Cashback is a refund of some portion of the cost of paying for goods and services. It is common to get not only money back, but also bonus points and miles as a cashback. In essence, a cashback is a discount on goods and services that is given after the fact. The term “cashback” became most common when banks began offering refunds for purchases paid for with credit and debit cards. Cashback bank cards first appeared in the late 1980s in the United States. Cashback was originally designed to encourage people to start using credit cards instead of cash.
Over time, its benefits were appreciated by consumers and merchants alike, and the providers of goods and services themselves began to use it. Nowadays, it is not necessary to use a credit card in order to use the cashback program; you can also pay with cash – special “cashback services” allow you to download checks for purchases and get bonuses, which can be withdrawn and cashed. The concept of “cashback” includes many bonus programs with different mechanisms, but what they have in common is that bonuses are awarded after the purchase, not before, and the cashout is possible.
What Do You Need Cashback For?
For banks
Banking organizations and payment systems are interested in encouraging their customers to use credit and debit cards as often as possible. Even if they share the commission with each other and give some back to the user, it increases their profits. Otherwise, if the consumer prefers cash payments, they get nothing. In addition, if consumers overspend their credit card limit because of the appeal of cashback, banks will receive interest payments for late payments. Bank cards with cashback have an annual fee in most cases, which provides additional income to the companies that issue them.
For shoppers
Customers who receive cashback get a partial refund and can spend it on other purchases or invest it through interest-bearing deposits or other financial instruments. Credit card users with a cashback should carefully monitor their spending so that their desire for a larger refund does not become an end in itself and result in having to repay loans with an interest rate that exceeds the cashback. If there is a cap on the amount of the cashback and there is an annual fee on the credit card, you should also calculate and evaluate the attractiveness of the cashback. The advantage of participating in a cashback program is that it can be increased if additional conditions are met. For example, if the service or banks increase the percentage of the cashback with each new purchase.
For Sellers
Sellers of goods and services, by giving out cashback programs they are able to use such programs as an advertising channel, as well as to build a loyal audience and expand their regular customer base.
How Cashback Works
Money
The amount of money that can be received as a cashback is usually stated as a percentage of the amount of purchases.
The following types of cashback are common on bank cards:
- fixed-rate cashback – a percentage is charged on all types of spending.
- multilevel rate – the amount of interest depends on the amount of annual (monthly, quarterly) expenditures.
- Cashback by type of expenditure – different cashback rates depending on what the money is spent on. For example, the bank offers monthly (quarterly, annually) increased cashback rates for specific products or expenses in specific stores.
In the cashback services, the percentage depends on the manufacturers of goods and services. It can be as high as 90%, but frequently such promotions are one-time and have limitations. For example, the percentage increases if you make several purchases of the same product or in the same retail chain within a given period of time, or, conversely, the highest percentage is given to only one purchase or only a specific brand.
In the case of bank products, cashback programs are credited to the same card that was used to make the payment. Cashback services allow customers to withdraw money to the bank cards linked to their account, to the balance of their cell phones, and to electronic wallets.
Points
Accrual of cashback points in the classical sense is not a cash refund. The main difference from cash back is that the points may not equal to a similar sum in monetary units. For example, 1 point = 1 cent, not a dollar, and they can only be spent within certain limits – on specific goods and services in a strict time frame. Of course, there are programs with perpetually unburnable points, but there is always the possibility that a person may forget about the points he or she has. Whereas the money on the card will definitely be spent where the member wants the program to go.
Miles
Airlines, other carriers, and banks issue co-branded bank cards that award miles as cashback on purchases. This type of bonus can be spent on air and train tickets, hotel payments, medical insurance for travel, car rentals, Duty Free purchases, etc. Cashback mileage cards often include additional perks for customers. For example, access to Priority Pass lounges, unlimited internet roaming, free airport shuttle, etc. Mileage cards may be of interest to frequent travelers or those with a specific date and purpose of travel, otherwise the person may not find it possible to spend the miles, whereas with a cashback, such an issue resolves itself.
Goods or Services
Some vendors also categorize as cashback promotions in which they give another of the same good or service. For example, every fifth haircut at a beauty salon is free; if you buy two pizzas, you get the third one as a gift. Such promotions cannot be considered fully attributable to cashback, because they do not involve the exchange of gift goods and services for money, but nevertheless allow you to save and are beneficial to loyal customers.
How to Get a Cashback
You can get cashback in two ways:
- By using a bank card, which the bank charges as part of the loyalty program, cashback – bonuses in foreign currency, which can be spent anywhere or cashed out;
- By registering with one of the cashback services, downloading its application to your phone, or installing its extension on your computer/laptop.
Analyze your spending
You can estimate how much money is spent on specific items with the help of special programs for managing personal budget, manually or by using automatic widgets in the applications of banks. However, in the latter case you will need to consolidate the data on cards of different banks. As a result of such an analysis you should look for offers from banks or cashback services that give the highest percentage of cashback in those categories where your spending is most tangible. (In our case, on game purchases).
Compare bank offers
You can find the most convenient bank card cashback by using special rating sites that aggregate data on all current and fresh bank offers. If you are not planning to change your credit institution only for the sake of cashback, it is worthwhile to regularly check offers of the bank you are already a client of. For those who already have a card with a cashback, the bank may offer to switch categories with a higher cashback – you should not give up the opportunity to earn extra income, and you can exchange the cashback for game purchases.
Use online cashback services
Online cashback services can be used in addition to such cards, and also as a separate channel for reimbursement for certain purchases. For example, if you pay with a card that provides fixed cashback on any goods, and then load a receipt with the same purchase into a cashback service, you can get bonuses on games twice.
How to choose a cashback service
You can use the cashback services by registering on their websites or by installing the app from Google Play or AppStore.
When deciding a cashback service you can be guided by their rating, or you can download several and try what is more convenient and profitable for you. Some people are interested in minimum withdrawal thresholds, others in a broad list of stores, or in increased cashback for certain products, such as in-gaming purchases. So just test and see what’s right for you.
We hope we’ve helped you understand this.
