Looking to save on your next grocery trip? One quick scan can give you some extra points on top of your credit card spend. We break down this receipt scanning app that you can download and use on your next shopping trip.
What is Fetch Rewards?
Fetch is a receipt-scanning app that awards you points for scanning receipts. If you buy certain brands, you earn even more points. Unlike apps like Ibotta, there are no offers to unlock or barcodes to scan. All you do is upload your receipts and Fetch detects what products are on them.
It rarely misses anything, but if it does, a simple help desk request will fix it.Perhaps the biggest difference between Fetch and Ibotta is that Fetch does not care where you shop. You can scan any receipt from any store or even restaurants! Additionally, you can link your account to websites like Amazon and scan electronic receipts.
How to Use Fetch Rewards
You can start by downloading the mobile app and signing up using our link at the bottom of the page. Now you are all ready to start earning points via various products and receipts. You'll get free points just for signing up and scanning your first receipt.
Fetch will reward you 25 base points just for scanning a receipt, regardless of what you bought. On top of that, you can earn extra points for specific brands which are shown on the app. It works this way with any store.
You can then cash in your points for rewards such as gift cards, magazine subscriptions, or sweepstakes entries. The best use for reward points though is gift cards. They have devalued it over the years, but rates can vary, on average, from .6 cents per point (cpp) to about 1 cent per point. That may not seem like a lot, but I will show you how quickly it can add up.
General Receipts– As previously mentioned, any receipt you scan will earn you at least 25 points. For example, even if you were just buying stamps or a money order, you would get 25 points for the receipt.
Specific Brands- On the app you can view which brands will reward you with points based on the cost of the product. As one example, I often buy the Tang and Country Time single use powdered drink mix at Rite Aid. Although each box was only $0.90, I was still rewarded 4 points per box, plus the app sometimes gives you bonuses based on certain products, so I received 41 points as a “Country Time bonus”. They do not specifically say how many points for the brands, but all mine seem to award 5 points per dollar of the featured product.
Special Offers- On the app, you will also see some high-earning items such as magazine subscriptions, alcohol, or other special offers. I am not one to recommend magazine subscriptions, but alcohol could be an easy one. This week I saw Blue Moon featured at 2,000 points, plus, if you added another featured product, you earned an additional 4,000 points. These special offers show you the product and the fixed number of points you can earn. This means making one purchase.
Some of the most lucrative bonuses come in the form of Safeway and Albertsons shopping. You can earn points for simply spending a certain dollar amount at the grocery store. Hint: Anything counts. These can vary but usually $2-$5 per trip and can be completed multiple times.
Analysis
Just like with credit cards, I like to diversify and use several cash back or reward apps like Fetch. It gives you more opportunities to earn extra cash or gift cards. Whether you want to look at it as a discount or simply free money, it is a winning situation. While it may seem like it may take forever to build up cash back, having multiple apps like this is beneficial. This is one of my newer apps, but the points have added up quickly. Just by signing up, and really focusing on scanning all of my receipts, I have already gone over 5,000 points.
Stacking
A “stack” is when you make a purchase, but can combine more than one discount, cash back, or points-earning method, thus “stacking” the deals.
The easiest stacks are combining Ibotta with all the items listed in both apps. You can also use Chase offers at stores like Rite Aid. As I mentioned above, my $0.90 single-use drink packets I like were also 5% off with a Chase Offer for Rite Aid.
Using the Fetch Rewards App: ToP Thoughts
I am always excited about free money and that is no different with the Fetch app. You are earning points for groceries that you were planning to purchase anyway. I really like the ease of Fetch and not scanning barcodes. Cashing out $5 may not seem like much, but it adds up over time. It is nice to cash in that $20 every now and then.
Are you using Fetch yet? If not, want to try it out and earn free money? Use referral code DH9DM or just use our link to sign up. Do you have a stack to share? Want to learn more about methods for stacking and traveling on points and miles? If so, come over to our Facebook group and join the fun.
