Getting more for the money you spend is a priority for many families these days. If your budget can’t stretch any tighter but you still need to squeeze a few more pennies out of your paycheck, a reward app can be your solution. These apps reward you for purchases you already make to put more money back into your pocket.
Taking advantage of reward apps can both increase your savings and help you to continue those savings in the future. We’ve compiled a list of the best reward apps you can find to download in order to boost your savings and help your money do more for you. Plus, we’ll show you how to get the most out of these apps to add a few extra dollars to your savings account each month.
Are you ready to save money and get exclusive discounts? Let’s find out which 20 reward apps pay you the most dividends.
The Best Reward Apps and Cash Back Apps
If you’re ready to download some of the best rewards apps, type in the names below to find one that suits your needs.
1. Testerup
Testerup pays you to try new apps and games before they launch. The $5 lands as soon as you create the account, which makes it the fastest first payout on this page. You are getting paid for something a lot of people already do for free.
Create a free account and the $5 is yours before you test anything.
2. Bigcash
Bigcash has the biggest joining bonus here at $15, then pays for games, app trials and offer-wall tasks. The offers pay considerably better than the games do, so if you are optimizing for money rather than fun, start there.
Grab the $15 joining bonus, then work the offer wall.
3. Freecash
Freecash runs offers, surveys and game tasks with a $10 bonus on signup. Same rule as Bigcash: the offer wall is where the real money is, and the surveys are the slow lane.
Claim the $10 bonus and start on the offers, not the surveys.
4. Branded
Branded, as seen on CBS, is survey work without the gamification. It is slower than the offer apps but steadier, the threshold to cash out is low, and it pays in actual cash rather than points you have to convert first.
Sign up free and take your first survey today.
5. Swagbucks
Surveys, games, videos, coupons and cashback in one app. Swagbucks is rarely the best at any single one of those, but it is the most reliable all-rounder, and it partners with enough retailers that something usually applies to what you are already buying.
Join free and check what your usual shops are paying back.
6. Upside
Claim the offer before you fill up, pay as normal, then submit the receipt. Upside also covers groceries and restaurants, but fuel is where it earns its place, because it is money back on something you were buying regardless.
See what Upside is paying at gas stations near you.
7. Fetch
Fetch partners with brands rather than retailers, so it does not matter where you shop. Photograph any receipt and it finds the qualifying products. The lowest-effort app here, because there are no offers to activate first.
Scan your next grocery receipt and see what Fetch pays on it.
Other reward apps worth knowing about
These are all still running, but they either pay less, take more effort, or only make sense if you already shop somewhere specific. Worth a look if none of the eight above fit how you spend.
How Do Reward Apps Work
Reward apps incentivize the shopping you already do. You can earn rewards for free on these apps, as long as you complete the signup process. As you create accounts on these various reward apps you may also need to link a debit or credit card to get the full benefits of that reward app.
As you shop, reward apps typically accumulate your earnings over time. These funds can be considered a type of passive income, as you don’t have to do anything extra (or very little) in your daily routine to obtain rewards. If you shop for food, reward apps can help you save money with little effort.
At the same time, each reward app is different from the next. Depending on what actions you perform and/or complete, you can receive benefits from your efforts. Take advantage of the things you already do to earn rewards and put cash back in your wallet.
Reward App Benefits
Here’s a list of some of the benefits you can expect from reward apps. As you search through the listings we’ve compiled below, research each one further to see what benefits they offer. Sometimes benefits can change as the company grows.
Cash Back
You spend money to get groceries, but you can earn back some of that money in the form of cash back. This cash is returned to you, often as a promotional for a certain product or brand.
Most of these details include a requirement to purchase a specific product or fulfill a deal. These reward apps typically require a minimum balance in order to request cash back, but you can often choose from gift cards and/or prepaid Visa cards. Payment may also be requested via PayPal or check.
Points
Platforms that offer cash back rewards can also work in a points system. As you complete tasks and deals, you’ll earn points, which can be cashed out for real money, gift cards, and more. The amount of points you earn, as well as how many points it takes to cash out, varies from reward app to reward app. For example, a single point doesn’t necessarily translate to $1 or even $0.01.
Coupons and Discounts
Cash back can help your savings, but coupons and discounts prevent the money from leaving your account in the first place. Reward apps feature coupons from select retailers to offer you discounts, which are typically not available to the average consumer unless they’re registered on the same app.
How to Get the Most Out of Reward Apps
Downloading a reward app is the first step in getting more for the things you do. However, here are some tips for getting the most out of the reward apps you do download:
- Turn on notifications to alert you of new deals, promotions, etc.
- Combine reward opportunities across apps to gain from your purchases in multiple ways.
- Purchases made with cash back credit cards can increase your savings even further.
- If you don’t need an item right away, wait for a sale or take advantage of one in order to bulk up on supplies.
- Stick to your monthly budget even if your income varies and don’t let bargaining get in the way of your spending goals.
Reward apps can be a great tool for saving money when used properly. Even if you only use your reward app once a month, the rewards you receive can make it worthwhile.
More ways to keep the money you earn
Reward apps only move the needle if the rest of your spending is under control. These go deeper on the other side of the equation:
- The best money saving apps, if you want a shorter list than this one
- The best budgeting apps, for the apps that actually get used rather than downloaded and forgotten
- Getting paid to save money, which covers the ideas that pay you without a purchase attached
- How to lower your bills, for the fixed costs that quietly outweigh anything cashback returns
- How to save money on groceries, if the grocery bill is the thing you most want to shrink
FAQs
Reward app earnings can vary from one household to the next. The rewards you can earn depend on a variety of factors, but suffice it to say that you can earn more with a reward app than you would without one. Even if you only earn $1 more with the app, it’s a free download and you’re $1 richer.
Some reward apps do work with Amazon. For example, Fluz is specifically built for working with Amazon, as long as you link your email address. However, many do not work with Amazon to reward you with points for your purchases.
You can download as few or as many reward apps as you want. However, you should consider how much time you have and how you can specifically use each one to save money.
We recommend starting out with one or two reward apps to see how they work for you. Once you’ve gotten the process down, you can add more as you like to increase your overall rewards. At the same time, sticking with one or two should be sufficient, as long as you’ve chosen reward apps that fit your lifestyle and needs.
Reward Yourself with Reward Apps
Earning extra money from reward apps isn’t necessarily a full-time job that will support you and your family, but the extra savings you can take advantage of certainly can make it worthwhile. We hope you’ve found this list of reward apps useful in saving more money for you and your loved ones. Give a few of these apps a try and see how much you can save.
