Getting rewarded for doing your shopping might sound too good to be true but if you shop through a cashback site that’s exactly what you’ll get – a bit of money back on everything you buy.

While cashback sites won’t make you a millionaire, if you use them on a regular basis you can make £100s each year.  Read on to find out how to get the most out of cashback sites.

• How do cashback sites work?
• Our top tips for using cashback sites
• The top cashback sites
• Maximise your cashback shopping

How do cashback sites work?

Cashback sites are essentially shopping portals. Instead of going directly to a company’s website to buy whatever it is you want, you visit that site via a cashback website and they pay you.

Why? Because the cashback site will have partnerships with all the retailers they list and will be paid by those retailers for directing people their way – and will then pass that money onto you.

You have to register as a member to use cashback sites, but it’s usually free. We recommend steering clear of any which ask you to pay to become a member.

As a member you’ll get an account and each time you shop through the site you’ll collect some cashback. It can take some time to process, but it will eventually be put in your account. After you reach a certain threshold – which varies between different cashback sites – you’ll be able to withdraw your money.

Our top tips

Make sure you’re getting the cheapest deal first. Getting 5% cashback on a £150 camera is not a good deal if you can get the same camera for £75 elsewhere. So use a  price comparison site like Kelkoo to find out which retailer offers the cheapest deal, and then see if you can find that retailer on a cashback website.

Clear your cookies. Tracking your path through to a retailer can be a tricky business, which is why some cashback can get lost. Cashback websites create something called a cookie – a tiny bit of digital information which identifies you – and it is stored on your computer.

The problem is that lots of other websites do that too, which can confuse things. You know when you go onto Amazon and it immediately recommends you certain items based on what you’ve purchased and viewed on their site before? That’s done with a cookie. So, to ensure you get the cashback that you should, make sure you clear your cookies, and click through directly from the cashback site to make your purchase.

Don’t leave your cash in your cashback website account. As soon as you reach the threshold at which you can withdraw the money you’ve earnt from shopping through a cashback website – do it. There’s no point leaving it sitting in your account, and if anything were to happen to the company you’d lose it forever.

Don’t be tempted by offers on products you don’t need. Earning cashback is great, but make sure you don’t end up buying things simply because you’re lured by the cashback deal. You’re not saving money if you end up spending it on things you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Use different cashback sites, but do it wisely. There’s nothing to stop you using several different cashback sites – and because plenty of them cover the same retailers but have different offers, it’s worth keeping an eye on a few.

Remember though that because of the threshold you can’t withdraw the money you earn immediately so if you use too many different sites, you’ll never be able to get your hands on your earnings.

Make a bit extra by referring a friend: Many cashback sites reward you for getting friends to use the site too. So if your friends fancy saving some money too, get them on to these sites and make some extra money for yourself. Free Fivers pays you £5 when you sign up and another £5 once a referred friend has earned £25.

The top cashback sites

As we’ve said it’s worth signing up to a few different cashback websites, but because there are so many about how do you know which to go for?

Probably the biggest and most established cashback sites are TopCashback and Quidco. Both pretty much have the best variety of retailers and the most competitive offers. TopCashback has the slight edge on the basis that it promises to give you 100% of the cashback i.e. it passes on everything it gets from the retailers to you. It also doesn’t charge an annual admin fee where Quidco takes £5 of your earnings each year.

For instant rewards try Cashback Shopper and ECashback which give you money just for signing up – £5 and £2.50 respectively. Though remember even this is subject to the minimum threshold so you won’t be able to get it straight away.

If you’re feeling philanthropic consider donating your cashback to charity. The site Give or Take gives you the choice of either ‘taking’ your cashback or ‘giving’ it to a charity of your choice. If you ‘take’ there is a £5 admin fee, if you ‘give’ they’ll waive it.

And if you want to try out a few more sites, here’s the best of the rest:

• Myshoppingrewards
• Cashback Junction

Maximise your cashback shopping

As well as doing your shopping through a cashback site, you can earn even more by paying for it with a cashback credit card. There is no conflict between the two so you will get cashback for the same product twice!

We like the American Express Platinum Cashback credit card – you get 5% cashback on all your spending for the first three months, and then up to 1.25% after that. Plus you get 0% interest on purchases for the first six months too.

If you’re a bargain-loving shopaholic, you should check out our article on group-buying sites, where you and your friends can help each other get massive savings on everything from days out to beauty products!

Useful links

• Giveortake
• Quidco
• Kelkoo
• American Express Platinum Cashback credit card