There are a lot of cash back sites around. It’s not easy knowing which ones are legit and which might be scams.
More so, each cashback site has its pros and cons.
Knowing which one to use for certain purchases, however, can save you a lot of money.
One such legit site is Mr. Rebates. It’s not the prettiest site around but there are plenty of reasons to sign up.
Read our Mr. Rebates review to discover if this cash back site is right for you
What Is Mr. Rebates?
Mr. Rebates is a cash back site. It works similarly to other cash back sites, like Swagbucks, Rakuten, BeFrugal, and TopCashback, which you might already be familiar with. If you aren’t sure how these sites work, here’s a quick explanation.
Cash back sites give their members a chance to earn money back when they shop.
Here’s how it works:
- The cash back website directs traffic to an online store.
- When a purchase is then made through that online store, that cash back site earns an affiliate commission.
- The site then splits the cash with you.
What Does The Process Look Like?
The process is incredibly simple.
You don’t have to be tech savvy to be able to figure it out and use it.
Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough of how you do it.
- After you sign up, go to Mr. Rebates and start a search for the store you want to shop at.
- Buy as you normally would. Be careful not to click on other outside links to sites after you enter that store’s website from Mr. Rebates’ site.
- Your cash back will show up in your account.
- You withdraw the cash back balance.
How Does Mr. Rebates Pay You?
Mr. Rebates lets you choose which payment method you want. Your choices are a check that is snail mailed to you, a gift card, or getting your funds through a PayPal deposit.
The minimum payment you can choose is $10. That means you have to have at least that much in your account before you can withdraw it.
There is a bit of a wait before your rebate is available for you to withdraw though – it takes 90 days before that rebate becomes accessible to you for withdrawals.
- Related: How To Get Free Amazon Gift Cards
How Does Mr. Rebates Make Money?
As mentioned earlier, Mr. Rebates makes its money by getting an affiliate commission from the online stores they direct traffic to.
That’s why they don’t mind sharing their commission – they wouldn’t have a way to make money without you online shoppers. And you wouldn’t have the ability to get any rebates without them. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Everybody wins with this sales model – the store sells more products, the cash back site makes money, and you get a cut too. And as an added bonus, it’s easy to do so you won’t feel like you’re jumping through hoops to earn that money.
Is Mr. Rebates a Scam: Mr. Rebates’ BBB Rating
Everybody is always worried about being scammed – and rightfully so! There are a lot of shady people out there.
But you don’t have to worry about Mr. Rebates. It gets an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
And it was founded in 2002, so it has a long history of saving money for its members. So it’s definitely not a scam – it’s one of the top cash back sites around.
Mr. Rebates Sign-Up Bonus: How it Works
Cash back sites usually offer sign-up bonuses. That gives you just one more reason to sign up by offering you instant money. With Mr. Rebates, the sign-up bonus is $5 after your first purchase.
Different Ways To Use Mr. Rebates
There are several ways you can use Mr. Rebates to start locking in your savings.
- Mr. Rebates Online (Desktop): This is a simple way – you just access the website from your desktop or laptop.
- Quick Cash Button: This button is a smart thing to install. It’s a browser extension that reminds you when you’re doing your online shopping if the store you’re visiting is affiliated with Mr. Rebates. This will prevent you from buying something and forgetting to activate your savings.
- Mr. Rebates App: You can search the app for a store you want to shop at and click through to the mobile website for that store to make a purchase.
- Mr. Rebates Coupons: You can get your cash back and use coupons to get a discount as well. You should always try to use the cash back site’s coupons. If you’re using them from another website, their cookies might override Mr. Rebates and you won’t get your cash back. Do the math yourself and compare what will get you the lowest price.
Rakuten vs. Mr. Rebates
Rakuten is one of the most-used cash back websites.
Let’s look at how Mr. Rebates stacks up to it.
When it comes to a sign-up bonus, Rakuten is more generous. It offers a $10 bonus, compared to $5 from Mr. Rebates.
When it comes to cashing out, you can request a payment as small as $5.01 from Rakuten. With Mr. Rebates, you can’t go lower than a $10 payment.
Rakuten will pay only once per quarter, while Mr. Rebates will pay out whenever you request it as long as the funds are in the account.
They both offer mobile apps.
So, which one is best?
Instead of picking just one site to use, you may want to sign up for both.
That’s because the payout percentage can vary a lot from site to site. If you only use one cash back site, you’re stuck with the percentage they offer you. But when you sign up for two, you get to choose between which site will pay you more.
That puts you in charge – not them.
Mr. Rebates Cash Back At Popular Stores: (Amazon, Target, Ebay, Sephora, Nordstroms, Walmart, Best Buy, Home Depot, & Groupon)
Mr. Rebates is worth looking into on all your purchases. Before you buy anything online, you should check that particular store at all the cash back sites you’re signed up for.
All sites have different cash back sites for various stores and they can fluctuate from time to time. Just because a site offered a 7 percent cash back on Amazon last week, it doesn’t mean that’s the same amount they offer this week. Go with the highest percentage back you can find for the store you’re shopping from to maximize your savings.
And you should always read the fine print. When a store says it pays up to a certain percentage, that’s the highest cash back percentage category. That doesn’t mean everything from that store will offer you that much back.
But when it’s just a percentage listed for that store, that’s a flat rate based on the entire store. You’ll get that amount for any purchase you make there.
At the time of writing, here’s the payouts offered by Mr. Rebates, BeFrugal, Rakuten, and Swagbucks at popular online retailers.
| Mr. Rebates | BeFrugal | Rakuten | Swagbucks | |
| Amazon | Up to 8% | Up tp 15% | Up to 5% | Up to 10% |
| Best Buy | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 2.0% |
| Ebay | 1.0% | 1.3% | Up to 2% | 1.0% |
| Groupon | 6%% | 6%% | 6.0% | 8.0% |
| Home Depot | 3.0% | Up to 8% | N/A | 6% |
| Sephora | 4%% | 5.0% | 3% | 2.0% |
| Target | 2.0% | 2% | Up to 1% | 1% |
Related: See our list of the best cash-back apps to learn about the top options.
Mr. Rebates Referral Program
The referral program is an outstanding benefit of using Mr. Rebates.
Some cash back sites might earn you a one-time cash bonus for referring a friend. But the Mr. Rebates referral bonus is the gift that keeps giving. You get 20 percent of your referrer’s lifetime earnings.
If you have a lot of friends or aren’t the sort who is shy about recruiting people, this can become a solid source of passive income for you.
Just make sure your new recruit uses your qualifying referral link or your email address when they sign up. You’ll be getting paid for spreading the word about how other people can save money.
Mr. Rebates Pros & Cons
Pros
- It has a low payment threshold. It only takes $10 to cash out.
- It’s worth looking into for every big purchase because it has consistently high cash back rates.
- It offers a lot of flat rates, not the “up to” deals, so it’s not misleading.
- The recruiting bonus is outstanding and gives you a real opportunity to earn residual, passive income.
Cons
- Only a $5 sign-up bonus.
- No in-store purchases like some other sites offer.
- No alternative ways to earn money. Swagbucks, for instance, allows you to take surveys or watch videos for more earning potential.
- The user interface isn’t as great as the ones you’ll find on other sites.
Tips for Maximizing Your Earnings with Mr. Rebates
- Use at least one cash back site on every purchase you make. You don’t want to leave any free money on the table.
- Double dip rewards by using the best possible credit card. Chase Freedom, for instance, can give you up to 5 percent cash back on certain categories. Just make sure to pay off that balance every month so you aren’t losing your rebates by having to pay interest!
- This is good for purchases you were planning to make anyway. Don’t start shopping for things you don’t need just because you get carried away with getting these rebates.
- The most cash back you can get depends on the store and category. Carefully check out the current rates each cash back site you’ve signed up for is offering. That will let you score the best deal.
- Install the browser add-on because you’ll be automatically notified that a site is affiliated with Mr. Rebates.
- Always look for coupons on the cash back site itself. Coupons from outside sites may deny cash back. Compare which way will net you the most savings.
- Try to make the purchase rather quick, and be careful not to click around on other sites.
- Contact support if you don’t see your cash back.
