When it comes to the world of reward apps, there’s nothing sweeter than earning cashback.
One of the reason I also write about cashback programs so frequently on This Online World is because of how easy they are to use…just signup, look for deals, and keep more of your hard-earned money each year.
Now, websites like Rakuten and apps like Drop are some of the most popular ways to earn cashback besides using a credit card.
However, today we’re going to break down a nifty, lesser-known cashback platform that gives Rakuten a run for it’s money.
That platform is called TopCashback.
This website claims it’s the most generous cashback site in the United States. Time to see if it live up to this claim in our official TopCashback review!
Let’s get to it.
TopCashback Review
Name: TopCashback
Description: TopCashback is a rewards website that pays you for shopping online at over 4,000 partners!
Operating System: Windows, Android, IOS
Application Category: Shopping
Author: Tom Blake
Overall
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Earning Potential
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Ease of Use
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Reward Options
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Bonus Offers
What Is TopCashback.com?
TopCashback is an international rewards site that actually began in the UK back in 2005.
Since then, TopCashback has expanded to the United States, China, India, Japan, and Germany, making it one of the more internationally-friendly cashback platforms around.
TopCashback now partners with more than 4,400 retailers, which definitely puts it in competition with Rakuten.
So, the ultimate question is really how to use this platform and if it’s worth your time.
How To Use TopCashback
If you want to start making money with TopCashback, the entire process just takes 4 steps:
1. Signup
Like Rakuten, signing up for signing up for TopCashback is completely free. To create an account, you just need your email address.
According to TopCashback, they never sell your information to third parties. However, you do recieve a newsletter, special offers, and account updates until you unsubscribe.
Also note that you have to verify your account after signing up by clicking a verification email.
This is a requirement for using TopCashback, so keep an eye out for that email!
2. Browse For Offers
Once you create your account, you can browse through the thousands of TopCashback partners to find opportunities to earn.
Like Rakuten, it’s a good idea to get in the habit of browsing for offers before you do any shopping.
The only way you actually earn with TopCashback is by visiting their website before connecting to the retailer you want to shop at.
This is because TopCashback gets paid a commission if you buy from one of their partner retailers, and they split the commission with you to ensure you earn cashback.
In any case, TopCashback partners with plenty of major retailers, so it’s easy to find offers you enjoy.
Some popular TopCashback stores include:
- Macy’s.
- Walgreens.
- Home Depot.
- Amazon.
- AT&T.
- Dell.
- Best Buy.
Again, there’s thousands of retailers across multiple categories, so there’s no shortage of choice with TopCashback.
3. Shop & Earn
Retailers on TopCashback display what percentage of cashback you earn for shopping.
Most retailers have a flat rate, and you can find cashback amounts ranging from 2% to 10% pretty easily, which is much higher than most credit card rewards.
However, some retailers have way more lucrative arrangements.
For example, many internet service providers will pay upward of $100-$150 if you make the switch to their services. Similarly, you can find cashback offers of 60% or more if you do some digging:
Once you complete an eligible purchase, you’re on track to earn cashback.
However, your reward doesn’t credit immediately.
According to TopCashback: “retailers get invoiced for the cashback after the end of the calendar month in which the transaction occurred. This means that if your transaction was at the start of a month, then you will probably be waiting a slightly longer amount of time for your cashback than someone who purchased at the end of a month.”
Ultimately, by the time cashback is paid out and reaches TopCashback, you’re looking at roughly 1-2 months of waiting around.
This isn’t uncommon in the world of reward programs, but it’s worth noting,
4. Get Paid
One massive difference between Rakuten and TopCashback is how the payment system works.
On Rakuten, you get paid through PayPal every quarter as long as you have more than $5 in your account.
However, TopCashback makes the process easier. To cash out, you simply click the “Payout” tab in your account and select an option you want to redeem your cashback for.
Some options include:
- ACH direct payment.
- PayPal cash.
- Amazon gift cards.
- Walmart gift cards.
- Target gift cards.
- Prepaid Visa cards.
There’s also several other gift card options.
Options are subject to change and not always in stock, although PayPal, ACH, and Amazon gift cards are a safe bet.
Note that cashback must show as “Payable” in your account before you can withdraw it. This is to give merchants and affiliate networks enough time to verify your transaction.
However, once you see Payable as the status and request cashback through an option you like, expect the payment or free gift card fairly quickly!
Other Features
At first glance, TopCashback might seem like a fairly one-dimensional cashback rewards platform.
However, there are several other features that make it easier to earn and create a better user experience overall.
1. TopCashback Browser Extension
The hardest part about using reward apps is often forgetting to activate offers before shopping.
There’s no worse feeling than loading up your shopping cart and checking out, only to realize you missed out on a juicy cashback opportunity due to forgetfulness.
Thankfully, like other money saving browser extensions, the TopCashback browser extension ensures that you never miss out on savings again when shopping online.
To get started, simply install the extension and login to your TopCashback account. As you browse the web, you’ll receive notifications if you’re shopping at an eligible TopCashback partner.
Currently, the extension is available for Google Chrome and Firefox.
You don’t need to visit TopCashback either; the extension lets you activate a cashback offer right on the retailer’s website.
The extension doesn’t cover every TopCashback store, but it gets most of them, so it’s really all you need to use this platform.
Extra Reading – 13 Awesome Money Saving Browser Extensions.
2. Mobile App
Mobile shopping becomes more popular every year, and chances are, you’ve bought something straight from your smartphone before.
This used to be a problem for reward programs, but TopCashback has caught up with the times.
If you download the TopCashback app for Android or IOS, you can still earn cashback for shopping at TopCashback partners from your phone.
The app also grants access to printable vouchers and deals in your area, and you can still search for coupon codes on the TopCashback website.
This won’t be a major win for you if you only shop through your computer, but I thought the feature was worth mentioning for this TopCashback review!
3. Trending Now
One feature I like about TopCashback over Rakuten is the “Trending Now” section, which highlights where other members are saving the most money.
This section updates very frequently, and it’s an easy way to spot the most lucrative deals, rebates, and brands that are paying off big time for members.
If you have some gift shopping to take care of and don’t know where to start, checkout this section before doing anything else.
4. TopCashback PLus
One feature that I also thought was cool was for the UK version of TopCashback.
In the UK, you can actually upgrade your account to TopCashback Plus in exchange for £5 of your annual cashback earnings.
This upgrade provides extra member offers, competitions, cashback bonuses, and a variety of other offers.
Again, this is only for UK members, but I thought it was worth mentioning to show how diverse this rewards platform truly is.
TopCashback Vs Rakuten (Ebates)
Alright, there was no way to write a review of TopCashback without talking about the elephant in the room.
In my opinion, the whole TopCashback vs Rakuten debate really boils down to 3 elements:
- Singup Bonuses.
- Cashback Amount.
- Reward Options.
Right off the bat, I’ll say that Rakuten is better than TopCashback for the signup bonuses. New Rakuten members get $10 if they sign up with a referral link and spend more than $25.
In contrast, TopCashback doesn’t have a signup bonus.
They state this is because they already pay the highest cashback amount in the business, and that in the long run, this makes up for the lack of a bonus.
Now, is this actually the case? Let’s dive in.
Here’s a list of some popular merchants and their corresponding cashback amounts on Rakuten and TopCashback:
[wptb id=7287]
Granted, this is a small sample size, but I decided to pick some major retailers across a few categories to compare.
As you can see, there are some major differences.
TopCashback’s Amazon partnership on select categories is massive, and after browsing both websites, I think they do have slightly higher cashback rewards than Rakuten.
However, Rakuten has the $10 bonus and I like the layout of the website much more.
TopCashback does have another advantage over Rakuten when you consider their reward diversity, but if you don’t mind getting paid out through PayPal, this isn’t a huge win.
Verdict: I think both platforms are worth using. Make use of Rakuten’s $10 signup bonus and take advantage of TopCashback for better offers and for retailers you can’t find on Rakuten.
Is TopCashback Legit?
Earning more cashback per purchase is a nice feature…provided this website actually pays members.
From what I’ve seen, other TopCashback reviews are fairly positive.
Reddit threads like this show that happy users enjoy the cashback offers and fact that there’s no minimum cashout amount, unlike Rakuten:
Other reviews show that on occasion, your cashback might not credit properly. However, it seems like a simple support ticket resolves the issue:
Overall, the impression I get is that everyone know about Rakuten, but not too many people know about TopCashback.
However, it seems like the users who do know about this platform enjoy the lack of cashout threshold, earning potential, and support system.
Not bad signs at all!
Pros & Cons
If you’re still unsure if you want to signup for this platform after reading our review, consider the following list of pros and cons!
The Pros
TopCashback claims they are the most generous platform in the United States, and honestly, they are doing a decent job at backing up this claim. Some perks of this platform include:
- High Cashback Amounts.
- Reward Variety.
- 4,000+ Retailer Partners.
- Trending Retailers & Lucrative Signup Bonuses.
- Support for Several Countries.
The Cons
Despite the range of features and generous rewards, TopCashback has several drawbacks:
- No Signup Bonus.
- Cashback Credits Slowly.
- Offers Don’t Always Track Perfectly.
- Feels Like A Complete Rakuten Clone.
Final Thoughts
I think it’s pretty easy to get sucked down the reward program rabbit hole if you endlessly chase the best offer in town or flashy new app that’s out there.
In reality, I think if you keep things simple and rely on a few legit platforms, you can save a decent chunk of money every year.
In my opinion, you should use Rakuten for the signup bonus and also try out TopCashback to make use of some incredibly generous cashback offers.
As long as you install the extension or remember to visit the website before shopping online, there’s no reason why you can’t recoup a decent portion of your online spending each year without much effort.
Just remember: the earning potential of these platforms depends on how often you shop…if you rarely buy things online, don’t expect to earn too much!
That’s all for this one!
I hope this TopCashback review has helped clarify some of the pros and cons of using this platform.
Signup for TopCashback and keep more of your hard-earned money!
If you want to save even more money each year, some apps and websites like TopCashback include:
- Capital One Shopping – Automatically apply coupon codes at checkout and earn credits, which are redeemable for free gift cards! Note that Capital One Shopping compensates us for using the link provided.
- Honey – Another nifty coupon extension that also lets you earn free gift cards through Honey Gold. Read out Honey extension review for all the details.
- Fetch Rewards – Save money on groceries and everyday essentials with this receipt scanning app! Checkout our Fetch Rewards review to learn more!
Catch you guys in the next one!
Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
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