Ebates Review: How To Cash In With Ebates [Rakuten]

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Ebates Review

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If you like to shop and save money at the same time then you need to check out this Ebates review.  It might actually become your shopping Bible.

There has never been an easier way to receive cash back with apps. 

The Ebates app is just that.

It is a shopping app designed to put cash back into your pocket.

What is Ebates?

Ebates is a company that has partnered with thousands of companies (over 2,500 companies to be exact) to form a partnership with each of them and give you cash back on your purchases. 

When you buy something through Ebates, the company will send Ebates a referral.

Ebates will split that referral with you.

The results…cash back in your pocket!

It functions a lot like Swagbucks.

Ebates, however, only focuses on shopping and saving you money on the items and services you buy. 

Ebates was founded in 1998 and it is one of the largest free member-based savings programs in the United States.  There are more than 10 million members and they have already earned over $800 million in cash back money.

It was originally started by two district attorneys from San Mateo County, California.  Initially when the site launched in May 1999,  they offered cashback from around 40 stores and up to 25% cashback.

Today, there are are now partnerships in place with over 2,500 stores.

How To Earn Cash Back and Save Money with Ebates

1.  Earn Money Online

The majority of cashback savings through Ebates is through shopping online.  However there are specific stores that offer in-store cashback as well but it is not very common.

The majority of people in the United States now shop online.  Instead of going to Amazon.com and purchasing, start with Ebates first and see if the price is about the same.  If it is and you buy your items through Ebates, you will receive cash back!

2.  Department Store Purchases with Ebates

As stated above online shopping is very much considered the main stream of purchases nowadays.  You can make purchases for items at a department store through Ebates and pick them up at the department store.

Let’s say you were looking for a particular item and that item is available on Ebates through a department store.

You would check that department store (see the image below) and start earning cash back immediately.

ebates department store cash back

For example you can see in the picture above that Kohl’s is offering 6% cashback and Pier 1 is offering 4% cashback.

If you can locate your item in either one of those stores, you have just made some significant cash back.

Not to mention you don’t have to wait for your package to be delivered by Amazon which can typically take between five and seven days if you are not an Amazon prime member.

3.   Install Ebates Button On Your Browser

This is actually a significant time saver for online shopping.   You can install the Ebates browser button on Google chrome.

Instead of having to go login at Ebates portal first, by having the Ebates button installed on your browser, you are always logged in.

You will receive notifications on your screen when an item qualifies for an Ebates cash back rebate.

When you arrive at an online store that is a partner with Ebates, you will receive a notification on your screen telling you what the current cash back percentage is.

For example say you go to target.com and you receive a pop-up notification from Ebates.  The notification is stating 10% cashback on everything at target.com.

The Ebates button does two things:

  •  it saves you time from logging in at Ebates.com
  • it also notifies you immediately of the current cash back percentage for that particular department store once you land on their page.

That is a win-win in my book.

3.  Ebates In-Store Purchases

Ebates has currently partnered with 73 department stores for in-store cash back at the time of this posting.

Here are the steps below on how this works:

  • To set this up you will need to add your credit card to your Ebates account.
  • Then check Ebates for special in-store cashback offers.
  • Once you have located offers for a particular department store all you need to do is select “link offer” which is a green button.
  • Additionally you can also add more linked offers when you were in the department store.
  • When you check out all you do is select your credit card for payment and cash back will be headed your way.
  • You want to be sure that you run the transaction as a credit and not as a debit card purchase.

It’s that simple.

4.  Use Ebates With Amazon Purchases

In step number one we stated to check Ebates for a product in that is on Amazon.com to see if it is available in an Ebates partner store.

ebates amazon partnersip

Sometimes products are specialized.  For example I am trying to look for a garage door opener and that has to be ordered online since it is such a specific product.

Well I have great news if you are in a situation like me.  Ebates is also partnered with Amazon.  WHAT!??!?!?!!

Now you can earn cashback if you have to buy something off of Amazon.  Just be sure to purchase it through Ebates and you are all set for cash back.

6.  Hot Deals, Double Cash Back Stores, Coupons, Promo Codes, and Daily Deals

This is probably my favorite thing I love the most about Ebates.  If you’re looking to get the best savings in cash back then this is the spot where you want to be.

ebates daily deals

Before the days of the Internet and promo codes, people used to click these things called coupons. 

They would take a pair of scissors and go through all of these coupons that would usually come in the Sunday paper.  Also people used to receive hard copies of newspapers.  I know it’s hard to imagine in 2019!

With Ebates you don’t need any type of hard copy coupons.

You get fabulous online deals of the day on the products and services just by going through Ebates for the coupon codes.

They will all be listed on the Ebates site.

ebates double cash back stores


You can see by the picture below that for this particular daily deal not only do you receive cash back for all of the stores but there are also additional savings as well.

ebates promo codes

You would use these promo codes to take advantage of whatever the particular sale is at that store.  And remember this is on top of the cashback you’re going to receive on your purchase.  Talk about a win-win!

7.  Ebates Cash Back Visa Credit Card

If you are looking for more savings, check out the Ebates cash back visa credit card.

You can earn unlimited additional cash back with no annual fee.

Once approved, you can activate cash back by using your Ebates credit card online or anywhere Visa credit cards are accepted.

  • Orders that are placed online through Ebates are eligible to earn an additional 3% cashback.
  • All other orders are eligible for 1% cash back.

8.  Ebates Hotels

You can also earn cash back on your vacations and traveling by booking through Ebates hotels.  It’s a snap to book a hotel reservation with Ebates hotels exclusively online.

You must pay with a credit or debit card at the time of booking your reservation.

Ebates guarantees your reservation until your check in date.  Some hotels however will require you to pay a deposit within 72 hours of booking a reservation.

You can use American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or your Ebates Visa card.

9.  Ebates Shopping Trip

Another way you can earn Ebates cash back is by activating an Ebates shopping trip by following links from Ebates emails.

If the email link sends you shopping, Ebates will open up that let you know the cash back has been activated.

10.  Earn Cash Back Through Buying Gift Cards

You can also purchased gift cards through Ebates and earn cash back for a number of stores of all types.

These would include stores such as:

  • Forever 21
  • Best Western
  • Ancestry.com (Perfect for a family member Christmas gift)
  • Northern Tool
  • Shutterfly
  • 1-800-FLOWERS

These are just a few examples available at the the time of this review.

Signing Up With Ebates – Free $10 Cash Back Bonus

Signing up with Ebates is easy, simple, and also free. 

All you have to do is submit a valid email address and password to create an Ebates account.

Place an order totaling at least $25 within 90 days of signing up, and you will qualify and receive the $10 welcome bonus.

You will receive a confirmation email when you have qualified for your $10 welcome cash bonus.  It’s that simple.

How To Get Your Ebates Cash Back Payments

Take a look at the steps below to make sure you get your rebate cash back payment.

There are only two ways that you can get paid by Ebates.

  • The first way is that they will send you a paper check in the mail.
  • The second way is they will pay you via your PayPal account.

Despite which ever way you choose, a mailing address is required for timely payments for both types.

You can add your address in your account settings.  If you are using the app, go to “choose how to get paid.”

You have to have a cash back balance that adds up to more than five dollars to qualify for the cash back payment.  Take a look at the table below.

ebates cash back payment

You only get paid four times a year or once a quarter.  The cash back payments are sent only at those times.

Is There An Ebates app?

There is an Ebates app for iPhone and Android users.  This is extremely helpful if you find yourself inside of a department store can you want to grab an offer while you’re at that particular store. 

All you have to do is just use the app on your phone.  Congratulations…you just made some cash back!

Ebates In The European Union

In 2018, the general data protection regulation (GDPR) was new Legislation passed that replaces the data protraction derivative (DPD) on personal data protection and privacy.

This is specifically for all people residing within the European economic area and the European Union.

As a result of this new Legislation, residents of the EA and European Union cannot use Ebates to earn cashback.

Ebates Pros

The membership for Ebates is free you don’t pay anything to join Ebates.

You can actually earn cash back with Ebates.  A lot of places will make you earn points which then can be converted into cash. But with Ebates, it is an actual cash back on the spot as soon as you make the purchase.

You don’t have to settle for prepaid credit cards or gift cards, you can receive actual cash and have it deposited into your bank account four times a year.

There is a low cash out threshold of five dollars. Once you are over five dollars, you will receive that cashback according to the eBay payment schedule.

Ebates offers really high cashback percentages for some other stores.

You can use Ebates to make your Amazon purchases and earn cash back on certain categories.

There’s actually no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn which is really cool.  Theoretically you could do all of your shopping through Ebates.

You are part a membership base of more than 10 million people which helps Ebates negotiate even greater savings with its partner companies.

Ebates Member

You don’t hear anything about Ebates in the news because they are fully legitimate and they are at BBB accredited business with an A+ rating.

There is not a lot of time commitment to earn cashback.  The process itself is very simple.  Use one of the many Ebates purchase ways available and make your purchase.  It’s that simple to earn the cash back.

You can purchase gift cards through Ebates and receive cash back on those purchases. 

Ebates Cons

Members of the EA and the European Union cannot use Ebates to earn cashback.  Although this is not necessarily the fault of Ebates, it’s more to do with government regulations.

You cannot earn retroactive cash back for something you have already purchased.  You must purchase it and start a shopping trip with Ebates first.

Cash back percentages do often change.  Sometimes it’s a little cumbersome to see different percentages when you log back in at a different time.

The cash back is posted in your account within seven days.  You can only get paid four times a year however.

If you don’t shop online much, Ebates probably will not be worth your time.  If you place a greater value on your time versus money, Ebates is not for you.

The Bottom Line On Ebates

Hopefully through this Ebates review, you have figured out all of the various ways you can cash in with Ebates.

Whether or not you use Ebates to cash in on Amazon deals, daily double deals, or Ebates hotel and travel, you are going to save money in all of those areas.

Majority of people nowadays do a lot of shopping online.  You might as well start using Ebates and receive cash back for your shopping trips.  It really is like free money!



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