Ibotta Cash Back App – Does it Work?

You’ve probably seen people sharing referral codes for different cash back apps and wondered if they really work or if it’s just a gimmick. I know I had my doubts about them but after using two different apps – Ibotta and Dosh, for the past year, I can confidently say “YES!” to one of them and “Meh” to the other. I’ve also started using Ebates, which seems to be one that will pay off as well.

I tried Ibotta first, and I’ll talk about it exclusively in this post. So far, it’s been the best at putting cash back into my bank account. In the year that I have used it, I’ve gotten nearly $280 back. It does take a little more work than the other apps & I’ll outline how to use it below.

Then go shopping and upload your receipt.

First, add offers in the Ibotta app. Then go shopping and upload your receipt to Ibotta. It will match what you bought to items on your receipt – if it doesn’t pick something up, you may have to manually add it.

Your balance will show up on your account page and once you reach $25, you can withdraw it OR cash it in for gift cards. I prefer transferring directly to my Pay Pal account and then putting the cash back in my bank account.

There are also bonus offers for redeeming a certain number of offers in a month and teamwork incentives.  If you connect to Facebook, all your friends that are also using the app will be your “team” and together you work toward extra cash back goals.

A couple tips: when you add offers, make sure you read it – every once in a while you will need to buy two of something to get the cash back. I didn’t realize this at first and a few times got burned when I went to upload my receipt and it didn’t accept it since I only bought one item.

You can also check the barcode of the item in the store to make sure it matches your offer. This is handy if you aren’t sure that it fits the description of the item.

Also, every store has different offers! So be sure to check them all out and don’t assume because you’ve added an offer at Kroger that the same offer works at Walmart.

With mobile offers, be sure you start in the app first – it will redirect you to the website or store’s app if you have that downloaded. You WILL NOT get cash back from mobile offers if you don’t start with Ibotta first.

It’s really pretty easy to use and it’s been beneficial to our family over the past year. If you are interested in signing up for Ibotta, just download the app and if you use my referral code, both of us will get a bonus! Happy shopping 🙂