How TopCashback Works: Earn Money From Shopping Online On The #1 Cashback Site

There are a lot of different ways to use cashback to make and save money, but this post is all about how TopCashback works. Earning money from shopping online sounds a bit too good to be true, and when I first discovered the idea almost a decade ago, I was not convinced. That was until I gave TopCashback a try. Now I won’t shop online without it! Cashback essentially encourages you to shop with a specific retailer because you will receive a small refund in return as an incentive.

While this is a TopCashback review, this post will also show you exactly how to make money with TopCashback, how TopCashback works, and answer all of your TopCashback questions including ‘is TopCashback worth it?’

What is TopCashback? How TopCashback make money?

TopCashback is a website that gives you a percentage back of what you spend with a specific retailer, once your purchase is confirmed. Retailers give TopCashback a commission for directing you to their website and TopCashback then pay you up to 105% of the commission they receive! They are the most generous cashback site in the UK, keeping only a small portion for themselves. They also make money from sponsored adverts on the site.

In a nutshell, you earn money from online shopping at over 5,000 retailers including Boots, Marks and Spencer, Iceland, Sky, BT, Domino’s, Just Eat, Currys and more! TopCashback will pop the cashback into your account, and you can then withdraw it via PayPal, bank transfer, vouchers or even make a donation to charity.

Keep reading to find out more about how TopCashback works.

How TopCashback works?

When you are shopping online, log in to TopCashback and click on the store you will be shopping at. The websites will use a cookie to track your online activity meaning you can earn cashback on your purchase! This might seem like a very simple answer to the question of how does TopCashback work, but it really is as easy as that. To recap on TopCashback, how does it work:

1. Log in to TopCashback
2. Click on your chosen store
3. Shop!
4. Earn money from online shopping!

Getting started with TopCashback

The first step to earning money from your online shopping with TopCashback is signing up! It takes just a few seconds and then you can earn from over 5,000 retailers immediately!

Can you trust TopCashback, what’s the catch?

Whenever I talk about TopCashback and how TopCashback works, I always get hit with some questions about whether or not it can be trusted. I understand, it does sound way too good to be true. But the thing is, it really is great! There are no catches. So here are my answers to the most commonly asked questions about how TopCashback works:

• Is TopCashback safe to use? Yes! I’ve used this site for years and they are trustworthy, reliable and responsive. They store your visit to the online retailer and give you commission for it. They can’t access your card details.
• Is TopCashback legit? Yes! It’s been around in the UK since 2005!
• Is TopCashback real or fake? As real as me! And I am very real 🙂
• Is TopCashback good or bad? It helps me earn money back on things I buy… that’s pretty good in my book!
• Is TopCashback a con? Not one bit. And I have the receipts to prove it.
• Is TopCashback genuine? It is genuine, but if you don’t trust me just yet, then check out the TopCashback Trustpilot rating.

Is TopCashback free?

Yes! TopCashback has two membership options: Classic and Plus.

TopCashback Classic is absolutely free and always will be! There is no charge to join and you can earn cashback from over 5,000 retailers immediately after signing up.

What is TopCashback Plus membership?

TopCashback Plus is an enhanced membership with some additional benefits including extra cashback and bonus payout options, exclusive promotions and competitions, and no external sponsored adverts shown to you on the TopCashback site!

I am a TopCashback Plus member and I HIGHLY recommend it. Is TopCashback plus worth it? Absolutely yes. It offers so many additional benefits to help you earn even more from your online shopping but you don’t need to worry about a monthly or annual payment coming out of your bank account.

So, how much is TopCashback Plus membership?

TopCashback Plus is £5 per year, which is deducted from your TopCashback earnings during the payout after you reach earnings of over £5. If you don’t earn anything in a year, then it’s free! It’s a worry free way of maximising your earnings from TopCashback. TopCashback Plus really shows how TopCashback works for you.

How to use TopCashback

Using TopCashback could not be easier! The first step is to sign up to TopCashback (remember, it’s free!).

When you are planning to make a purchase online, simply log in to TopCashback and search for the retailer. With over 5,000 retailers, you are sure to find them! Trying to remember is the hardest part initially. The number of times I ordered Dominos or a takeout from Just Eat and forgot to use TopCashback makes me want to kick myself, but you do start to remember and it becomes habit. What a great financial habit to have too. Once you make the purchase, your transaction will track on the TopCashback website and will eventually become payable to your account.

There are a few tools to help you remember to use TopCashback to earn money from online shopping. A browser extension and an app. Here’s a few details:

What is TopCashback browser extension?

How TopCashback works as a browser extension is that you can access the same cashback options as with just one click from your browser window! This means that when you visit a site to make an online purchase, a pop-up from TopCashback will appear with an ‘Activate Now’ button. You simply click this, log in to TopCashback if you need to, and voila! This TopCashback extension means it is less likely that you will forget to use the site before you make a purchase. A great support for habit building and making sure you don’t miss a cashback deal! AND IT’S FREE! Here’s an example of TopCashback for Currys via the browser extension:

The TopCashback browser extension works on a number of browsers including as a TopCashback Chrome extension, as well as Edge and Firefox. It isn’t compatible with mobile devices including tablets.

To get the TopCashback browser extension, you simply download it. Here are some quick links for you:

TopCashback for Chrome

TopCashback for Firefox

TopCashback for Edge

It is important to note that a few retailers on TopCashback are not signed up to the browser extension function just yet, so it is worth double-checking on the website before you make a purchase if a TopCashback pop-up doesn’t appear on a retailer site.

What is TopCashback app?

The TopCashback UK app is very similar to the TopCashback website. When you want to make a purchase, simply open the app, search for the retailer, and click through to their website. I use the app often for Just Eat or Domino’s, but all retailers available on the website are also available via the app. This is another great tool to assist you in maximising the amount of cashback you can earn. Here’s a look at how TopCashback works on the app:

The app is free and is available on iOS and Android. I highly recommend downloading the TopCashback app to make money from your online shopping!

Which retailers use TopCashback?

If you are still not excited, then wait until you hear what shops use TopCashback! A common assumption is that the retailers available on TopCashback will be obscure and not companies that you will use regularly. This could not be further from the truth and is a bit dismissive of how TopCashback works. There are over 5,000 retailers available on TopCashback and I would describe the majority of these as popular and useful!

Here’s an example of which companies use TopCashback:

As you can see, there are some very useful and popular options available from regularly-used companies. So, instead of asking what retailers are on TopCashback, it might be better to note who isn’t! You can even check what retailers are trending to find the best cashback deals.

Green Cashback!

I noticed recently a new category added to the menu on the TopCashback website called Green Cashback. I was very intrigued and thoroughly delighted when I realised that a category had been added to help me find ethical and sustainable companies to shop with AND earn cashback.

Some of the options available are TopCashback for The Cheeky Panda, a company providing bamboo toilet paper, baby wipes and more. TopCashback for Nkuku is also available if you are in the market for some stunning homewares. The best period pant supplier in my opinion is WUKA who you can get some serious cashback from. My favourite hand moisturiser provider, Neal’s Yard Remedies is also available, plus a few online charity stores including Oxfam and RSPB. I think this is a really exciting development in how TopCashback works and I hope this category will expand over time.

Compare Energy, Broadband, Insurance – How TopCashback Works to Help You Save and Make Money

Maximising the amount of money you can earn through TopCashback means being strategic and smart. Big purchases and regular purchases should be top priority! Why wouldn’t you want to save some money on insurance, broadband, and energy costs? These are expenses that we can’t get away from, and they are getting increasingly expensive. Let’s save where we can. How TopCashback works to help us with this is they have created TopCashback Compare.

TopCashback Compare is a comparison tool for Insurance, Broadband and Energy quotes from a whole range of suppliers. If you choose to go ahead with one of the quotes, then you will earn cashback! This is essentially combining two excellent money saving tools into one: TopCashback (cashback earnings) and comparison websites/tools. See how TopCashback works to try to save you money! I absolutely love this forward-thinking approach because it makes our money-saving journeys much easier. For insurance products, you can even purchase over the phone if the company offers that option!

TopCashback Compare is definitely a rival to some of the popular comparison websites. Another reason to sign up and checkout how TopCashback works!

TopCashback Review – How I Earned over £400 and How You Can Too!

I am all about maximising the money saving and money making potential of tools such as TopCashback. There are definitely a few ways to really make use of the full functionality of the site and earn back significant amounts of money on your shopping.

TopCashback can be used with a cashback credit card to further enhance the cashback earned, but don’t use a credit card unnecessarily and make sure you can afford to pay off the balance or manage it effectively.

Broadband

I know I mentioned broadband in the TopCashback Compare section but I wanted to show you just how good this can be. I recently moved house and when I moved, I was not able to transfer my fibre broadband from Sky as they didn’t service my new area (not ideal when I am working from home in a pandemic but that’s a different story for another day).

Immediately I checked out TopCashback offers for internet providers as I needed to get up and running as fast as possible. I found an offer for BT fibre costing £29.99 per month, with a cashback offer of £105 – basically 3.5 months free broadband! I actually ended up with £110 cashback as there was a little glitch that had to be worked out by the TopCashback team and the retailer (I will explain more about this further down).

Broadband is an excellent way to earn money with TopCashback so if you are moving, or your contract is coming to an end, checkout the offers on the website!

Phones

Phone contracts, sim-only contracts and buying handsets only are all large expenses. Over time each of these can cost a significant amount of money, and often these bills only increase. While some money can be recouped by selling on old phone handsets for example, another great way to save some money on your mobile phone costs is to use TopCashback. There is a huge range of options available with very good offers including EE, GiffGaff and O2.

Holidays, Hotels and Flights

Travel is a pretty hefty expense when we want some sea, sun or snow action (or even a night away!). TopCashback offers include accommodation sites such as Booking.com and Hotels.com, as well as flight comparison and booking through SkyScanner. You can even book car rental, airport parking and package holidays! Make your travel a little cheaper with some cashback.

Furniture, Electronics and Big Purchases

Big purchases or expenses purchases such as furniture, appliances, and electronics are excellent ways to earn money with TopCashback. Companies such as Wickes, Currys, AO, The Range and Lakeland offer cashback. These types of purchases are great ways to maximise how TopCashback works for you.

Xmas and Gift Shopping

It probably seems quite obvious to mention that doing as much of your Christmas shopping as possible via TopCashback is a perfect way to save and make money with the site. But I don’t like to take anything for granted, so here’s is your reminder – use TopCashback for Christmas shopping! Don’t forget that you can use it for groceries as well as buying gifts.

TopCashback have a great selection of gift retailers for all occasions including Moonpig, Bloom and Wild, and Etsy. This is a perfect way to save money on all of those little tokens that you purchase throughout the year.

Use It Regularly – Groceries, Takeout, Commuting

As well as the big purchases, using TopCashback regularly will boost your cashback balance immensely. There are so many retailers available that you can save money on your everyday spending easily. There are supermarkets including Iceland, Asda, and Sainsbury’s. Plenty of takeout options are available including Deliveroo. If you regularly commute there are a number of train and bus options including The Train Line.

Why not change a habit to earn money with TopCashback? If you normally go to the supermarket to do your shopping, why not try ordering online instead? There are so many things that you can try to see how TopCashback works for you.

Monthly Savings Hub

Each month TopCashback creates a hub pulling together all of the best offers from a range of categories. If you are planning on making a purchase, this is a great place to start to find some savings and great cashback offers.

Tell-A-Friend How TopCashback Works

If you want to share the amazing money saving and money making opportunity of TopCashback you are able to share with your friends and earn £25-£30 each time! You will earn £25 for each referral if you have a Classic membership and £30 if you have a Plus membership. There are also sometimes amazing TopCashback sign up bonus options! This is a great way to boost your earnings from TopCashback.

TopGiftCards

TopCashback is now offering the ability to purchase gift cards, meaning you can earn cashback on the value of the gift card. These are great gift ideas, but you can also buy them for yourself meaning you would be earning even more! For example, if you buy a gift card worth £20 from a retailer offering 5% cashback, you would get £1 cashback, plus the value of the giftcard.

Most gift cards are sent via email immediately after purchase, but some require some extra checks and can take up to 48 hours to arrive. Details will be provided on how the gift card can be spent e.g. online, in-store or both.

TopCashback and Student Discount? TopCashback and Other Offers?

How TopCashback works with other offers and discounts depends on the retailer and their associated TopCashback terms and conditions. Some retailers state that they won’t provide cashback if used with any other offer, others don’t stipulate this. It is worth checking before buying and calculating what is likely to save you the most money. I often use the TopCashback link to purchase anyway, because sometimes it tracks and becomes payable even when a discount code has been used. Worth a shot!

Can you use TopCashback in store or is TopCashback online only?

TopCashback is not only for online purchases. There are a small number of retailers who offer in-store cashback but how TopCashback works in this way is a little different. To use in-store cashback offers, you need to register your card details to your TopCashback account. Then activate the in-store offers on TopCashback and make your in-store purchases using the same card. Make sure you activate the offers before you buy!

TopCashback Snap and Save is currently under review and not available at this time (March 2022), but I still wanted to explain it as I hope it comes back bigger and better! Snap and Save is another way to earn cashback on in-store purchases at the major supermarkets. To earn cashback, you purchase the item listed in the offers, and then upload a photo of your receipt to TopCashback. It’s that simple!

TopCashback Competitions

TopCashback run competitions quite regularly throughout the year and they are fun to get involved with. You might see people ask what are TopCashback hummingbirds… well these are usually what you have to find in the competition. There will be clues for TopCashback searches where you visit different retailer pages on TopCashback and click the hummingbird you find there. There is even a TopCashback daily clue on how to find TopCashback hummingbirds. I have won smaller prizes from the competitions which are always a welcome bonus.

How much does TopCashback pay?

TopCashback pays different amounts depending on which retailer you choose to shop from. There isn’t a set amount. It depends on the percentage cashback offered and the amount you spend with the retailer. Sometimes there will be a set amount of cashback offered for signing up to a service such as broadband.

How long does it take for cashback to track?

After a purchase via TopCashback, you will be able to see the transaction in your account under ‘earnings’ between one hour afterwards up to one week. You usually receive an email as well. This gives you confirmation that the transaction has tracked. So for TopCashback, how long to track the transaction depends but you are able to check easily in your account.

Is TopCashback reliable? What if a transaction doesn’t track?

Sometimes there can be problems with TopCashback not tracking. I have had this issue before and it is just part and parcel of how TopCashback works, unfortunately. But don’t panic, there is an easy way to have these problems corrected. TopCashback has a claim process via their customer service portal. There is a step-by-step missing cashback process. This can take a few months, but TopCashback will keep you updated.

Why does TopCashback say pending? On TopCashback, what does confirmed mean? What does payable mean on TopCashback?

There are often a lot of questions about how TopCashback works because of these three words: pending, confirmed and payable. On TopCashback, why pending transactions exist is to show you that the purchase has tracked and TopCashback is waiting to receive confirmation from the retailer. That’s how TopCashback works and makes their money so we have to wait for this part.

Usually on the retailer page it tells you how long this process takes on average, sometimes it can be up to 12 weeks so it is worth checking and monitoring. So for TopCashback, how long pending transactions remain pending depends upon the retailer and the terms they agreed with TopCashback. Like I mentioned in the previous sections, on TopCashback how long to show pending can be between an hour and a week.

Confirmed means that the retailer has accepted and fulfilled your order, and confirmed these details with TopCashback. This transaction is in the process of becoming payable to your account.

Payable means you can withdraw the money from your TopCashback account. How long before a transaction becomes payable? It can be between a few weeks to a year. It really depends on the retailer. Why does it take so long to become payable? The retailer has to acknowledge and confirm the purchase details to TopCashback so this process depends on the actions of the retailer (also they need t make sure you don’t return the product or end the service early). The TopCashback when payable timeframes are usually found on the individual retailer pages at the bottom.

Why have I not earned cashback? Why TopCashback declined?

Declined means that the retailer has not confirmed your purchase or details of your transaction. This can happen if you don’t follow the terms and conditions, such as using a discount code along with TopCashback. I always recommend checking how TopCashback works with your chosen retailer. It can also be an error. If your TopCashback transaction declines, it is always worth opening a case with customer service via the portal and asking them to investigate.

I had my BT broadband transaction declined, which I mentioned earlier. I had been expecting to receive £105.00 cashback from signing up to new fibre broadband after moving house. I opened a case immediately and this was resolved within a few weeks, and I received an extra £5 cashback!

I have had a recent Currys transaction declined for just over £18, and I have received confirmation from TopCashback that this was because I also used a discount voucher. I am okay with this because I saved more money using the discount code and so the cashback would have been a welcome bonus. Always check to make sure you are using the best deal possible to save the most money!

How do I withdraw from TopCashback? How do TopCashback pay you? How do I get my money from TopCashback?

To withdraw cashback from your TopCashback account, simply visit your account and select payout. You can choose on TopCashback how to withdraw your earnings, including via BACS or PayPal.

What is TopCashback reward wallet?

Reward wallet on TopCashback is an online wallet where you can transfer your payable cashback to withdraw as e-gift cards, with a bonus! You don’t get a bonus when you payout TopCashback using BACS or PayPal so this is a good option to earn more money if you can use the gift cards.

The process of how to transfer to reward wallet is simple – just choose reward wallet from the payout page. Then go to your reward wallet and select your e-gift cards.

So with TopCashback, when do I get paid?! How long does TopCashback take to pay?

TopCashback is an amazing way to earn money from your online shopping, but it is not a fast process by any means. Once the money reaches payable and you choose to payout, however, the wait is not that much more!

Gift cards are basically immediate! Payout from TopCashback to PayPal can take up to a few hours. For BACS this can be a few days. So in answer to the question, how long does it take to get money from TopCashback, it depends on the payout method you choose.

What is the TopCashback minimum payout?

The minimum amount for payout via BACS, PayPal or Amazon.co.uk Gift Card is above 1p. For a Marks and Spencer ecode, the minimum amount is £1.00. For other gift cards, there is a minimum amount listed on each card.

Is the income from TopCashback taxable?

When people earn money with TopCashback, they often wonder is TopCashback taxable? The answer is NO. When asked if loyalty schemes and money earned as cashback were taxable, HMRC said this is ‘nonsense’ and ‘There was… no read-across to cashback’. An article from the Telegraph has more details.

The money you make as cashback is classed as a discount from the retailer and so is not declarable as income. However, always keep up to date with legal advice for your own benefit.

Is TopCashback available in other countries?

There are separate TopCashback sites in America, Canada, Germany, China and Japan, as well as TopCashback UK.

Can you use TopCashback after a purchase?

Unfortunately not. How TopCashback works is that it requires either an online purchase made through it’s site, or an in-store offer to be activated prior to purchase. This is why checking TopCashback as a habit is such an important part of how TopCashback works for you.

Can you delete TopCashback accounts?

Yes, you can delete your TopCashback account easily. Although, I’m not sure why you would want to given how TopCashback works to save you money. But, to delete all you need to do is log in, go to the section called My Profile, and find the link at the bottom of the page saying ‘I want to unsubscribe from my TopCashback account’.

Is TopCashback worth it?

I hope you have enjoyed this TopCashback review, but I do encourage you to check out other TopCashback reviews for their experiences. The number of reviews for TopCashback on Trustpilot is high, and they have an excellent rating. For me, they are one of the most effective tools for making and saving money on our spending, and they are incredibly transparent.

I have seen some other TopCashback UK reviews describe the amounts of cashback as measly or not worth it… but this takes almost no time at all and it means you are saving at least a few pennies. In today’s climate, I don’t think any of us can turn up our noses at that, and for those of us who have struggled to make ends meet for most of our lives then we already know the value of a few pennies.

So, what’s the catch with TopCashback? The only thing I can think of is the time it takes to reach payable status, but the ability to earn money with TopCashback is worth it in the long run. It takes a few seconds to track your purchases through the site and how TopCashback works just makes it so easy for us all.

Have you used TopCashback before? Do you think you will sign-up?! I would love to hear all about how TopCashback works for you!

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