Ibotta App Review: Can You Really Earn Cash Back?
If you want to save more cash shopping, the Ibotta app is what you are looking for. Since its creation in 2012, Ibotta has evolved, developed, and established itself as a reliable means of earning free cashback while purchasing your favorite everyday products. Now, the question is: is it worth giving a try?
The straightforward answer to this is YES. Ibotta has carved a niche in the relatively competitive space of cashback apps with a unique approach. Most apps offering to help you save money shopping usually request that you spend a specific amount first. However, this app, Ibotta, leaped away from the norms. You can earn from your total grocery bill or everyday purchases such as cleaning materials, food, etc., without spending an extra amount before earning. Essentially, you are earning free money.
With that said, this Ibotta app review covers everything you need to know about the Ibotta app, including what it is, what it does, and how you can save a sizable amount using the app. With no further ado, let’s delve right into it.
Ibotta App Review
Fundamentally, Ibotta is a browser extension and a shopping application allowing you to earn cash back on groceries or daily purchases across roughly five hundred online retailers and 300 in-store. The free app has paid over $1 billion to its members via Venmo and PayPal.
As of today, Ibotta remains one of the most downloaded e-commerce apps on both Android and iOS app stores. It has a terrific 4.8-star rating alongside approximately 1.4 million reviews on the iOS app store. Besides, on the Google play store, it boasts a massive 4.5-star rating and over 543 000 reviews, which is a total of 2 million reviews. This is to paint a picture of how popular Ibotta is and its popularity within a relatively brief period.
Founded by Bryan Leach in 2012, this app now has over 30 million downloads, partnering with over 1500 retailers and brands, allowing users to earn from snacks, cereals, liquor, pet foods, and more. It even has offers that enable you to make from travel expenses, home improvement stores, etc.
Who can use the Ibotta app?
Ibotta has no restrictions regarding the individuals that may use its services. In other words, it is for everyone. However, the people who will undoubtedly get the most out of this app are individuals who consistently and regularly buy brand-name products. Nonetheless, recall that there are still generic orders for everyone. Thus, irrespective of your shopping preferences, Ibotta is a worthy pick if you are looking for an approachable and accessible means to earn extra cash.
Signing up is easy: you only need an email address, a Facebook login, and a secure password. However, Ibotta asks for a birthdate to tailor its offers to your age. For instance, if you are less than 18 years old, you cannot see its alcohol offers.
How does the Ibotta app work?
As briefly highlighted earlier, Ibotta allows you to earn both online and in-store, so there are viable options to earn cashback from the app. In this review section, I’ll uncover how you can earn cashback using this app.
The concept is straightforward. You search for orders, redeem them within the Ibotta application, and get paid. That’s all! Surprisingly, it’s one of the quickest and most accessible approaches to earning a few dollars when shopping.
Earning cashback in-store on Ibotta
Suppose you want to earn cashback from your favorite retail store. In that case, launch the app and select the “find offer” option. On completing this, add your preferred order to your account. If you plan to shop at a particular store, you can filter offers relative to your chosen brand. For instance, if you wish to shop at Target, you can filter the search to tailor the offers to Target. Sometimes, the application may request you participate in a quick survey about your preferred product. They may also show you a recipe related to the chosen product.
After picking out preferred offers, it’s time to shop. Just walk into a Target store (just an instance) and purchase products as you will always do.
Once you’ve purchased the product, upload the receipt on Ibotta using the camera option. Once you’ve done that, Ibotta automatically screens it and cross-references the previously chosen offer with the purchases the receipt indicates. When it matches them, it asks you if you intend to redeem your offer for cashback. Then, you can process the receipt, and that’s all.
Loyalty Accounts
Over the years, Ibotta has established a reliable relationship with multiple major retailers. Thus, the app is also linked with loyalty accounts offered by these retailers. Linking to a loyalty account is also pretty easy; open the Ibotta app, pick your preferred retailer, and select the Link Account option at the top. This allows you to use a pre-existing loyalty account or create a new one.
Once you’ve completed the required processes, Ibotta automatically qualifies you for cashback on any product you purchase at the subject store on the condition that you use your loyalty card when completing the transaction.
The most compelling thing about this feature is its convenience and comfort, as it eliminates the need to upload receipts manually after shopping.
Saving cash online with the Ibotta app
Besides the in-store, you can also save cash instantly on over 150 online retailers, such as Grubhub, Casper, Kohl, etc., using the Ibotta app. All you need to do is launch the app, click the online shopping option, and you’ll access a list of the available offers. Then, you can select Shop and purchase online just as always. The cash automatically shows up on your account once you complete the purchase.
Making a payment with Ibotta gift cards
Ibotta has established a robust partnership with over 120 restraint chains and stores nationwide. Anytime you use its gift cards, you can earn discounts and cashback on purchases on the application. Besides, you can save up to 10% immediately without using coupons.
To access the gift cards, firstly, you need to add your cards (debit or credit) to your account on Ibotta. You can access this option from the payment section. Once you’re done, make your purchases and show the gift card code to the cashier. Once they scan the code and pay for the products, you earn cashback almost immediately.
Other approaches to earning cash back on Ibotta
Similar to its competitors, Ibotta offers a vast range of options to maximize your earnings. These options include
- Referral: Ibotta gives its users a referral code to share with anyone. For every successful referral, you get to earn up to $5.
- Bonus streaks: you only get to access this bonus when you purchase a specific product or from a particular brand multiple times in a row
- Bonuses: you can access bonuses by selecting certain offers and shopping using particular stores.
Ibotta payment options
The app displays your earnings within 48 hours on your dashboard. You can withdraw your earnings once it reaches the $20 mark using Venmo or PayPal or redeem using gift cards.
Is the Ibotta app safe?
As someone who has used the app for a relatively extended period, the app is a safe and secure one to use. This fact is attributed to the company’s attention to users’ experience and security. Ibotta has numerous dedicated IT staff operating in-house for data security. Asides from this, it also adopts contemporary and advanced security architecture and frameworks such as 256-bit data encryption. If you are concerned about your data privacy, look at its T & Cs and see how the platform handles your data.
Ibotta app UX and customer service
I won’t say Ibotta has the best customer service ever, but it is reliable. It provides self-help support for customers, allowing you to submit a help request ticket online.
On the user experience, the app is easy to navigate and use for even the average Joe. The options are explicitly stated and easy to access, offering an almost perfect experience to every user.
BottomLine: Can you really earn cash back from Ibotta?
While Ibotta won’t make you rich, you can earn money with it. Considering its ease of use, accessibility, and the fact that it is free, it is a space worth exploring. Besides, it doesn’t feature any form of membership fee, neither does it have upsells. Thus, in your journey here, you are less likely to experience hoops to jump through – which is the most appealing part of the app. In essence, it is worth it. I hope you enjoyed this Ibotta app review.
Jason Butler is the owner of My Money Chronicles, a website where he discusses personal finance, side hustles, travel, and more. Jason is from Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Savannah State University with his BA in Marketing. Jason has been featured in Forbes, Discover, and Investopedia.
