Ibotta isn’t a money-making app per-se — it’s a rebate app allows you to save money on your groceries and select other purchases. It works much like a coupon book, letting you see the available rebates at the store you are shopping at.
I use Ibotta on a regular basis to save a little bit of money on my regular purchases, as well as to occasionally get products for free, or virtually for free, whenever there’s a rebate and the item is also on sale. As such, this is an app that can add a small boost to your financial bottom line and I think many of you will enjoy using Ibotta. A penny saved is a penny earned, after all!
When you launch Ibotta you will be given a choice between different categories of products. There are other categories like electronics, pet products, or fashion, but I normally choose Grocery, since that’s where the majority of coupons can be found, and groceries are something I shop for on a regular basis.
At this point you can select the store you are shopping at and browse the list of available rebates. Rebates are updated on a regular basis, so it makes sense to scroll through the list to see what’s available. Sometimes there will be rebates on products you’re interested in, sometimes not. Rebates are similar in value to typical coupons — from $0.20 up to about $3.00 for typical grocery items.
Redeeming is a three step process that might seem a bit complicated, but really isn’t that bad. After selecting a rebate you first have to 'unlock’ it. Unlocking is simple — it usually involves watching a quick promotional video ad from the manufacturer, or perhaps a multiple choice question regarding your opinion of the product. After you do this, you can then verify the product by scanning the barcode with your phone’s camera. I recommend you do this before you purchase your items, just to make sure that the item you grabbed qualifies for the rebate. You can repeat this step for multiple products.
Once you’ve finalized your purchases and paid for everything, the last step is to capture a photo of the receipt by tapping the big green round button at the bottom of the screen. This step qualifies as proof that you actually purchased the item, so be sure that you grab the receipt after paying for your groceries!
At that point, your rebate has been submitted and will be reviewed for approval. Approval generally takes up to 48 hours, but usually takes a considerably shorter amount of time, and the funds for the rebate are added to your account instantly. Occasionally, there’s a glitch and a properly submitted receipt gets denied (this has only happened to me once); when that happens you can submit a request for manual review.
At this time Ibotta is only available in USA and Puerto Rico.
But Wait There’s More: Referrals, Teamwork & Bonuses
One of my favorite kinds of coupons are so-called ‘Any Brand’ coupons that can be redeemed on staples such as milk, eggs, etc. For example, whenever the $0.25 banana coupon is available, you can essentially get a single banana for free with the help of Ibotta!
You can also boost your earning by referring friends or family to Ibotta. Anytime someone uses your referral code or link to get Ibotta, and successfully redeems their first rebate, you get $2 added to your account. All of your referrals (as well as your friends on Facebook — if you choose to connect it to iBotta) are also automatically added to your ‘Team’. The main benefit of having ‘Teammates’ is that you have a chance to unlock cash bonuses when you and your team passes a certain monthly threshold in terms of redeemed rebates.
There are also other bonuses available based on the number of rebates you redeem in any given period of time. Just be careful to not go overboard in chasing these bonuses though, as it could lead you to buy items that you don’t really want or need.
It’s also worth noting that Ibotta is more than just for groceries and basic necessities; you can find electronics deals at Best Buy, sports deals at Nike.com, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the range of rebates you can find on Ibotta be expanded in the future.
Once your account reaches $20 ($10-25 for gift cards) you can withdraw the money you saved via Paypal or Venmo. Your our account balance can also be redeemed via gift cards to popular retailers, including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Starbucks, and more. I’ve withdrawn my balance to my Paypal account, I’m pleased to report that the transfer was instantaneous.
Ibotta is available for iOS and Android devices. If you found my review of Ibotta interesting and would like to give this money-saving app a try, please use my referral link or the referral code below.
Referral link: https://ibotta.com/r/imdqgxm
BONUS: Sign up by 12/31/15 and a $5 starting bonus will be automatically added to your account!! 🎅🎄