Maximizing Cash Back: A Comprehensive List

Like most others who frequent this forum, I always search for the best deals on products I purchase and once I have chosen a store, I use the appropriate card and/or promo codes to get the largest discount and most Cash Back on my order. There are many threads dedicated to comparing various credit card reward programs, but in addition to the base Cash Back rate many cards have online malls which offer up to 20% Cash Back on purchases from select stores. Examples include Chase Rewards Plus, ShopDiscover, and Thank You Shopping. When I purchase items from big-name retailers I usually compare the offers at these various sites along with Fat Wallet Cash Back, and choose the option offering the most Cash Back. Recently I've been thinking how inefficient it is to do this comparison mentally or physically every time I shop, so I'm starting this thread to record and compare options for future purchases. I've included a few merchants in the QS to begin. My intent is that the FWF community as a whole can contribute to and update this list to become more inclusive, comprehensive, and valuable to the community. So, next time you shop at a site not listed and compare various Cash Back options, please share your findings; if you find any Cash Back offers not listed or you notice a rate has changed, update the appropriate information; then when you're ready to shop come and compare here first. Enjoy!

thank you for starting this thread, OP! You might want to include AAA discounts as well.

great thread...

Don't forget live.com CashBack. Long list but some notable omissions. Percentage cb tends to be good.

There's also a site that does some of these comparisons: www.rewardsdb.com.

rst113 said: Not a bad idea for a thread. Most are already aware of evreward.com (one of the best sites ever for finding the best overall deal IMO) which is very similar and includes airline mile rewards, etc. Unfortunately they do not include Chase Rewards or TYP. If they did it would be a one stop shop. With the ease of use of that site I would favor finding the best deal there then comparing to the Chase rewards and TYP before I made a purchase.Comparing the CC rewards programs is fundamentally what I'm trying to accomplish here, as there are already many reward comparison sites out there (two of which have been mentioned in this thread thus far). However, I've never seen anything that includes the CC programs; personally I have a Chase Card, Discover Card, and Citi Card (TYP) which all offer independent programs... so I've done four-way comparisons in the past. Hopefully this thread can reduce that amount of work in the future. Let's try to limit to the top-paying reward site and all major CC programs so everyone will be able to utilize at least one link for each store and each store's list does not grow too long.

Can we also add to this thread in paranthesis after the card name how the rewards are given?

For example if one card gives 5% via 5 points redeemable for $50 check and another gives the 5% Cash Back automatically at the end of the month, that would be much preferred.

thok said: Don't forget about the five-finger discount!

Its more commonly referred to as the "Winona Rider Discount"

am i the only one here also using BigCrumbs? So my shopping sequence, for example, has been Fatwallet > Big Crumbs > eBay > purchase. they're just crumbs, but they can add up

Evreward does not cover many programs though, including those mentioned in the OP.

rst113 said: Not a bad idea for a thread. Most are already aware of evreward.com (one of the best sites ever for finding the best overall deal IMO) which is very similar and includes airline mile rewards, etc. Unfortunately they do not include Chase Rewards or TYP. If they did it would be a one stop shop. With the ease of use of that site I would favor finding the best deal there then comparing to the Chase rewards and TYP before I made a purchase.evreward does cover TYP. Try searching Shoebuy.com at evreward.com and you will see TYP.

thank you

azygous said: LH2004 said: Evreward.com is also useful for this purpose.
dittoI third this, I use EVreward before I make any online purchase to determine what reward program is most lucrative or useful for a given purchase. They also have coupon codes posted if available too, making them a one-stop shop for discounted shopping!

amannamedhorse said: do you really save any money after paying yor credit card company 20 percent interest?

Few, if any, at FWF pay interest to Credit Cards.

Also, I think we should add a section for Discover More bonus rewards. It's different each quarter, and generally trumps whatever else out there. Also, you can double dip with Discover More bonus + ShopDiscover.

cashbackchart.com does a lot of what you guys are asking for.

Mark

wow!

amannamedhorse said: mttatkns said: rst113 said: Not a bad idea for a thread. Most are already aware of evreward.com (one of the best sites ever for finding the best overall deal IMO) which is very similar and includes airline mile rewards, etc. Unfortunately they do not include Chase Rewards or TYP. If they did it would be a one stop shop. With the ease of use of that site I would favor finding the best deal there then comparing to the Chase rewards and TYP before I made a purchase.Comparing the CC rewards programs is fundamentally what I'm trying to accomplish here, as there are already many reward comparison sites out there (two of which have been mentioned in this thread thus far). However, I've never seen anything that includes the CC programs; personally I have a Chase Card, Discover Card, and Citi Card (TYP) which all offer independent programs... so I've done four-way comparisons in the past. Hopefully this thread can reduce that amount of work in the future. Let's try to limit to the top-paying reward site and all major CC programs so everyone will be able to utilize at least one link for each store and each store's list does not grow too long.
do you really save any money after paying yor credit card company 20 percent interest?

Ever heard of paying the balance in full? No interest, but additional warranty protection, Cash Back and the like.

Would also be nice if there was a set of comparisons on which CashBack programs allow stacking with promotions/coupons. I know that often times I resort to using FatCash when using a coupon even if it is not the best Cash Back % due to the knowledge that coupons will work with it in most cases (notable exception would be BlueNile.com). Would also be nice to have something like reseller ratings on the current state/reliability of each CashBack site as well.

thok said: Don't forget about the five-finger discount!
I believe that discount is only applicable for B&M purchases, but perhaps a "new member" would be kind enough to phone some merchants, to see if it can be applied to on-line purchases?

PoisnBGood said: skeer27 said: cashbackchart.com does a lot of what you guys are asking for.

Mark

That's a nice site. But as others have noted. This site (and others) don't include Chase, Citi, and Discover site discounts, which often times can be more than ebates, FW, etc.

What we REALLY need, is for FW to realize that the users here are always after the cheapest possible price, and just up their CashBack to beat out all others. That way we can all just use FW CashBack for everything and not have a need for this list. Of course, this is just wishful thinking...Actually, all we really need is for EVReward to add Chase and be done with it ... I sent them a note this morning and pointed out they should add it, we'll see if they do it or not.

cashbackchart.com is of very limited functionality, it only shows the highest paying reward site, I like to see them all and make my choice. Of course, it also only includes Cash Back sites apparently, which is a big minus.

radheykrishna said: Drugstore.com is not 25% back through Live anymore. It is 10% currently.

It's still showing 25% for me.

drugstore.com 25% link

Several of the comments refer to major purchases, since on smaller purchases , even 5% back may be only a few pennies and not worth your time.

However, usually even one point earned can keep your frequent flier, hotel, etc. account alive. It is very easy to acquire points sometimes (say through a credit card deal) and then not have an opportunity to use them or to acquire more points in the expensive ways (flights, hotel stays, etc.) I find evreward very useful since I have quite a few different flier and hotel account and over the years have lost balances because I neither earned new points within the required period or used my points for a flight or hotel stay.

For instance,entering Target on evreward turns up 15 frequent flier or hotel programs, plus others. A small purchase may earn only a nickel's worth of points, but it could keep your 100,000 mile plus account alive. This benefit may make clicking through one of these programs much more attractive even when the percentage rate appears higher through another site (not to mention Cash Back is easier to spend than miles or points).