Adding a little extra cash in your pocket using Fetch Rewards app – Does it work?

This is a little different since we don’t normally take the time to talk about individual apps. However, sometimes you simply run across something interesting that is worth highlighting. Especially, since it is something that seems to be growing in interest as of late. That is the act of earning money by scanning receipts into an app that is a part of a certain rewards program. There are a number of options out there, but which is the most popular and effective? Fetch Rewards seems to be holding the top position at the moment and the process is pretty easy.

As for myself, it all started when a member of my family convinced me to give it a try. You download the app, register, and begin scanning receipts from stores and restaurants. Online shopping works as well. In exchange, you earn points for every receipt scanned. It could be as simple as 25 points or it could be much more if it is a brand/product they are highlighting (or if there is a certain promotion going on). Of course, you get bonus points for the first so many receipts that you scan in order to help draw you in and get you hooked.

On average, 1,000 points will amount to around a dollar and you can start redeeming around 5,000 or 10,000. Or you can simply rack up the points and cash in for something bigger. You can choose things like Amazon gift cards (ie, 10,000 points for a $10 gift card, or 20,000 for a $20 gift card).

When you consider 25 points on a single scan against something like 10,000 or 20,000, it seems like it would take forever to reel in these gift cards. However, the points roll in a bit faster than you’d expect. Especially, in the beginning when you earn your beginner bonuses. It’s when your receipt contains those certain highlighted brands that the value goes up quickly. For example, a week ago, I had bought 4 12-pack boxes of Mountain Dew. Each one of those earned an additional 29 points on top of the normal points I had received from the receipt.

You also get bonuses for referring friends and so forth. So the points actually do rack up decently quick for what it is. Next thing you know, you are cashing in for those gift cards. All for shopping like you normally do and simply sharing the receipt at the end each time. It’s like a cash-back program on your credit card, only this is in addition to it (there is nothing like stacking your rewards, savings, and cash-back opportunities).

So what’s the catch? There is no way a company like that would simply shower you with rewards for no reason, right? Of course not. There is always a catch. However, the catch seems to be more than acceptable (at least, as of right now). The company gains by being able to track certain spending habits of shoppers. They don’t have any more personal information than what you give them. Companies like Google and Microsoft share far more of your information than this with other companies. So Fetch is kind of limited on what they can track and how they can associate it with you.

They offset this by advertising some of those mentioned products and brands. This is why certain products earn you more points than others. Obviously, Frito Lay, Pepsi, as well as a number of other companies are paying to sponsor the app in order to entice you to buy more of their products. It’s up to you to give in to it or not. It’s no different than getting coupons in the mail (to use the coupon, or not to use the coupon, the choice is always yours).

They also email you offers as well, to join sponsored rewards programs with Frito Lay, Pepsi, etc. Which you can, of course, opt out of by unsubscribing to those emails (like I did). This way, in the end, it is just an app you pull open once in a while to scan a receipt with. During which, you might see a brand or two that offers even more points, or you simply close the app and move on.

Now, you have one more way of stacking your rewards. At a store with a coupon in hand? Use that coupon (or stack your coupons if the store allows it)! Have a credit card that earns you cash-back or rewards? Use that card! Have a shoppers card (ie, Smiths, Albertsons, etc)? Use that card to save whatever you can through the store’s rewards program. Finally, scan your receipt into Fetch on top of it all to work your way up to even more REWARDS. In the end, you are a saving/earning genius and a strategic shopper.

Is it worth it? So far, there is a number of us using the app now to test the waters and we haven’t been unimpressed by anything. You just have to remember to scan your receipts each time you have one. You also have up to 14 days to scan those receipts (in case you forget). The numbers do add up, and the rewards are real. So, our only opinion for the moment is that it seems to work fine and you might want to take advantage of it while it exists. Reward systems like these have popped up in various formats throughout the years going back to the early 2000s. All of which, came to an end at some point. So who knows how long this app will be around. so start stacking those rewards!

You can download the app (or scan the QR code below) for your Android or iOS device(s). It doesn’t take long to get going. You can also earn additional signup rewards by using the referral code “ME4NNA” during sign up. Happy scanning!

Update: We did actually find an issue with the e-receipts section. You are able to submit these as well (for online shopping like Walmart, Amazon, and so on. However, when you try to link the Amazon account, it results in loading Amazon’s site (after logging in) and a “please verify your Amazon account” pop-up that doesn’t explain what it is referring to as no verification links or codes are sent to you via any medium. reaching out to Fetch support hasn’t yielded a solution yet, so for the moment, that seems to be a mystery. All other app features seem to be working fine.