Are You Earning Enough Cash Back?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this hobby, it’s that there are TONS of way to save money that most people simply do not know about. Using miles/points from credit card sign-ups to travel the world cheaply is one of those ways, but even within this hobby there are tons of tricks and other methods to stack savings that many people might not know.

One of those “tricks” or lesser-known ways to save money is getting cash back. Most people assume that if you want to earn elite status with an airline, hotel, or care rental company that you have to book directly through them – this is usually true, but there are many cases in which you can click through a cash back portal before getting to the hotel or airline website.

I’ve discussed affiliate links on this blog many, many times. Cash back portals basically use affiliate links to provide cash back to the customer. For example, let’s say they have an affiliate link with Orbitz.com that you clicked on to book airfare or a hotel. Instead of taking the entire commission for themselves, the cash back portal passes on a portion of it to the customer. That way the customer saves money AND the cash back website makes some at the same time. Genius!

Below is a list of my favorite cash back websites and some of the offers they have (definitely not an exhaustive list – search on your own as well!). I’ve put my favorite cash back offers in bold text. Each of these links is a referral link – as always I’d appreciate any support you choose to give me by signing up with my links (this does not affect your cash back in any way). Remember – these savings stack with the loyalty programs of the website you book on also!

Note that you will receive elite status for airfare booked on travel agency websites (like CheapOair, Expedia, etc.). On the other hand, you will probably not receive elite status credit from hotels unless your hotel chain is specifically listed below. For example, you won’t receive hotel elite status credit if you book your hotel through CheapOair or Expedia, but you will if you click through the Best Western link from the cash back website since it leads you to the Best Western’s own website to book.

Final note: these deals were current at the time I wrote this post. They can change at any time!

 

 

Big Crumbs

• Accorhotels US & Canada – 4.2% cash back
• Alamo Rent A Car – 2.5% cash back
• Avis – 3% cash back
• Best Western – 3.5% cash back
• Budget Rent A Car – 3% cash back
• CheapOair – $5.60 cash back for airfare and $10.50 back for hotel
• Choice Hotels – 3.5% cash back
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car – 1% cash back
• Hertz – 3.5% cash back
• Hotels.com – 4.55% cash back
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines – 1% cash back
• Marriott International-US  – 2.5% cash back
• National Car Rental – 2.5% cash back
• Novotel – 4.2% cash back
• Orbitz – $2.45 cash back on airfare, $2.80 on rental cars, and 3.5%-5.25% on hotels.
• Priceline – $2.80 cash back on airfare, 3.5% on hotels, and 2.1% on rental cars
• Radisson hotels – 3.5% cash back
• Skymall – 3.5% cash back
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts – 2.1% cash back
• Travelocity – $2.80 cash back on airfare and 2.1% on hotels
• Virgin Atlantic – 2.1% cash back
• Wyndham – 2.1% cash back

 

Ebates

• Accorhotels  – 4% cash back
• Air France – 2.5% cash back
• Alamo Rent A Car – 2.5% cash back
• Avis – 3% cash back
• British Airways – 1% cash back
• Budget Rent A Car – 3% cash back
• Emirates – $10 cash back
• Hotels.com – 3.25% cash back
• Hyatt Hotels and Resorts – 2% cash back
• InterContinental Hotels and Resorts – 4.5% cash back
• Marriott International-US  – 2.5% cash back
• National Car Rental – 2.5% cash back
• Novotel – 4% cash back
• Radisson hotels – 3.5% cash back
• Skymall – 2.5% cash back
• Starwood Hotels (search for individual hotel brands) – 1.5% cash back
• Travelocity – 6.5% cash back on hotels and $1.50 cash back on airfare
• Virgin Atlantic – 1.5% cash back
• Wyndham – 2.1% cash back

 

Topcashback

 

• Accorhotels.com – 4% cash back
• Agoda.com – 6% cash back
• Air France US – 1.2% cash back
• Alamo Rent A Car – 3% cash back
• Avis Rent A Car – 5.5% cash back
• Best Western – 5% cash back
• British Airways – 1.25% cash back
• Budget Rent A Car – 4% cash back
• CheapOair – $8 back on airfare and $15 on hotels
• Emirates US – 1.25% cash back
• Etihad Airways – 2% cash back
• Expedia – $2.25 on airfare and 2% on hotels and car rentals
• Hertz – 3% cash back
• Hotels.com – 7% cash back
• Hyatt Hotels and Resorts – 3% cash back
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines – 2% cash back
• Marriott International – 3% cash back
• Orbitz – $5 cash back on airfare and car rental and 6%-11% back on hotels
• Priceline – $5 cash back on airfare and 5-7% back on hotels
• Qantas – 2% cash back
• Qatar Airways – 2% cash back
• Radisson Hotels – 5% cash back
• Swiss Airlines – $6-$12 cash back
• Travelocity – 10% cash back on hotels, $3 on airfare, and 2% on car rentals
• Virgin Atlantic – 3% cash back

 

Summary/Thoughts

Before I go on, I want to point out that in some cases you might be able to earn extra points from various airline/bank shopping portals instead of cash back. As with all deals, make sure you compare and decide what is a better value for your needs. I personally like using evreward as a quick way to compare. Also note that there are many other cash back websites out there. I listed the ones above because I’m familiar with them and use them myself.

Topcashback almost always has the best deals, and that’s because they pass the entire commission back to us, whereas the other websites usually keep some for themselves. Still, Ebates and BigCrumbs have some retailers that Topcashback doesn’t, so search thoroughly before you make that booking.

So, what do you think of these? Did you know you could get cash back from Hyatt, SPG, Marriott, and all airfare? Sure it’s not a lot, but every little bit helps in my mind. Over the course of a year, that may mean you save a few hundred dollars depending on how often you travel (and this is especially great for people that get reimbursed for these expenses!).

Do you know any other tricks to save an extra few dollars?