Buzz
The increasing popularity of Fetch Rewards — frequently appearing on updated lists of the top grocery reward apps alongside well-established apps like Ibotta — may make you wonder whether it’s worth downloading. Let’s take a closer look at what it offers.
How Does Fetch Rewards Operate?
Fetch Rewards is a free app where you can earn points by taking pictures of your receipts. Each 1,000 points is equivalent to about $1, and you can redeem them for gift cards starting at 3,000 points, or $3. The gift cards can be from popular brands such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Sephora.
You earn 25 points simply by scanning a receipt, but you can rack up hundreds or even thousands more if your receipt includes a branded item currently being promoted, like a specific cereal or beer. The best part? The rewards are automatic, so there’s no need to know exactly which product to buy or where to make your purchase.
Fetch partners with hundreds of brands, meaning you can expect to earn points whenever you scan receipts from grocery stores, convenience stores, wholesale clubs, or liquor shops. You have up to 14 days to scan your receipts, with a limit of 14 scans within a 7-day period, per The Krazy Coupon Lady. Additionally, there's usually a sign-up bonus when scanning your first receipt (750 points in my case).
You Can Also Earn Through eReceipts
Fetch Rewards also allows you to earn points through eReceipts by linking your email and/or Amazon account to the app. This enables you to accumulate points for online purchases from top retailers, as well as orders from delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats.
Not Exactly Free Money
You may be wondering—why does Fetch pay you to scan receipts? The reason is simple: the data in your receipts is valuable for market research. Aggregated real-time information from millions of receipts helps companies improve their marketing and sales strategies, so they’re willing to partner with the app in exchange for offering small rewards.
The company asserts that this data is shared anonymously. While your bank details aren’t required, you will be asked for your phone number, email, home state, date of birth, and home address during sign-up (you can also connect via your social media accounts).
Bottom Line
Ibotta is a similar app that also has widespread popularity, but if you prefer a simpler, more automatic rewards experience, Fetch Rewards may be a better fit. (However, Ibotta lets you cash out rewards directly to PayPal, sparing you the need for gift cards). If privacy isn’t a huge concern and you do a lot of in-store grocery shopping, this app can be a great way to earn back some money each month.
