Focus on: Cashback services How to

FOCUS ON: Cashback services

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MONEY BACK

Maximise your earnings with these top tips:

Q While they are free to join, you may be asked if you want to pay for a premium account. You don’t have to, so resist the temptation. Q Look out for bonus returns if you get friends or family to join via the site’s referral service. Q There may be the chance to earn more money by filling in surveys or entering prize draws. Q To make money in-store as well as online, download Quidco’s ClickSnap app, which enables you to claim

ENERGY SOURCE

Can I get cashback from any of my household costs?

Tori Matthews, Aberdeen

Absolutely – many energy providers offer great deals to get new customers to sign up so check out a selection to see which offers the best rewards as well as the best rates.

cashback by uploading a photo of the receipt when you purchase a product from one of its offline deals, which are shown on the app. Q TopCashback’s OnCard scheme also has a range of deals once you register your debit or credit card. Select an offer, activate then simply shop using your OnCard in-store. Q Book your holiday through a cashback site and you could find great deals on flights and hotels, car hire, travel insurance and airport parking. Q Signing up for a new broadband or phone contract via a cashback site can often pay big bucks.

Make payday last longer by signing up to cashback sites, credit or store cards that put £££s back into your pocket

We’re all used to watching the pennies, but never more so than at the start of a new year. As well as budgeting, cutting back on nonessentials and reducing food waste, there are other ways to plough the pounds back into your pocket. We take a look at how you can get cash back on everything from daily shopping trips to bigger splurges.

SUPERMARKET SHOP AS YOU EARN

Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and M&S all have credit

cards that reward you for doing the food shop:

Useful contacts ■ Sign up to cashback sites such as quidco.com or topcashback.co.uk. ■ Get supermarket bonus store cards at nectar. com, tesco.com or marksandspencer.com. ■ For credit cards, visit mastercard.co.uk, visa.co.uk, santander.co.uk or americanexpress.com. ■ Head to johnlewisfinance.com, bank. marksandspencer.com or tescobank.com for store credit cards with rewards.

Sign up to cashback sites! These sites make their money through adverts and promotions, or when a retailer pays them a bonus for sending shoppers their way. Their basic service is free to join so there’s no cost to you. Try Quidco and TopCashback to save hundreds a year.

Q This is perfect for those who regularly shop in the same supermarket. You buy there anyway, so you might as well get rewards for doing so. Q Their credit cards often have a zero per cent balance transfer period so are a good choice for debt transferral. Q Use them just for shopping in their store and use other cards to pay for things elsewhere, as you are only rewarded for in-store spending.

FROM CREDIT TO CASH

It’s safer to pay for things online with a credit card so why not make some money at the same time…

O Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Santander are just some of the providers who offer incentives to sign up. O Find out what cashback, points or bonus schemes they offer and how and when these are paid out. O Make sure you repay your bill in full each month to avoid interest. Set up a direct debit to prevent you forgetting. O Never use credit cards to withdraw or borrow cash. O Aim to use it in-store too, just as you would a debit card, to maximise your earnings. O Most big stores have their own banks, such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Tesco, so you can sign up for a rewards-based credit card there, too (see above).