Contributors to this post also include KUKU and ymlulu

[2021.2 Update] Fluz has added a new cashback method: purchases made using a bank account or debit card will earn extra cashback (not for all merchants). Some debit cards already earn cashback on purchases. It’s unknown how PayPal Key will work, so if you’re interested, you can give it a try. Also, Fluz now requires a balance of $26 before you can redeem it, which is not a great update.

[2021.1 Update 2] The Office category also has plenty of deals, including Amazon/Apple/Walmart. I have to say Fluz’s operations team really thinks about deal hunters—they even went to DOC to raise this issue. Amazon Business can also be deposited directly into an Amazon account. Hat tip: reader Sky

[2021.1 Update] Fluz recently changed the merchant category code used when gift card purchases post, so the type of gift card you buy now posts under the corresponding category. It’s not fully rolled out yet. The main categories are Travel, Office, and the very deal-friendly Grocery category (supermarkets). Note that you need to make the purchase directly with a card!

For details, you can visit the links below to see which gift card purchases qualify:

The categories people care about most for multipliers (which require direct card payment) currently include:

Office category

  • Amazon Business [Note: this is not an Amazon.com gift card, but it can be used to load Amazon]
  • Apple
  • Walmart Business [can be used on Walmart.com]
  • Some Chase business credit cards can be used, up to 5x UR

Grocery category

  • Amazon Fresh [Note: this is not an Amazon.com gift card, but it can be used to load Amazon]
  • Dean & DeLuca
  • Giant Eagle
  • Kroger
  • Sheetz
  • Target
  • Walmart Grocery [can be used on Walmart.com]
  • Wine.com

Here, Amazon Fresh codes the same as Amazon, and Target also codes as grocery spending. You can turn Amazon/Target purchases into grocery-category multipliers (for example, AMEX Gold 4x MR and the AMEX Platinum 100,000-point offer’s grocery 10x MR), and Fluz adds extra cashback on top. For Amazon, the extra cashback is usually 1.5%, so 4 MR + 1.5% is still pretty good.

Fluz also supports PayPal purchases, and it can currently trigger the AMEX Platinum card’s monthly PayPal credit.

  • Fluz sign-up link (sign up and get 35% cashback on three purchases)
  • Or download the app directly and enter: KUKU101
  • You can also scan the QR code below to sign up

After signing up for Fluz, your first order may be immediately flagged by risk controls. Just ignore it; it will be lifted automatically after a few days (you will receive an email notification). If you are flagged multiple times, you will need to upload a valid ID to remove the restriction (passports are not accepted).

Fluz introduction and sign-up bonus

A member of the 101 group recommended this small app to Liz, and after trying it out, here’s a quick review. My impression is that this app is similar to UA’s MPX — you buy gift cards through its app, get a certain amount of cashback, and once your cashback balance reaches a certain threshold, you can cash out.

There are still a lot of gift cards available in the app, reportedly from 430+ merchants. I took a quick look and found Amazon 1.5%, Sephora 5%, Nike 7%, and Sam’s Club 1% all pretty good. The main advantage is that you can buy and use them as needed, which reduces the risk of theft.

Sign-up and rewards

If you register through a referral link now, you can get three chances to earn 35% cashback on the purchase of specific gift cards (up to $3.5 each time. There has to be some limit; otherwise I’m afraid it would be stripped bare in less than two days).

  • Fluz sign-up link (sign up and get 35% cashback three times, or use code: US101 after registering)

New users who complete the following actions can also get an additional $5 cashback. You can find this promotion in the Earn with tab:

  • Link a bank account: Fluz will calculate how much cashback you’re missing. The bank permissions granted to the app are limited; it only looks at your spending history and does not involve card theft, so just choose a bank you don’t use much. Similar rebate apps like Dosh also access credit card purchase history after linking (in the big-data era, no one escapes)
  • Add five favorite stores (favorite Store)
  • Set your target as a future referrer: enter anything
  • Allow location access: for example, if you can’t remember which store is eligible, enabling location will automatically show that store’s gift cards, which is quite thoughtful
  • Complete one gift card purchase

Purchasing

After logging in, click Setting in the upper right corner and add a credit card under Money in & out as your payment method before you can buy gift cards.

Take advantage of the initial 35% cashback offer

I took a quick look, and the stores that currently qualify for the initial 35% cashback promo include Starbucks, Buffalo Wild Wings, Burger King, CVS, Domino's, Jamba Juice, Papa John's, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Spotify, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. I’m sure these stores will change over time, so please decide based on your own needs.

Using Starbucks as an example, if we click in, we can see the following explanation.

The T&C are listed as well. You can see that the maximum amount for these three 35% cashback purchases is $3.5.

In other words, if you want to maximize the cashback, buy a $10 gift card each time. That way, you can get $3.5 x 3 = $10.5 in cashback. If the gift card you buy is more than $10, the amount above that earns the standard 2% cashback.

After you decide to buy, clicking through brings up this interface. Doesn’t it look a lot like UA MPX?

After the purchase, the gift card number and PIN code will be displayed, and you can use them to add the card to the corresponding app or redeem it in a physical store.

Next options

Once you get here, someone is definitely going to ask: your app only gives you three chances to buy select gift cards with 35% cash back, and each time the 35% back is capped at $10. So what happens after you use up those three purchases? The cash-back efficiency falls off a cliff!

As a deal-hunter... this is indeed a problem. I took a quick look here and found a few options:

  • Buy more gift cards and slowly grind it out with 1-2% cash back: if your volume is pretty large and you have real needs, such as buying a few hundred dollars' worth of Amazon or eBay, this is also a pretty good option.
  • Look for hidden gems: take a careful look at each merchant. Although most merchants offer lackluster cash back of no more than 3%, occasionally you'll find one or two that really stand out, like Macy's at 8% or Nike at 7%, which is effectively buying gift cards at 92% or 93% of face value. If you have a real need, this is also a good option.

If you use the cash back inside the app when paying, you can get an extra 1% cash back (basically similar to credit-card cash back)

What card to use

Unfortunately, although Fluz is a mobile app, it doesn't connect to Apple Pay or Android Pay, so you can't use Altitude's 3x to earn here. From a payment standpoint, there aren't many cards that offer multipliers for this Novelty/Souvenir Shops category.

Cash back use

Cash out

I took a look at the instructions—cash back has to pile up to $26 USD before you can withdraw it. That was pretty much expected, since many cashback apps now have a $25 minimum redemption! You can cash out by bank ACH or PayPal.

I won't say much more here, but let me give a small reminder to those in deal-hunting MA and anyone limited by their status—I don't know whether cashing out too much through PayPal will get PayPal to 'drop the big one' and send you a friendly 1099-K tax form... After all, Massachusetts' 1099 threshold is only $600... It's really speechless, and one careless move could land you in trouble!

Let me use one of my favorite sayings again: I'm like an FC game character with no HP bar. I can't handle risk! One bullet and I'm dead!

Next time you buy gift cards (no minimum—nice!)

Compared with the rather deal-hunting $26 withdrawal minimum above, this redemption method is much more flexible.

For example, with Domino's, you can see that when buying gift cards, you can choose to use cash back as payment up front (similar to RaisePay)!

Personal usage notes (By Yan Liu) (Rev by Chestnut)

  • If you're buying small equal-value gift cards, like $10 Starbucks cards, you need to leave a gap of about 5-10 minutes between purchases. If you buy back-to-back, the app may think it was an accidental purchase and decline it. For larger gift cards, like Nike, you need to wait 15 minutes.
  • If you buy too many gift cards in a row or too frequently, it can trigger an app review (for example, Chestnut bought two $10 gift cards three minutes apart and got hit immediately, with a message saying the account was restricted and to contact support). Don't worry about it—you can just email support directly, and you'll usually be able to use it again in about half an hour to an hour. If you don't contact them, it may take a long time; this is the app's way of verifying that you're a real customer.
  • According to the developer, there are currently about 430 brands included. To make it easier so people don't have to keep track of which merchants can be used, just allow location services and the app will push offers automatically when you walk into a store. Then, at checkout, you can buy as many gift cards as you need. This solves the unnecessary losses caused by long-term holding of discounted gift cards that can easily be lost.

Summary

Here's a quick wrap-up—since this is a newly launched app, I didn't have time to really dig into it. I wrote this quick review purely with the mindset of grabbing some new-app bonus action.

This review is also fairly simple, and I don't want to spend too much time on it, for two reasons:

  • I believe this three-time Selective gift card 35% cash-back deal is just a launch promotion from the new app to build buzz—a classic 'new sheriff, three fires' move. As time goes by, the signup bonus may well go from three times to two times, one time, or even disappear altogether (I'm not being cynical—'things usually only get worse when they change' is something everyone who has played the points game for years has already learned!)
  • There are more and more cashback apps like this now. Who knows how long this app will last? Maybe one day it'll just disappear, and spending too much time on it would be a total waste of life!

One last line of Chestnut's so-called 'famous saying' from the group chat: I'm a deal-hunter—I take the money and run (grab the deal and go)!

Signup link

  • Fluz signup link (sign up and get 35% cash back three times)
  • Or just download the app and enter: KUKU101
  • You can also scan the QR code below to register

After signing up for Fluz, your first order may be flagged by fraud controls right away. Don't worry about it; it should clear automatically after a few days (email notification). If it gets flagged repeatedly, you'll need to upload a valid ID to remove the restriction (passport not accepted).