Best Cash Back Shopping Sites Everyone Should Be Using (Free Cash, Points, Rewards!)

If you’re an avid online shopper (who isn’t these days?) then hopefully you’ve been using a cash back shopping site/portal for some time now. For those that don’t currently utilize these wonderful tools for earning cash back and rewards, you really should start as they are all free to use!

New to cash back shopping sites? Well, there certainly isn’t a lack of options available, as it is definitely a lucrative business model. I’m here to help you choose the best cash back site option for you.

What’s Up With These Cash Back Shopping Sites?

Totally fresh to the concept? Alright, it’s simple, the cash back shopping site is the middle man to earning incentives (cash back, rewards, points) for your online shopping. You first visit the cash back shopping website, browse their partners, and then get redirected to those partners’ official website to make your purchases. These partners have negotiated a commission with the shopping portal, and part of that commission is shared with you. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

The surprising thing to many online shoppers is that most of the biggest merchants are partners, so you’re losing out on earnings with a lot of your normal everyday shopping by not taking advantage of these portals. Examples of big merchants:

• Walmart
• Target
• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Macy’s
• eBags
• eBay
• Kohl’s
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Sephora
• Home Depot
• Groupon

Choosing The Best Cash Back Site

All of the best sites practically do the same intended goal for most shoppers, and that’s earning you cash back for shopping online as you normally would. Here are some of the top factors that you should be concerned with in your choice:

• Best Rate. This is the bottom line – which site will earn you the best rate. In this regard, no one site has the kind of dominance to offer the best cash back rate for every partnered merchant. What I’ve done for my round-up below, and I recommend you do as well before deciding, is I used the cashbackmonitor.com website to compare the rates among all the best cash back sites for the most popular merchants. You should make a list of your most preferred shopping sites and compare the cash back rates in order to make a more tailored decision. Yes, these rates are constantly being updated, but it gives you a general idea. Often, many shoppers use 2 or 3 cash back site options, and rotate depending on the best offer. Using more than 3 different sites will spread out your earnings too thin to redeem in a reasonable time frame. If you’re going to be utilizing more than one site, I feel Ebates is one of the best overall to add to your line-up.
• Partnered Merchants. Some cash back portals will have thousands more partners than others. It really comes down to which site partners with most of your go-to retail merchants at the best rate, rather than one with more partners that may be of no interest to you.
• Earning Opportunities. This is where you’ll find differences between the best options below. Being able to earn cash back for shopping online is going to be standard with any portal you choose. What sets one choice apart from the others are alternate opportunities to earn. For example, Ebates partners with many retailers to give you the ability to earn cash back in-store. You’ll link your credit card to your profile and earn the in-store cash back when you pay with the card. This is particularly useful with retailers where you really need an in-person demo or evaluation. Another unique option is Swagbucks, where alternate ways of earning points include completing surveys and watching sponsored videos.
• Referral Bonuses. If you’re Mr./Mrs. Popular or have ways of connecting with the masses, you should take advantage of the referral bonuses available with many of the shopping portals below. You can earn $5, $10, or $15+ per qualified referral depending on the site you choose or when they have limited-time increased referral bonus promotions. Keep in mind, you’ll typically need to also earn a set amount of cash back in your account with your own shopping before being able to cash out the earned referral bonuses.

1. Ebates

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Earn a $10 welcome bonus just signing up for a free account. You can then make anywhere from $5 to $25 per qualified referral depending on the current promotion. Referrals can be made via your personalized link, email, Facebook or Twitter. Ebates tends to have a variety of bonus promotions throughout the year for different seasons/holidays.
• Number Of Partners: Over 2,000 stores for Cash Back, Coupons & Promo Codes
• Favorite Features:
  • The original cash back shopping portal and one of the best to ever do it.
  • Over 2,000 stores partnered for Cash Back, Coupons & Promo Codes
  • Earn with online shopping or in-store by linking your credit card to your profile.
  • Save with coupons and special promo codes as well
  • Frequent seasonal promotions for double cash back at popular stores
  • Featured Daily Deals for bigger earnings
  • Great referral bonus system with frequent promotions for $25 per qualified referral, and referral bonuses are unlimited
• Full Review: More On Ebates

2. TopCashback

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: An initial sign-up bonus for new members isn’t always available. Once you’ve joined for free, you can start making $10 per qualified referral. For the Tell-a-Friend bonus to be applied to your account, your friend must authenticate their TopCashback.com account and reach a minimum cashback threshold of $10 cashback.
• Favorite Features:
  • Free payouts through ACH, PayPal, Amazon.com Gift Card and American Express Rewards Card.
  • Get a bonus on your cashback rebate when requesting payout by Amazon.com Gift Card or American Express Rewards Card.
  • No minimum pay-out threshold.
  • Stack the savings with cashback + coupons.
  • Over 4,380 Online Stores.
• Full Review: More On TopCashback

3. Mr.Rebates

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Sign up as a new member for free and get a $5.00 bonus (after first purchase). Once you’re a member, you can start making referrals and each time your referral gets cash back, you get a bonus equal to 20% of their rebate. Referrals can be made via your personal link, email, Facebook or Twitter.
• Favorite Features:
  • Mr. Rebates has given members cash back for online shopping since 2002.
  • Shop at over 2500 different cash back stores.
  • Once you’ve earned enough rebates in your account, you can simply cash out and Mr. Rebates will send your balance via a mailed check or Paypal.
  • A mobile app is available for both Android and iOS
• Full Review: More On MrRebates.com

4. Extrabux

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Sign up for free and earn a $5 welcome bonus. Once you’ve signed up, you can get a $5 cash bonus for every friend you refer. Earn additional cash when your friends shop (equal to 5% on the cash back your friends earn). Your friends also get a $5 cash bonus when they sign up. You can make referrals using all of the popular contact and social media platforms.
• Favorite Features:
  • Earn up to 30% cash back, get money-saving coupons, and find the best price on every purchase at 2,500+ stores.
  • Receive your cash back via your credit card, PayPal, or a check in the mail. Or, you can donate it to a charity.
  • Hot Deals section for bigger cash back and coupon promotions
• Full Review: More On Extrabux

5. Simply Best Coupons

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Initial sign-up bonuses for new members aren’t always available. Once you’ve joined for a free membership, invite your friends and receive 5% of their earned cash back, up to $50 for each referral.
• Favorite Features:
  • Simply Best Coupons is available in many different countries across the globe
  • Receive your cash back via Direct Deposit, Check, PayPal, Amazon Gift Card, and more
  • Section for Local Coupons and Grocery Coupons for more savings potential
• Full Review: More On Simply Best Coupons

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($100 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review  Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival® Premier World Elite Mastercard® will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review  CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

6. BeFrugal

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Join BeFrugal for free and earn a $10 bonus payable when you earn $10 in Cash Back. You can then earn a $10 per qualified referral, and your referrals can still earn their own $10 bonus. To qualify for a $10 Refer-a-Friend bonus, new referrals must click on your unique Refer-a-Friend link, join BeFrugal and earn $10 or more in Cash Back (not including bonuses and earnings from non-purchase activity) within 365 days of account creation.
• Favorite Features:
  • Earn up to 40% Cash Back at 5000+ top stores
  • Receive payments via check, PayPal or Amazon.com Gift Card
  • 1000s of exclusive coupons that you can stack with the cash back earnings
  • Also find printable restaurant and fast food coupons, offering the latest coupons for over 250 popular restaurants
• Full Review: More On BeFrugal.com

7. Swagbucks

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Sign up for free and earn a 1000 SB bonus points, a $10 value, when you spend at least $25 at a store featured in Swagbucks.com/Shop within 30 days.  You can then make referrals and earn $3 per qualified referral. You’ll also get 10% of your referrals’ earnings for life.
• Favorite Features:
  • You can earn cash back for online shopping like with the other cash back portals, but Swagbucks offers many other options for earning points, such as by watching partnered videos, completing surveys, browsing offers, entering contests, etc.
  • Cash back shopping at over 1500 retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Starbucks.
  • Earn SB points for every dollar you spend plus get access to exclusive deals and coupons to your favorite retailers.
  • Redeem for gift cards or cash back through PayPal.
  • Swagbucks will give you the most variety to earn, but it will require plenty of time invested to maximize. This may not be the best option for someone just looking for a portal for earning cash back for shopping.
• Full Review: More On Swagbucks

8. Paribus

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Sign-up bonuses typically aren’t available with Paribus.
• Favorite Features:
  • Paribus works in conjunction with your preferred cash back shopping portal of choice. You don’t earn cash back by doing online shopping. Rather, Paribus is a service that monitors your purchases for price reductions afterwards, and claims price adjustment refunds on your behalf.
  • They’ve developed a solid reputation and have been acquired by Capital One.
• Full Review: More On Paribus

9. iConsumer

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Join for free and get 100 shares of iConsumer. Once you’ve joined, invite your friends to join iConsumer. The first time each friend shops and earns Cash Back, you’ll earn 100 shares of stock in iConsumer. You can refer via your own link, Facebook, Twitter, Email or LinkedIn.
• Favorite Features:
  • Not only will you earn cash back for online shopping, you’ll also be able to earn shares of iConsumer.
  • iConsumer stock – earn shares every time you shop or refer a friend. You’ll get free shares of the company for joining.
  • Great deals and cash back at over 1,700 stores
• Full Review: More On iConsumer

10. Credit Card Portals (Chase, Barclays, Discover)

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: There are no sign-up bonuses for these portals, as you can only access them through your eligible credit card. Other credit card issuers have their own cash back shopping portals, but Chase, Barclays and Discover have the best options. You’ll usually be able to earn sign-up bonuses when applying for these eligible credit cards. Great options for these respective portals include:
  • Chase: Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Barclays: Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^® & Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^®
  • Discover: Discover it and Discover it Miles
• Favorite Features:
  • You’ll be able to stack your credit card rewards with the rewards/cash back using the associated shopping portal, thereby boosting the earning power of the card.
• Full Review: More On Credit Card Portals

The Barclays Arrival® Premier World Elite Mastercard® doesn't have an initial sign-up bonus offer. This card is targeted to high spenders that plan on carrying a good travel card for the long term. Instead of a bonus available upon account opening, cardholders are able to earn 25,000 loyalty bonus miles each and every year that they spend at least $25,000 in purchases. These 25,000 bonus miles are worth $250 in travel credits. The card also earns unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases regardless of category. With the miles earning rate taken into account, spending $25,000 a year will net you 75,000 miles worth $750 in travel credits, and you'll be able to earn that amount yearly.As expected with any good travel card, there are no foreign transaction fees to be concerned with and you'll get the higher worldwide acceptance of a Mastercard, which is nearly equivalent to that of Visa and much better than Discover or American Express. If you're not a high spender who travels often, this likely will not be a suitable card option for your needs. Full Review Learn More 75,000 miles each year if you spend $25,000 on purchases After that, keep earning unlimited 2X miles on every purchase Global Entry - $100 automatic statement credit for the cost of one Global Entry application fee every five years Book the best travel deal, no airline, seat or hotel restrictions, and redeem your miles for travel statement credits Access to over 850 lounges worldwide with Mastercard® Airport Experience provided by LoungeKey, fees apply No foreign transaction fees International Chip and PIN for use at self-service chip terminals around the world See Rates & Fees Card Details Hide Card Details The previously discontinued Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard® is now available again, and with a 60,000 bonus miles offer. If you're not a high spender or if you'd prefer a big initial sign-up bonus, this is a great alternative to the Barclays Arrival® Premier World Elite Mastercard® above. The 60k bonus miles will be worth $600 when you redeem towards travel. If you take into account the 5% miles back every time you redeem perk, the 60k miles would then have a $630 value. This card also earns unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases regardless of category, and doesn't have foreign transaction fees on international purchases either. Full Review Learn More Enjoy 60,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days and paying the annual fee Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase Book travel your way-no airline, seat or hotel restrictions-and redeem your miles for travel statement credits Get 5% miles back to use toward your next redemption, every time you redeem No foreign transaction fees International Chip and PIN for use at self-service chip terminals around the world Miles don't expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing See Rates & Fees Card Details Hide Card Details

11. Upromise

• Sign-Up/Referral Bonus: Generally no sign-up bonus with Upromise.
• Favorite Features:
  • The Upromise portal is for parents, students and graduates to earn towards College Savings or student loans.
  • Redeem your earnings towards:
    • Your College Savings Plan
    • Your Student Loan
    • Or ask for a check and get the cash
  • 850+ online partners, 10,000+ participating restaurant locations, 20,000+ grocery and drug stores
• Full Review: More On Upromise

Bottom Line

• Choose the cash back site(s) that fits your needs best
• Remember to always check the cash back site to see if your merchant is partnered, whatever it may be that you’re planning to pay for online. This includes everything from goods, services, and travel. We’re all so used to quickly jumping on Amazon (a typical cash back partner by-the-way) and getting things shipped out Prime ASAP that it’s easy to forget to blast up the cash back portal first to save. Perhaps consider setting your chosen cash back site as part of your tabbed home pages at browser launch!
• Maximize your earnings by referring friends and family to use these shopping portals as well, as they are all free to use and earn with.