Online couponing is becoming increasingly popular. What better way to save time and money? This is why companies like Ibotta are on the rise. This Ibotta review will show you how you can earn cashback for your purchases while you simply shop, even for regular grocery items.
What is Ibotta?
In a nutshell, Ibotta is a free mobile coupon and cashback shopping app that enables you to earn cashback on in-store and mobile purchases with receipt and/or purchase verification. It is compatible for most iOS and Android devices.
Ibotta helps you save time and earn money, as they tailor cashback deals just for you. It helps you earn cashback on most brands, including a wide range of things you may already purchase in your daily routine.
This means that you can get cash on things that you already buy, such as food, cosmetics, apparel, mobile apps and even more. You can also rest assured that you are getting real money and not working with a point system.
When Ibotta gives you money back, you can simply transfer your earned money to Paypal, Venmo, or gift cards.
Is Ibotta Worth It: The Bottom Line Up Front
Ibotta gives you cashback for your purchases. Before you shop, you must first find offers that allow you to qualify for cashback. Then, simply buy the items that were featured at your favorite stores and retailers.
After you have shopped to your heart’s content, you can easily redeem your offers after you have proven your purchase to Ibotta.
We love Ibotta because it allows you to earn on the things you're already shopping for.
You can sign up for Free Ibotta here:
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Adding Offers to Your Account
After you have downloaded Ibotta and completed your registration, simply open the Ibotta app and begin. After logging in, select your favorite stores and apps for easier browsing. Then, you may start looking for offers.
There will also be suggestions on your home page as well, displaying some of the offers from the retailers you have chosen. You can then complete one or more fun tasks to add offers to your account. With more offers, you can earn more cashback.
It is important to note that the offers do expire, so you need to redeem them before that time comes.
Various Submission Methods
After you have added offers and have shopped, you can submit proof of purchase to Ibotta in three different ways.
Simply Send A Receipt
In this method, look for offers and note the products of each store. Then, head to any participating store and purchase the product that you would like to get. While you are there, you must be sure not to forget your receipt.
This is because you will need to take a picture of your receipt to redeem the offers that you have added. After you have done so, Ibotta will match the items that you have bought to the offers you have previously selected and cash will be given to you.
You can find your cashback deposited into your Ibotta account within 48 hours after you have done all of the above.
You Can Link a Loyalty Card
In this method, you can choose one of Ibotta’s Preferred Partners and choose to connect either your phone number or your loyalty card. After you have done this, you do the same process where you browse through offers and choose ones on whatever products you want.
Then, simply visit the store and purchase your chosen items. However, when you do so, you must use your loyalty card or phone number when you check out. By doing so, Ibotta will be able to detect it and help you process your offers without you having to take a picture.
In this case, you will see your cashback in 48 hours after your purchase as well.
Mobile In-App Purchases
In this case, the in-app redemption is different than the in-store offers. For this method, simply choose a specific mobile shopping retailer that you are interested in on the app. Then, you might see one or more offers within your chosen retailer’s gallery.
When you have chosen an offer, simply tap on the pink “shop” button on the bottom. Once you have done that, you will be taken to a web experience within the Ibotta OR, or to the mobile app of the store if you have already installed it on your phone.
After the redirect, simply browse, shop and make your purchase. Be sure not to leave the web experience or the partner app at any time during this process.
If you do accidentally leave the app or web experience, you must go back to Ibotta to restart the process. This is because the link between Ibotta and the retailer may have been lost during the exit.
Once you have finished purchasing your items, go back to Ibotta and it should show a “Welcome Back” screen.
After you see it, check your offer’s details and see if it covers any special guidelines about when the purchase should post and what the pending period should look like.
Features
Ever since Ibotta first started, they have added additional features that help enhance the app experience by making it more user-friendly as well as by helping users earn more money.
Bonuses for Extra Cash
Ibotta added “bonuses” as a way for users to earn more cash. The way bonuses work is that when you unlock more of it, the more active you will be on Ibotta. You can access this feature by tapping on the “Bonuses” section on the Main Menu.
You can tap on whatever specific bonus you want to view and it will show you the details on how you can earn that particular bonus. Once you complete a bonus, you will be given the opportunity to unlock others. As a result, this will allow you to continue earning more money.
Activity Tracking
The Ibotta app has the ability to track your earning activities. The app helps you track your receipt submissions, Bonus Rewards as well as invitations to friends. It also helps you track how much money you have made by using the app.
The app displays this in the “Lifetime Earnings” section, which can be found in the “Withdraw Cash” section. You'll find it very rewarding to see your progress and earnings.
Notifies You On Expiration Dates
As mentioned earlier, all offers have an expiration date and it is displayed in different places. Once you activate an offer, you can find the expiration date on the “checklist,” the “offers” as well as the “store extras” sections.
Additionally, if your offer is expiring within five days, you will see an “expiring” flag, which will help notify you.
Earn Friend Bonuses
When you refer a friend and they register and open an account for the first time, Ibotta rewards you by paying you cash. For you to reap the benefits of a referral, you must make sure that your friend accesses the registration page using a referral link that you have sent to them.
You can typically earn $5 for each friend you get to invite. However, you could occasionally potentially get some additional friend bonus promotions too, depending on whether Ibotta is offering extra benefits or not.
This usually involves earning extra money if you get a pre-set number of friends to use this app as well.
You can sign up for Ibotta here: Sign up for Ibotta
Pros
More Coupon Redemptions Per Receipt
In the past, Ibotta rebates were limited to one rebate per customer. However, in their recent updates, you can actually make multiple redemptions. This means that you can use multiple of the same item and get rebates for each one of them.
That would be like buying three packs of gum and getting a $0.50 rebate on each item.
Personalized Offers
Finding offers that you really want can be hard sometimes, especially since Ibotta offers thousands of rebates. With the new Ibotta app, it recommends you with personalized offers on your homescreen, making your experience with the app a much smoother one.
Wide Range of Products to Get Rebates
Ibotta offers rebates for a large variety of products, many of which do appear on your grocery list. This includes various food items, beauty/personal care products, pet needs, health products and even household goods.
Since you need these items regularly anyway, Ibotta helps you save on them while you replenish what you need. This is nice because that means you can get rebates even on common products.
There’s no need to worry about rebates that only apply to specialty brands or products.
One of the Only Ways to Coupon at Costco and Sam’s Club
If you are a Costco or Sam’s Club member, you’re in luck. Ibotta rebates are considered to be one of the only ways to get more savings aside from the in-store discounts. In fact, you can even get a rebate on the membership for these stores.
Also Read: Is Sam's Club Worth It (A Review)
This is just another great way to increase your savings to another level.
You Can Scan Products to Find Rebates
If you have forgotten to add offers in your app, you can now actually scan the barcodes on each item and Ibotta will inform you if you can find a rebate on it. This makes it easier for you to find offers, especially if you simply forgot and need some assistance.
Ibotta Complaints
You May Not Find All Products
You can find some great discounts on various products, but you may not always find all the products you want at your local store.
It can be a little disappointing when you find an awesome deal and you head to your local grocery store, only to find that you are unable to locate that product.
Ibotta Does Not Include…
While Ibotta impressively includes Costco and Sam’s Club, it seems that they do not include Trader Joe's and Aldi. If you are a frequent visitor of either of these stores, you may not be able to get rebates on your groceries,
Similarly, Ibotta is not registered with every single grocery store. If you buy your groceries at your local chain grocery store, you may need to check if Ibotta is registered with them.
Conclusion
Ibotta is a great app to use when you need to save money, especially since you could simply be making your everyday purchases while easily saving some cash.
Other than adding offers, you do not need to go out of your way to make exclusive purchases. This is because you can use them at most big grocery stores.
While they may not work for some local locations, it is still worth a shot to check and see if you’re lucky. Either way, if you use it on any locations that are registered, you will still be able to get cashback regardless, saving you money in the long run.
You can sign up for Free Ibotta here:
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