I’ve taken advantage of cashback apps or barcode scanning to pay for necessary pet expenses for my cat. Because everything has increased in price, I need more cash, as shown in my list below.
I follow Martin Lewis online, and he often shares insights about apps that help make extra money. All you need is a smartphone and access to the Apple Store (for iPhone users) or Google Play (for Android users) to download these free apps. These apps focus on uploading receipts of your purchases, which helps with market research and understanding consumer buying habits. Essentially, it provides valuable consumer insights for companies selling these products. They’re keen to learn about our purchasing choices and our opinions about different products.
Seeking out freebies, ways to earn cash, and product testing, pet food trials, I have compiled a list for you. Poppy’s Pets YouTube channel contains useful information about pet health care and composting.
1: Amazon Shopping Panel
In a nutshell:
Before downloading the app from Google Play or Apple Store, you need an Amazon account. You get paid for short surveys and upload 10 monthly receipts from your shopping, dining out, and entertainment (theatre, cinema etc). Amazon accept receipts from your vet too! E-receipts from online purchases are accepted too. I earned £5.25 in two minutes.
What do you do?
Take a photograph of any receipt (Amazon-related receipts are not allowed) and upload it to your app using the ‘receipt’ icon. E-receipts from online purchases are emailed. Then, your balance appears in the app’s Total Rewards section the following month.
What is the earning potential?
Surveys range between 25p to 35p (based on those I have completed). Excluding surveys, you can earn £60 in twelve months.
Example of receipts uploaded:
- Wilko
- Kingston vets
- Petrol purchased from Patrington garage
- Aldi
- Tesco
- B&M
- The Works
- YMCA charity shop
- QD
- Co-op
How do I redeem it?
You can allow your approved reward to build up or be used immediately. Rewards can only be spent at Amazon and are automatically applied to purchases at checkout, but you can decline to pay with the gift card, as it’s known. Amazon sells a huge variety of goods, including pet food and accessories.
2: Shoppix
In a nutshell:
Scan and upload your receipts from purchases you make and earn around 25 to 30 tokens each time. You have to reach 3200 tokens to earn your first £5.
What do you do?
So, shop as normal, scan and upload receipts using the app. Receipts uploaded must be no more than 7 days old. And remember, you cannot upload receipts from the same store with the same purchase date. If possible, go shopping the following day and you can upload the receipt then. Just click the ‘camera’ icon on the app, photograph each receipt and follow simple instructions.
What is the earning potential?
Each receipt earns you 25 tokens if you upload the day after the purchase or 30 tokens on the day. Shoppix approves each upload. Surveys earn you an extra 10 to 20 tokens, and scratchcards another 10.
The following shows you how many tokens you need to earn the cash.
3200 tokens to get £5
6000 tokens to get £10
11,500 tokens to get £20
Examples of receipts uploaded:
- Aldi
- Tesco
- Willows Bar & Restaurant
- Asda
- Ellis Cafe
- Wilko
- Poundstretcher
- Poundland
- Iceland
- B&M
How do I redeem it?
You can redeem at Amazon and buy pet food (or anything else too), or from iTunes and Love2Shop (includes Asda). Or opt for Paypal and build up your pet cash pot, offset against your energy or weekly food bill. Then withdraw to your bank account.
3: Shop & Scan
In a nutshell:
I will give you an example. We shop at Aldi, scan barcodes, upload the receipt, and earn rewards. When my rewards built up, I ordered a gift card and bought a Bissell 54K25 Carpet Cleaner and Vax S86 SF CC Floor Cleaner from Argos. Really, these were free to the value of £150. All I paid was delivery charges.
Watch the Video: Bissell 54K25 Carpet Cleaner and update-alternatives
Watch the Video: Vax Hard Floor Cleaner S86-SF-CC
What do I do?
Shop as normal. Using a mini barcode device supplied by Shop & Scan, scan every product barcode and, every 7 days, transmit it to a Shop & Scan via the USB driver you installed on your PC or laptop. The mini barcode device connects using a USB cable, which you insert into the USB port on your PC or laptop. You then photograph the receipt/s and upload them onto Shop & Scan’s website using your mobile or laptop. It’s worth noting the system isn’t compatible with Apple Mac laptops.
You will have a unique panel number, and following each transmission and upload, your panel number is entered into a draw to win £100!
To join the panel, visit Volunteer 4 Panels and complete a short questionnaire. It is based on geographic location, so if you do not hear back, you have either not been accepted or need to wait until a vacancy arises.
if successful in joining Shop & Scan, you might be invited to join Food On The Go Panel, earning you 250 reward points weekly.
Earning potential:
You earn 500 rewards for uploading receipts and 1100 rewards for barcoding products. And you earn extra rewards for surveys or uploading photos of a product you bought. Around Christmas, they offer extra reward points uploaded during a specific period.
How do I redeem it?
On the Shop & Scan website, you go to My Rewards Account and here you will find a wide range of stores you can shop with. These include, for example, Argos, Ernest Jones, Amazon, Pizza Hut, Virgin and many more. You request a gift card, go to the retailer as normal, and redeem the gift card at check out.
By November 2023, I have accumulated another batch of reward points. The total is 300,000 points equating to £300 if I purchased goods at Argos. I left a domestic abuse relationship this year and am in my fifties. I am starting again and need to buy white goods, sofa etc so this is my aim with Shop and Scan. However, I will visit charity shops where you can find bargains too.
An example of where you can spend the reward points:
You can exchange reward points for similar values with any retailer in the list, but below gives you an idea. There are lots more retailers.
| How many reward points | Exchange value | Retailers |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | £10 | Pizza Hut, Virgin Experience, Not in The High Street, Paul Smith, Arsenal, Argos |
| 20,000 | £20 | Sports Direct, X-Box, National Trust |
| 50,000 | £50 | Argos, Ernest Jones, H M Samual |
Visit Shop and Scan
Visit Volunteer 4 Panels
4: Food On the Go
In a nutshell:
You only record food and beverages using an app downloaded on your mobile phone. You do not need to upload receipts. Instead, you enter information from the receipt.
What do you do?
Food On the Go is linked to Shop and Scan (see above), and you’ll be invited as a member of the existing panel.
All you need to do is record food consumed outside the home – meals, snacks, cold and hot beverages. Alcohol is excluded.
Earning potential:
Entering weekly details earns you 250 reward points, which are added to your Shop and Scan statement.
How do I redeem?
Using the Shop and Scan website, log into My Rewards and choose your vouchers – then go shopping!
Visit: Food on the Go Panel
Related questions:
Can I use a receipt on two different apps?
Yes, you can! I do. Whatever I scan on Amazon Shopper Panel, I use at Shoppix too.
I don’t have pets; can I still benefit from these apps?
Absolutely. Cashback can be used towards anything and can significantly help towards the hike in the cost of living, and here in 2023, we need help more than ever. Use in what way is best for you. I would, however, recommend putting it into an emergency pot.
Poppy’s Pets has a column in the Withernsea District and Community News