ebates review

eBates Review: How It Works & Alternatives

Would you like to get back some of the cash you just spent on shopping? Then check out our eBates review.

We’re going to tell you all you need to know about getting your cashback on this website, how to use its Chrome extension, and what are your alternatives.

1. How Does eBates Work?

eBates is a coupon site like Groupon, now known as Rakuten, committed to giving customers back a percentage of their spent money, as long as they are shopping through their affiliated stores.

This could sound fishy, but the activity is actually legit.

The company has an affiliate relationship with over 2,000 online stores and marketplaces, including giants like eBay, Macy’s and Walmart.

All you have to do is to create an account on eBates.com, shop at your favorite stores accessed from their platform, and earn cashback on all your purchases.

Why eBates can give you cashback?

If you’re wondering how eBates can give you cashback on purchases you make from other stores, the process is simple. The company earns an affiliate commission on all purchases you make through their platform.

Once they get the commission from the store, they split it up and give you back a portion of their revenue.

It’s actually a win-win situation; you can have perennial discounts on the products you like (by receiving some money back on your purchase) while eBates can earn revenue by keeping a percentage of the affiliate commission.

Now, the best part is that creating an account and using eBates is completely free.

Once you’ve registered, select your favorite store from the list and shop online as you would normally do.

Your cashback amount will appear into your account in seven days after the purchase, and the company will send the money to you quarterly either by check or into your PayPal account, on pre-established dates.   

2. Ways to Earn Cash Back on eBates

What makes eBates amazing is the possibility to earn cashback either online or in-store. The latter is a rather new feature conceived to give everyone the chance to earn back a portion of their expenditure.

Online Cash Back

Undoubtedly, the most popular way to earn cashback is online. All you have to do is log into your eBates account, pick your favorite store, and click on it.

You’ll be redirected to the vendor’s website, but eBates will keep track of your purchases through a referral code.

Obviously, to get cashback, it’s not sufficient to own an eBates account and shop from an affiliated partner.

You will actually have to access the store from Ebate’s website, so they can track down your purchase.

The company knows well that many people forget to do this, that’s why they created a convenient Chrome extension.

If you prefer shopping from a mobile device, eBates also has apps available for iOS and Android users.

100% rebate on Amazon

In-Store Cash Back

A rather new but nonetheless popular option is getting cashback directly in store. But since you won’t be able to click on a referral link, how will the system track your purchase?

The solution is simple. Just add your debit or credit card details to your eBates account, then pick the stores you want to visit from the list provided on the site.

Click on Link Offer to connect your money card to the specific option; then you can go shopping.

Just make sure to use the card associated with your account when paying for your purchases.

Other Ways to Score Deals

Besides giving you back a portion of their affiliate revenue, eBates.com also offers a wealth of alternative money saving options. Because in the end, it doesn’t matter how you save money, isn’t it?

We’re talking about coupons, discount codes, and daily deals.

These are deals offered either by the vendors or by the manufacturers of certain products, and you can use them to save even more on your purchase by accumulating the coupon with the cashback deal.

If you want to save the maximum possible, our advice is to scour eBates.com for coupons and discount codes for products you want to buy; once you have the code, click on the shop’s icon and continue shopping as you would normally do.

Apply the discount code at checkout and voilà! You will now not only get cashback on your purchase, but you’ll also get a further discount directly from the shop.

3. How to install eBates chrome extension?

ebates chrome extension

Remembering to log into your eBates account each time you want to buy something online can be daunting.

That’s why the company created a Chrome extension.

Once installed, the extension runs in the background and pops up money back alerts each time you visit an affiliate website.

Here is how to install the extension in a few simple steps.

  • Search eBates Chrome Extension on Google and select the Google Chrome Web Store link. Alternatively, log into Chrome Web Store using your Google account and search eBates.
  • Select the button Add in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
  • Wait for Google to add the extension to your Chrome browser. eBates icon will appear in the top right-hand corner near your search bar when active.

That’s it! Now, click on the icon. You will be redirected to the website to log in.

You can then close the eBates browser tab and start surfing the internet as you do normally.

The extension will alert you each time you go on an affiliate site, and you’ll be able to activate the cashback deal by simply clicking the button on the alert.

4. What Do People Say? Is eBates Legit?

One of the questions you might have is whether eBates is legit. When someone promises money back, there is always the suspicion of dealing with a scam.

However, you’ll be pleased to know this platform is legit. People praise it for its seriousness.

You can choose how to get back your hard-earned money, and unlike other platforms, eBates gives you real money and not points or coupons.

Enjoying a high reputation on both Trustpilot.com and SiteJabber.com, eBates.com is described as trustworthy.

There are some complaints about expired coupon codes.

However, the company tends to solve all issues in a timely manner through dedicated customer support.

5. eBates Credit Card Review

If by now you’re convinced to give eBates.com a try, you should also know they offer a credit card you can use to get further cashback on your online and in-store purchases.

The eBates Cash Back Visa Credit Card offers a further 3% cash back on eligible purchases made either through the site or in-store and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

You will also receive a $10 bonus on your first purchase and, thanks to the commission-free policy, you will not have to pay an annual fee or fraud liability premium.

Not only you’ll get to keep all earned back money in your pocket, but the credit card also offers 3% cashback on travel.

eBates partners with multiple hotels, airlines, and car rental companies to make sure you get the best deals and as much cashback as possible on all your purchases, either at home or on the go.

For faster payments directly from your mobile device, you can connect the credit card to your Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay account.

6. Cashbackbase – An eBates Alternative

As one could expect, eBates.com is not the only cashback site out there. It used to support cashback service for Amazon, but now it is not affiliated with Amazon anymore.

If you’re doing most of your shopping on Amazon, a great alternative is Cashbackbase.com.

Cashbackbase is a discount website for Amazon products which gathers together all deals on the giant’s portal. You’ll be able to find the products you’re interested in at the best possible price, and the website even offers 100% cash back deals on selected purchases.

It is easy to use and navigate. All you need to do just in 3 steps then you can get your cashback.

Register an account on the site and claim any item you want, and you would need to wait for sellers’ approval.

Then buy the item on Amazon and upload your order info. You may need to offer an honest review of your purchase.

That’s it! Now you just need to wait for the money credited to your PayPal.

how to get amazon free items on Cashbackbase

Unlike eBates, Cashbaseback only allows buyers access to free deals to those who have sufficient points in their accounts.

To gain them, you will have to either invite your friends to join the portal or complete simple tasks on the site. It is not that hard though.

While this could be seen as annoying by some, it’s definitely engaging for others, so it’s hard to call it a drawback.

The points earned are valid for seven days, and you can use them to claim the deals you want.

Then, submit the payment details for validation and wait for Cashbackbase to refund your money to your PayPal account.

What we like is that Cashbackbase.com is straightforward about its cashback deals, displaying the amount you’ll get back next to the purchase price.

You will also be able to see how many points you need to claim the deal you’re interested in.

Here we have put together a completed video of Cashbackbase to quickly help you learn how it works:

In Conclusion

eBates.com is an awesome platform that allows you to get cashback on purchases made from their affiliate partners.

The company is legit and really gives you money back on all the purchases made through them.

Coming in desktop and mobile variants and complete with a Chrome extension, eBates is reliable and easy to use.