Good morning everyone, happy TGI Friday! A few days ago, I did an App-O-Rama (results and notes to come next week) and decided to apply for the Ebates Cash Back Credit Card (issued by Synchrony Bank). Thankfully I was instantly approved and I was even given a temporary credit card number for immediate use (up to $1,000). There is also a small $10 bonus on your first purchase which will be credited to your Ebates account within a few days. In this post, I wanted to show how the Ebates Cash Back Credit Card works and highlight some targeted cash back offers. If you are not an Ebates member, you can join for free here.
After you log into your Ebates account, clicking your account balance in the upper right corner and then click on cash back activity. There are lots of places to click on cash back activity, so any of them will work.
If you scroll down on that page, you will see targeted offers in your account. I see a few expired cash back offers along with a few active offers, including my $10 bonus for first purchase on my Ebates Cash Back Credit Card. I am not sure how the targeted offers are populated, maybe by recent shopping history, but I can tell you I have never bought anything on Neiman Marcus, Spa and Wellness, or The Body Shop.
The top line mentions cash back from the Ebates Cash Back Credit Card. You get a bonus of 1-3% on all merchants when you shop through Ebates and use your Ebates Cash Back Credit Card. Let me show you how that works…
Some merchants, like American Express Personal and Business Gift Cards, are currently offering a base rate of 1% cash back. By using your Ebates Cash Back Credit Card, you can get an extra 3% cash back. I have not purchased an American Express Gift Card in months, so I have yet to verify if this is true.
When you click the Shop Now button, the next page shows an interstitial with a message saying you will get an extra 3% cash back for using your Ebates Cash Back Credit Card.
Unfortunately, not all merchants on Ebates offer an extra 3% cash back for using the Ebates Cash Back Credit Card. All travel providers and OTAs (Orbitz, Expedia, Hotels.com, etc.) only offer an extra 1% cash back for using your Ebates Cash Back Credit Card.
Personally, I have several airline, hotel, and travel rewards credit cards (Citi Premier and Citi Prestige), so I tend to book directly with the airline or hotel using the corresponding co-branded credit card. In the below example, I could make a Hilton reservation by clicking on the Shop Now button, go to Hilton.com, and use my Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Credit Card.
I would earn a base rate of 10 Hilton HHonors points per dollar (plus other bonuses for being Hilton Gold). If I were to use my Ebates Cash Back Credit Card instead, I would only earn an extra 1% cash back. I know Hilton HHonors points aren’t worth much, but I am pretty sure 10 Hilton HHonors points is worth a lot more than 1% cash back.
With that said, the Ebates Cash Back Credit Card is great if you spend a lot of money on Ebates. The extra 3% cash back bonus could make a difference if you compare Ebates to other online shopping portals like Discover Mall, Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall, Top Cash Back, or any other online shopping portal. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great weekend everyone and don’t forget your sunscreen!
(Note to self: use plenty of sunscreen so you don’t get sunburned again!)
It seems that the bonus offers in the middle are not expired but will expires in 1 year. 07/14/16
Ahh good catch, I will update this pit tonight with a new screenshot. That’s what happens when you blog early in the morning before breakfast/coffee :)
I have a very hard time believing Amex/Ebates will cough up an extra 3% to essentially buy cash via Amex gift cards. However, if they do, please notify. Maybe it’s some type of very short term promo.
Maybe I can do a small AGC test purchase. I guess if I get a personalized AGC, I can use it at CVS/Walgreens or online to buy VGCs to load to Redbird. That’s a mouthful though.
That’s a good point if it does work……….disposing by buying VGC’s. Are you able to use Amex gift cards to buy variable load cards at Walgreens or CVS? Does it need to be personalized for them to accept them? Also, I wasn’t aware Amex sent out personalized cards (name/biz I presume).
It does work. I’ve been banging on it since January. That’s how I get 5%.
As for using them, it’s better to use personalized since it has a name on it, but it’s cashier YMMV.
Exactly! Glad you have been chugging along with Ebates CC and AGCs.
I think you can order personalized personal AGCs. At Walgreens, they don’t typically ask for ID or look at the card.
I’m confused. The basis for the ebates extra 3% cash back is using the ebates card. It states that directly. That would be 4%. So a couple of questions. 3% + 1% = 4%. Where are people getting back 5%? And, if you have to use an Amex to purchase the cards, then how can you earn an extra 3% if you are required to use the ebates’ Visa?
I believe people are referring to when Ebates offers 2% base rate occasionally, not that standard 1% base rate that it is now.
The Amex offer cannot be used with the Ebates Cash Back Credit Card because that card is a Visa, not Amex.
OK. So the screenshot of the offer by ebates was a misleading presentation by ebates. That’s interesting.
Not to be extra dense, but how is anyone achieving 5%, or even 4%, ever via ebates if an Amex card is needed to be used? In having to use the Amex card you’re then tied to combining bonuses from ebates with whatever you’d get from Amex. If ebates maxes out at 2%, then you’re getting 2% or 3% from Amex. I’m not familiar with Amex proving % incentives for using their card to buy their own gift cards.
Side question: Can you use an Amex Bus Plat to buy Amex gift cards for the purposes of satisfying the bonus spending requirements of an initial signup offer?
You should be able to use any AMEX card (personal or business) to buy AGC online.
5% aint bad for ebates cash back on amex. dont’ know the larges amount you can buy for a personalized one ($2k?) but that’s basically $80 minus $3.95 processing fee and assuming you have the free shipping.
for those who dont’ have this card, each card should have $10 off $200 amex offer. that can help offset some of the cost, but only $6 per $200 card after processing fee. and the headache of unloading all those amex offers again.
one other thing though, grant, i haven’t used ebates in a while … does it tend to have comparable rates to topcashback, etc? (i use topcashback on most purchases b/c it tends to have the highest earning rate overall… except amazon of course ; i use travelwithgrant.com :)
Hi Alex, to get the AMEX Offer, you have to use an AMEX CC. The Ebates Cash Back Credit Card is a Visa, I believe, so it won’t be eligible. As for Ebates vs. Top Cash Back and other cash back portals, sometimes they are competitive, sometimes not, it changes over time and Ebates has many short cash back bonuses, that you may miss if you don’t check everyday. Thanks for using ym Amazon link though, I appreciate your support :)
What kind of credit limit did you get? Wondering if it’s worth the pull to only get a $2-4k credit line by a bank like this.
I’m not sure yet, but people on Twitter were able to call Synchrony and ask for a higher credit line.
the agc for 4% back with ebates card is not guaranteed. I’ve bought numerous 2g agc thru ebates using the ebates card and it states right there,”use the ebates cc and get an extra 3%.” Well the tracking system they use is screwy…You get the 1% from ebates.com within 24 hours. The other 3% is put on hold until ebates cc notifies ebates.com about the 3%. So you are dealing with 2 different outfits. the page that contains your ebates cash back summary has the 1% purchase and the 3% purchases in separate columns. I had to put in claims for the last 3 agc I bought and you get weird answers. I eventually get the 4%, but it’s not worth the hassle. A 2% card and 2% from the other portals is much cleaner and no hassles.
Thanks for sharing your experience with AGCs and Ebates CC. I hope the tracking process improves in the future.
How much extra cashback do you get for Ebay purchases with the Ebates credit card?
According to Ebates, you will earn an extra 3% cash back for Ebay purchases. You must shop at one of the specific categories and pay for the item to be eligible for the extra 3% cash back.
Can I read somewhere a comparison of this card vs Barclays upromise card? They advertise upromise card as extra 5% cashback vs ebates 3%, so what’s the point?
I’m not a fan of the Upromise shopping portal and Barclays won’t approve me for a credit card :(