TopCashback launches new in-store cashback service

TopCashback has revamped its app to include in-store cashback deals.

TopCashback has launched a host of new in-store offers giving users a new way to earn money.

It says it’s the first of its kind and will offer cashback on purchases in several high street retailers such as H&M, Office, Waterstones and Curry’s.

The scheme works through the website’s Snap & Save app where you buy an item in-store, take a photo of the receipt, upload it to the site and get paid the cashback.

But its main rival Quidco has a similar tool in place so which one is better?

Snap & Save

The Snap & Save app from TopCashback was launched in February but what’s changed is the deals on offer. A range of exclusive deals have been added on high-street retailers and non-grocery items (something it says no other cashback site offers).

The kind of deals include  2% cashback when you spend £25 or more in H&M, £2 cashback when you spend £25 at Waterstones and 50p cashback on a 12-cookie treat box at Millie’s Cookies.

These deals are only available for a limited time and can only be used once a week.

Cashback in-store

Earning cashback on the high street is a relatively new concept as historically cashback websites have only paid out money on online purchases.

With Snap & Save, all you have to do is take a photo of your receipt and you'll start earning cashback. The receipt needs to show the items purchased, the date and the retailer, and photos can either be taken with a smartphone or a digital camera.

You don’t earn a lot, but it’s still money for nothing so a good deal if you can be bothered to upload the receipts.

To find out more, read our review of the app.

Quidco

The alternative comes from Quidco.

First, it has the ClickSnap service, which offers cashback on spending in supermarkets. Examples of current offers include 20p cashback on a jar of Branston pickle, 40p cashback when you buy two packs of MilkyWays and 30p cashback on a pack of Seriously Strong cheddar cheese.

The supermarkets signed up to the scheme are: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado (online only) and Morrisons (in-store only).

Offers exist for three-week cycles and during these periods you can use each deal up to three times.

The added benefit of using Quidco is you can register your debit and credit cards with it and then every time you make a purchase at a participating retailer the cashabck is automatically added to your account.

This cuts out the hassle of having to upload a photo after you’ve bought something, but it only applies to certain branches and the amount of cashback is minimal.

Quidco also has a ‘check in’ function on its app which means you can earn money without even buying anything. You simply need to check-in on your smartphone when you enter a shop and you’ll be rewarded with the cashback amount (generally around 5p). Some stores offer both in-store cashback and a reward for checking in. For example, at Vodafone stores you can currently get 10p for checking in and 3.6% cashback for in-store sales.

What’s the better option?

When you look at both apps there really isn’t that much difference.

We’ve reviewed both of them in detail and the main points we took were that Quidco has a much larger group of retailers, and some good added extras such as the ‘check in’ tool, but its app functionality isn’t as good as that from TopCashback.

To make the most money from these sites, it would be best to use both apps, and websites, for all your shopping. However, in practice most people don’t have time for this so they’re likely to go with one or the other.

The two websites are bitter rivals and are constantly improving to be the best cashback site around – which is good news for the likes of you and me. 

More on money saving:

Sainsbury’s launches two low rate reward credit cards

The top cashback websites

Supermarkets cut fuel costs in time for Bank Holiday

Top Cashback and American Express offer cashback on fuel

Rewards schemes versus cashback websites