Cash-back apps pay you for buying things you were buying anyway. There are two kinds. Shopping portals (Rakuten) pay a cut when you shop online through them. Receipt apps (Checkout 51, Caddle, Ibotta, Fetch) pay when you upload a receipt with a listed product on it.
Canada
| App | Type | Cash out at | How you're paid |
|---|
| Rakuten.ca | Online shopping | $5.01 | Interac e-Transfer, cheque or PayPal, every three months |
| Checkout 51 | Receipts | $20 | Check the app |
| Caddle | Receipts and surveys | $20 | Interac e-Transfer |
- Rakuten.ca welcome bonus: $5 after your first eligible purchase. Per its terms, you need to be a Canadian resident and spend at least $25 within 90 days, and it's one bonus per person. Payments go out May 15, Aug 15, Nov 15 and Feb 15 for the quarter before. Under $5.01 rolls over.
- Checkout 51: you only earn on the exact product in the offer, each receipt counts once, and offers run weekly, so upload before the offer ends.
US
| App | Type | Cash out at | How you're paid |
|---|
| Rakuten | Online shopping | $5.01 | Check or PayPal, every three months |
| Ibotta | Receipts and linked cards | $20 | Bank, PayPal (in the app) or gift cards |
| Fetch | Any receipt | 3,000 points for most | Gift cards only, about 1,000 points to $1 |
- Rakuten US welcome bonus: spend $25 within 90 days. The amount is whatever the signup page shows when you join. Some links offer $50 instead, but they need the browser extension and three $25+ purchases in 45 days. It can't be combined with a referral bonus. Cash back takes 3 to 14 weeks to confirm.
- Ibotta: to withdraw you need $20, at least one redeemed offer, and 7 days since your first redemption. The welcome bonus is only for brand-new accounts, one per device.
- Fetch: enter a referral code before your first receipt. Fetch says the bonus is “typically” 2,000 points each. Keep scanning, because points expire after 90 days without activity.
How I stack them
- Shopping online? Go through Rakuten first, then check out like normal.
- Groceries? Scan your loyalty card at the till (see stacking points), then upload the receipt to a receipt app. The loyalty scan and the receipt app are separate systems. No brand says outright that you can do both, but nothing I found says you can't.
- Cash out as soon as you hit the minimum, so a policy change can't eat your balance.
Sources