Cashback websites have come a long ways in recent years. From handy smartphone apps, to browser extensions that alert you when you’re about to pay too much, you’d be crazy to not regularly use one and get money back on stuff you’ll be purchasing anyways. Heck, even if it’s only a couple percent back, it’s completely free money. So I figured it was time to do the research and find the best cashback websites out there right now. I dug deep into each site, asked a ton of questions, and discovered the pros and cons of each and even found some hacks to maximize your savings.

Cashback Tips for Success:

First of all, let’s answer some of the general “cashback” concerns I’m getting from some of you.

Put bluntly, some folks are having trouble getting their purchase to track properly with some of the websites reviewed below.

So to help everyone out, here are the main reasons why your purchase was NOT tracked. Make sure you follow these rules SO YOU GET PAID.

• Not Logged In – Make sure you are logged into the cashback site before you shop.
• Visited Another Site First – Do NOT click on another cashback or coupon site before going to the cashback site you intend to use.
• Didn’t Complete Purchase in 1 Session – If you don’t add items to your online shopping cart (and make the purchase) in one shopping session, your order won’t track.
• Used Invalid Payment Method – Don’t pay with gift cards or reward points as they are NOT eligible for cashback.
• Browser Cookies Not Enabled – Make sure you enable cookies on your browser before you use ANY cashback site. Here are the instructions: Chrome, FireFox, Safari.
• Returned Items – Keep in mind that you won’t earn cashback on items you return.

OK, now that we got that out of the way, below are the 11 free cashback websites that are far away the best available today.

Not only will they help you save money on your online (and in-store) shopping, but most also have a slew of coupons available to enable you to essentially stack your savings. Here they are in no particular order…

TopCashback

I just recently became acquainted with the folks at TopCashback.com and so far I’ve been impressed.

• Number of Merchants: 3,500+
• Top Merchants: Amazon (up to 10% back), Groupon (up to 10% back), Walmart (up to 6% back), Lowe’s (6% back), Gap brands (8% back), Macys.com (8% back), American Eagle (6% back), and Overstock.com (5% back).
• Payout Methods: PayPal, Direct Deposit, Amazon Gift Cards (with a 3% bonus added) and AmEx Gift Cards (with a 3% to 5% bonus).
• Sign-Up Bonus:  None currently.
• Mobile App: Yes, they have a free iOS and Android app.
• Do They Offer Coupon Codes? Yes.
• Double Cashback Days: Several times per month they offer double cashback days at a bunch of different retailers.

How does TopCashback work: Once you sign-up for free, you simply start all of your shopping at their website, or via their mobile app, and they’ll take care of the rest. Make a purchase and your account will get credited with a cashback percentage automatically. Money will be credited to your account within 7 days and they’ll send you an email to confirm.

Why TopCashback is awesome: TopCashback offers the highest cashback rates in the country, higher than Rakuten pretty much across the board.

They do this by passing on 100% of their affiliate commissions to their members.

Also, they don’t have a minimum required on withdrawals and you can take money out whenever you want. Once your cashback hits the pending status, you’re free to withdraw any amount.

How TopCashback could be better: It would be super cool if they offered a sign-up bonus to new members.

TopCashback Hacks:

• Important: Be sure to authenticate your account by clicking the link in the initial Welcome Email to guarantee you get your cash back.
• Double dip your savings by purchasing discounted gift cards. Buy your discounted gift cards for 100’s of top stores using Raise.com, and TopCashback will give you 2% cashback on your $20+ gift card purchase. Then use your gift card when shopping via TopCashback and get even more money back.
• Always consider an American Express Reward Card or Amazon gift card as your pay-out option and get an extra 3% back. This is because both AmEx and Amazon pay a 3% commission on gift card purchases and TopCashback passes that savings along to you. Think of it like your employer matching your 401k contribution…love it.
• Know how their “Highest Cash Back Guarantee” works. You have 7 days after your purchase to file a claim if you find a higher cashback rate on another site. But…be aware that you must prove the rate was higher on another cashback site on the same day as your purchase. So, you’re probably better off not waiting to file a claim, do it on the day of your purchase to avoid the headache. When verifying your claim, the only competing cashback sites that they’ll consider are BeFrugal, Ebates, Extrabux, Fat Wallet (doesn’t have a program anymore), Mr. Rebates, and ShopAtHome.

Final thoughts: I love the fact that TopCashback passes all of their affiliate commissions on to their users. This is clearly the feature that makes them stand out from the competition. This begs the question, how the heck do they make any money? I was told by a PR rep for the company that they earn money through advertising on their site as well as charging retailers to be featured “above the fold”. Pretty cool business model.

Click Here to setup your TopCashback account and start saving money right away.

iBotta

I have written about iBotta before and I gotta admit that I’m totally addicted to the savings this little app gives my family. Here’s the scoop.

• Number of Merchants: Over 300 supported stores + 5 shopping apps.
• Payout Methods: PayPal, Venmo, gifts cards to a slew of places like Amazon, iTunes, Starbucks, Walmart, etc.
• Top Merchants: All the big players like Walmart, Target, Safeway, Rite-Aid, Publix, Walgreens, CVS, and Krogers.
• Sign-Up Bonus: iBotta is giving new members a FREE $10 bonus once you redeem your first rebate.

How does iBotta work: Download the app, activate rebate offers and redeem them on the stuff you’ll be buying anyways. Think basics things like bread, milk, vegetables, snacks, beer, wine, and even ice cream. Buy the item, snap a pic of your receipt with the app and wait for the money to start flowing into your account. It couldn’t be easier, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll be amazed at the money you can quickly accrue. My family of 5 easily averages $15-$20 a week in money-back.

Why iBotta is awesome: The number of cashback offers available is what makes the app special, especially when compared to other rebate apps like Checkout 51 and SavingStar. It’s also very cool that you can redeem a rebate on things like milk, eggs, and bread no matter where you purchase them and no matter what brand.

How iBotta could be better: Hmmm, this is a tough one for me. I’d always welcome more rebate offers for a larger selection of brands. But I’ve got to give iBotta props, they seem to be adding new brands every month.

iBotta Hacks: Check out the app on Thursday morning as that’s when you’ll find all the new rebates for the upcoming week. I have it on good authority that new offers are all added by late Wednesday.

Final Thoughts: I use to think these type of apps were a clever way of pushing advertising at you, and many are, but iBotta is the real deal and I think you’ll be impressed if you give it a test drive.

Click Here to give iBotta a try and score a $10 bonus once you redeem your first rebate.

See Also: Insider Tips on Using the Ibotta App to Save on Groceries

Fetch Rewards

I just recently added the Fetch app to my smartphone and so far I’m in love with it’s simplicity and multiple ways to earn rewards.

• Number of Brands: Hundreds of brands. But the cool thing is you can earn reward points by scanning receipts from ALL grocery stores, convenience stores, club stores, drugstores, and even liquor stores.
• Payout Methods: Payout is via a gift card of your choice.
• Sign-Up Bonus:  Yes! Use our exclusive referral code RATHER and score 2,000 free reward points after you scan your first receipt.
• Mobile App: Yes, they have a free iOS and Android app.

How does FetchRewards work: Think of it as Ibotta without the work. You just scan in your receipt from any store and their app actually recognizes brands and products and gives you reward points depending on what you bought.

Why FetchRewards is awesome: No more scanning the barcode of individual products that you buy. Their internal technology does all the work for you and is safe.

I gotta admit I was skeptical at first, but once I realized just powerful the app is…I started scanning every receipt I could get my dirty little hands on.

The points started adding up pretty darn fast. Most receipts give you 400-700 points and once you get 3,000 you can redeem for a $3 gift card.

How FetchRewards could be better: It would be cool if they had a few more special offers that netted us additional reward points if we buy them. Most special offers seem to be on processed foods that my family rarely buys.

FetchRewards Hacks: Use this app in conjunction with Ibotta to stack your savings as they are not mutually exclusive of one another.

Click Here to download the app and start scanning receipts today.

See Also: Fetch Rewards Review: Ibotta Killer or Not?

BeFrugal

The brain-trust behind BeFrugal.com have come up with a strong cashback program that can compete with any competitor reviewed in this article. As a matter of fact, in terms of their cashback percentage, they guarantee it. More on that below.

• Number of Merchants: 5,000+
• Top Merchants: Walmart (4% back), Sam’s Club (3% back), Rite-Aid (4% back), Dell (6% back), Shutterfly (7% back), Eddie Bauer (5.3% back), Under Armour (8% back), American Eagle (5% back), Macy’s (6% back), and Hotels.com (6% back).
• Payout Methods: Check, PayPal, or gift card.
• Mobile App: They have both iOS and Android.
• Sign-Up Bonus: $10 Bonus just for signing-up. Bonus is payable when you earn $10 or more in cashback and verify your BeFrugal account via email.
• Do They Offer Coupons? Yes, it’s hard to “be frugal” without them.

How does BeFrugal work: Do all of your shopping via BeFrugal and get money back. Since BeFrugal guarantees the highest cashback rates, I’m guessing they work similar to TopCashback and give 100% of their affiliate commissions to their users. They’ll then charge retailer a premium fee to have featured placement on their website, mobile apps, and newsletters.

Why BeFrugal is awesome: Walmart shoppers will want to use BeFrugal exclusively as they offer the highest percentage (4%) of any cashback website. Also, the fact they guarantee the highest cashback rate makes them awesome right out-of-the-box. But it gets better. Not only will BeFrugal match the cashback rate from a competitor, but they’ll “match 125% of the higher Cash Back rate.” They also guarantee that all of the coupons they post will work.

How BeFrugal could be better: Hmmm, with the guaranteed highest cash back rates and coupons, they’re doing a lot of things right. If I had to nitpick, I’d say they could get rid of the large ads they post at the top of every page. Although I’m guessing they use that ad revenue to make their profits as they give away all of their affiliate commissions to their users. So I think we can live with those ads. UPDATE: I was just told by a company rep that the large banner ad is going away soon.

BeFrugal Hacks:

• If you find an online coupon on BeFrugal that doesn’t work, tell them about it (within 24 hours) and get $5 added to your account.
• Be sure to score an additional 3% cashback by redeeming your earnings via an Amazon gift card.
• Worried about mobile security? Turn on text verification via your mobile phone for additional security. BeFrugal offers unique text verification as an additional method to secure your account against unauthorized use.
• When/if you find a higher cashback rate elsewhere, you need to do the following to get their 125% cashback guarantee:
  1. Login to your BeFrugal account.
  2. Make the purchase.
  3. Within 24 hours of purchase you need to submit your receipt, store name, the higher rate offered, and a link to that rate (All done via your BeFrugal account).
  4. Once verified, they will automatically award you 125% of the higher cashback rate.

Final thoughts: While BeFrugal doesn’t get the same publicity as the Ebates or SwagBucks of the world, they offer a strong service with high cashback rates along with a generous $10 bonus for new members. Plus, I love their tagline, “We are a bunch of cheap, thrifty, penny pinchers who believe that a dollar saved is two dollars earned.” Amen.

Click Here to sign-up and get your FREE $10 bonus.

Rakuten (formerly Ebates)

Rakuten has been around since 1998 and is one of the oldest cashback sites on the web. Here’s the skinny to see if it’s right for you.

• Number of Merchants: 2,000+
• Top Merchants: Amazon (up to 7% back), Kohl’s (6% back), JCPenney (12% back), Nordstrom (6% back), Target (2% back), Macys.com (6% back), American Eagle (4% back), and Lowes.com (1.5% back).
• Sign-Up Bonus: $10 Welcome Bonus when you spend $25 or more.
• Mobile App: Yes, they have a free iOS and Android app.
• Do They Offer Coupon Codes? Yes. 10,000+ coupons to stack your savings.

How does Rakuten work: You shop online like you normally would, and as long as you start on the Rakuten website, and click through to the store you want to shop at, you’ll get money back. The cashback amount depends on the store, but typically averages between 2% and 10%.

Why Rakuten is awesome: I’m a fan of Rakuten because they keep their site updated with coupon codes that you can use to stack your savings. Their newly designed website is also very easy to use and quite intuitive. Another aspect that’s strong is their sign-up bonus of $10 which will get credited to your account when you spend $25 at any retailer listed on Rakuten. As far as sign-up bonuses go, $10 is on the top end.

How Rakuten could be better: They’re missing a few big retailers. A few that jump to mind include Home Depot, American Girl, Williams-Sonoma, and Pottery Barn which all offer 0% back.

Rakuten Shopping Hacks:

• Many users don’t realize that you can shop through Rakuten, buy store gift cards and get money back. For example, you could buy a $100 Sears gift card and get 3% back which is $3. While not a huge savings, this is a great workaround for those shoppers who prefer to shop in-store, or in the Sears example, are buying a Kenmore refrigerator which is expensive to ship. Besides Sears, other popular stores that allow this include Sally Beauty Supply, Finish Line, Groupon, Eddie Bauer, and Auto Zone.
• Be on the lookout for retailers that periodically offer Rakuten users double or triple cashback. It’s worth Signing-Up just to take advantage of these offers. The retailers seem to rotate every couple weeks. They appear to be “loss leaders” as the cashback rate Rakuten is offering is undoubtedly more what the retailer is paying in commission. Stack a coupon code on your purchase and we’re talking 30-40% savings.
• Rakuten recently expanded their in-store discounts program. From user SavvyPerson, “Basically you link a credit card (or debit card) to a merchant and if you buy something in-store with that card you can get a cashback discount, but you have to opt-in again after each time you use it so it’s a little clunky.” In other words, if you continue to shop in that same store, you’ll need to link an offer separately for each purchase. Currently works with about 25 stores and they include American Eagle, Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, Gap, Cost Plus World Market, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Final thoughts: Because Rakuten has been around for so long, they’re the gold-standard that new cashback players try to emulate and surpass. If you can get a competitive advantage on Rakuten, like TopCashback has done, you’re doing something right.

Click Here to give Rakuten a try and get your $10 bonus for signing up.

SwagBucks

The folks at SwagBucks have created a website that allows you to earn “Swag Bucks” (SB) to score free gift cards and cold hard cash on the shopping you’ll be doing anyways. Here’s what you need to know.

• Number of Merchants: 3,000+
• Top Merchants: Amazon (up to 7% back), Kohl’s (6% back), Expedia (up to 11% back), Jet.com (up to 5% back), Target (2% back), Macys.com (6% back), Priceline (10% back), JCPenney (5% back), Sam’s Club (3% back), and Old Navy (2% back).
• Payout Methods: Redeem points for gift cards from popular retailers like Amazon and Walmart, or request a PayPal gift card.
• Sign-Up Bonus: Yes. They gave Rather-Be-Shopping.com readers an exclusive $5 bonus (equivalent to 500 SwagBucks) if you sign-up and accrue 2,500 SwagBucks within 60 days.
• Mobile App: Yes, they have a free iOS and Android app.
• Do They Offer Coupons? Yes.

How does SwagBucks work: You can earn Swag Bucks (SB) by shopping at your favorite online retailer, using their search engine, watching sponsored videos, doing surveys, and even by playing online games like Deal or No Deal and Bejeweled 2. Earn 1,000 SB for a $10 Amazon gift card, 2,200 SB for a Starbucks gift card, and 5,000 SB for a $50 ExxolMobil gift card. You’d be surprised how quickly you can build-up Swag Bucks. One SB is equal to $0.01, so 100 SBs works out to $1.00. If you can shoot for 100 SBs per day (totally doable with little effort) that equals a $10 Amazon gift card per week.

Why SwagBucks is awesome: I really like the SwagButton Chrome Extension as it’ll notify you when you’re on a retailer’s website and there is SBs available. Think of it like a friendly reminder that you’re about to spend more money than you should.

How SwagBucks could be better: Want a cash payout? No dice. You’ll have to request a PayPal gift card as it’s the closest thing to cash.

SwagBucks Hacks:

• When doing surveys, always scroll through the “Gold Surveys” and look for the surveys that give you 200 SB and only require 5-8 minutes to complete. This is the best way to quickly build up SBs without having to spend a cent. Heck, even if they don’t have any surveys with such a short completion time,  try a 300 SB survey that lasts about 20 minutes. Do it while your watching TV and watch the free SBs (and gift cards) come your way.
• Try the “Videos” section and just let them run in a separate browser window, with the volume down, while you’re working. It’s a painless way to build up some easy SBs.
• Also, don’t forget to take advantage of SwagBucks gift card shop to get featured deals on eGift Cards. They change often and make for a great way to get discounted gift cards.

Click Here to get your $5 bonus, set up your account, and start earning Swag Bucks right away.

ShopKick

I started using the ShopKick app last month and have been collecting “kicks” that I exchange for free gift cards ever since.

• Number of Merchants: Not specified. But they have almost every big box store, grocery store, and drugstore.
• Top Merchants: Target, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, Safeway, CVS, Rite Aid, Trader Joe’s, Walgreens, and 7-Eleven.
• Payout Methods: Payout is via a gift card of your choice.
• Sign-Up Bonus:  No.
• Mobile App: Yes, they have a free iOS and Android app.

How does ShopKick work: You earn “kicks”, which are like reward points, by doing some pretty easy things. The easiest is earning kicks by just walking into certain stores. Next, is by scanning specific products with the ShopKick app. Last, you earn them by actually making a purchase (either online or in-store) and scanning your receipt.

Why ShopKick is awesome: The fact that you can earn kicks by simply walking into a store is pretty awesome. I mean why not just have the app on your phone and open it whenever you go shopping. A total no-brainer way to earn free gift cards from places like Amazon, Walmart, and Starbucks.

I also love the fact that ShopKick makes for a nice compliment to TopCashBack, Ibotta, or Ebates. Use ShopKick with any of these and quickly start stacking your shopping reward points.

How ShopKick could be better: While your kicks add up fairly quickly, you need to stay consistent with it for your balance to grow. I love the idea of giving your kids your phone and let them go on a scavenger hunt inside the store. They have fun finding products and scanning the barcode, and you earn valuable “kicks”.

ShopKick Hacks: Make sure you keep the app open when you go shopping, especially at shopping malls. This is because you often don’t have to physically walk into a store to get “kicks”. Often times I’ll get them by simply walking fairly close to the store entrance.

Click Here to download the free Shopkick app and start scoring free gift cards by simply walking around your local mall.

Mr. Rebates

Mr. Rebates has been around since 2002 helping shoppers save money by giving them cashback on their purchases. Here’s the dealio.

• Number of Merchants: 2,000+
• Top Merchants: Amazon (up to 6% back), Kohl’s (3% back), Walmart (3% back), Target (1% back), Macys.com (5% back), American Eagle (4% back), Sears (3% back), Home Depot (2% back), PetSmart (8% back), BestBuy (.5% back), and Lowes.com (2% back).
• Payout Methods: They pay via check or PayPal. To get a check you need a $10 minimum.
• Sign-Up Bonus: No.
• Mobile App: No.
• Do They Offer Coupon Codes? Yes.

How does Mr. Rebates work: They’re a standard cashback site. You simply register for free, do all your shopping through the Mr. Rebates site and start collecting your cash.

Why Mr. Rebates is awesome: They have what they term “Store of the Week” which offers a really high cashback percentage for a limited-time. For example, at the time of this writing, Nike was the store of the week and offered 15% cashback, up from 4%. Keep an eye on these featured stores as their cashback percentage is crazy high. Best way to do this is to sign-up and get there newsletter so they can inform you via email what stores they’re currently featuring. Then when you see your favorite store, jump on their site and save a bundle.

How Mr. Rebates could be better: While completely functional, their website is a little 2005 in terms of design. Also, navigation is a kind of cumbersome. For example, when you click on a shopping category, like Apparel/Clothing, the site brings up a REALLY long list of retailers. You then have to scroll through the list looking for your retailer. Then when you click on your store, it pops up a small box telling you about the cashback details while the retailer’s website loads. The problem with this is you have no clue if a coupon is available to stack your savings. It would be better if you were taken to a dedicated store page on Mr. Rebates which would show available coupons and then you’d initiate your shopping from that page.

Final thoughts: I was impressed with the cashback rates that Mr. Rebates offers. For some reason I was not expecting them to be competitive, but they absolutely are, especially with Walmart (3%), Home Depot (2%), and Amazon (6%).

Shop at Home

The coupon and cashback site, Shop at Home.com, has become quite popular in recent years. Here’s how it can save you money.

• Number of Merchants: 3,000+
• Top Merchants: Amazon (up to 5.5% back), Kohl’s (2% back), Walmart (2% back), Target (.5% back), Macys.com (3% back), American Eagle (2% back), JCPenney (3% back), Home Depot (2% back), and Lowes.com (.25% back).
• Payout Methods: Cashback checks are mailed out at the end of the month. You must reach at least $20 to get a check.
• Sign-Up Bonus:  No.
• Do They Offer Coupon Codes? Yes.

Why Shop at Home is awesome: Their list of “featured”, limited-time, cashback commissions is what makes Shop at Home worth a look. For example, until 12/31/16, you’ll get 2% back at Walmart, 2% back at Home Depot, and 4% back at Staples. These two commissions rates are exactly double what Ebates is currently offering. They change these higher limited-time rates often so it’s worth signing up to stay informed of any money saving opportunities.

How Shop at Home could be better: Aside from the small number of “featured” commission rates, Shop at Home’s cashback rates are some of the weakest. For example, they offer .5% at Target (TopCashback offers 2%), 3% at Macy’s (Ebates offers 6%), and 2% at American Eagle (BeFrugal offers 5%).

Final thoughts: Because of their very competitive “featured” commission rates, Shop at Home would make a great complementary program to join. Take advantage of their high “featured” rates with stores like Home Depot and Walmart, especially on large purchases, then use a different cashback programs the rest of the time. Go sign-up and give it a try for yourself.

MyPoints

MyPoints.com uses a little different “points” model that might appeal to you. Here’s how it works:

• Number of Merchants: 2,000+
• Top Merchants: Amazon (5 points per dollar), Kohl’s (2 points per dollar), Walmart (8 points per dollar), Target (2 points per dollar), Macys.com (5 points per dollar), Home Depot (2 points per dollar), JCPenney (15 points per dollar), and Overstock.com (10 points per dollar).
• Payout Methods: Redeem points for gift cards, use them to book travel, as well as cash payout via PayPal or a Visa Prepaid card.
• Sign-Up Bonus: No.
• Mobile App: Yes, they have a free iOS and Android app.
• Do They Offer Coupon Codes? Yes.

How does MyPoints work: MyPoints works a little different than the other cashback sites listed in this article. You start your shopping from their website or mobile app, shop your favorite online retailers, and earn points on every purchase. For example, at Walmart.com you’ll earn 8 points for every dollar spent. You can then redeem your points by purchasing gift cards to dozens of popular retailers and restaurants, or get cold hard cash. To give you an idea, to get a $25 Starbucks gift card you’ll need 3,700 points which can be earned fairly quickly. You can also earn points by taking surveys, watching video ads or by printing coupons.

Why MyPoints is awesome: It offers several different ways to earn points, many of which don’t require you to shop at all. I also like how you can redeem points for airline miles and hotel bookings. Plus, unlike SwagBucks, you can redeem your points for cash via PayPal.

How MyPoints could be better: The number of points you redeem for shopping is kinda low at many stores. For example, 2 points per dollar at Target is not a big deal to me. You’d have to do a ton of shopping at Target.com to earn anything substantial.

Final thoughts: Jury is still out for me on MyPoints. If you decide to give it a try let me know how you like it, and more importantly, how much money you’ve made with it.

Coupon Cactus

Coupon Cactus.com has been helping shoppers save money for over a decade. After some investigation, here is what I discovered about them…

• Number of Merchants: 4,000+
• Top Merchants: Kohl’s (3% back), Target (2.5% back), Shutterfly (2% back), Walmart (1.5% back), Safeway ($4 back), Sam’s Club (2% back), and QVC.com (2.5% back).
• Payout Methods: You’ll get paid on a quarterly basis by check or PayPal, your choice.
• Sign-Up Bonus: Sign-up and “Like” them on Facebook and get $3 added to your account.
• Mobile App: No.
• Do They Offer Coupon Codes? Yes, it’s kinda in the name.

How does Coupon Cactus work: Register for free, start all your shopping on the Coupon Cactus site and start collecting cash back from select retailers.

Why Coupon Cactus is awesome: They have a huge selection of retailers to pick from and they have a ton of coupons that are kept up to date. Nothing worse than getting to the checkout page only to discover the coupon expired last week.

How Coupon Cactus could be better: In terms of cashback, it’s missing a few key players. No money back from Amazon, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Lands’ End, only .05% back from BestBuy, only .7% from Dell, and only 1% back from JCPenney. A huge majority of their cashback percentages are less than what the competition offers.

Also, in terms of site design, it’s fairly 2004 in appearance. Hate to keep bashing, but they also get knocked down a peg for not offering a sign-up bonus as well as not having a smartphone app for mobile shopping. Also, paying on a quarterly basis is kinda bad as I’d forget about my balance before I ever collected.

Final thoughts on Coupon Cactus: For the sake of completeness, I wanted to include Coupon Cactus in this article but after looking at some of their competition, I have a hard time recommending them.

Bonus #1: Popular Store Cashback Rates

Here’s a breakdown of some of the more popular retailers, and more importantly, which cashback site gives you the most money back.

• Amazon.com: up to 10% back at TopCashback
• American Eagle Outfitters: 5% back at BeFrugal
• Best Buy: up to 3% back at ShopAtHome
• Dick’s Sporting Goods: 9% back at Ebates
• Groupon: 9% back at Ebates
• Home Depot: 6% back at CouponCabin
• GAP: 8% back at TopCashback
• JCPenney: 12% back at Ebates
• Jet.com: up to 5% back at SwagBucks
• Kohl’s: 4% back at BeFrugal and TopCashback
• Lands’ End: 4% back at BeFrugal and TopCashback
• Lowe’s: 6% back at TopCashback
• Macy’s: 9% back at Ebates
• Nike: 12% back at Mr. Rebates
• Sam’s Club: 3% back at BeFrugal and 4% back TopCashback
• Sears: 4% back at BeFrugal
• Target: 2% back at SwagBucks (2 SBs for every $1 spent)
• Walgreens: 4% back at TopCashback
• Walmart: 6% back at TopCashback

I’ll keep this list updated and periodically add new retailers as well.

Bonus #2: Random Cashback Hacks & Tips

• This article was shared on Lifehacker and I got this great comment from SolongeFarewell, “Always check to see if your credit card has it’s own “bonus cashback” link. For my rewards card, all I have to do is click a link that takes me to the store site and I can get 3%-20% extra cash back on top of my normal 1.5%. I basically got a $200 discount on my laptop by accessing the apple store through the link in my credit card portal instead of typing out “apple.com.””

Any other cashback tips or hacks that I might have missed? Let me know in the comments.

Ask the Reader: Are you a member of any of these cashback programs? If so, how much money have you made so far?

Happy savings.

By Kyle James

P.S. – While all opinions in this article are my own, and I was not compensated in any way to write this article, it does contain some affiliate links that pay me if you register. Money I use to keep my free blog content rolling. Having said that, let me know which cashback program you end up picking, and more importantly, how much money it’s saving you.

Kyle James( Owner/Founder )

I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)