Cashback hack: The genius opportunity saving me big money (for free)

In these tight times, I’ve become hyper-motivated by getting something for nothing. Anything for nothing, in fact.

Points are now frequently flying into my Qantas account, for instance, having optimised and adapted both the way I pay and where I spend. Next time, I intend to fly fully free.

In these tight times, I’ve become hyper-motivated by getting something for nothing.Credit: Dionne Gain

But imagine not just using frequent flyer points to travel to your destination, but getting your holiday spending money for free? Or – automatically and at no cost to you – amassing enough money to fund Christmas.

Improbable? No, possible… with my newest financial fascination: cashback apps and ops.

These facilities, of which there are half a dozen or so, do exactly what they say on the tin; you simply transact with whatever outlet you are buying from, through them. That outlet gives a slice of the price back to the cashback provider, and after some length of wait to ensure you don’t take the goods back, the provider then gives a bit back to you.

It’s a clever idea because everyone’s a winner. You get that bottom-line boost, the retailer gets more business and the cashback facility gets a quasi-commission for being the middleman. It’s no wonder thousands of merchants have now signed on.

You can buy from more than 2300 outlets via cashback app ShopBack, more than 2000 on Cashrewards and more than 1000 on Kickback.

And banks are also muscling in to get a piece of the cut-price purchasing. Westpac offers bonus cashback – often a couple of per cent on top – for people who link their ShopBack app to a Westpac credit or debit card. ANZ does similar with the Cashrewards program.

You can usually withdraw your cash when it lands in your account but two interesting services instead pay it into your super – Boost Your Super and Super-Rewards – for the future.

In either case, the cash can be considerable. Cashrewards and Kickback advertise up to 40 per cent back, but the deals listed hover more around 7 per cent. Shopback drops daily “upsizes” – limited period big refunds of as much as 20 per cent.

And here’s a thought: see if you can first buy and then pay with discounted vouchers either from the raft of organisations, associations and corporations now offering them – The Entertainment App carries loads of cheap deals (I buy groceries with 4 per cent-off Woolworths gift cards from here) – or from the cashback service itself.

That’s potential cashback on money you didn’t even outlay (which is why some facilities don’t allow it.)

Of course, the straightforward and seductive danger with all this cash-back potential is that it will entice people to spend more. But the flip side is that if you need something, you may as well get money back from your purchase. You can also set a personal rule that you only ever purchase items that are on sale in the first place.

Indeed, you will be offered sales through the cashback service. When I jumped on ShopBack right before the weekend, Hoyts cinema tickets were 56 per cent off if bought on a linked Westpac card (through the Westpac Lounge). The Hoyts cashback is a mere 1 per cent (up to 10 per cent on gift cards).

But last weekend, I was able to get 5.5 per cent cashback on a hotel room that was already heavily discounted. That’s an extra refund of $13.20 for my bargain (and beautiful) $240 room.

Yes, most providers have also done deals with accommodation providers – for instance, Shopback with Agoda (currently up to 12.5 per cent cashback), Luxury Escapes and Hotels Combined (up to 7 per cent), Expedia and wotif (up to 6 per cent), and booking.com and Trip.com (up to 5.5 per cent).

And that’s a further strategic savings opportunity: always claiming significant holiday expense could help you fund your holiday expenditure.

Across every aspect of my life, I’ve started cutting the price by as much as 40 per cent. But why am I so keen on the cashback innovation when that other bit of ‘funky fintech’ – buy-now-pay-later – almost equally offends me?

Because cashback services don’t let you pay in any different way – simply how you normally would. Buy-now-pay-later facilities have allowed you to pre-commit your yet-to-be-earned income. Until it’s gone.

After a damning ASIC report about buy now pay later lubricating debt and financial detriment, the government has recently announced a crackdown.

For me, my main cause for concern today is which conduit or channel is best for the purchases I need for my kids and me.

Do I go through a cashback app or get extra air points by clicking from Qantas Shopping?

The dilemma is always simply solved: Unless the Qantas points for the particular merchant are significantly boosted and/or the percentage money back is low, I’ll take cold, hard cash, thank you.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me. Follow Nicole on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.