I love cash back websites! They are so simple to use and they pay you back for goods or services that you are already buying. There are a number that you can use but my preferred option is Quidco and I’ve earned almost £80 in the last 6 months without any effort. It’s perfect for big house related purchases for example we needed a new mattress for our bed and I earned £25 cash back on a £357 purchase equivalent to a 7% discount.
Note that you should check you’re choosing the retailer offering the cheapest price first before using a cash back site – there is no point getting £10 cash back from a cash back retailer if you could have purchased the same item £50 cheaper from a non cash back retailer!
It’s also really good for utilities and media. When we moved house, we found the cheapest broadband package and then checked Quidco and got an additional £40 in cash back. Travel companies often offer great cash back rates too consistently between 10 – 15% across flights, hotels and car hire – I got £140 cash back across all these areas on a three week trip to Canada (including Niagara Falls, see photo below!). Again, check you are getting the best price first before looking up that retailer on your chosen cash back website.
Another feature that makes your money go further is choosing to have your cash back paid in e-vouchers rather than straight to your bank account as there is often a bonus added. I particularly like swapping my cash back for a Zeek e-voucher because not only does this currently top up my cash back by 20% I can then use it on the Zeek website to purchase gift cards or e-vouchers at a discount.
As an example, I currently have £17 in my Quidco account and this will convert to £20.40 on Zeek. I can then convert that to gift vouchers for Not on the High Street at a saving of 10% in increments of £5 so I can order 5 x £5 = £25 at a cost of 5 x £4.50 = £22.50 less my cash back voucher so vouchers worth £25 will effectively cost me £2.10! I will then use those vouchers towards gifts for upcoming birthdays.
Quidco takes the first £5 of any cash back each year as an administration fee but having been a member since 2010 I’ve averaged almost £100 per year. Note also that if you didn’t generate any cash back in a particular year the £5 fee is not charged.
Topcashback is the other major website offering a similar service. There is a great breakdown of both this and Quidco as well as the key rules when using cash back sites at MoneySavingExpert (MSE). If you’re not already using a cash back site, I highly recommend you read this MSE article and check out a cash back site for your future purchases.
The Saving Journey 