How does Ibotta work? (Our Ibotta Review)

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

I’m just going to assume you’ve already heard of Ibotta. I mean that’s why you’re here, right?

You want to know how it works!

But if you don’t know about Ibotta, it’s probably one of the apps you can use to make (and save!) money on groceries.

Ibotta is something I use EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK.

I love it so much!

I’m here to tell you all about it, including how it works, all the ways you can use it to make money, and how you can maximize your earnings.


Get a $20 Bonus!

Want to try out Ibotta for yourself? Signup and get a $20 welcome bonus! Here’s what you do:

  1. Sign up for Ibotta
  2. Redeem your first offer for $5!
  3. Redeem a few offers for $15
  4. You can also refer friends for another $5-$10!

How does Ibotta work?

There’s a few different ways that you can make money with Ibotta but let’s just talk about the main way aka what Ibotta is known for.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1

Sign up for Ibotta.

You will need to put in your email, you’ll pick a password, and you will be asked for your first name.

Step 2

After signing up for Ibotta, you will be greeted with the home screen, where you can select your favorite stores (this makes searching for offers super easy later on).

Step 3

Now you can start picking out your offers! Don’t forget to add any relevant “any” offers. These are offers that will give you money for picking out any brand in a certain category.

Step 4

Now it’s time to actually go shopping! Make sure you double check and make sure you have the right item for the offer.

Once you’ve purchased your items you can redeem the offers!

Receipt Submission

Navigate to the “redeem” button on the bottom of the app.

Take a picture of your grocery receipt and submit.

Double check and make sure you were credited with the correct offers, and scan any specific barcodes if the app prompts you to do so.

Loyalty Card Submission

**The store loyalty card needs to be added to your Ibotta account BEFORE you begin shopping. You can add a loyalty card on the app!

And within 48 hours the offers should be automatically redeemed FOR you. Great, right?

Step 5

Get that moneyyyy! Once you’ve reached at least $20 in your account, you can redeem the money for rewards!

You can get things like PayPal cash or other giftcards like Amazon, GameStop, etc.

There you go! That’s the basic guide to using Ibotta!

How to Make Money With Ibotta

There are quite a few ways that you can make money using Ibotta! Let’s talk about a few of them!

Grocery Store Rebates

We’ve talked about this a little bit already, but let’s go a bit deeper.

You can get money for redeeming grocery store offers, and with Ibotta it isn’t just one or two stores where you can get offers. There are tons of store available on the Ibotta app, including:

  • Amazon
  • Bilo
  • Costco
  • Dollar General
  • Family Dollar
  • Food Lion
  • Harvey’s
  • Ingles
  • Kroger
  • Lowes Foods
  • Publix
  • Sam’s Club
  • Target
  • Trader Joes
  • Walmart
  • Whole Foods
  • Winn-Dixie

Rebates From Instacart and Shipt

If you get your groceries delivered you can still use Ibotta!

You can actually get cash back from your Instacart and Shipt orders! Check out the Ibotta app for more information!

Discounted Uber Rides

Do you take an Uber?

You can usually find an offer for $.50 – $1 cash back on each ride! Look out for the offer in your Ibotta app!

Dining At Restaurants

Do you love eating out? You can use those receipts to get cashback through Ibotta, and you can even find special offers to redeem if you’re using a delivery service like Grubhub or Uber Eats!

Travel Rebates

Planning to do some traveling anytime soon? Don’t forget to check the Ibotta app for deals! You can earn cash back from things like hotels, flights, and even car rentals!

Here are some of the travel companies with offers that you can redeem through Ibotta:

  • Best Western
  • Booking.com
  • Choice Hotels
  • Expedia
  • Extended Stay America
  • Hertz.com
  • Hotels.com
  • HotelTonight
  • Hotwire
  • Orbitz
  • Priceline
  • Travelocity
  • Vrbo

Shopping Online With Ibotta

Ibotta isn’t just about earning money from grocery store receipts. You can also earn cashback from shopping online at stores you already use!

There are over 700+ different online stores where you can earn cash back!

You can earn cash back by going through the app, or you can use their new browser extension!

If you’d like to see all the places where you earn money for shopping, check out their website.

Ibotta Tips

Here are some tips to help maximize your Ibotta earnings!:

Old Receipts

  • If you decide to use the receipt upload for redeeming your offers you have 7 days (from the receipt date) to redeem your receipt! This means if you forget to check the app or forget to redeem your receipt, you have a week to get it done!

Stack Your Savings!

  • Did you know that you can redeem Ibotta offers on items that are on sale or on clearance!? Yep, it’s true! Stack these to save even MORE money!
  • You know what else you can stack? OTHER RECEIPT APPS!
    You can scan your receipts through Ibotta to get rewards, and you can use those same receipts and scan them on Fetch Rewards (my other favorite money-saving app!).

Bonuses

Ibotta occasionally offers bonuses for certain things including redeeming a certain amount of offers or redeem offers in a certain category. Don’t forget to check the app regularly to see what’s new!

Team Bonuses

When you join Ibotta using someone’s link you will be added to their “team”. The team can work together to reach certain goals (like redeeming a certain amount of offers as a team), and when these goals are reached you can earn bigger bonuses!

How much can you make with Ibotta?

There’s not limit to the amount of money you can make with Ibotta.

Since it was first created, Ibotta users have redeemed over $680,000,000+ in total rewards!

There are users like Michael (from Michael Saves) who have earned of $3000+ themselves!

Conclusion

If you aren’t using Ibotta already, download it ASAP! It’s an easy way to earn free money for the things you already buy!

Frequently Asked Questions About Ibotta

How does Ibotta make money?

Ibotta makes money through the partnerships that they have with other companies.
These companies allow Ibotta to offer you a small amount of money to get you to purchase their products.

How do you get your money from Ibotta?

Once your account reaches $20, you can redeem the balance to PayPal, Venmo, or your can request a giftcard.

Is it safe to use Ibotta?

Yes, it is totally safe to use Ibotta! They keep your personal information safe.