8 Legitimate Ways to Earn Extra Money for Travel
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Rakuten
Rakuten is a great app for anyone who shops or dines online or in person. You can easily earn cash back, which is either sent as a check in the mail, or deposited into your PayPal account. All you need to do is sign up for free (which is very quick!), use the app, website, or browser extension to make purchases, and you will start earning!
They pay out every 3 months, and I personally have earned more than $70 through Rakuten with zero effort once it was set up.
One of the absolutely easiest ways to earn money with Rakuten is to download the app and add any credit or debit cards that you frequently use to the app. Then go to the “In-Store” tab and add the stores or restaurants that you like to shop at, and anytime you make a purchase in person at one of those places, your Rakuten account will be credited with cash back.
Once it’s set up, you never even have to think about it again, and you earn money just for going to the places you would go anyway.
Upside
Upside is another great app for easily earning cash back at gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants. All you do is download the app, sign up for free, and then when you stop to get gas (or stop at a convenience store or restaurant), check to see of that store has an offer in the app. You will quickly learn which gas stations and other places are regularly offering cash back.
When you see an offer you want, simply click on “claim” in the app, and then after you’ve paid, click “I’ve paid.” Once Upside verifies the purchase, you will typically see the cashback in your account within a day or two.
So for example, let’s say you stop at the gas station by your house to fill up, and they are offering 15 cents per gallon cash back. You claim the offer in the Upside app, fill up your tank and pay using a payment method that you have added to app, and then verify in the app that you have paid. If you put 17 gallons of gas in your car, you would earn $2.55 cash back. It’s super simple!
One nice thing about Upside is that you can cash out anytime you want, and you can transfer the money directly into your bank. It usually shows up within a few days. I have personally earned over $150 since I started using the Upside app!
If you would like to try upside, you can use this link to get an extra 15 cents per gallon cash back on your first purchase through the app.
Fetch
Fetch is a great app to earn gift cards to places like Amazon, Airbnb, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Uber, Lyft, Hotels.com, and more. All you have to do is sign up for a free account, connect your email, Amazon, Walmart, and/or other store accounts (if you want), and then scan your receipts either by taking pictures of physical receipts or by having the app check your accounts for digital receipts. It only takes a few seconds!
You earn a minimum of 25 points per receipt that scan, and they regularly offer bonuses of up to 3,000 points or more for purchasing specific products.
Once you have at least 3,000 points, you can cash them in for gift cards! I have personally earned over $100 in gift cards through Fetch, just for scanning receipts for things I was purchasing anyway.
Honey
Honey is awesome because it automatically finds you coupons, promo codes, or cash back from a wide variety of different businesses, including many travel-related companies such as TripAdvisor, Marriott, Kayak, and more than 30,000 other participating merchants.
Simply sign up for a free account, download the app or browser extension, and start shopping! Honey will automatically find the best discount and apply it at checkout.
Ibotta
Ibotta is different from some of the other apps in that you have to go into the app first and add offers for items that you think you will be buying. And, there are four different ways to earn with Ibotta!
If you’re grocery shopping online, you can link your store account to Ibotta, and then you automatically earn cash back for the offers you added once your order is picked up or delivered.
You can also buy gift cards on Ibotta, and instantly earn cash back on the entire gift card amount. Cash back percentage varies, but can be as much as 20%.
The third way to earn with Ibotta is to add offers to your account before you shop in person, and when you’re done, just upload your receipt in the app to get cash back.
Finally, you can earn cash back with Ibotta by choosing a retailer from within the app, shop online at that retailer by launching their website through Ibotta, shop and checkout as usual, and you will receive cash back after the retailer’s pending period.
Ibotta is very easy to use, and I have earned over $75 using this app.
The Amazon Shopper Panel is invitation only. You can join by downloading the app and getting on the waitlist. Once you receive and accept an invitation, it is really easy to earn money, which then gets deposited directly into your bank account.
You earn money by taking very short surveys (usually 1-3 questions), viewing and verifying ads, and uploading receipts (if there are open spots).
It’s not as easy to earn as much money with the Amazon Shopper Panel app as it is with the other apps, I’ve only earned about $20 so far, but it is definitely the easiest to do and it takes almost no time.
Mock Jury or Online Focus Groups
Being part of a mock jury or online focus group takes more time, but many of them pay quite well. I once participated in an online focus group that only took a couple hours of my time – at my convenience, at I received a $150 gift card for participating!
Here are some reputable organizations that you can register with and see if you are selected:
SoFi
SoFi is an online bank that has a lot to offer, including High Yield Savings Accounts, which are much better than regular savings accounts. The High Yield savings accounts at SoFI offer an online savings account that earns up to 4.6% APY (traditional savings accounts often only earn about .3% APY!).
SoFi also offers other incentives and bonuses that you can earn and they are definitely worth checking out, so your money can start working harder for you.
Use this special link to get $25 when you open a checking & savings account with SoFi.
If you’re interested in learning how to make the most of all of the money you’re about to earn with these 8 tips, head on over to our article about How to Find Cheap Flights.
