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You may want to think twice before throwing out your next receipt.
With the Fetch Rewards app, you can turn any receipt into points that can be redeemed for gift cards. This means that instead of waiting for a birthday or the holidays to receive a gift card to your favorite store, you can earn it yourself on purchases you’d make anyway.
I first signed up for Fetch in 2021 and while I don’t always remember to scan every receipt I have, I did accumulate enough points to cash them in for a free $25 gift card at one point. Here are my tips for using the Fetch app.
Fetch Rewards
Information about Fetch has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the company prior to publication.
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Cost
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Mobile app
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How to earn points on purchases
Scan receipts from online and in-person purchases
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How to redeem your points
Redeem through the app to receive virtual gift cards
Pros
- Gift cards available for popular retailers and brands
- Offers a browser extension to help you find shopping deals
- Enable finding offers near you
- Earn rewards from over 500 brands
Cons
- High number of points required to redeem gift cards
- Can take a while to rack up enough points for redemption
How Fetch works
You can also earn points for playing games, however, Fetch usually prompts you to download another app to play the game and earn points. Some users, including myself, have reported that sometimes when you play the games, all the points you earn aren’t always reflected in your Fetch account.
You can redeem your points in the Fetch app and you’ll be sent a virtual gift card of your choosing. You can also redeem points for a Visa cash card, entries into sweepstakes and on Fetch merchandise.
What rewards does Fetch offer?
When it comes to redeeming points with Fetch, different point values correspond to different gift card amounts. For instance, 5,000 points can get you a $3 or $5 gift card; 15,000 points can get you a $10 gift card; 30,000 points gets you a $25 gift card and 60,000 points gets you a $50 gift card.
Fetch has offered gift cards from brands and retailers like Delta, Amazon, Airbnb, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Chewy, IKEA, Nordstrom and more.
There are a ton of retailers and brands you can get gift cards for and categories include retail, entertainment, restaurants, health and beauty, home and office, fashion, charity, travel, pets and recreation. Again, if you don’t see a gift card offer from a desired brand, you can also redeem your points for a Visa cash card and spend it wherever you want.
How to get the most points
You also cannot scan the same receipt twice. When receipts are scanned, Fetch checks for the date scanned, the store name and the total spent.
Unfortunately, you don’t get points based on the amount of money you spend at stores — so more spending does not equal more points earned. Most receipts on Fetch will only earn you 25 points. However, Fetch has featured offers on its homepage where you can earn hundreds or even thousands of points for purchasing specific brands or products for a limited time.
For instance, past offers have allowed users to earn 5,000 points for placing an online DoorDash order, or 750 points for purchasing Simply Fruit Drinks. Purchasing items highlighted for higher point earnings is the best way to rack up points faster. Of course, it’s only a true reward if you only purchase things you were going to buy anyway rather than making random purchases you don’t need just to gain points.
You can also get a nice boost in points for referring friends to the app. The bonus offer may be subject to change but in the past, when your friend signs up and uploads their first receipt, they’d earn 2,000 points and you’d earn 3,000 points.
Once I hit the 30,000-point mark on the app, I redeemed it for a $25 gift card — just enough to treat myself to free coffees over the course of a few days.
Pros and cons of Fetch
Pros
- You don’t need to activate special offers for higher point earnings; you’ll automatically earn the offer when you upload a receipt with the eligible items or brands on it
- Redeeming points is quick and simple
- Easy to navigate user interface
Cons
- Racking up enough points to redeem can take a while, and it’s sometimes easy to forget to upload your receipts
- Spending more money doesn’t mean you get more points, so sometimes it feels like you aren’t earning enough points for the things you’re buying
Other ways to get gift cards for “free”
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase’s travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase TravelSM
- 10% anniversary points boost – each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
The American Express Gold Card is great for earning valuable Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets.
- You can earn $400+ in dining and rideshare credits every year (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned)
- Exceptionally rewarding for eligible restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Larger annual fee
- Credits are more complicated, you earn them monthly or semi-annually
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin’ Credit: With the $84 Dunkin’ Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Foreign transaction fee
Should you use Fetch?
It doesn’t hurt to download and use the Fetch app if you want to score free gift cards. Some avid users redeem points for multiple gift cards per year (even if it’s redeeming for lower value gift cards). Others may choose to save up their points for one huge gift card redemption.
Some individuals report being denied for some of the gift cards they try to redeem with no clear reasoning. Personally, I haven’t had any issues with Fetch but if something comes up, users can contact support for assistance.
Whether you want to use gift cards to treat yourself or to purchase things you need, or you’re looking to use gift cards to offset the costs of birthday and holiday presents, it’s worth seeing how many gift cards you can earn for spending you had to do anyway.
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For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
