Ibotta Review: Is This Cash-Back App Worth Your Time?
GOBankingRates Score
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Customer Experience
5.0
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Breadth of Partnerships
5.0
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Innovation
4.5
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Privacy Protection
4.0
Pros
- Cash back nearly everywhere you shop
- 100% cash back on many deals
Cons
- Privacy. Ibotta strips out customer details and sells anonymized data about shopping patterns to third parties. You can turn privacy settings on, but you'll need to remember to do so manually.
- Ibotta charges inactive accounts $3.99 per month to cover maintenance until your balance is zero.
What Is Ibotta?
Ibotta is an app aimed at giving you cash-back rewards for your everyday purchases. Ibotta partners with more than 1,500 brands and retailers, from Gap to Lowe’s, The Home Depot, Petco and more. Simply shop on Ibotta, earn cash back, upload your receipts and get cash for your purchases within 24 hours. From there, transfer it to your bank account via PayPal or Venmo. Ibotta’s cash-back offer applies to in-store and online purchases.
How Does Ibotta Work?
While you’re shopping in person or online, look at cash-back offers from retailers and claim the deals that make sense for you. Check out using the Ibotta app, scan and upload your receipt and plan to transfer the cash you’ve earned to yourself within a day or so.
Ibotta Features
Here’s a look at some of the features that Ibotta offers its users.
Browser Extension
Prefer to shop on your laptop or desktop computer? Ibotta has a plan for that. Just download the app’s browser extension for Chrome or Firefox, log into your Ibotta account, activate the cash-back offer and shop for whatever you’re looking for. You’ll earn cash back in the same way that you would if you were shopping in-store or on the app.
Plug-In for Loyalty Accounts
You can spare yourself the hassle of uploading receipts by linking your loyalty accounts or cards to Ibotta’s app. That way, if you’re shopping at one of your preferred stores, such as Target, Ibotta will automatically give you credit for your purchases with that retailer — no receipts needed.
Nearby Offer Alerts
Ibotta can use your location to send you push notifications while you’re shopping or running errands. You don’t have to allow Ibotta to use your location, but if you do, you’ll be able to get offer alerts in real time to help you take advantage of potential deals.
Influencer Program
Ibotta offers publishers and content creators an opportunity to earn by promoting the app to their followers. Affiliates start out earning $2 per new Ibotta user registration and payouts can increase from there.
Is Ibotta Safe?
To support safe purchasing, Ibotta uses 256-bit bank-level encryption, according to its website. The company does not see your transaction details, and it partners with payment processors to ensure adherence to industry guidelines for accepting payments.
To support your overall privacy, Ibotta offers privacy settings. There, you can prevent the app from selling any anonymized data about you to interested third parties. Your account will default to data sharing, so you’ll have to make your own privacy selections.
Is Ibotta Free?
Ibotta is free as long as you’re an active user. Once your account is deactivated or registers no activity for six months, Ibotta will deduct $3.99 from your balance in the app until your account balance reaches zero.
How To Sign Up
Download Ibotta’s app and register for an account using your email address. Once you’re registered, the app will recommend that you enable tracking, location and notifications to receive relevant, personalized recommendations on where to earn cash back.
Ibotta’s Approach to Customer Service
You can reach out to the team at Ibotta via the contact form on its website and expect to hear back within two business days, on average. To speed things up, you can also field a question to Ibotta’s community forum.
Is Ibotta Right for You?
If you’re running a busy household, Ibotta could deliver a financial advantage. Your routine will get a little busier as you look for offers on Ibotta and upload receipts, but the savings tend to add up quickly. Ibotta claims that its users have received over $1 billion so far and counting.
Have a Plan for the Incoming Cash
Who doesn’t love getting cash back? Whether you apply it to travel, brokerage accounts or an education fund, Ibotta seems to have built a cash-back service that has the potential to benefit anyone. Since the funds you’ll get back is money you wouldn’t have had otherwise, don’t let it disappear into the black hole known as a checking account.
Ibotta FAQ
Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about Ibotta.- How soon can I transfer my earnings out of the Ibotta app?
- You must have an accumulated balance of at least $20. You must have successfully redeemed at least one brand-name offer and you need to be an Ibotta customer for at least 48 hours before a withdrawal.
- Do I have to transfer earnings out right away?
- No. You can keep your cash back stored with Ibotta for as long as you'd like.
- How much per month does the average Ibotta user earn?
- It's estimated that the average active Ibotta user makes $10 to $20 per month, but more regular users can earn anywhere between $100 and $300 per month, CNBC Select reported.
