Grab some free cash today!

by Szu Ping Chan on 21 May 2009  |  11 comments
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If you like shopping, bargains and discounts, you'll love this article....

Last week, we looked at the growing number of cashback websites offering freebies. And, whether it's charity giveaways, Nectar schemes or extra funds for your kids, we found there's something out there for everyone.

How cashback websites work

For those new to the cashback game, cashback websites will pay you money if you do your online shopping via their links.

You don't actually buy your items from the cashback site You simply go to their website, find the merchant you want to buy from and click on the link to the merchant's site. Your purchase is tracked, and in a similar way to online adverts, a commission is paid to the cashback website.

The cashback website then passes that commission back to you.

Hundreds of household names are on board, including M&S, Tesco and HSBC. So if you often shop online at well-known stores, odds are, you could be earning a lot of cashback.

But it's all very well these new kids on the block springing up and giving everyone a run for their money in terms of variety and rewards on offer, but what if it's just cash you're interested in?

Here's a round-up of the best cashback sites, and what you can earn by shopping through them:

Quidco is arguably the most well known cashback website. It is also the only site in the table to charge an annual membership fee.

This may put you off joining, but there are a couple of things to mention. Quidco's membership fee is only taken when you start earning cashback. So, it's free to join - if you never earn anything, you won't be out of pocket.

Once you start earning, you'll have to relinquish your first fiver. But Quidco won't charge any additional commission on top of this, so you'll always receive the maximum cashback.

Doubling up...

Once you've joined one (or all) of the cashback websites you like, don't forget that you can add to the cashback you earn by paying for your purchases using a cashback credit card.

The market-leading American Express Platinum Cashback credit card offers 0.5% cashback on all purchases up to £3,500, tiered rates of up to 1.5% beyond this, and bonus cashback of up to 5% during the first three months (on spend up to £2,000). So paying in this way will earn you earn cashback twice on your purchases - and, let's face it, would you say no to more free money?

Just be aware that you'll need to earn at least £20,000 per year to qualify, and remember that Amex isn't as widely accepted as rivals Visa and MasterCard.

Breaking borders

It's not just the online stores which are offering cashback, and deals are increasingly reaching beyond the internet and onto the high street.

GreasyPalm is the first to offer cashback on your high street shopping, with Superdrug, Cineworld cinemas and JJB sports all signed up.

You have to register your credit or debit card with the site. Once this is done, all purchases made at these stores will also be tracked.

This is a great addition to an already attractive package, but bear in mind you cannot register an American Express credit card for the scheme. So if you want to double up on cashback on the high street, only holders of Visa or MasterCard cashback cards will benefit.

Doing the sums

So, it's all very well knowing what's on offer, but what about how much they pay in practice? Here's a small selection of retailers, along with how much commission each cashback website pays in cashback:

Correct as at 20th May 2009. Cashback commissions may change.

It's a close call between top cashback payers Quidco and TopCashback. The £5 admin fee may put some of you off Quidco, but if you're keen on cashback, it's clear that Quidco is very competitive, beating many of its rivals in terms of cashback amounts offered.

Cashback Kings, owned by RPoints, was set up to follow the lead of other 100% cashback websites, and unlike Quidco, doesn't take a fee from your earnings.

However, in terms of rates, it still doesn't match up to Quidco and TopCashback, which makes you wonder how concrete the term 100% actually is.

This is an even more compelling reason to check different cashback sites to see which offers the best deals. From a small handful of stores, we can see some big differences, so even though several may all claim to offer 100% cashback, all the sites strike up individual deals with retailers, enabling some to offer juicier rates than others.

Be careful not to spread your cashback too thinly, though, as some of the websites require a minimum earnings level before you can claim. Balance is key to winning the cashback game.

Six steps to become a cashback website expert:

1.) Decide what you want to buy (it's always a good start).

2.) Use a price comparison site such as Kelkoo or Sccope to find the best price for the item, then search your cashback websites to see which website offers the best deal for this retailer.

3.) Clear your cookies, as this one of the main reasons why cashback transactions fail to track. Quidco offers a step by step guide to ensure you don't lose out on your cashback.

4.) Remember not to navigate away from the page while you shop, or type in other addresses in your browser window. Cashback sites have special affiliate links which enable them to track your purchase. Break the chain, and the trail will be lost.

5.) Complete your transaction as normal, bearing in mind that cashback websites take around two to three months to pay out once it is complete.

6.) See the money trickle through to your account - the pennies will soon turn into pounds!

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