There’s no clearer way to phrase it: when it comes to RetailMeNot’s new-ish cash-back program, are you gonna smash it into your browser, or pass it on by?
The program started in 2017, but I didn’t learn about it until just a few months ago. Like its competitors, RetailMeNot’s rebate program is executed through both their website, and a browser extension. There are some pretty major differences, however, in regards to how RetailMeNot has approached the who idea of cash back, or rebates, for online shoppers.
Here are the Ways that RetailMeNot Cash Back is Different from Other Rebate Programs
Most RetailMeNot Rebates Have Order Total Requirements
While Ebates and TopCashBack apply a baseline percentage of cash back earned per order, RetailMeNot typically waits for you to reach a threshold of spending before applying a flat rate cash back bonus. For example, while you’d earn 1.5% cash back on your purchase from e.l.f. Cosmetics with Ebates, you’d have to spend $60 in order to qualify for a cash back bonus with RetailMeNot – but that cash back bonus is a clean $10. However, with the average order size at e.l.f. is only $36… not many people are qualifying for this rebate, so it may not actually be saving anyone, or earning anyone, money.
And if you’ve ever seen the budget beauty at e.l.f. cosmetics, then you know that $60 is a lot of makeup. Hell, $30 is a lot of makeup if you’re shopping at e.l.f.! Your shopping style will dictate whether or not this subtotal threshold is useful to you or not, but if you are a scrimper who only buys a product or two at a time, you might be better off with a percentage-style system.
To be fair, RetailMeNot also offers cash back at sites like Boohoo, who we are very familiar with, and they only require you to spend $55 before getting $10 cash back. That’s a pretty sweet deal, and spending $55 at Boohoo is really, really easy. Not only that, but the average order size at Boohoo, according to a 2018 review of the brand’s year, is… $55. Works for me!
An important note: this price threshold must be reached before taxes, shipping, and after discounts have been applied.
RetailMeNot Has Flash Sales, But… For Cash Back
After finding an insane deal for Ulta in RetailMeNot’s cash back offers, I slept on it for a day (a typical practice for people who are trying to manage their shopping addictions) and then, after deciding that $15 cash back on all orders of $30 was a good enough deal to jump on (HELLO?), it was gone. Expired. Poof! Right out of my grasp. I didn’t like that feeling. Not one bit. Very triggered.
This is RetailMeNot’s other unique feature: flash… offers? I’m not exactly sure what to call them, but they’re cash back offers that are only available for a limited time, and it’s usually obvious why. That was a free $15 off at Ulta… If they let that go on, all hell would break loose.
So if you’re perusing deals and planning your next shopping adventure, definitely take note of the expiration dates on RetailMeNot’s offers. And if you can jump on a deal, go for it, but only if you have the means to back it up. Many of these expiration dates are incentives for you to buy buy buy!
Don’t be fooled. I know you won’t.
In order to see which deals are “limited time” and which are normal, everyday offers, you have to actually activate the deal, then look at its full details. Even then, you can’t really see when the promotion is expected to end… But they might change this in the future. This format and design has changed a few times since I started researching this program.
No Referral Program :(
One of the best parts of these programs is haranguing your friends into signing up to get that sweet, sweet referral money. Over at Ebates, it’s a cool $25 cash every time someone you know signs up and uses the service. Here at RetailMeNot, there’s sadly… nothing.
Here are the Ways RetailMeNot is Not-So-Different from Other Rebate Programs
Get Cash Back & Rebates Online and In-Store
Being that RetailMeNot started their money-saving legacy by focusing on fashion brands and lady-shoppers, you’d think that the majority of RetailMeNot’s cash back offers are for clothing, shoes, accessories, and beauty. While they offer a ton of rebates in these categories, they also offer cash back at stores like Best Buy, Staples, StubHub, and Barnes & Noble. There are also a few household service deals mixed in, for example, setting up a new line of service with AT&T has the potential to earn you $150 cash back, and H&R Block will get you up to $15 cash back, depending on what you’re purchasing.
HERE IS A FULL LIST OF RETAILMENOT-SUPPORTED STORES
Speaking of those stores, you can also use these rebates in-store by connecting your debit or credit card to your account. First, you have to activate the rebate deal that you want through your browser. Then, add the card that you plan to use, and when you use it, the credit will be noted in your account. From what I can see, this needs to be done for every store, specifically, and with every rebate deal you plan to use.
The Important Stuff: How You Get Paid
When you’re on a website of a RetailMeNot-supported brand, and you have the RetailMeNot Genie browser extension installed, you’ll get a little popup that tells you that it can be activated there. The popup will also tell you the order value threshold that you need to meet in order to unlock the rebate, so you don’t need to guess and check your shopping cart until you reach it.
As per the typical rebate system, the purchases you make will need to be verified, not returned, and then posted to your account before you see any money. After that, you can withdraw to your PayPal account. Unfortunately, there are no other ways to use your rebates, unlike TopCashBack which allows you to buy a gift card to a specific store, often with an added bonus. PayPal often takes fees when you receive money, so gift cards are always a nice alternative for penny-pinchers.
This whole process takes around 45 days with RetailMeNot Cash Back, and that’s kind of a long time… But also isn’t that long of a time? Let me clarify:
To continue the Ebates comparison, Ebates takes about 24-48 hours to post the earnings to your account which is great, but they only pay out quarterly. So, on January 4, when I bought a pair of earrings off of Etsy, the earnings were posted to my account in 24 hours. I only made $1 cash back on that order, and I need to have $5 in order to cash out – so I have between now and March 31 to get those extra rebates so I can get paid. Otherwise, I don’t see cash until June or something.
RetailMeNot’s Unpredictable Payout Schedule
RetailMeNot has a 45 day turnaround for cash back payments, which is notably less than the ~90 days of a quarter (we like to call it half), but you might not see the cash back reflected in your account for 20 days after purchase. It’s actually really unclear what to expect with RetailMeNot because “45 days” and “20 days” are sprinkled all around the website in different areas, but within the same context. Oh, and on individual deal detail pages, it looks like retail stores can negotiate quicker processing. For example, QVC’s deal page says to expect the money in your RetailMeNot wallet within only 15 days. That’s literally an entire month faster than what other areas of the website say.
So either way, there’s a little give’n’take when it comes to the satisfying feeling of seeing cash back in your account. It’s not good, it’s not bad. It just is… confusing.
The Verdict
Overall, RetailMeNot has promise. As one of the youngest, newest cash back/rebate programs out there, they have a little bit of growing to do before they can truly compete with the giants like Ebates and TopCashBack. All in all, I’m rooting for them, and if they have a killer limited time deal like the one from Ulta that I mentioned earlier in this post, I’m jumping on it. I learned my lesson, ok?
But the struggle to decide RetailMeNot’s place in my life intensifies when I consider how many browser extensions I have to have in order to fulfill all of my cash back fantasies. Currently, for research purposes, I have four rebate extensions installed. My browser… hates it. The average person should not have more than two, in my opinion. This means I have to narrow it down by 50% and, at this time in their development, I’m probably uninstalling RetailMeNot in favor of Ebates and TopCashBack. It’s nothing personal, RMN! I’ll hit you up when you get a referral program and some gift cards.
TRY THE RETAILMENOT CASH BACK PROGRAM HERE
Have you used RetailMeNot’s cash back program before? Tell us what your experience was like! Leave a comment with all the good dirt, please and thank you.