IF you don’t use cashback then you could be missing out on hundreds of pounds a year.
From well-known sites like TopCashback to newer options like Cheddar, there are lots of different ways to get money back when you shop.
Mel Hunter reveals her complete guide to cashback.
CASHBACK WEBSITES
The most well-known way to get cashback is through established sites like TopCashback and Quidco.
They get you money back on things you buy, when you shop through their site or app.
Quidco says its members make an average of £300 a year.
The deals vary, and there are often one-off, time-limited special deals.
If you’re going to buy something, check both these sites to see how much cashback you might get.
When we checked, Quidco was offering six per cent cashback on hotels.com booking, while Topcashback had an exclusive time-limited 12 per cent offer.
Liz Hunter at moneyexpert.com also suggests installing the browser extensions for these sites.
“These automatically activate cashback when available, so you don’t have to remember to do it yourself.”
Not all retailers are available through the extensions and you must make checks to ensure the extension you download are genuine, as fakes can put your online security at risk.
CASHBACK APPS LINKED TO YOUR BANK
Less well-known are sites like Cheddar and Airtime which link to your existing bank or card, applying cashback automatically when you shop with certain stores.
The benefit is that once you’ve registered with the apps, they work without you having to lift a finger.
Liz says: “Instead of having to click through a cashback site first, they automatically track your spending and apply rewards as you go.
“They all work differently so check out a few different schemes and find out which suits your lifestyle best.”
For example, Cheddar pays cashback straight into your bank, while Airtime applies it to your phone bill, bringing down the cost.
The downside is that they work with a smaller number of retailers than the big cashback sites, but there’s nothing to stop you using them all.
CASHBACK CREDIT CARDS
Chase, American Express, Barclaycard and Santander all offer cashback[/caption]
If you are good with money, have no debts and pay off your credit card each month, then a cashback credit card may work for you.
They pay you either in credit or points that convert into vouchers for shops, airlines, hotels and more.
Some will earn you points for travel. You can exchange them for flights or travel upgrades or airport lounges.
Liz says: “Some offer higher rates for specific categories, so again, do your research to find the one that suits your shopping habits best.
“Don’t forget to check the terms and conditions before signing up – and make sure to pay off your balance in full each month to prevent unexpected charges.”
If you don’t pay them off in full, interest fees will make any cashback you make worthless.
The key is to pick a card that fits with your lifestyle and where you spend your money.
Chase, American Express, Barclaycard and Santander all offer cashback credit cards.
CASHBACK GIFT CARDS
You can use supermarket gift cards to get instant cashback to help towards your shopping[/caption]
For a different way to get cashback on your regular spending, you can use e-gift cards with some sites, like Jam Doughnut and Hyperjar, and get paid instant cashback.
The word ‘gift’ is a bit misleading. You can buy these cards for yourself, for something you intend to buy anyway.
It means you can buy a £50 gift card for your usual supermarket, get instant cashback – usually around four to seven per cent – and then use the card to pay for your shopping.
It’s so easy to do – you can quickly buy a gift card while you’re queuing for the checkout.
You can get cards for all kinds of things – supermarkets, tech shops and department stores like M&S or Selfridges.
Elizabeth Rivelli from bestmoney.com says “You buy a gift card for your favourite store, use it to shop as normal, and get instant cashback. It works for groceries, travel, entertainment—basically anything.
“It’s a bit of a mindset shift, but if you plan ahead, the savings can be significant.”
LOYALTY SCHEMES WITH CASHBACK-STYLE REWARDS
Most of us are familiar with shops’ loyalty schemes.
They work like cashback, offering points or vouchers to spend in-store based on how much you spend.
Liz says: “It’s worth signing up for all the schemes available in shops you regularly use. Remember, most utilise an app nowadays, so it’s not a case of overloading your purse or wallet with endless cards.”
Some of the most popular ones include Tesco Clubcard, Nectar for Sainsbury’s and Argos, Co-op membership, Morrisons More, Lidl Plus and Superdrug Health & Beauty Card.
Make the most of them by looking for bonus offers, like triple points events, or special member deals.
RECEIPT-SCANNING APPS
There are a number of apps which let you claim cash back through receipts[/caption]
Another way to get cashback, which you can stack on top of the other methods, is to scan your receipts to get money back on specific products.
Download apps such as Shopmium, SnapMyEats and GreenJinn, and then scan your receipt after you’ve done your shop to get cashback.
You can take a picture of an online receipt and scan it in.
Cashback will be applied depending what eligible products you have in your backet.
You’ll get a proportion of the item’s cost, or sometimes all your money back.
It pays to look at the apps before you start shopping to see the different promotions.
Liz says: “They sometimes offer freebies or heavily discounted products, too. Just remember to scan your receipts within the required timeframe, as the offers tend to expire quickly.”
‘CASH BACK IS PAYING FOR OUT TRIP TO NEW YORK’
Being canny with cashback has allowed Ailsa Hichens, to book a dream trip to New York for daughter Daisy’s 21st birthday.
TWO years ago, Ailsa, 53, from Chelmsford, Essex decided she wanted to take Daisy to New York for her big birthday this year.
She got a British Airways American Express credit card to collect Avios points.
Soon, the two of them will shortly jet off for the Big Apple – all paid for with the points she collected from using the card.
“Over the past two years, I’ve put everything I spend on it,” says mum of three Ailsa, a nutritional therapist at foodfabulous.co.uk.
“That really special trip would not be happening without me being fanatical about cashback.”
She pays off the credit card in full each month, so she doesn’t get charged interest or fees, and has now spent enough on the card to get a companion voucher, where one person flies for free.
“Using the card must have saved me at least £1,000.”
Ailsa has also claimed nearly £2,500 from TopCashback in the past two years.
She often uses the two methods together, buying things through the cashback website using her American Express Avios card.
That means she builds up a pot of money from TopCashback at the same time as increasing her flying points.
She also shops at Sainsbury’s and converts her Nectar rewards into Avios points.
She recommends TopCashback to close friends, earning her £25 each time, and tries to buy everything from gifts to insurance through the site.
“You just have to get into the habit of it,” she says.
Instead of taking the amounts she earns back as money, she tends to take it as vouchers through the site’s Reward Wallet. These come with a bonus so they work out better value.
“You do have to be a bit more organised, but the rewards are worth it.”
EXTRA CASH BACK TIPS
Stack savings – Don’t just stick to one – sign up for them all. Cashback sites, cashback credit cards and loyalty points can be combined for maximum returns.
Know the terms – Using certain discount codes or returning items can void your reward, so check out the terms before you spend.
Watch out for fees – Make sure to pay off your cashback credit card in full each month. Otherwise, you could completely wipe out any earnings.
Only buy what you need – Don’t let cashback tempt you into buying things you don’t need or want. It’s only free money if you were planning to buy it anyway.
It’s not just for shopping – Also use cashback for bigger household buys like energy, insurance and broadband.
Don’t miss better deals – Going for cashback might mean you ignore better deals and discounts elsewhere. Check which will mean the biggest saving.
‘eBay and Royal Mail won’t help with my label error’
Q) I ACCIDENTALLY bought a delivery label via eBay but they won’t refund me. I bought it via the website by mistake, but only realised 22 days later when I checked my balance.
I asked for a refund as I hadn’t used it, but eBay said I needed to contact Royal Mail instead. I did this, but Royal Mail instead said eBay was responsible for the refund.
Now both companies are toing and froing and nobody is taking responsibility. Can you help?
ED THOMAS St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
A) YOU thought it would be a simple fix when you realised you bought a £10 shipping label on eBay by mistake.
But several weeks and multiple email exchanges later, and you are still out of pocket – and Royal Mail and eBay are both refusing to help.
eBay has a system in place called Simple Delivery Managed Shipping where you can buy labels directly through the website.
From April 15, this will become eBay’s mandatory way of paying for shipping as an eBay seller.
You can get a refund from eBay if you don’t use your label, but you must “void” it within 14 days of purchase.
But in your case, you didn’t even realise you had made the purchase until 22 days after you bought it, so had missed the window.
I am not sure why you were told to ask Royal Mail for a refund, given eBay usually processes the refunds, and why no one explained this process to you.
I asked eBay to investigate your case and see whether it could refund you as a goodwill gesture.
I’m pleased to say it swiftly agreed to look into the matter and has now processed a £10.55 refund for you.
But as you pointed out to me, this could become more of an issue as buying shipping via eBay becomes the norm.
If no one is taking responsibility for refunds, there could be many other customers stuck out of pocket.
I would encourage anyone who is stuck in this situation to write to us at [email protected]. Share any relevant reference numbers and your eBay username.
Five minute makeover
SAVERS have a last chance warning to top up ISA accounts before the end of the tax year.
Here, Sam Walker looks at how to find the best rates.
WHAT IS A CASH ISA? A cash Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a savings account where any interest or withdrawals are not subject to income tax.
UK residents aged 18 or over can open a Cash ISA and are allowed to add up to £20,000 into one each tax year. This is known as an annual allowance.
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE? The tax year runs from April 6 until April 5 the following year. That means the deadline to top up your Cash ISA for the 2024/25 year is 11.59pm tonight.
Miss it and you will lose the unused portion of your annual allowance.
That means if you’ve added £18,000 to your Cash ISA, you can add a further £2,000 before midnight.
HOW TO TOP UP YOUR ISA? You can usually top up your ISA online through mobile or online banking.
You should be able to do it in your local bank branch too, but bear in mind most banks operate reduced opening hours on the weekend.
Research by consumer website Which? has found most shut in the early afternoon.
HOW TO FIND THE BEST CASH ISA: You can find the best rate Cash ISAs through a host of free-to-use websites such as Which?, moneysavingexpert.com and Compare the Market.
Make sure you’re choosing the one that is most suited to your needs.
Fixed-rate ISAs usually offer the best rates but you won’t be able to access the cash until it matures. If you can, you will likely be charged a fee for taking money out.
Easy-access ISAs offer you the flexibility of being able to withdraw cash in case of an emergency, but will usually offer more meagre interest rates.
If you are planning on opening a Cash ISA, you will often find the lesser-known banks offer the best rates.
Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Online banks and savings platforms are competing hard for your money at the moment, so it really pays to shop around and consider all the alternatives.”
ALTERNATIVES TO CASH ISAS: Stocks and Shares ISAs can offer better returns but you should only consider them if you already have a pot of cash savings.
Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at interactive investor, said: “Those willing to take on some investment risk could see better long-term returns through a Stocks and Shares ISA.
“While the value of investments can go up and down, history shows that stock markets tend to outperform cash over extended periods.”
Just bear in mind, investing in a Stocks and Shares ISAs means you can lose money as well as make it.
