Cashback websites receive a commission from the retailers they work with in exchange for directing consumers to their websites. The retailers such as Argos understand that it costs money to advertise to gain new customers, so they spend a percentage of the advertising budget on rebates to cashback websites that provide them with customers who actually buy items. Sometimes this can be as high as 20% but usual between 1% and 10%.
How should I use cashback websites for online arbitrage? We would always recommend you use cashback as an added bonus and don’t use it in your profit and loss calculations. The reason for this is that the cashback payment can be rejected by the retailer and this could ruin a deal. No cashback payments are 100% guaranteed.
How do cashback websites work and how do they make money? Cashback websites get paid a percentage of the total purchase, usually between 1% and 10% of the money you spend with a retailer. They receive this as a reward for introducing you to the retailer and getting you to spend your money. The cashback site keeps a small percentage of this fee and then passes the rest on to you the customer.
What is the best way to use a cashback website? Cashback websites work by using a tracking reference in the URL, here is the best way we have found to make it work quickly and easily.
First of all, add everything to your basket as normal. Then close all retailers’ browser tabs that you have open. Don’t worry you won't lose everything. Go to the cashback website and find the retailer and then click through to the store using the link provided by the cashback website. You will see that everything you added to the basket beforehand, will still be there. Complete the payment as normal and a few hours to a few days later, you will see the purchase has been tracked on the cashback website. Depending on the retailer a few weeks to a few months later you will receive the money in the cashback website, which you can then cash out to your bank account or get vouchers for.
Which UK cashback websites should I chose?
Complete Savings – https://www.completesavings.co.uk/
We love Complete Savings as every retailer on their portal pays out a minimum of 10% on any money spent. The payout also goes straight into your bank account within 30 days, so no having to manually log in and cash out. The downside is that is costs £15 per month and that you can only receive up to £250 cashback per month. If you earn any more cash back in a month, it will be lost. They also offer various bonuses such as a 15-month bonus, welcome bonus and discounted gift cards.
We love Complete Savings as every retailer on their portal pays out a minimum of 10% on any money spent. The payout also goes straight into your bank account within 30 days, so no having to manually log in and cash out. The downside is that is costs £15 per month and that you can only receive up to £250 cashback per month. If you earn any more cash back in a month, it will be lost. They also offer various bonuses such as a 15-month bonus, welcome bonus and discounted gift cards.
Top Tip – Don't max this out every month as they have been known to close accounts down that have consistently high cashback due to them not being used for ‘personal use’.
TopCashBack – https://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/acquired_business
We love TopCashBack, simple and easy to use with thousands of retailers. The cashback amount is smaller and Complete Saving, but you can use it as much as you like and the service is FREE. The cashback generally takes longer to the payout from TopCashBack and also remember that you need to manually transfer the money out of your TopCashBack account to your bank or by the other methods they have such as vouchers.
We love TopCashBack, simple and easy to use with thousands of retailers. The cashback amount is smaller and Complete Saving, but you can use it as much as you like and the service is FREE. The cashback generally takes longer to the payout from TopCashBack and also remember that you need to manually transfer the money out of your TopCashBack account to your bank or by the other methods they have such as vouchers.
Delivery Deals – https://www.deliverydeals.co.uk
Delivery Deals is similar to Complete Savings in that they offer 10% on all their retailers and they also charge a monthly fee of £9.97. The process is exactly the same as all other cashback websites. They payout automatically but they send you a cheque. I know, who uses cheques in this day and age! Note they cap the payout to a maximum of £1,000 per year. The other issue we have seen is that a number of retailers such as Argos have cancelled a number of the cashback payments.
Delivery Deals is similar to Complete Savings in that they offer 10% on all their retailers and they also charge a monthly fee of £9.97. The process is exactly the same as all other cashback websites. They payout automatically but they send you a cheque. I know, who uses cheques in this day and age! Note they cap the payout to a maximum of £1,000 per year. The other issue we have seen is that a number of retailers such as Argos have cancelled a number of the cashback payments.
Quidco – https://www.quidco.com
Quidco is just like TopCashBack, free and easy to use. They have a great range of retailers and like TopCashBack you need to remember to cash out the money from your account to your bank account. The reason we use TopCashBack over Quidco is that we find TopCashBack is a few percentage points better than Quidco on most cashback amounts.
Quidco is just like TopCashBack, free and easy to use. They have a great range of retailers and like TopCashBack you need to remember to cash out the money from your account to your bank account. The reason we use TopCashBack over Quidco is that we find TopCashBack is a few percentage points better than Quidco on most cashback amounts.
Do cashback sites actually work and how much can I expect to make? We have successfully used all the above websites and continue to do so in that order. Here are some screenshots of the payouts we have received.
Word of Caution We have no control over these cashback websites, their process and how much they pay. We would recommend that you read all the Terms and Conditions before using them to fully understand what you are entering into you.