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Here on FFL we make sure that you never spend 100% on anything, especially if you’re doing any online shopping. There are multiple rebate sites online that can help you maximize your savings called cash back portals.
These cash back portals have partnered with thousands of retailers online in order to give you cash back each time you shop. Each time you use one of their affiliate links, they earn a commission and give a portion of that to you in the form of cash back.
Some of these cashback portals are more obvious than others, while some are well-hidden gems that actually have one of the highest cash back rates at specific stores.
Here we’re going to breakdown the benefits of each one to help you decide which one is best. We’re only going to mark down the ones that are reliable, and the ones that we’ve used before. Read even further below for tricks on how to quickly find the portal with the highest cash back. See a site not on the list? Leave it in the comments below.
Table of Contents
1. BeFrugal
This is by far one of my favorite portals, and that’s because they have one of the highest cash back rates around. It’s not hard to save anywhere from 6% – 8% on specific purchases on Amazon, and they often have specials that can save you even more.
BeFrugal also has a price-matching feature. If you make a purchase on a product using their portal and find a higher cashback rate on another site, they’ll make up the difference and also give you a 25% bonus of the cashback you should have earned.
What I usually use BeFrugal for is the rebate offers they tend to have. They often have special promotions/coupons in which you can claim a rebate back along with the amount of cash back you will receive. For example, instead of paying $45 for this phone, I got it for just $15.
The only downside about BeFrugal is that they take a long time to cash out and verify your payments, but I’ve never had a problem about not getting one, and I’m often getting a lot higher payout than I would with other shopping portals. Sign-up with BeFrugal and automatically receive $5 dollars in your account.
2. Ebates
Ebates is one of the most heavily-marketed cash back portals on the web. They have one of the widest selection of retailers available, with over 1,200 stores offering cash back rates near 25%.
One of the great thing that I love about Ebates is their referral program. They are currently holding a special where if you refer 1 person you get $5 dollars, refer 2 and get $50 plus a free entry to a sweepstakes vacation to Hawaii. Referrals must be made in the same quarter. You can read more about this here.
A minimum of $5 dollars is needed to cash out and payments are automatically sent via check or to your PayPal at the end of each quarter. Ebates doesn’t usually have one of the highest rates out there, but if there’s a retailer I can’t find on another site I’ll tend to look here. You can sign-up now and get a free $10 dollar gift card.
3. Swagbucks
Swagbucks has long been known as one of the most popular rewards sites on the net. Complete daily tasks such as surveys, watching videos, and taking polls to earn points. These points can then be redeem for direct deposits to your PayPal account or gift card to major retailers.
One function of the Swagbucks site is its reputation as a cash back portal. While they usually don’t have the highest amount of cash back compared to other rebate sites, it still helps you build up points if you’re looking to cash out anytime soon.
One great feature that Swagbucks has is their SwagButton plugin for the FireFox browser. Each time you’re on a retailer’s website, it will tell you how many points you can earn by using the Swagbucks shopping portal.
If you want to learn more about Swagbucks, you can read our guide on how to make $70/month with Swagbucks or read our Ultimate Swagbucks Guide.
4. TopCashBack
TopCashBack is great for finding spontaneous specials. Sometimes they’ll have daily offers in which they increase the amount of cash back you can get at certain retailers by as much as 5% – 10%. Next to BeFrugal, they are definitely my favorite portal to go to.
You’re only going to find high rates here along with a killer referral bonus of $10 dollars per each one. I’ve never had a problem with my payments, and unlike most portals you’ll receive them monthly.
For international users, this is also the way to go since TopCashBack caters to citizens of other countries such as Canada and China. They currently have over 3,500 retailers partnered with them and are continuously growing. Sign-up now and receive a free $10 dollars in your account automatically.
5. Ibotta
While primarily known for getting cash back on receipts that you scan from the grocery store, Ibotta also has its own little shopping portal of its own. It doesn’t have a wide selection of retailers available, but makes the top 10 list due to the fact that it gives very good rates.
- Shop Online. You can get rebates for shopping at stores like Walmart, TigerDirect, Best Buy, and Amazon.
- Grocery Store Discounts. Scan you receipt and receive discounts on select items and specific grocery stores. These include Fred Meyer, Walmart, Safeway, and many others.
- Restaurant Discounts. Looking to try something new at your favorite restaurant? Ibotta will give you rebates when ordering specific items at certain restaurants such as Olive Garden, Chili’s and Red Lobster.
What’s more is that each time you refer a friend, they are added to your team. You can communicate with these members via the Ibotta messaging feature and work together to unlock certain rewards and thus a higher amount of cash back. The more people on your team, the more likely you are to unlock a reward.
You need a minimum of $10 dollars to cash out to your PayPal account or get a gift card to various retailers such as Starbucks and Amazon. You can learn more about the Ibotta app by reading our guide here.
6. ExtraBux
ExtraBux is best known for their special rebate deals that you can find occasionally. My first order was for a phone that was originally priced at $50 dollars on Boost Mobile, but eventually got a rebate back for $40.
ExtraBux isn’t as well-advertised as the other portals, but they still do a fair job competing against higher-end rebate sites such as TopCashBack and BeFrugal. Cash back rates can vary from anywhere to 1% to 30%. If you’re looking for the highest rate possible, it’s most unlikely that you’re going to find it here, but always worth checking.
ExtraBux is currently holding a promotion in which you receive $10 dollars for signing-up with this link here. You need a minimum of $20 dollars to cash out, and money will be available after 90 days of your purchase.
7. Jet
For those of you who have followed the FFL blog lately, we recently wrote about how a new shopping site Jet.com has cheaper prices than Amazon. They sell items at cost and only earn a profit through their membership fee. You can also read here on how to get a year-long membership for free.
The main purpose of Jet is not a shopping portal, but rather has it as an extra feature. The best part is that their rates are often the highest. The only catch is that any cash back you earn will be in the form of Jet credit instead of cash. However, given Jet’s extremely cheap prices this shouldn’t be a problem if you’re a frequent online shopper.
A good example of their cash back rates can be seen with Macy’s. Normally you’d get 10% cash back with any other portal, but with Jet expect to see 15% back in Jet credit. Ever since I learned about this new site, I always check here for cash back rates first.
If you’d like to learn more about what Jet has to offer, you can learn more about our review here.
8. Discover Deals
If you have a Discover Card, you have access to the Discover Deals Shopping Portal. They don’t have a wide selection of retailers available, but they do offer some of the highest rates around.
Discover and Jet are currently the only ones that offer 5% cash back for all purchases on the Apple Store. However, Discover gives it back to you in the form of statement credit, which is basically as good as cash.
Discover is currently holding a promotion in which you get double the cash back earned in one year. This means any cash back you receive through their portal will also double. You can learn more about this promotion here.
If you’re not familiar with Discover as a credit card, we highly recommend applying for the Discover It Card. It has 5% cash back on categories that rotate quarterly and 1% cash back on all other purchases. If you sign-up in time for their promotion it becomes 2% – 10%.
9. ShopAtHome
I’ve only found ShopAtHome to have the highest cash back rates at a few specific retailers, such as Half.com. They’ve partnered with over 55,000 stores and brands and often have promotions available that increase the amount of cash back that you can receive.
If you’re anxious about seeing cash back in your account right away, ShopAtHome might not be the portal for you. It often takes around 30 days for it to show up. You need a minimum of $20 dollars to cash out via check, or you can request a direct deposit to your PayPal account.
10. UPromise
The intention of UPromise is for college students or those looking to start college earn some extra cash to save up for their tuition. You can also get family members to sign-up and help contribute to that college fund by selecting all of their cash back to be placed into your account.
Usually you can expect to find deals here a lot better than other shopping portals, but their selection of retailers is somewhat limited. You can also apply for their UPromise Mastercard which gives you great discounts such as 5% off at all bookstores. Upon approval you’ll automatically be given a free $50 credit.
They’ve already helped students save more than $340 million dollars in university fees. Just be sure to convince your family members to use your referral and select all cash back to go to you.
How Do I Find The Cash Back Portal With The Best Rates?
It’s somewhat annoying going to each site just to find out which portal has the best rate available for a specific retailer. Fortunately, there’s a website for that called CashBackMonitor. Just type in the retailer you’re looking to purchase at and view the amount of cash back you can earn from each portal.
The only downside is that it doesn’t show a complete list at first. Make sure to click on the “Best Rate” link (shown in the image above) to view additional portals such as Discover Deals. Since the Jet Portal is so new, it’s not included on here.
Final Thoughts
Before making any purchase online, you might as well go through a shopping portal since it’s something you’re going to be doing anyways. It only takes a minute or 2 of extra work and you can expect to save 7% or more on average.
If you have any questions or comments, or see a portal that’s not on the list, feel free to leave it down in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy frugaling!
