This article was originally published on the author’s personal WeChat public account, MKG.
[Update] This is dead now. TCB found the bug and shut down the cashback link.
This deal is pretty wild and comes from TopCashback. According to the Terms, trials are not supposed to earn any rewards. However, the author did 5 orders in November 2020, and all of them eventually received the $30 reward. The cashback status became Payable, which means an easy $150 profit.
The author tried two more orders last night, and they already showed as Pending today. Are they really just giving away money like this?
Offer Details
Subscribe to Soundtrap and receive a $30 reward.
The terms clearly state that free trials do not qualify for cashback.
No cash back on incomplete / unfulfilled orders or unqualified trials (if applicable) or any other products or services. Free Trials are not eligible for cash back.
But the bug appears to be this:
- To subscribe to a paid Soundtrap plan, you must first start a 1-month free trial. You can use that month to cancel the subscription and still receive TopCashback cashback.
- TopCashback shows the transaction as $0.99 spent, so it no longer appears to be a “free” trial, even though it is actually free.
The cashback is funded by Soundtrap, so the bug is not on TopCashback’s side. It is unclear when this loophole will be closed. If you are interested, the author suggests giving it a try.
How to Subscribe
1. Start through TopCashback. If you do not have a TopCashback account, sign up here:
2. Find Soundtrap, as shown below:
3. Then just complete the signup step by step.
Choose personal use, and set the country to United States (US).
Select the trial option on the right side of your name.
You can register a new account using Google, Facebook, or another email address. The author tried all of them and still received the reward.
It will prompt you to start a trial.
Choose a Plan. The author suggests selecting the lowest Plan ($7.99/m). You can see that all plans require a trial first.
To limit downside in case things do not work out, change the Plan to monthly billing. That way, even in the worst case, the cost is only about $10.
Checkout supports Visa/Master and PayPal. The author recommends using a Privacy virtual card (Visa), and the zipcode can be entered arbitrarily.
If you do not have Privacy, sign up here:
- Privacy signup link (get $5 after signup)
To avoid forgetting to cancel later, the author recommends setting the virtual card to one-time use or setting the Spend Limit to $1. That way, you will not be charged no matter what happens.
Privacy can be used easily for this offer, and one card number can be used to register N times. The author personally recommends setting a $1 limit to avoid triggering Privacy fraud controls by closing cards after use.
How to Cancel
No matter what, even if you have already taken precautions, the author still recommends proactively canceling the subscription to avoid any later hassle.
In theory, you can cancel immediately after signing up. To be safe, the author suggests waiting until TopCashback tracks the cashback before canceling. It should show as pending within at most 3 business days.
Cancellation path: gear icon on the right side of the homepage -> My subscription -> Change Subscription -> Cancel subscription
Cancel it here:
For reference, here is the cancellation timeline for one of the author’s accounts:
- 11/18: signed up
- 11/19: TopCashback $30 pending
- 11/25: canceled trial
- 12/18: trial end notice
- 01/13: $30 cashback became withdrawable
- 01/16: withdrawal completed
The whole process took about 2 months.
Is There Any Risk?
The author did 5 accounts in November, and all of them paid out recently. As long as you cancel in time or use a Privacy virtual card, it should be fairly safe.
In theory, there is a chance of not receiving the reward, since the Terms exclude trial-based rewards. If you do not get the reward, do not blame the author. But no matter how you subscribe, new users must start with a trial, which is why this loophole worked in the first place.
A friendly reminder: do not go too hard. Do not do too many orders on a single TCB account, or you may risk manual review by TCB and a ClawBack.
These opportunities usually reward those who act early, so if you are interested, get in sooner rather than later.