This may be surprising to hear, but nowadays the majority of extreme couponers mainly use apps and digital deals instead of clipping paper coupons! The coupon inserts in the Sunday paper can certainly land you some great deals, but couponing apps have become the bread and butter of hardcore couponers.
There are dozens of couponing apps available on both Android and IOS so let’s break it down and get your phone loaded up and ready to go for some extreme couponing!
Ibotta
Ibotta is an extremely beginner-friendly couponing app that doesn’t just offer coupon rebates, you can also earn bonus cashback for buying multiple offers!
I highly recommend starting with the Ibotta app if you are new to digital couponing. Ibotta offers deals for dozens of stores like Walmart, Target, Kroger, Safeway, Dollar Tree, Costco, and many more!
You can browse through the current deals for your favorite stores, add them to your account, and then scan your receipt to get cash back added to your account balance.
Ibotta also has bonuses where you can earn extra cashback for completing a specific number of bonuses within a posted timeframe. For example, the Weekend Warrior bonus is a very common bonus that will appear in the app. It will go live on Thursday mornings, ranges in value from $1-5, and typically you have to complete 5-15 offers to get the bonus. If you complete enough offers before the bonus expires on Sunday night you will get that bonus cash in your account on top of the offers you already completed!
I’ve earned $1700+ cashback in just under 2 years from the Ibotta app alone, you can easily rack up some serious dough with this app! You can cash out via gift cards, PayPal or direct deposit. Watch my walkthrough video below to see what using the app looks like:
Shopkick
Another easy way to stack deals is by earning “kicks” through the Shopkick couponing app! 250 kicks are equal to $1 and you can also frequently find bundle offers that give bonus cashback for buying 2 specific items in the same transaction. Shopkick’s two biggest selections of offers are with Walmart and Target, but they also frequently list cashback with tons of other retailers.
You can cash out your balance via a huge variety of gift cards or PayPal. The required threshold for cashing out via PayPal is only $10 and it’s only $2 for a Walmart gift card so you can cash out frequently and easily!
Watch my Shopkick walkthrough to see this app in action:
Fetch
You can earn cash back by scanning any receipt on the Fetch app plus bonus cashback for completing special offers! The Fetch app also awards bonus points if you buy anything from one of their participating brands. This includes Unilever, Kraft, Lipton, Cottonelle, and dozens more. It’s almost impossible to get out of the grocery store without buying something that will score you bonus points.
You can also find special offers on the Discover page. For example, you can see below that there are 750 points back on any Suave Men hair product. That equals $0.75 and you can stack that with other couponing apps or if you have a paper coupon you could use both to get even larger savings.
Get $2 bonus for using my code “DB7A3” when you download the Fetch app! Check out my couponing with Fetch walkthrough to see this app in action:
Swagbucks & MyPoints
Swagbucks & MyPoints are two nearly identical couponing apps/websites. You can access their deals either via the app or their website. Both apps offer the same range of deals but their value systems are slightly different. 100 Swagbucks equals one dollar while 159 MyPoints equals one dollar. These apps are both owned by the same company so while you can download both, you can’t scan your receipt to both apps, no double-dipping allowed!
You can browse a vast gallery of cashback offers and then upload your receipt after shopping to redeem your selected offers. You can cash out via PayPal or by selecting one of the dozens of different gift card options.
Swagbucks’s processing system is one of the most error-prone of all the couponing apps so I don’t recommend this for beginners. Their customer service team has always resolved my requests but it usually takes 1-2 weeks. Out of all the apps I use, Swagbucks by far has the most technical issues. They constantly have very tempting high-value rebates so I still frequently use this app but just be prepared to keep track of your receipts and you may have to follow up with customer service to get everything you’re owed.
I have not experienced nearly as many technical issues such as not getting credited the proper amount while using MyPoints. Even though the two apps are almost identical and list the exact same deals, it seems that MyPoints has more accurate software for scanning submissions. They also offer slightly higher cashback on their offers so I always complete deals on MyPoints before switching over to Swagbucks.
Field Agent
Field Agent is a unique mashup of couponing and a secret shopper app. You can frequently find “Ratings & Reviews” offers where you can buy specific products for a full reimbursement + a cashback bounty for completing a review either via the app or the manufacture’s website. The products that are posted are also frequently also listed on our other couponing apps like Ibotta, Shopkick, and Fetch so you can stack those rebates on top!
For example, I picked up a case of Bud Light Hard Seltzer for a Field Agent job and was reimbursed 100% for the cost, got a $3 bounty for completing the review, and then I also got $3 via Ibotta and another $2 via Fetch! It’s a fantastic tool to add to your couponing toolbox.
Field Agent also posts audits where you can get paid to answer questions about displays in the grocery store, fast food/restaurant jobs where you get paid to order food, and scavenger hunt listings where you check to see if your store carries a specific product.
Checkout 51
You can browse a constantly changing selection of couponing offers on the Checkout 51 app. The majority of these offers cannot be stacked with other couponing apps or paper coupons but you can still snag some deep discounts using this app!
Many of the offers can be used up to 5 times so you can buy quite a few of an item if you spot an offer on something you love. A word of caution though, sometimes Checkout 51 offers get wiped out quick when they list a high-value coupon so be sure to always check back on the app to ensure it’s still available before you checkout at the store.
Coupons.com App
The Coupons.com app is the new kid on the block in the world of couponing apps. You may have already visited the original Coupons.com website, this is the digital paperless version! Instead of having to print out physical coupons at home, you can add them to your shopping list via the app. You can also link your loyalty card or phone number for some stores like Walgreens to get automatic cash back without even having to scan your receipt.
Once you’re done shopping, just upload your receipt, scan the barcodes of the products, and watch your cashback roll in! Once approved, cashback is instantly deposited to PayPal. You don’t have to rack up enough to hit a threshold before cashing out like most other couponing apps.
Coin Out
Coin Out is the wild card of this couponing app lineup. With CoinOut, you’ll get a random reward for every receipt you upload! Typically you’ll get 2-9 cents per receipt which sounds like chump change at first glance, but they also have some great in-store cashback offers!
In addition to the smattering of pennies for scanning receipts, you can also redeem free product offers and rebates for buying specific products. You can cash out your rewards via PayPal, an Amazon gift card or direct deposit. They don’t list new offers quite as frequently as the other apps but it’s still a great option to keep in your rotation.
