5 cashback rewards apps and sites in Australia giving shoppers money back

The idea behind cashback sites is very appealing. Get money back just by shopping at your favourite store. You can add that money back into savings, use it to grow your retirement savings or it can even help you reduce your home loan.

With the festive season around the corner – and all the spending that comes with it –  now could be as good a time as any to give cashback sites a try and claw back some savings on spending.

A new report by Pureprofile found that Aussies are planning to spend, on average, $468 on gifts this Christmas and have budgeted $406 for festive food and drink over the holidays. This adds up to $874. And given that 41% of Aussies are planning to travel over Christmas these costs could easily blow out to upwards of $1,000 for many families.

How do cashback sites work?

Let’s take a look at how these platforms work. Each time you make a purchase with retailers linked to the site, the platform receives a commission on the sale. Part of this commission is returned to you – the shopper – as a cashback payment.

Setting up a cashback account is quick, easy and free. Money is usually returned via PayPal or a bank account, so you’ll need to provide details of your nominated account. Some providers give you the option of having the cashback paid directly into your super and one even lets you add the money to your home loan so if you opt for one of those platforms you will need to provide the relevant information. .

You’ll only receive money back when purchases are made via the cashback site or app. (Not all cashback sites have apps, though we’ve listed those that do.) Shopping directly with the retailer means cashbacks won’t apply.

A number of cashback sites offer browser extensions, making it easy to head straight to the platform. It’s also generally recommended that you disable ad blockers before you start shopping as cashback sites claim this ensures purchase tracking is working properly.

It’s also worth noting that it can take a while to get the cashback paid to you. That’s because most retailers will wait to make sure you don’t return the products before paying the cashback provider.

With this in mind, here is a closer look at five leading cashback sites in Australia. The cashback examples were correct at the time of writing but may change.

5 cashback apps and sites to consider

1. Cashrewards

App availability and rating: iOS (4.8) and Android (4.7)

Cashrewards says it has more than 2,000 Australian and international retailers linked to its site. Cashrewards says that, on average, you’ll receive a 7% cashback. That said, the percentage you receive tends to vary, and will depend on factors including the retailer and any special offers. At the time of writing, you could get up to 14% cashback at Crocs Australia, up to 4% at Myer online and up to 3.6% at BWS.

The cashback payments are not immediate. It can take anywhere from 14 to 100 days for your cashback to be approved.  This allows stores to be certain you haven’t returned the goods and asked for a refund. Each store’s page on the Cashrewards site includes an estimated approval timeframe for them.

2. ShopBack

App availability and rating: iOS (4.7) and Android (3.7)

ShopBack says it has partnered with more than 2,000 brands. These include Amazon.com.au (up to 6.5% cashback), Bonds (up to 4.5%) and Expedia (up to 6%).

‘Upsizes’ are also regularly available – short-term promos where the cashback is supersized. As a guide, at the time of writing, the cashback from Target was upsized from 2.8% to as high as 13%.

3. Kickback

The Kickback line-up covers 1,000 brands and stores Australia-wide. Offers available on the Kickback website at the time of writing include up to 6% cashback at Cotton On, 7.5% at Sephora and 4.5% at HotelsCombined.

A referral program is available. For each person you sign up to Kickback, both you and the friend receive $5. A minimum spend of $20 is required.

Depending on the store you shop at, it can take up to 120 days for cashbacks to arrive in your bank account.

4. Boost Your Super

Boost Your Super can be a pain-free way to give retirement savings a small uptick. The cash rewards work in much the same way as other cashback sites. But instead of receiving cash in your bank account, the money goes straight to your super fund. This applies even if you have a self-managed super fund.

Boost Your Super says it has more than 750 partner retailers. The uptick to your super depends on where you spend. At the time of writing you could get up to 3% cashback on purchases made at eBay, 4% through Ecoya and 3% with Agoda.

Boost Your Super advises that payments made to super this way are ‘after-tax’ or non-concessional contributions. These types of contributions are capped at $110,000 annually, and relying solely on cashback top-ups is unlikely to breach this limit. It’s something to be mindful of however if you plan on making a large after-tax payment to super.

Bear in mind, cashbacks paid into super can’t normally be withdrawn until you retire.

Compare Super Funds

5. Grow My Money

App availability and rating: iOS (3.1) and Android (3.5)

Formerly Super-Rewards, Grow My Money is another platform that pays cashbacks to super instead of a bank account. It also offers the option of adding the cashback into your home loan.

A choice of 1,000-plus retailers is available, and how much of each buy goes towards your retirement savings or mortgage varies between brands.

At the time of writing, you could get up to 3% cashback Adore Beauty online, 4% with Australian Ugg Boots and up to 3.8% with BWS.

Grow My Money payments into super will be made as non-concessional contributions.

Payments by the retailers to Grow My Money are generally received within 60-90 days after your purchase, however, some retailers can take up to another 90 days after this. The website explains that Grow My Money is only able to pay you once it receives the funds from the retailers.

What to watch for

It always makes sense to look for ways to save on purchases. Just be sure the prospect of cashback rewards doesn’t fuel increased spending. Research from the US and UK found that cashback payments increase the likelihood that consumers will return to the cashback website for additional purchases and increase the size of their purchases.

Something else it pays to be aware of is that you are handing over a lot of personal data. In an interview with ABC News earlier this year, senior campaigns and policy adviser at consumer advocacy group CHOICE, Rafi Alam warned there are privacy risks. “Cashback sites are able to collect a great deal of data about customers. From personal information – what you enter when you sign up – to social media behaviour, contact information, shopping behaviour and insights into that,” he explained.

When you are using a cashback site that sends cash payments to your super, look at it as the icing on the cake – not the nucleus of a retirement savings strategy. A 2.5% cashback contribution on, say, a $100 purchase is just $2.50. Sure, every bit extra counts. But you could boost your super a lot more by skipping the purchase and redirecting the money you would have spent straight to your nest egg.

Cover image source: Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock.com