Swagbucks can be a little confusing if you’re just looking for an online coupon site. You can earn SBs, the company’s version of points, by answering online surveys, watching videos and shopping online through the Swagbucks shopping portal. Each SB is worth a penny, and you can redeem them for gift cards starting at $25 or have the money deposited into your PayPal account.
When you shop through Swagbucks’ store, you earn a minimum of one SB for every dollar you spend. That’s like getting 1 percent cash back. Many featured stores give you even more money back. Plus, just about every major online retailer that you can think of is on this site. At the time of this writing, you could even earn up to 5 percent cash back for shopping at Amazon.
It’s free to join, which makes it a no-brainer. You can easily earn a couple of gift cards per month if you shop online frequently. One of the best ways to earn 500 extra SBs a day is by watching videos. Just stream them in the background while you’re busy with something else, and you’ll be accruing points in no time.
Ebates
Ebates is one of the best coupon sites because it’s free and easy to use. It also features an online portal for shopping. If you click through the links to the affiliates, you’ll earn cash back when you shop at those retailers. Ebates also offers coupons for the same stores that give you cash back, boosting your savings.
So that you don’t forget to start shopping using the Ebates portal, the company offers a browser extension that you can use any time you shop online. That way, you don’t have to visit Ebates.com first.
You can also link your credit card using the offline cash back page. After you link your credit card to a specific store, you can shop there in person and continue to rack up savings.
The benefit of using Ebates is that you don’t have to scour the internet for coupon codes before shopping. One of the downsides is that it only gives you cash back on a limited number of categories when you shop at Amazon.com.
Groupon
Groupon is a useful website for finding discounts for local establishments. When you sign up and enter your location, you’ll get a list of deals for restaurants, shops, services and events where you live. The company also offers discounts for thousands of online retailers.
The savings are usually offered for a limited time. Therefore, it’s always worth it to check Groupon for a coupon before shopping in store or online. While Groupon does offer discounts for products, it’s probably best for scoring deals for restaurants, events and travel.
Ibotta
If the bulk of your budget goes toward groceries, you might want to use Ibotta to earn cash for shopping. Downloading the app is the easiest way to take advantage of the savings. It’s free and can be used on most mobile devices.
The company works with most major grocery store chains to give you cash back for purchasing specific products. You usually have to complete a task, such as watching a promotional video, to be eligible for the savings.
This app is especially valuable if you don’t usually shop online. It also lets you save money while making purchases over the internet, though.
The downside is that you have to go through multiple steps to earn the savings. However, that takes about the same amount of time as clipping paper coupons. Using this app helps you get the most for your money now that many grocery stores have developed strict couponing policies.
RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot is one of the original coupon sites. This one is ideal for finding coupon codes at the last minute. If you download the app, you can redeem coupons right from your phone. There is nothing to print out.
The website also offers suggestions for coupons based on your previous purchases and browsing history. Like the other best coupon sites, RetailMeNot features a shopping portal for saving money online.
Using online coupons is easy when you keep this list handy. One of the primary mistakes that consumers make is forgetting to start at these websites when saving money online. You may want to compare deals using all of the apps before you decide to make your purchase.
