Thrifty Thinking: How Cash Back Offers Work and How to Make Them Work For You

When you hear the word “cash,” don’t you immediately picture green bills with Presidents’ faces? We're used to the term “cash” meaning "paper" money. So, you can imagine that the term “cash back”—which we now hear from all kinds of sources these days, from credit cards to browser add-ons (think Honey and Rakuten) and shopping apps, like Coupons.com—might seem a bit confusing to people. In our very digital world of 2022, the word “cash” has taken on a new meaning, especially when we’re talking about it in the context of saving and spending. So, let’s talk about how “cash back” really works and why it matters.

Lisa Thompson, Savings Expert for Coupons.com, shares her tips and strategies below on how to simplify and save with cash back offers!

Let’s start with credit cards. When a credit card offers cash back rewards, it means the cardholder actually gets back a certain percentage of every qualifying purchase. So, if you use a credit card that gives you 1.5% cash back on every purchase, you’ll earn 1.5 cents in cash back rewards for every dollar spent. That could come in the form of statement credits, gift cards, or actual cash—in the form of a digital transfer into an account like PayPal or perhaps your checking account. This is free money! Just make sure you’re not carrying a balance or paying interest which can quickly negate those benefits. Also, some credit cards may require you to activate your cash back offers before making your purchases, so become familiar with their requirements to insure you’re not losing savings on purchases you’re making anyway.

Other ways to earn cash back

Take the Coupons.com app, for example. Receiving your cash back offers is as simply as “tap, shop, save.” 

• Open the app and tap the offers for your preferred products: $3.00 cash back on a Huggies diapers purchase, $2.00 cash back when you buy Klondike bars, $1.00 back on toothpaste, and it goes on for hundreds of dollars. 
• The “Shop” part is easy - purchase your items at any store that provides an itemized receipt (unless your offer is specific to a certain retailer)
• And then the fun part “save.” Simply submit a snapshot of your receipt and scan the item/s you purchased through the app to verify your purchase. What happens next is a bit of magic: Behind the scenes, your receipt is being validated, your purchase is being confirmed, real money gets transferred into your PayPal account (which you’ve safely and securely linked to the app) and can leave there to build a savings or transfer to your bank account at any time (no minimum payouts required).

 

You can even automize your cash back savings

 “Auto cash back”—as in, no need to scan products or submit a receipt. You can do this in one of two ways: Link your store loyalty cards (think Safeway, Walgreens, Kings, etc.) to your Coupons.com account, or link your store accounts (like Target and Walmart). Do this once, and you never have to submit a receipt from those linked stores again. You can tap your offers in the app, which activates them, make your purchases and your cash back will flow right to your PayPal. That means right now, you can get $4.00 cash back on IAMS dry dog food, or $8.00 back on your next Claritin purchase. Or $5.00 back on Rogaine. You didn’t know that until just now. That’s a lot of cash! And you’ll miss all this free money if you don’t open your app to check it regularly.

 

Earn cash back two ways on the same purchase. 

Did you know many credit cards up the percentage of cash back you receive for certain categories, like groceries or gas? For example, you may have a credit card that pays you 3% back for grocery purchases - great. Use that card to pay for your groceries while also using cash back offers from apps like the Coupons.com app – that’s just one way to make sure you’re taking advantage of the many perks credit card companies are increasingly offering to attract and keep customers.

Think of “cash back” as your new side gig: It’s an easy way to get free money for items you’re buying anyway—so why not get paid to do it – and it’s just one way to help fight inflation!

The Coupons.com mobile app is available for download in the App store and on Google Play.

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About Quotient

Quotient (NYSE: QUOT) is the leading digital media and promotions technology company for advertisers, retailers and consumers. Our omnichannel platform is powered by exclusive consumer spending data, location intelligence and purchase intent data to reach millions of shoppers daily and deliver measurable, incremental sales.

 

Quotient partners with leading advertisers and retailers, including Clorox, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Unilever, CVS, Dollar General and Peapod Digital Labs, a company of Ahold Delhaize USA. Quotient is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, and has offices across the US as well as in Bangalore, Paris, London and Tel Aviv. For more information visit www.quotient.com.

Quotient and the Coupons.com logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Quotient Technology Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.