Just by using a cashback app to pay for things on the road you can earn cashback for money you will spend anyway. All you have to do is change the way you view your spending habits.
Do you always book hostels or hotels directly through Booking, Agoda, or Hostelworld – all you have to do is book through a different app and you will earn cashback on every purchase you make.
Jump to:
- How cashback websites work
- How much can I actually get in cashback?
- What will stop me from getting cashback?
- How to get a free £5 when you sign up to TopCashback
- Other ways to save money travelling
How cashback websites work
If a cashback website sends you to the Agoda website then Agoda will pay that website a percentage of what you spend. It’s Agoda’s way of thanking the cashback site because thanks to them it led to you buying something using Agoda. The cashback website will then give you some of that cash back.
Sometimes these cashback websites will actually pay you, their customer, more commission than they receive from merchants or retailers. As an example, the cashback website I use – TopCashback, will sometimes pay you up to 105% of what retailers pay them.
That won’t be the case all the time and it can be as low as 1-2% of what you spend. Regardless of what the percentage is, the cashback website will give this to you just for using their website or app to access a retailer and pay for something.
Change the way you look at spending money
The best way to get the most from cashback websites is to view them as your new shop front when looking to buy anything online. Maybe you want to buy a flight or book a hostel for a night – instead of going directly to British Airways or HostelWorld to make a purchase, just open the cashback app and click through to the same website from there.
Not all shops will partner with every cashback website. But by ensuring you at least check with them first you will begin to consistently save money. Of course, this is not just a way to save money while travelling.
You can earn a lot of cashback at home when spending money that you would already normally spend. For example, when signing up for a new broadband package, buying a new fridge, or simply ordering a takeaway pizza.
Get cashback even when using travel search websites
When travelling you will probably already be using apps such as Booking or Agoda to find the best deals. Both Booking and Agoda are listed on TopCashback. So, instead of going to those websites directly, all you need to do is open the cashback website or app first, and follow the link to those companies from there. You will arrive at the exact same homepage on Booking and Agoda. You will even still get loyalty discounts you’re entitled to!
But, because you accessed those web pages via the cashback website, you can book a bed or a room knowing you will get a percentage of what you pay in cashback. The percentage you receive will vary depending on which company you book with. On TopCashback, they list the exact percentage of cashback you will get for each company, and any conditions to be aware of.
How much can I actually get in cashback?
TopCashback currently give you 4% cashback if you make a booking on booking.com. That means if you click through to the booking.com website from the TopCashback app then TopCashback will give you 4% of what you spend on Booking.com as cash in your account – it’s that simple!
You don’t even have to make the purchase online – even if you just reserve a room through Booking and pay the hotel in cash later – you will still get 4% of the total cost of the stay as cashback.
An example
Let’s look at how much you could receive in cashback if you did this on a 6-month trip staying in either hostels or hotels.
Firstly, say you plan to spend on average £6 a night on a hostel bed for 6-months. If you book directly with Booking or through TopCashback it will still cost you £1,080. However, by booking through TopCashback you will get 4% back – that’s £43.20. Free money!
Now let’s look at this if you were to stay in budget hotels costing on average £20 a night for 6-months. The total cost to you will be £3,600. The 4% you would get for using TopCashback here would be £144. The amount you receive in cashback is based on what you spend – so we start to see some good money here.
While this might not seem like life changing ammounts, if you start to do this all the time then it soon adds up. Booking a flight soon – Virgin give 3% cashback and Ethiad give 2%, want to hire a car – Expedia give 1% on all car hire bookings.
What will stop me from getting cashback?
It is important to be aware that cashback is not guaranteed. However, there are steps you can take before and after making a purchase to ensure you receive the money. It is always worth shopping around first. If you find a cheaper price elsewhere, use them to save money instantly.
What is tracking?
Cashback websites use the term tracking. This refers to the process and ultimately success of logging a click through from their website to a retailer. If a purchase is not tracked, then you will not receive cashback. The most likely reason for this happening is that you have previously visited the retailer’s website. This is to do with how cookies track your online activity. Cookies are small pieces of data that record which websites you visit.
Solutions
To improve your chances of a click tracking, simply clear the cookies on your browser before making a purchase. Once you do this, make sure the first website or app you visit again is the cashback site – then click through to the retailer. The retailer will then record your last click as coming from the cashback website. The cookies which identify which websites you have accessed and when will then show that you initially went to the cashback website, then to the retailer.
How to guarantee you get that money
To ensure you receive cashback, always select the refundable option if possible when making a booking. Alternatively, some companies, such as Hostelworld, offer free cancelation on all bookings made at least 7 days in advance of your arrival date.
TopCashback will send you an email within a matter of minutes to inform you if a click has tracked. So if you don’t receive an email from your them telling you that a click has tracked, you can simply cancel your booking free of charge, clear your cookies, and repeat the process.
Where’s my money?
Cashback websites will usually take a number of weeks or months before they actaully put the money in to your account on their website. This stops you from booking something then cancelling your booking and getting a refund – but still getting cashback anyway. You will receive a confirmation from the cashback company as soon as a click has tracked, as long as you get this then you can be certain that the money will eventually land in your account.
How to get a free £5 when you sign up to TopCashback
Use this link to get a free £5 when you open a new TopCashback account. You will recieve this free £5 once you earn £10 in cash back yourself.
Other ways to save money travelling
An even eaiser way to save money on the road is to use the travel money app Revolut. You get a physical card like your normal bank card, and a digital card so you can make payments using your phone. Your current high street bank will probably charge you around 3% if you use it abroad – Revolut don’t charge you anything!
For more information see – What is Revolut?
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