Ebates Review: Cash Back Shopping | $10 Sign Up & Unlimited $25 Referral Bonuses

*Ebates is now Rakuten, offering the same cash back deals and rewards. See our Rakuten page for current promotions.

Ebates is one of the best cash back shopping portals online.

A shopping portal is a website that you log into first before getting redirected to online retailers that you normally shop at. The point of going through the portal is to earn cash back for your shopping. It costs you nothing to use these shopping portals so you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet.

The Pioneer Of Cash Back Shopping

Most would say Ebates is the pioneer of online Cash Back Shopping, being established in 1998.

They get a commission for sending you to retailers’ sites and they share the commission with you. The site was started by two prosecutors that used to prosecute online fraud cases so security is a top priority.

The goal at Ebates is that everyone gets to make some money off of the big corporate retailers. It is a goal that has been realized by every person that uses the site.

There are actually many other shopping portals available, some are good and some are so-so. I’ve always used Ebates out of habit, and have actually been a member since 2007. I’m definitely not an online shopaholic, but I’ve still earned more than $2,000 in cash back since joining.

*Another popular online shopping portal is Mr. Rebates, so check that one out as well. I compare Ebates vs Mr.Rebates here. There are many others and I will review all of the best very soon.

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Why Sign Up With Ebates?

I certainly wouldn’t say Ebates is the best online cash back shopping portal as that really depends on what merchants you most commonly spend at, but you really should pick at least one portal to sign up with. Often, using two different ones to get the best cash back rate at any given time would be better as rates are constantly changing with each cash back service.

The following are some key points for using Ebates (or any shopping portal):

• Online cash back shopping portals are all free to use!
• Retailers pay a commission to Ebates and, in turn, Ebates shares that commission with its users.
• Ebates has partnered with over 2,000+ of the world’s top online retailers. These include big, familiar sites we all use regularly (i.e. Amazon, eBay, Groupon, Nordstrom, Walmart, etc.)
• Ebates actually pays you a referral bonus (often starting at $25 during promotion runs) every time you refer someone who signs up and shops at a partner site. I remember trying to educate all my friends on what it was all about back in 2007. You can probably understand the skepticism or just pure lack of motivation to look into such things. It should be much easier to refer people these days!
• Maximize your cash back and rewards potential. You can actually double and triple-dip for more earnings.
  • You earn the cash back by using Ebates.
  • You can earn cash back or rewards if you have a credit card with these benefits.
  • You can earn points/rewards through the programs offered by many retailers.
• Cashing out is easy. You can supply your address to get your checks mailed to you. You can also have your money sent to your Paypal account (my preference), or you can even send your money off to your favorite charity. There are no fees involved in getting your money.

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Sign Up With My Referral Link : )

First, thank you if you decide to sign up with Ebates using my link. Once you’ve signed up you can also start earning bonuses with referrals (often $25 per qualified referral).

• Once you sign up and make purchases through the Ebates portal totaling at least $25 within one year, you’ll earn a bonus (usually $10 but this can change during promotions). *Full disclosure: this sign-up bonus is typically available to you whether you sign up directly through Ebates or using my link.
• There are several ways you can make referrals:
  • Sharing you personal referral link
  • Invite your Gmail contacts or send to specific emails
  • Share your referral link on Facebook or Twitter
• Ebates almost always has a promotion running where you can additional bonuses per referral.

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2,000+ Retailers On Ebates

There are more than 2,000 retailers that partner with Ebates. Most places that you regular shop at online will probably be listed on Ebates.

Cash back amounts are constantly changing with seasons and holidays.

There are hundreds of stores like Ebay, Amazon, Express, Neiman Marcus, Sears and so many others that you can do your regular shopping at and earn a percentage in cash back. Most any major retailer can be found at Ebates. Here’s a table of popular partners to give you an idea:

Priceline.com	Nordstrom
Dell	Saks Fifth Avenue
New Balance	Best Buy
Brookstone	eBay
Kohl’s	Expedia
Coach	JCPenney
Orbitz	Walgreens
Office Depot	Barnes&Noble
Travelocity	J.Crew
Hotels.com	Livingsocial
Lids	Target
Walmart	Sephora
Amazon	Macy’s

Most of your favorite travel websites will also be found on Ebates! I save a lot of money by using Priceline combined with Ebates, and my rewards credit card (the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is my current favorite).

Ebates not only offers cash back for your purchases but they also offer a slew of coupon codes for things like free shipping and percentages off your entire order. It is a great way to save on items you would be buying anyway.

See the complete list of the best cash back sites here.

READ MORE: SEE THE BEST BANK BONUSES HERE AND THE BEST INVESTING BONUSES HERE.