I’ve been using Mr. Rebates since 2007 and consider it one of the best overall cash back shopping portal available. If you’re wondering how to use it or if it’s the right cash back program for you, read on ninjas!
In this review of Mr. Rebates, I’ll go over how to earn cash back with it, how it compares to other shopping portals, and whether it’s worth it or not.
Mr. Rebates
Pros
- High cash back levels
- Numerous stores
- Great customer service
Cons
- No in-store cash back
There are numerous cash back shopping sites around. It’s hard to differentiate which sites are legitimate versus ones that are scams. Even amongst the legit options, it’s difficult to know which are the best cash back sites you should use.
Mr. Rebates, founded in 2002, is considered to be one of the Top 3 cash back portals. It’s not going to knock your socks off with its website (hello circa 1990’s), but that’s not what people should care about.
There are plenty of good reasons why you want to sign up (including a $5 bonus). Here’s my detailed review of Mr. Rebates so you can see if it’s the right cash back site for you.
What is Mr. Rebates?
Mr. Rebates is a cash back site, where they pay you to shop at your favorite stores. It’s similar to Rakuten ($30 welcome offer), TopCashback ($25 sign-up bonus), and RebatesMe ($40 bonus) which you may have heard about.
If you don’t know how these cash back sites work, I wrote a cash back primer recently so you can learn more about it. Here’s the summarized version:
- You start the shopping process at a cash back site like Mr. Rebates and select the retail brand you’re planning to make a purchase at.
- The cash back site transfers you to the selected retail brand.
- If you make a purchase, the cash back site gets paid a commission for referring you (the commission is based on the total amount spent).
- The cash back site splits the commission with you as a thank you for using their site.
If you’re wondering if Mr. Rebates includes online stores you typically shop at, then have no fear. They have partnered with over 3,000 stores such as Best Buy, Home Depot, and Target. The chances are pretty good that the store you want to shop at is listed on Mr. Rebates.
How do I use Mr. Rebates to earn cash back?
Similar to other cash back sites, it’s a super easy process. Your grandmother can do it… and she probably does (we have grandma ninja readers)! Here’s the step-by-step guide:
- After you sign-up for a Mr. Rebates account ($5 sign-up bonus link), go to the Mr. Rebates site and search for the store you want to shop at.
- Click the link to the store and it will transfer you to the store’s web site – shop as you normally would.
- Your cash back you earned from your purchase will show up in your Mr. Rebates account within 24-48 hours.
That’s it!
Ninja Tip: Once you’re shopping, it’s best not to leave the site until you’ve ordered as the tracking necessary to give you credit might get lost. If you do leave, it’s best to start over again at Mr. Rebates to be on the safe side.
Is Mr. Rebates a scam or a legit business?
People worry about being scammed, and rightfully so – there are quite a few bad apples out there.
Fortunately, you can rest easy with Mr. Rebates. They have been around since 2002 and have a flawless reputation. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gave Mr. Rebates an A+ rating. I always recommend checking a company’s BBB rating to see what other customers are saying.
This is one of the sites I absolutely trust. I’ve been a customer since 2007 and have never ran into any problems whatsoever.
What are the different ways I can use Mr. Rebates?
You can access Mr. Rebates in many ways:
- Mr. Rebates Online: This is the easiest way – you simply go to the Mr. Rebates website on your desktop or laptop using your preferred web browser.
- Mr. Rebates Phone App: Once you have created an account, you can download the app from the Google Play Store or App Store.
- Mr. Rebates Quick Cash Button: This is a browser extension for your desktop or laptop. It reminds you when you’re shopping at a place, but forgot to visit Mr. Rebates first. This is great tool to make sure you get credit everywhere you shop at.
- Mr. Rebates Coupons: Mr. Rebates also has coupons and discount codes that’s available on their web site. You can combine these with the cash back to save even more!
How Does Mr. Rebates Pay You?
Mr. Rebates gives you a few options when it comes to paying you the cash back you earned. You can get a check mailed to your physical address, request a PayPal payment, or exchange your cash back for a gift card.
Once you’ve earned more than $10 in cash back, you can request a pay out. You don’t have to do it right away. I usually wait until I have a few hundred dollars in my balance before cashing out.
To date, Mr. Rebates has paid me over $2,500 so far. Here a screenshot of the payments Mr. Rebates has sent me over the years:
How does Mr. Rebates compare to other cash back sites?
Mr. Rebates compares quite favorably.
While it’s impossible to analyze each store since Mr. Rebates has over 3,000 partnered brands, I’ll compare Mr. Rebates against Rakuten, TopCashback, and Swagbucks to see how they stack up against each other at several popular online stores:
| Mr. Rebates | Rakuten | Top Cashback | Swagbucks | |
| 1-800 CONTACTS | 5% | 4% | 1% | 3% |
| Amazon | Up to 8% | Up to 5% | Up to 10% | 5% |
| Best Buy | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Gap | 8% | 2% | 5% | 1% |
| Groupon | 6% | 4% | Up to 10% | 3% |
| Home Depot | 1% | N/A | Up to 8% | Up to 4% |
| Saks Fifth Avenue | 3% | 2% | 3% | 1% |
| Sephora | 4% | 4% | 8% | 2% |
It looks like all of them have different cash back rates depending on the store, but Mr. Rebates either offers the best cash back percentage or very close to it.
These cash back rates aren’t static though, so check back often to see what the up-to-date rate is. Just because Mr. Rebates is offering 8% back at GAP this week doesn’t mean it’s going to be 8% next week.
In fact, as I’m writing this post, they just boosted their cash back rate at the Gap to 10% for a limited time!
You should also pay attention to the fine print. When you see a store that states “up to X% cash back”, it usually means only some categories are offering the highest rate while the other categories have lower ones.
Ninja Tip: Open an account for each of the cash back sites I mentioned and use the one with the best rates at the time you’re shopping!
Mr. Rebates has an awesome referral program
The referral program is a feature I really love about Mr. Rebates.
Like the majority of cash back sites, Mr. Rebates has a sign-up bonus for signing up as a new customer, but it doesn’t end there. For every friend you refer, you’ll get a 20% lifetime referral bonus on what they spend, at no cost to them!
Let’s run through an example:
Your friend spends $100 at Gap, and since Mr. Rebates is offering 10% back on Gap purchases, they will get $10 in cash back ($100 x .10 = $10).
Because you referred your friend, you’ll get a 20% referral bonus on the cash back amount they earned. In this example, your friend received $10 in cash back, so you would earn 20% of that amount, which is $2 ($10 x .20 = $2).
You’ll keep getting this bonus for your entire life! There are no limits to the amount of people you can refer.
I’ve made a little over $300 from just telling my friends about Mr. Rebates. Helping them helps me. It’s a win-win for everyone and nobody leaves feeling like a loser.
The Bottom Line
I love cash back sites like Mr. Rebates, because you’re getting rewarded for something you’re already going to do. So why not get something back for nothing?
And it’s free to use! How many things in America can you say that about?
I consider Mr. Rebates the best cash back program out there in terms of overall value. The cash back rates are high, they have a killer referral program, and getting paid has always been a breeze.
That doesn’t mean you should stick to just this one site. I would create an account on all the popular cash back sites and use the one that offers the best rate so the store you’re shopping at.
Between Mr. Rebates and the other cash back sites I use, I have made over $20,000 just for shopping!
Do you use cash back sites? Are there ones you really like, but it wasn’t mentioned here? Tell me about it and why it’s great!
I’m new to this type of cash back savings. It seems the problem with a 2000-era system is that it doesn’t account for most people shopping directly on a store’s app and not going to a desktop to follow a link. Am I missing something for how this works effortlessly in today’s way of shopping? I’m excited to make money on shopping I’m already doing!
I thought the same thing, but you can actually use Mr. Rebates and most other cash back apps on your phone too. While clicking on some brands will bring you to the mobile site, I do notice that others will launch the brand’s app if you have one installed!
I shopped Harvey Nichols order GE1087964223GB on April 03 2021, but the cashback from mrrebates is missing. I have submitted the request for missing rebate, but this company never replied. I left message on their facebook page, and finally they replied.
However, they first claimed that there is no such shopping record. Here is the proof: 984941914/3/2021 1:46:24 AMHarvey Nichols8%Free Delivery on $250+ Orders ” . Later, they replied that I had never requested the missing cashback, but I did and here is the proof:
“Support Issue: The order number you specified on the previous page has already been submitted to the Mr. Rebates’ claim system so it cannot be resubmitted.”
They also claimed that it was too late to claim the rebate, but on their website it is 90 days after purchase. Later they said that I used coupon, but I have never used any coupon in this order. This is such a shameless company. I’m writing to ask for my cashback back.
Hi Chunyan, sorry you’re having trouble. Mr. Rebates has always resolved any issues I had with it in a satisfactory manner.
It looks like you have the proof with the Click ID # 98494191. Are you contacting Mr. Rebates through their email support or the retailer? I would email Mr. Rebates with your Click ID # along with the email order confirmation.
Good luck. Let me know how it goes.
I use MrRebates and have been absolutely satisfied with it. They don’t have any limits as to how much you can earn in cash back and i find their customer service user-friendly. If someone needs referral code for Mr. Rebates – here’s mine: http://www.mrrebates.com?refid=1302645 You’ll get sign-up bonus $5. It’s really credible and easy to use site.
I really like this, especially with all the online shopping now with COVID-19 😛
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…
all this free money ive been missing on….. could of bought a car by now!