Cashback Websites You Need To Join!

Cashback is the easiest way to put money back into your wallet without much effort. If you are already planning on making the purchase, doing so through one of the cashback websites out there is easy money.

_{{Disclaimer – this post contains affiliate and referral links meaning I may earn a small commission if you follow the link. This comes at no extra cost to you!}}

A cashback offer literally means getting cash back when you spend money. Essentially you get a discount but in the form of a refund rather than it being knocked off the bill. The key to cashback is making sure you activate the offer before you make the purchase.

The three cashback websites I’m going to share in this post require you to make the purchase via their website. You have to log-in to the cashback site first, find the offer you want to redeem and then click through to the merchant site and complete the purchase. Or have their plugin installed which will have you activate the offer before the finish the purchase.

Most cashback offers will track your purchase instantly but take anywhere up to 180 days (maybe longer) to confirm in your account. Then you’ll be able to withdraw the money. Usually into a PayPal account.

Don’t already have a PayPal account? Signing up for one using this link will get you a £10 bonus when you spend your first £5.

I’m not a big spender at all but I have cashed out hundreds of pounds from these cashback websites over the past couple of years. That’s hundreds back in my wallet that I would have happily spent otherwise. Money win!

Wait, how does this work?

Cashback websites offer a percentage reward as such for shopping through their merchant portal. They earn money by referring you to the merchant and then share this earning in the form of cashback. Cashback is technically not “free money” as in most cases you have to spend money to get anything back.

However, occasionally sites run promotions where you can get 100% cashback effectively making the purchase a freebie. Alternatively, sites like cashback.co.uk and OhMyDosh work in a similar way to the cashback model except you get more than 100% back.

What can you get cashback on?

You can pretty much get cashback on absolutely anything! So long as the offer is listed on one of the cashback websites out there, you can get cashback on the spend.

Here are some of the highest offers available right now…

• 55% back on AA breakdown cover
• up to 23.4% back at Temu
• up to 20.4% back at Buyagift
• up to 20% back at Samsung
• up to £171.75 at PerfectPet (pet insurance)

The exact rates and merchants changes regularly and sometimes cashback websites run boosted offers. I make sure to regularly check to see if these boosted offers line up with a purchase I was already planning on making.

How much can you make?

How much you can make from cashback websites completely depends on how much you spend. Quidco, one of the cashback websites I’ll tell you about later, states the average member earns £300 in cashback each year off their site.

Say you spend £1000 a year and regularly get around 5% cashback, you could earn £50. Raise that spending to £5000 with the same average cashback rate and that’s £250 back. You get the gist. The more you spend, the more you can get back.

But like mentioned in the previous post, cashback isn’t usually free money. So spending money for the sake of getting the cashback is probably not the smartest idea. You’re better off keeping that money in your account.

But when making a purchase you were already planning to make, not getting cashback is like turning down a discount. You’re literally leaving money on the table. And like they say, the pennies make the pounds. So keep every penny you can!

Ok, let’s get into it!

The Classics

These three cashback websites are what I would consider “the classics” of cashback. They are essentially shopping portals that you click through when making a purchase to receive your cashback. Some of them have recently added browser extensions to make the process more streamline.

Rakuten

Rakuten is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo which hosts multiple cashback sites in multiple countries. They recently relaunched in the UK and offer very competitive cashback rates.

You can shop through their website to earn cashback. Or they also have a chrome browser extension meaning you don’t even have to remember to shop via their website, they’ll remind you whilst your shopping.

You can decide to receive your cashback either directly to your bank account or via PayPal. Any month you have more than £5.01 in confirmed cashback they will automatically transfer it to you. This combined with the plugin brings it pretty close to passive savings.

Plus there sign up offer is one of the best in the business right now. Usually the offer is £15 back for a £30 purchase, which is essentially 50% cashback + the normal rate. But for a limited time this has been to £25 making it a 83%+ cashback rate.

*BOOSTED OFFER* Sign up for Rakuten using this link to get £25 back when you spend £30+ in the first 90 days. Usually this offer is only £15 but has been boosted to £25 so now is a perfect time to join!

Quidco

Quidco offers cashback deals with more than 5,000 retailers making it one of the biggest cashback sites in the UK. They claim to offer the UK highest guaranteed cashback and if you find a better deal on another site they will not only match it but beat it.

With over 1 million customers and £1 billion in paid out cashback they are a great site to join and start putting pennies back in your pocket.

Join Quidco with this link to get a £15 bonus when you hit £5 in cashback!

TopCashback

One of my favourites and not just because we were raised in the same tiny town! Thinking back, technically TopCashback was my first ever introduction into the world of online side hustles. My dad has been using the site since I can remember and whenever I buy something online he always asks me if I used it.

It’s my go to cashback site and I make sure to check it whenever I’m making a purchase online. Plus their new chrome plugin is going to make my life that much easier. Now, I won’t even have to remember.

They also regularly run boosted offers and bonus schemes which make the earnings add up that much faster!

Sign up for TopCashback using this link to get a £10 bonus when you earn £10 in cashback.

The Alternatives

Now we love finding random, quirky ways to make or save money here at The Frugal Explorer. And cashback is not immune to these types of offers. I can’t share cashback websites without mentioning a handful of other sites or apps that offer cashback deals in a slightly quirky way.

JamDoughnut

JamDoughnut is an app that pays you cashback on vouchers. This type of cashback is instant (unlike the classic cashback websites) because a voucher is usually non-refundable making it an automatically verifiable purchase.

The process is simple. You log into the app, find the retailer you are after, purchase a voucher through the app and then the cashback is automatically added to your balance. Once your balance hits £10 you can withdraw.

Their website claims you can earn up to 20% back on their 100 or so brands. Plus they regularly do “pumped up” offers where the cashback rate is higher on certain brands.

Use code BA3B when you sign up to JamDoughnut and get a £3 bonus when you use the app for the 1st time!

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a jack of all trades online side hustle site featuring a handful of different ways to make money online. One of which being cashback offers. I have their plugin installed on my laptop and recently activated a cashback offer when purchasing a flight.

I got 285SB back on a £65 purchase which is around a 3% cashback rate, based on the current reward values. The cashback on Swagbucks differs from the classics as it’s paid out in SB – the site’s currency. SB can then be redeemed for a range of gift cards. The price of which often change.

At the time of writing a £5 PayPal gift card would set you back 625SB. Meaning each SB is worth around 0.8p.

Airtime Rewards

Airtime Rewards is an app that offers automatic cashback to help towards your phone bill. You simply link your card and when you spend at one of their 200+ retailers they automatically credit your account with the cashback. This can then be used towards your phone bill.

However it only works with certain phone providers. Currently this is limited to 3, EE, O2 or Vodafone. But if you’re with one of the providers it’s a great app to have working for you in the background whilst your out and about enjoying life.

Join Airtime rewards using code DUUAMW88 to get a £2 bonus when you spend within your first 7 days!

Sprive

If you have a mortgage that you are looking to pay off early, you need to get Sprive! It’s a free app that is helping users becoming mortgage free faster and save thousands in interest.

It has a bunch of cool features and projections within the app, one of which is their shopping portal. Which allows you to earn cashback on a handful of everyday retailers. You can then decide whether to send that cashback towards your mortgage or withdraw it to your bank account.

It’ll also tell you how much your cashback could save you in interest and mortgage length when you go to make the purchase.

Join Sprive using code JCV7TJA4 to get a £5 bonus towards your mortgage!

There you go! A handful of cashback websites or apps that you need to join. Do you already use these sites? Which one is your favourite?