign-up process, add the debit and/or credit cards you shop with most.
- Confirm that you joined by clicking the link in the email from Dosh.
Minimum payout: $15.00.
Options for receiving payment: Bank account, Paypal, Venmo or donate to a charity.
Fetch Rewards
Earn on receipts from in-store purchases as well as e-receipts from a connected email and Amazon account. You get a minimum of five points for purchases at clothing retailers, stores that sell electronics and restaurants. Receive at least 25 points when you shop at grocery stores, supermarkets, wholesale clubs, hardware stores, pet stores and convenience stores.
You can earn additional bonus points when you buy from brands that Fetch Rewards is partnered with. Some of those brands are Honey Nut Cheerios, Huggies and Kleenex. To view a listing of all the brands and current special offers, tap “Discover.”
There’s no need to add offers before sending your receipt. If you’ve made a purchase from the special offers that earn you bonus points, Fetch Rewards will see it on receipts that are itemized and automatically reward you for those purchases.
How to start saving on groceries with Fetch Rewards:
- Open the app and log in to your account.
- To earn rewards for digital receipts, connect your email and Amazon accounts by touching the “Me” tab at the bottom of the app, and then press “eReceipts” and follow directions from that point.
- Receive points on your in-store purchases by tapping the camera icon and taking a picture of your receipt(s).
Minimum payout: 3,000 points ($3.00).
Sign-up bonus: 2,000 points. To get this, you must enter referral code EVXFA upon uploading your first receipt.
Options for receiving payment: Gift cards from Amazon, Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Burger King and many others.
Ibotta
As with many of the other rebate grocery apps, Ibotta offers cash back on more than just groceries. You can shop for rebates from online stores such as Target, Groupon, Shipt, H-E-B Online, Old Navy and several others. You can even earn money back on your traveling adventures!
How to start saving on groceries and more with Ibotta’s Cashback app:
- Connect your loyalty accounts (optional).
- Browse all the current bonuses and offers, then add the ones you plan to buy by touching the plus icon. You’ll be required to complete a short task for each offer you accept.
- Go shopping online or in the store.
Minimum payout: $20
Options for receiving payment: Bank account or gift cards.
Rakuten
Rakuten, formerly known as Ebates, gives cash back on in-store and online purchases. You can view offers and do your online shopping from their cashback app or your desktop computer. There’s even a browser extension!
If you download the app and have the push notifications turned on, Rakuten will send you alerts about exclusive in-store deals near you.
How to receive cash back for in-store purchases using Rakuten’s app:
- Before heading to the store or while you’re at the store, select the “Link Offer” button to the right of the store you’re shopping at.
- Enter the information for the debit or credit card you’ll be paying with. If the card has already been added to your Rakuten account, you can select it from your list of existing cards.
Minimum payout: $5.01
Bonus: Extra 10% cash back. To get the bonus, you must sign up using the link below and complete a $30.00 purchase within 30 days.
Options for receiving payment: Paper check and Paypal.
Receipt Hog
This company rewards you with coins that are converted to cash upon redemption. You can earn cash back on a maximum of 20 receipts per week for in-store purchases only.
As you continue uploading receipts each week, your level increases. Once you reach level 12 you’ll start earning weekly coin bonuses, and levels under 12 earn bonuses for a chance to win rewards on Receipt Hog’s virtual slot machine.
Connect to your email, Kroger and Amazon account for even more bonus coins and sweepstakes entries. The coins you earn for doing this are a one-time bonus. You won’t earn for online purchases. Basically, the only reason they want you to connect these accounts is so they can see your purchase history for research purposes.
How to save on groceries with Receipt Hog’s cashback app:
- Go shopping at your local stores, including your favorite mom and pop shops.
- Keep all the receipts from your shopping trips.
- Once home, open the Receipt Hog app and start taking pictures of and submitting the receipts.
Minimum payout: 1,000 coins ($5).
Options for receiving payment: Paypal, Amazon e-gift card and Visa e-gift card.
ReceiptPal
Snap pictures of receipts from grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants and mom and pop stores. ReceiptPal usually accepts all aforementioned receipts as long as they can be read clearly and are submitted by the date stated in their app.
When you fill one of the green cards at ReceiptPal, you earn 100 points and the opportunity to play a game for a chance to win more points or sweepstakes entries. It takes four receipts to fill a card, so that means receipts are worth 25 points each.
If you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, you can connect your Amazon account to earn cash back on e-receipts as well.
A few important things to note about this cashback app company is before you can claim a reward you will be required to connect to the email account you sign up with. By doing this, you are allowing them to read your emails. They do this to look for e-receipts from any online purchases you make, for which you also earn points. Knowing this, you may not want to use an email that receives confidential information.
How to earn points with ReceiptPal:
- Go shopping at your favorite brick and mortar, online store and/or Amazon (if you’re connected through the app).
- Keep all the receipts from your in-person shopping trips and have your e-receipts sent to the connected email on your ReceiptPal account.
- Tap the camera button on the green card in the app to take pictures of your paper receipts.
- E-receipts should automatically credit to your account, but it may take several days, so make sure they’re in your main inbox and don’t delete them until they show up in your ReceiptPal account.
Minimum payout: 2,200 coins ($5).
Options for receiving payment: Gift cards or a Visa card.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks (SB) offers more than just cash for taking surveys, signing up for offers, watching videos, playing games and shopping online. What most people don’t realize is they also give cash back on in-store purchases.
Send photos of receipts from over 1,100 stores and restaurants for a reward of 2 SB per receipt. In addition, they have a variety of offers you can claim for even more money. Some examples of previous offers include 500 SB ($5) for Werther’s candy from Target or 150 SB ($1.50) from Walmart, 400 SB ($4) for Dunkin’ Donuts from Walmart, and 50 SB ($.50) for Hatfield ham steaks from Walmart and other select stores.
If that’s not enough savings, you can add a debit or credit card to Swagbucks and earn cash back on in-store purchases from select stores. To view the select stores, click “In-Store Deals” then “In-Store Cash Back” from the links in the left sidebar.
Do you prefer to view and select offers as well as upload your receipts from your desktop computer? Just go to the Swagbucks website and log in to your account.
You can also add the SwagButton to your browser. As long as the SwagButton is enabled (check your extensions), you’ll earn for online purchases at select stores that are partnered with Swagbucks.
How to earn Swagbucks for in-store purchases using the app:
- Tap the “IN-STORE” tab from the top of your screen.
- Scroll to view the available offers.
- When you find an offer you’re interested in, tap the offer to view which stores it can be purchased from as well as all other fine print.
- Touch the plus icon to the right of the offers you want to claim.
- Tap “Upload Receipt” to answer questions about your purchase, snap a photo of your receipt and send the photo to get your Swagbucks.
Minimum payout: 500 SB ($5).
Bonus: 300 SB ($3). Get the bonus by clicking the button below to join. Then you must earn a minimum of 300 SB within 30 days from your sign-up date.
Options for receiving payment: Paypal and gift cards from many retailers and restaurants.
How to Maximize Your Grocery Savings With Cashback Apps
- Utilize all the cashback apps in this article as many of them have the same offers.
- Stack your savings with coupons you’ve printed and clipped, along with digital coupons from stores such as Kroger and Dollar General.
- Match up sales with offers from the cashback apps.
Tips to Ensure You Receive Your Cashback Rewards & Sign-Up Bonuses
- Cookies must be enabled on your computer.
- All pop-up blockers must be turned off, especially during online shopping.
- When earning for your online shopping activities, you must shop from the cashback member account you want to earn cashback from. Choose the one that gives you the most cash back.
- Check the exclusions of all offers of interest to you to ensure you get the right quantity, size, etc..
- You must fulfill the requirements to get some sign-up bonuses. If the bonus has a requirement, I mention it so you know what you have to do to receive it.
- Some companies such as Ibotta, Checkout 51 and others require you to add the offers before shopping or you won’t get the cashback reward.
- When using a “linked” debit card to pay for your in-store purchase, choose credit, not debit, during checkout.
My Top Pick
Everyone has their favorite cashback app for one reason or another. For me, Ibotta is my favorite for a few reasons. One is because I buy a lot of store brand products, and they offer savings on quite a few “any brand” products. They also have many opportunities to earn bonuses, and sometimes you get freebies. For instance, Ibotta teamed up with Walmart and they’re currently offering 100% cash back on things you need to fix Thanksgiving dinner.
Another final thing I love about Ibotta is how easy it is for me to get my savings after I pick up my online grocery order from Walmart. Because I shop for my groceries online, I linked my Walmart account. Usually, the cashback for the offers I add shows up in my Ibotta account within 24 hours after picking up my groceries.
How about you? What’s your favorite cashback app for saving on groceries? Leave a comment and let us know. While you’re at it, if you know of any other great apps not mentioned in this article that helps you save on groceries, mention those as well.
