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How to Get Cash Bonuses on Things You’re Probably Buying This Holiday Season

Carson Kohler

by Carson Kohler

Staff Writer

A couple hold hands while sipping on wine over Christmas dinner.
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We don’t have to tell you how expensive the holidays are.

And it’s not just the gifts. You’re also spending money on food, decorations and travel. Yay for the most wonderful time of the year!

But instead of going all Grinch on you, we like to find ways to cut costs — or, in this case, earn some cash bonuses back on our purchases with the Ibotta app.

Ibotta is easy to start using (it takes two minutes!), and you can earn money on just about anything, including holiday essentials you’re probably, most likely, definitely buying this year:

  • 5% cash back on Amazon devices. Think: Kindles, Fire TV Sticks, Echos and Alexas
  • 10% cash back on decor, crafts and gifts from Joann Fabric and Craft Stores (in store)
  • 6% cash back on hotels booked through Hotels.com (sometimes we need our personal space)
  • 1% cash back on flights booked through Hotwire. Flights are pricy, so any little boost helps.
  • Cash back on food — so much food! And wine and hard seltzers, too.

Using the Ibotta app, Nancy Frost, a library services supervisor in Cumberland, Maryland, earned more than $432 in cash in about a year’s time.

Plus, when you sign up with Ibotta and upload your first receipt, you’ll get a $5 bonus added to your account.

Once you have $20 in your account, you can cash out via Paypal — a perfect little pick-me-up for your bank account just when the post-holiday blues set in.

Carson Kohler ([email protected]) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s earned over $150 in cash back through Ibotta.