Canadians are facing a double whammy: rising inflation and increasing grocery costs. Fortunately, there are ways to fight back and save money. One such method is by using cash-back websites and apps. These platforms partner with retailers and offer you a percentage of your purchase back as a reward.
These rewards can add up significantly, especially over time, helping you offset rising grocery costs or other household expenses.
This article explores the best cash-back websites and apps in Canada to help you maximize your savings.
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How Cash Back Websites Work
Cash-back websites and apps work through a simple partnership model. The platform partners with retailers, and when you make a purchase through a cash-back website, the retailer pays the platform a commission for referring a customer.
The cashback website or app then shares a portion of this commission with you, the customer, as a reward. This creates a win-win-win situation for the retailer, the platform, and you, the consumer.
Maximizing Your Cash Back Rewards
There are several strategies you can employ to maximize your cash-back rewards in Canada:
- Utilize a Cash Back Credit Card: Don’t stop at cash-back websites! Consider using a cash-back credit card in conjunction with them. This allows you to earn double the rewards, with cashback from both the website and the credit card company.
For instance, the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card offers up to 2% cash back on purchases in your chosen categories, while the Neo Credit Mastercard provides up to 5% cash back at over 12,000 locations. - Combine Cash Back Offers: In some instances, you can combine cash-back offers and earn rewards using multiple platforms. For example, you could use your KOHO Mastercard to purchase an item with an offer available on Rakuten, Caddle, or Checkout 51. You might even be able to submit the same receipt to both Caddle and Checkout 51 to maximize your return.
- Install Browser Extensions: Cashback websites often provide browser extensions that alert you when cashback is available while you shop online. This eliminates the need to remember to visit the cash-back site before making a purchase.
Top Cash Back Websites and Apps in Canada
Here’s a curated list of the top cash-back websites and apps in Canada to help you save money on your everyday purchases:
1. KOHO
KOHO offers a free prepaid Mastercard that allows you to earn cash back on purchases anywhere Mastercard is accepted. It also provides a high interest rate on your balance, making it a solid savings account alternative.
With KOHO, you get 1% cash back on grocery and gas station purchases, with rates reaching up to 5% at participating retailers. You can easily deposit funds from your bank account, and bill payments and Interac e-Transfers are free.
There’s no minimum cash-out threshold, and cash back earned can be used directly for purchases or withdrawn to your bank account. KOHO also offers a free credit score check and access to 0% APR cash advances of up to $250.
New users can get a $20 bonus when they sign up using a referral code and complete their first purchase.
2. Neo Financial
The Neo Money prepaid Mastercard offers cash-back rewards on all your spending, with opportunities to earn cash back whether you’re shopping at your favorite retailer or a Neo Partner store. It also provides interest on your card balance, allowing you to grow your money passively.
Neo Financial’s hybrid account lets you make unlimited free transactions and e-transfers. Opening a Neo Money account is easy, and funding can be done through Interac e-Transfer.
New accounts using a referral link receive a $20 bonus (no promo code required), and you can earn up to 5% cash back on everyday purchases.
There’s no minimum cash-out threshold, and rewards can be redeemed for gift cards, cash deposited directly into your bank account or other options.
Upgrading to a Neo Financial Premium account provides additional perks like credit score monitoring, purchase protection, and even higher cash-back rates.
3. Amazon
Rakuten is one of the best sites that gives cash back when you shop online. The app, which used to be called Ebates, can be used in the US, Canada, and Japan.
To use it, make a free account and get a $30 prize. Rakuten works with more than 750 stores in Canada and more than 3,500 stores in the US. First, go to Rakuten to find your store. Then, click through to their website to start shopping.
Rakuten keeps track of what you buy with cookies, and you get the stated cash-back rate when you buy something.
The amount of cashback you can earn changes, and discounts can be anywhere from 1% to 30%. Installing Rakuten’s browser add-on makes it easier for me to get cash back.
Payment of cashback: You will get your cash back four times a year, in February, May, August, and November.
You can pay with PayPal, a check, or an Amazon gift card. The least amount that can be paid out is $5.01.
You can choose between Canada, the US, and Canada.
4. Big Cash Back Deals in Canada
The Canadian version of Rakuten is called Great Canadian Rebates (GCR). It works with more than 700 stores, some of which are American and ship to Canadian addresses.
This site has a lot of great deals on free $100 gift cards that you can use to get a new credit card.
How it works: Sign up for Great Canadian Rebates and get a $3 bonus. Before you buy something online, go to GCR and look for your favorite store. Then, click through to their website.
Ad blockers can mess up tracking, which can lead to lost rebates, so make sure you get rid of them from your computer. Most of the time, cashback is added to your account within 72 hours.
You can also add the GCR Toolbar Addon to your browser to get alerts automatically when you shop at a site that is part of the program.
Payout of cashback: You can exchange your cashback refund for gift cards, direct deposit, or a PayPal payment starting at $12. You get 15% of all the cash back your friends earn for 3 years after they sign up through your link.
Only available in Canada.
5. Get Swagbucks
Members of the get-paid-to site Swagbucks get paid to shop online, fill out surveys, play games, and more.
Swagbucks says that since it started, it has paid its users more than $700 million.
How it does its job: You can visit over 1,500 stores right from your homepage after signing up ($5 bonus). Every dollar you spend at shops that take part in Swagbucks earns you SBs.
You can get cash back by exchanging your points for gift cards, credit cards, or PayPal cash.
You can get it in Canada, the US, and the UK.
6. A paddle
Caddle is a free site and app for food shopping that was started in 2015.
How it does its job: For an extra $1, get the Caddle app. The app adds new deals every week that can help you save money on groceries. You can buy the item at any store (or sometimes just one) and then use the app to share your receipt.
In 24 to 72 hours, the cash back you earn is added to your account. Caddle also gives users money to answer short surveys and give comments on video ads.
Payout of cashback: If your account amount is $20 or more, you can ask for a check payout.
Only available in Canada.
7. Shopping at Capital One
If you use the Capital One Shopping browser extension to shop online, you can get cash back in the form of gift cards from well-known stores like Disney+, NordVPN, Urban Outfitters, Nike, and H&M.
You can get the add-on for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. The extension will look for coupons instantly to make sure you get the best deals after you install it and make an account.
When you shop online, the browser tool will look for coupons and promo codes and add them automatically to your order. This way, you don’t have to enter the codes by hand when you check out.
If you are using the Capital One Shopping browser extension, make sure that no other shopping site is running in the background. This will keep your Capital One Shopping purchases available for rewards.
To get your cash back, log in to your account and click on the “My Rewards” tab on the top page. To see the gift cards you can use, click on “Redeem.”
Canada and the US are both options.