When you sign up for a cashback product, the idea is that you will get some kind of refund for doing your normal shopping. When you think of cashback products, you probably think of cashback credit cards first. With these cards, when you charge a purchase, you get a certain percentage of the charge back. For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card offers 3% cashback on the first $20,000 you spend in a year. After that, you earn 1.5% cash back.
Not everyone qualifies for a credit card, and even if you do, you may know yourself to be too prone to impulse purchases to trust yourself with one. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get access to cash back, though. It just means you need to look to platforms beyond credit cards.
Debit Cards Offering Cash Back
With the advent of online-only banks, a lot has changed in the banking industry. One recent trend has included cashback offers on debit cards. Some of these offers look like those you’d find on your traditional cashback credit card, and others operate more like a rewards program while still providing you with cold, hard cash at the end of the day.
Empower Cashback VISA Debit Card
Empower offers a checking account with 2% cash back on all purchases made with your debit card, up to $1,000 per month. There are no fees for this account, including monthly maintenance or minimum balance fees. You will likely be able to find a free ATM near you, too, as Empower runs off the MoneyPass ATM network.
Cash Back with Cash App’s Cash Boost
Cash App is similar to Venmo with a few key differences. You can send money to friends and family and split bills easily using the app, but it also comes with a debit card which allows you to withdraw money from an ATM.
The debit card isn’t cashback, per se, but it does come with the Cash Boost program. Partnering with popular American chains like Chik-Fil-A, Domino’s and Chipotle, the Cash Boost program typically offers a few dollars back when you take advantage of offers from select partners. The partners and offers change routinely.
Discover Cash Back Debit Card
Discover is a traditional bank that engages in some of these newer trends. Its cashback debit card offers 1% cash back on your purchases for the first $3,000 you spend every month.
Use Apps to Earn Cash Back
There are no shortage of apps available that offer you cashback as you shop. Three of the top options on the market are Ebates, Ibotta and Drop.
To use Ebates, you simply go to the Ebates website or app before making a purchase to check for any available cashback offers. When you use one, you will be redirected to the merchant’s site as usual. Your cashback reward will be available in your Ebates account after the purchase has cleared. Ibotta used to only offer a program which required you to submit your receipts to get cash back, but has now added a feature similar to Ebates.
Drop may be the easiest to use as you simply link your debit card to the app, and cash back will be applied to any qualifying purchase you make.
Post-Purchase Cashback Services
Other cashback services, such as Earny and Paribus, get you cashback after you buy. Paribus in particular scans your inbox for receipts. If the store slashes their prices, you may be entitled to a refund for the difference. Paribus earns you cash back by keeping an eye out for these potential refunds.
Cash Back for Purchasing Gas
There are even a few apps out there which will give you cash back simply for purchasing gasoline. One such app—getupside—gives you up to $0.25 cash back per gallon when you pump at specific gas stations.
Gas Buddy helps you do something similar by giving you cash back when you shop with specific retailers. That cash back will be placed on your Pay with GasBuddy card, which can only be used to purchase gasoline. When you do use this card to purchase gasoline, you’ll also get $0.05 off per gallon.
Whether you’re shopping for gas or anything else under the sun, there are ways to earn cash back without credit cards. You just have to look for them.
