Fetch Rewards Review [2024]: How to Earn Gift Cards

MANAGE MONEY - SAVE MONEY
This app makes earning rewards for shopping easier than ever.
Updated Dec. 15, 2023
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Not too long ago, if you wanted to save money at the grocery store, you had to spend hours clipping coupons out of ad inserts from the Sunday paper. Times have changed.

Advances in technology and partnerships with national brands have taken some of the guesswork and tedium out of finding the best deals. Now you can simply earn rewards by downloading an app and using it when you shop.

Fetch Rewards is one such app that is worth checking out. Like many similar apps, like Ibotta and Shopkick, Fetch Rewards allows you to accumulate monetary credits for purchasing certain items. However, this app makes the process of getting those rewards much easier for consumers. You can shop anywhere, access a wide range of qualifying products, and all you have to do is save your receipts to get credits. 

Here is a closer look at Fetch Rewards and why you should add it to your smartphone.

Quick Summary

Earn gift cards with your regular shopping by scanning receipts.

  • Free and easy to use
  • Save even more with special offers
  • Calculates points in real time
In this Fetch Rewards review

What is Fetch Rewards?

Fetch Rewards is an app for Android and iOS that gives users rewards points for scanning retail, restaurant, or grocery receipts, which then can be cashed in for gift cards. You can also use your ereceipts to earn rewards. This gives people an easier way to save than coupons by removing the extra steps of choosing products, clipping, and going to specific retailers in order to benefit from deals offered by manufacturers.

Fetch Rewards was founded in 2013 by Daniel Litvak, Tyler Kennedy, and Wes Schroll, and has raised over $51 million in funding. A statement from Schroll on the company website says that he came up with the idea of an app to help people learn how to save money on grocery shopping easily after he started living on his own in college. He wants people to be able to save on the products they already buy, regardless of where they buy them, whether it be CVS, Amazon, or Target.

It seems that Schroll is making that happen, as Fetch Rewards has built relationships and deals directly with hundreds of popular brands, such as Huggies, Jell-O, Dove, Bubly, and Kleenex. More than a million users now have the flexibility of shopping at the stores of their choice and earning points for purchasing products from participating brands. 

How does Fetch Rewards work?

Fetch Rewards is very simple to use. You do your shopping, upload a receipt to the app, and then see if you’ve earned any points. If you shop online, then you will need to link your email account or Amazon account so that your electronic receipts are accounted for. Credits get banked until you’re ready to trade them in to earn free gift cards through the app.

Getting started with Fetch Rewards

To get started, download and install Fetch Rewards from your phone’s app store. From there, you’ll create an account using an email address, Facebook, or Google account. You’ll be asked if you have a referral code. If a friend referred you and you have a code, add it and you’ll earn 2,000 points after you scan your first receipt. If you don’t have a referral code, enter REWARD in that field and you’ll get 2,000 points when you scan your first receipt.

When you get to the home screen, you’ll be directed to the little camera icon and encouraged to upload a receipt. Tap on the icon to activate the Scan function. Follow the prompts, which tell you exactly how to position your receipt and if you should take multiple pictures of it to get all the information the app needs to award points, and upload a receipt from any eligible store.

You can use receipts from grocery stores, supermarkets, club stores, home improvement and hardware stores, pet stores, liquor stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. You earn 25 base points for each successful receipt upload from these stores, plus you can get extra points if a partner product is on that receipt. (For restaurant or retailer receipts that do not fall into one of the listed categories, you will receive 5 base points.)

Once your receipt is scanned, you’ll see how many points you’ve earned for completing the upload. For my first scan, I didn’t have any products that qualified for points, but was given 750 points for uploading a recent Food Lion receipt. I also got an offer for 500 bonus points for scanning another receipt. Outside of these offers, I expect to earn 25 points just for uploading a receipt.

Save Money and Earn Gift Cards with Fetch Rewards

After my upload was complete, I was given a list of items that the app read based on the text and codes from the receipt. None of them were correct, however, and I was able to search for products that could match what I purchased. It also allows you to scan a barcode for products you purchased that are listed on the uploaded receipt but not recognized, just to make getting rewards easier.

Note: If you know you have ereceipts that you would like loaded into Fetch, then make sure to hit the "e" button on the Discover or Activity tabs in the app. This will scan your linked accounts for you.

Point values for qualifying purchases can range from 250 to 3,000. They are awarded based on whether or not you purchased a product from a participating brand and if there are any special offers being applied (special offers generally are worth more points). You can browse through all the brands that participate and add the brands you like to a shopping list within the app. Specific products are not added to these lists, just the brands.

To find out how much you will be rewarded for buying a specific product, go to the Discover tab on the bottom of the screen. This provides you with options to browse products by recently added, category, amount of points awarded, and offer expiration. Tap on a product you want to buy, and you’ll see the offer details, how many points you’ll earn, and have the option to add that product to your shopping list.

Save Money and Earn Gift Cards with Fetch Rewards

Do you need to do this? No. You can simply shop and scan receipts, then take whatever points you’re awarded for scanning and buying qualifying products. But if you’re looking to maximize your rewards from this app, searching through the special offers to find products you would buy anyway and adding them to a shopping list you can easily access while you shop is a smart option.

Your points accumulate with every scan and can be viewed at the top of the app’s screen. When you’re ready to cash in on your points, tap on the Rewards icon at the bottom of the screen. There, you’ll be able to search for e-gift card options by keyword, category, or point value. Categories include entertainment, gifts, home goods, electronics, and even charities, and you’ll need a minimum of 3,000 points for most rewards.

Once you decide on the reward you want, you’ll have instant access to it in the My Rewards tab. Tap on the reward to see more details about how it can be used.


Who can use Fetch Rewards?

Anyone who wants to earn rewards for their normal purchases will find a lot of value in using Fetch Rewards. This app takes the best features of other rewards/coupon services and makes them easier and more convenient to use. All you need is an email address, Facebook or Google account, and a smartphone to be part of the Fetch Rewards community.

How to earn with Fetch Rewards

The best way to earn rewards with Fetch Rewards is to shop. You get points for submitting receipts, buying participating brands, and purchasing specific products that offer bonuses. Unlike with other similar apps, you don’t get points for visiting specific stores or scanning barcodes.

You can either shop as you normally would and see what your points your purchases earn, or shop strategically to maximize how much you get back for your weekly shopping. The reason for this is that Fetch Rewards offers between 250 and 3,000 points for qualifying purchases. If you buy a product from a participating brand, you’ll get some points. If you buy a product that has a special rewards offer, you could get thousands of points.

Making these purchases are very easy, no matter which strategy you choose. That's because there are 18 different categories of brands that Fetch is partnered with, which covers many of the things you might be buying every day anyway. Here is a look at just some of the product categories and brands you’ll find.

Baby

This category is a little sparse, but if you’re a Huggies fan, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to earn. GoodNites, A+D, Little Swimmers, Pull-Ups, and Huggies are all participating brands.

Personal Care

This is one of the more-populated categories, with over 30 brands. They include Dove, Dollar Shave Club, Suave, TRESemme, Vaseline, Nubian Heritage, Seventh Generation, and Q-Tips.

Grocery

Surprisingly, there aren't that many brands in this category, but the products span a wide range of needs. Participating brands include Lipton, Stove Top, Betty Crocker, and general Mills. There are also many more food categories with more brands, like Frozen, Snacks, Dairy & Refrigerated, and Wine. So if you put all the food and beverage categories together you have many dozens of brands to choose from, ranging from Coors to craft seltzers.

Magazines

This is by far the most populated category on Fetch Rewards, with 44 titles to choose from. They include Better Homes & Gardens, Coastal Living, Eat This Not That, Entertainment Weekly, Health, Time, History Channel, Parents, InStyle, Shape, and more.

How to redeem Fetch Rewards

Claiming Fetch Rewards is very easy, and everything is done within the app. You’ll need at least 3,000 points to claim most rewards, so once you bank that amount, tap on the Rewards icon on the bottom of the app screen.

There are currently 12 categories of gift card rewards to choose from. Tap on a category to see where you can redeem your points for gift cards. You can also search by name or by point value to find a gift card you’re interested in and that you have enough points for. Once you choose the card you want, tap on the amount you’re trading points for and continue through the verification prompts.

When your reward is ready, you’ll find it in the My Rewards tab. From there, you can tap on the reward and find instructions on how to use the credit. Here is a closer look at some of the Fetch Rewards gift card categories.

Charity

You can choose to donate points to any of 29 charities, which will then receive a donation from Fetch Rewards for the amount you designate. These organizations include the American Cancer Society, Charity Choice, City Year, Clean Water Fund, Code.org, Foundation for Angelman, Girls Who Code, Habitat for Humanity, Huntsman Cancer Foundation, National Park Foundation, Special Olympics, and The Nature Conservancy.

Mastercard/Visa

Though Fetch Rewards doesn’t allow you to trade points for actual cash, you can do so for Visa gift cards, which are as good as cash. You can get them for $5, $10, $25, and $50 denominations.

Travel

This is an exciting category for those who like to fly, cruise, and stay all over. You have eight card options to choose from brands including Uber, Southwest Airlines, Delta, Princess Cruise Lines, Hotels.com, Celebrity Cruises, Global Hotel Card, and Airbnb.

FAQs about Fetch Rewards

Is the Fetch Rewards app legit?

Yes, Fetch Rewards is a legitimate app that pays you in real gift cards. It is not a scam. The company has been in business since 2013, has raised more than $51 million in capital, and has offices in Wisconsin, Chicago, and New York City.

Is the Fetch Rewards app free?

Yes, the Fetch Rewards app is free to download and use. The only money you have to spend is on the groceries you buy for the receipts you submit.

Can you use Fetch Rewards and Ibotta?

It is a great idea to use both Fetch Rewards and Ibotta to double your shopping rewards. They are two separate apps, but some of the products that will earn you rewards are the same. With Ibotta, you have to designate what products you want to buy at specific stores. You can compare this information with qualifying purchases through Fetch Rewards and then submit receipts to both apps. Doing this will multiply the points you earn for a single purchase.

By comparing the Fetch Rewards vs. Ibotta apps directly, you can see each have certain strengths and can work well together.

How many points do you need to earn Fetch Rewards gift cards?

Most gift card rewards that you can earn through Fetch Rewards require a minimum of 3,000 points.

Do Fetch Rewards points expire?

Points will only expire if your account has been inactive for a 90-day period. Fetch Rewards considers an account inactive if no receipts have been submitted within that timeframe.

How to sign up for Fetch Rewards

Download the app from either Google Play or Apple’s App Store. You can sign up using your email address and creating a password, or you can use your Google or Facebook accounts to log into Fetch Rewards.

Other money-saving apps to consider

If you think Fetch Rewards isn’t the right fit for your lifestyle, there are lots of other money-saving and cash back apps out there to consider as well as budgeting apps. These can be helpful when planning how to manage your money.

Stop Overpaying When You Shop Online

Learn More

Ibotta is a shopping app that allows you to choose money-back offers for purchasing specific products at grocery stores. Scroll through the offers at stores you often shop and choose ones that you like. Then buy the products and scan your receipt to earn cash back for the purchase. The money accumulates in your account until you decide to withdraw it.

The Shopkick app lets you earn points for visiting stores, scanning products, watching videos, and making purchases both in-store and online. You can trade in your points for gift cards from Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, eBay, TJ Maxx, and more.

The Drop turns shopping in-store and online using your credit or debit cards into opportunities to earn cash. Choose five brands you purchase from most often, then link your debit and credit cards. You’ll earn points when you use those cards to purchase items from those brands, as well when you make purchases through the app’s special offers. Points can be traded in for gift cards.

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