Looking for ways to save money on things you’re bound to shop for on a regular basis? Of course you are — and we can’t blame you. Although various apps and platforms have made hunting for savings more accessible, the tricky part is that there are so many cash-back promises out there that end up being a complete hassle.
That said, you might want to check out the Fetch Rewards app, which makes saving money about as easy as it can get. We’ll give you an overview of what Fetch does, all while helping you determine if it’s a good fit for your spending (and saving) habits.
The Downside of Most Cash Back Apps
Gone are the days when saving money meant having to sit around and clip coupons by hand. Now, there are plenty of coupon apps that allow you to access deals right at the check-out counter. Even more exciting? All the new cash-back apps, which allow you to earn cash back from purchases so long as you scan your receipts. However, the main drawback of both of these systems is that they heavily rely on you buying the featured products.
Apps like Ibotta offer you the chance to earn cash back on a variety of products, but you still have to actually go through the list of participating items to see which ones match up with what you need. Don’t get us wrong — Ibotta is definitely a legitimate app that can save you money, so long as you have the patience to use it. In many ways, it harkens back to old-school coupon clipping. That means, if you don’t buy any of the featured products, you don’t actually get any rewards. And this is exactly why Fetch’s rewards app stands out from the competition.
What Sets the Fresh Rewards App Apart
The concept behind the Fetch rewards app is that you can earn points for scanning any receipt from anywhere. Whether you have a receipt from the grocery store, restaurant, or gas station, Fetch doesn’t care. Take 10 seconds to snap a photo of the receipt, and, no matter what, it will earn you points.
Fetch is also an online shopper’s dream. For starters, it connects directly to your Amazon account and automatically scan for online purchase receipts. You can also upload e-receipts from a huge array of other major online retailers as well as services like DoorDash or UberEats. The only catch? You need to upload your receipt within 14 days of your purchase.
Like other cash-back apps, Fetch does have a series of featured products, but you can ignore those featured items and still earn rewards. Want to score extra points? Then maybe accounting for the featured deals and products is the right move. Once you collect a certain amount of points, you can cash them out for things like free gift cards, cash cards, magazine subscriptions, and more.
How Does the Points System Work?
First of all, it may be worth your time to do a search for a Fetch rewards referral code before you sign up. Pretty much every blog that’s done a review on Fetch seems to offer its own, so a simple Google search should yield you plenty of options. Alternately, if you know anyone who is already using Fetch, you can use their referral and you’ll both get 2,000 free points.
Once you’ve signed up, you can start earning points right away by either connecting to your Amazon account and scanning for recent receipts or manually uploading photos of any receipts you have around the house from the last two weeks. You’ll earn a minimum of 25 points every time you upload a receipt, whether there’s a featured item on it or not.
If it turns out your receipt does reveal evidence of your purchasing a participating item, then you can earn even more points for it. Buying a single item that’s currently featured on the app can earn you anywhere from a couple hundred to upwards of 5,000 extra points.
If you really get into it and want to bargain hunt, you can check out the featured products beforehand. But the nice thing is that even if you don’t feel like doing your research, you’ll get the points anyway if you accidentally happen to end up buying any of them. Another great perk of Fetch rewards? You don’t really have to have that many points to cash out. With as little as 3,000 points, you can start selecting from gift card offers.
So, What’s the Catch?
Okay, so this all sounds great, but why would anyone pay you just to take pictures of your receipts? The answer probably won’t surprise you as it’s the same premise behind most loyalty savings programs. Fetch makes its money by working with retailers who are willing to offer free rewards in exchange for marketing data.
Fetch will forward them your receipts so they can check out what you bought, but the app claims that your personal identity remains anonymous. More than likely, they’ll send along demographic information — users’ ages, location, gender, etc. — for research purposes. The idea here is that companies value knowing who buys their products, so that they can up their marketing game.
While that may initially sound a little off-putting to those who value privacy, it’s one of those things that’s become almost inevitable in this day and age. It’s similar to how search engines like Google and various social media platforms know your browsing history. After all, it’s no accident that ads for those shoes you looked up a month ago are still showing up on your Facebook feed.
Rest assured, however, that there’s nothing devious about such marketing strategies. Well, nothing more devious than some company’s possible future attempts to get you — and more people in your demographic — to buy those shoes you’ve been eyeing. In the meantime, Fetch is a fun and easy way to get a little extra money without having to do much of anything. after all, you might as well take advantage of those free Starbucks and Amazon gift cards without clipping a single coupon.
