Ibotta is probably the most popular rebate app available. I chalk that up to the promise of cashback. Add specified items to your shopping list, take a picture of your receipt and get money in your PayPal or Venmo accounts or redeem the cash as gift cards to retailers such as Amazon or Walmart. And, like some of the others, you can add your loyalty cards so that it automatically tracks your purchases.
You can also shop online by going to retailers through the Ibotta app. When you do this, it logs rebates in your accounts. You have to earn more than $20 to get your first payout.
What I liked: The offers are pretty varied and widespread, so it's almost impossible not to find things you're going to buy. And they even offer deals on whole purchases, such as 10 cents back for uploading a picture of any grocery receipt.
"I like Ibotta because I can link it to my store cards, and don't have to scan any receipts and then product bar codes," said Altamonte Springs-shopper Bethe Putney-Sans.
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What I didn't like: Not only did I find the app to be a little buggy, but I could also never figure out if I was doing it right. I shopped on Amazon through the app like it said, but I never saw the rebate appear anywhere or receive any acknowledgment that I made the purchase through Ibotta. Earnings from one purchase have shown up as pending for more than two weeks. To me, it feels like the promise of cash for shopping is a little too good to be true without a catch, but that might just be my own suspicions.
"Ibotta is OK, but you have to do it after the fact," said Kelly Brown of Winter Springs.
Ibotta also is big on rewarding buying brand names, like most of the apps, which can make it a little pointless. "You have to choose the store you shopped at, upload the receipt and then select offers that may apply," said shopper Lindsay Crum. "Most times they don't for me because I shop at Winn Dixie and no brands." But she also admitted she liked that she could upload her Winn Dixie loyalty card and it would automatically load rebates when she made featured purchases.
