Ibotta-A Coupon App that Pays You

[Dragonstrike]

So I just joined Ibotta, an app that pays you back change on the dollar for any item you buy that is categorized that week.  Once you join and take a picture of your receipt, if an item was on the list that week (in my case, a banana), you could get paid back anywhere from 0.25 cents to over a dollar.  Once you make your first receipt validation, you automatically get $10 bucks in your account.  Once you save up over $20 bucks, you can redeem the money for gift cards for amazon, best buy, etc.

Here is my referral code:

qwcswda

Let's start this chain and get some money back for everyone!

[Frankies Girl]

I downloaded ibotta about a month ago and decided it was mostly a waste unless I had time to kill for several reasons:

1. I don't buy many name brand items. Most of Ibotta deals hinge on name brand crap. I have no brand loyalty and usually like the store brand stuff better (and it's way cheaper too).

2.In addition to name brand crap being the main things they do the deals for, it's all boxed or "meal helper" crap - no real whole food stuff or basics. So if you like lots of sugar, sodium, fat, carbs and fancy meal-prep junkfood, then it might be worth it... but I eat mostly paleo and cook from scratch and don't have much need for that type of stuff. (just noticed they do have a few offers this week for milk, eggs, bread and onions at least)

3. They only like certain stores for most of their discounts. I do 90% of my shopping at Aldi, and Ibotta doesn't even give them as an option so I can't do any deals other than the generic offers "eggs" or "bananas" deals... so I miss out almost every time.

I am using Checkout51 and Ibotta, even tho both do mostly name brand crap. Sigh. I guess most folks don't realize that the store brands are the exact same things as the name brands (most even made in the same facilities) just in different packaging? So sad. But I guess the way they work is by getting kickbacks from the brands on offer, so if you shop lots of brand stuff and meal helpers (and crappy beer - always with the crappy beer like Bud or Miller) then it might be worth the effort.

[Tris Prior]

I signed up for this a while ago and found it was just OK. I don't buy much processed food. It's nice when they have the cash back on produce, or eggs, or "any brand" of something. Honestly, I find it's most useful when buying wine or liquor. :)

I have the same problem with stores not working with the app - I shop mostly at Aldi and Mariano's. The former isn't an option; the latter is tied to a store loyalty card. I tried repeatedly to get the Mariano's card activated with no success; kept getting an error message both online and at their in-store kiosks. Took it to the service desk and they couldn't help so I gave up (as the card doesn't give you lower prices and is not a requirement to take advantage of sales, I didn't really see the point.)

[Blonde Lawyer]

I love Ibotta but only because it works with my preferred grocery store.  Also, my grocery store has a rewards card so I don't have to go through the hassle of taking pictures of the items I buy.  Initially I didn't like it because I had to watch videos to activate deals.  I don't know if it is because I graduated out of that or if they changed their practices, but now it is just a tap to activate most of hte deals.

I joined about a year ago and use the app maybe 50% of the time I shop.  I forget about it a lot.  I've earned $41.25 to date with no bonuses from referring others.  I also like that the new software tells you what is new each week so I don't have to look at everyone all over again each time.

I'm a gluten free / dairy free family that eats mostly whole foods.  We usually redeem the fresh fruit and veggie rebates, eggs, certain processed gluten free products, gum, coffee and protein bars.  Works at pharmacies too.  I just checked my current activated list.  This is what I think I will get back from my next shopping trip:

Pacific Foods almond milk - $1.00 (depends on if I need any or not)
Coconut water - $1.00 (might skip this)
Lara Bars - $1.00
Tortilla chips - .25
Eggs - .25
Bacon - .25
Banana - .25
Onion - .25

So depending on my needs, $1.25 - $4.25

Edit to add - you can transfer to paypal to get cash.  You can also make more through teams but I haven't done that yet.  I think for those that use a referral code, you automatically get added to that person's team.  My code is in my sig if you want to try but I am far from a power user.