How Cash Back Works at RebatesMe

Earning cash back through RebatesMe is smart way to get the most out of your online shopping. Here's everything you need to know about how exactly this works.

How Cash Back Works

Earning cash back from online shopping through RebatesMe works exactly how credit card cash back programs work. You simply buy what you want at a specific store, and you get a percentage of your purchase back.

For credit cards, you can only earn cash back when you use that card. For RebatesMe it’s the same concept. Instead of a card, you use the RebatesMe link to collect your reward.

Each store has their own page on RebatesMe. There, you can see exactly how much cash back you can earn, if there are any special promotional offers, and see any exclusions that might apply (more on this below).

You’ll also see a big “Shop Now” button. Clicking on this will take you to the merchant’s website and activate your cash back reward. Once you make a purchase on your store, your cash back will be viewable on your account page.

How the Cash Back Button Works

Instead of going onto the RebatesMe website each time you want to earn cash back, you can simply download the Cash Back Button. This is a browser extension for Firefox and Chrome that tracks cash back opportunities for the sites you visit.

There’s no need to go to the RebatesMe website and click on a “Shop Now” link. Just go to your favorite store. The extension will tell you if there’s a cash back opportunity for that site and give you the opportunity to activate it then and there.

Cash Back Rate Changes

The rate you see today may not be the same tomorrow. This is because each store sets its own rates on RebatesMe. This usually doesn’t happen frequently, but sometimes it can at a moment’s notice.

Rates can go up or down, and usually happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes stores change rates during certain seasons or holidays, and sometimes they react to economic factors or industry trends. No matter the reason, rates will be updated as soon as they happen.

What you have to know is that the rate you make a purchase at is the rate you get, even if it changes before your cash back is processed.

Keep in mind that deals and bonus offers are not the same as rate changes. Deals are always rate increases, rate changes can either increase or decrease.

RebatesMe constantly has deals and special offers where you can earn even more from your online purchase. These deals and offers come in the form of boosted cash back rates and sales coupons. These offers can be found on the dedicated deal page.

Beyond this, there are other special deals that RebatesMe offers. Those are:

• Daily Double Cash Back

• New Member Bonuses

• Special Event Deal

Daily Double Cash Back:

This is exactly what is sounds like, the cash back rate is doubled. The stores that have double cash back change daily.

New Member Bonuses:

New members get access to a special sign up bonus, as well as boosted rates for their first purchase at select stores.

Special Event Deals:

These are limited time bonus cash back opportunities offered by RebatesMe. Things like Memorial Day sales, spring beauty events, and Black Friday deals are all under this category. Each event will be clearly displayed on the RebatesMe homepage.

How Terms and Exclusions Work

Every store sets their own terms and exclusions regarding how you earn cash back, or which items are not eligible for cash back. All of these can be viewed on the specific RebatesMe merchant pages and should be examined before making a purchase.

While every store has different terms and exclusions, there are some common themes to keep an eye out for:

Premium product exclusions:

Some merchants have high end products or brands that they exclude from cash back opportunities.

Quantity limits:

There are often limits on just how many items you can buy and get cash back from. These are usually quite reasonable and more than enough for most people.

Promotional event exclusions:

Some stores have special promotional events where they offer huge deals, such as a Black Friday sale. Sometimes during these events they either cancel cash back opportunities, or lower the amount you can earn.

While a bit disappointing, this is something that actually doesn’t happen often. In fact, one of the smartest ways to get the most out of your money is to stack promotions on top of cash back offerings. Just be aware that this doesn’t always work.

Bonus reward exclusions:

Bonuses in this case refers to an extra gift or reward (buy-one-get-one, earn extra loyalty points, etc.) and not simply a sales deal (20% off). Sometimes stores won’t allow you to stack cash back on top of a bonus reward – it’s one or the other.

Most of the time they actually will. In fact, RebatesMe frequently promotes these offers on their dedicated merchant page or in a special email when they do.

Cashing Out

Once you’ve stacked at least $10 worth of cash back, you can cash out by going to the My Cash Back and Bonuses section of your account and clicking the Cash Out button.

There are 4 different ways to get paid through RebatesMe, those are:

• Through PayPal

• Through a Debit or Credit Card

• By check

• Via Gift Card

There are limits and certain rules about each method that you should be aware of.

PayPal:

This is the easiest way to get cash back as it offers the most flexibility. Once initiated, transactions take about 1-3 business days. There are no limits for how much you can transfer via PayPal at RebatesMe.

Debit or Credit Card:

You can have your money transferred directly to the card of your choice as long as it’s a Visa or MasterCard. You can’t cash out at RebatesMe using American Express or Discover cards. With credit or debit cards, the maximum you can cash out at any one time is $1,500.

Check:

You can have a check mailed directly to you from RebatesMe. This method takes the longest amount of time. In general you should receive your check within a week. You must have cash back totaling at least $1,000 to receive a check – any smaller amount and you must select a different payment method.

Gift Card:

You can request your cash back to be put on the gift card of your choice. Most of the stores that appear on RebatesMe are eligible for a gift card cash out option. When you do this, the total amount in your account will be put on a gift card – you can not dictate a specific amount. However, cashing out with a gift card through RebatesMe will often net you a bonus – sometimes up to 10%.

Missing Cash Back

If there was cash back you know you’ve earned, but it doesn’t appear in your account, you need to file a missing cash back inquiry. This needs to be done within 90 days of making a purchase, but you have to wait at least 7 days after a purchase was made to file the report (because it can take some time for the amount to appear in your account).

The process is actually easy to initiate and understand.