Whether you're shopping from overseas sites or just buying online, using a cashback portal to earn an extra reward has become a standard trick for savvy consumers. If you are not familiar with what a cashback portal is or how it works, I suggest reading "Cashback Portal Basics" first. At the same time, there are now countless cashback portals, each with its own strengths and features, so choosing one that fits your needs is important. Today, let's talk about one cashback portal I personally like: upromise.

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【10/25 Update】Upromise recently changed the terms for earning cash back at eBay. Buying gift cards on eBay no longer earns cash back, so it can no longer be used to trigger this $20 signup bonus. The terms are as follows:

Cash Back is not available within the following categories: eBay Motors (including Vehicles, Motorcycles, Boats, and Powersports; excluding Parts & Accessories) , any form of Real Estate, all Gift Cards, Bullion, Computers/Tablets, and Heavy Equipment within the Business & Industrial category.

So, you can simply make one purchase through this cashback portal at another store instead; there is no minimum spending requirement.

【2016.10.14 Update】New accounts opened through a referral link can now earn an extra $20 if you make a purchase of more than $20 at another merchant through this cashback portal within 30 days.

Sign-Up and Sign-Up Bonus

Normally, there is no sign-up bonus if you register directly.

【2016.10.14 Update】New accounts opened through a referral link can now earn an extra $20 if you make a purchase of more than $20 at another merchant through this cashback portal within 30 days.

  • You need to be referred by email from us. If you need a referral, please reply with "need 20", and we will send the referral link to your email from the backend. It is best to register using the same email address that received the referral email, so if the bonus does not post, you can still contact customer service to resolve it.
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After your purchase shows as pending, before long you should see the $20 sign-up bonus appear in your account.

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【2016.4.13 Update】You can now also sign up for Upromise's survey program. After completing your first survey, you can earn an extra $5. The link can be found in your account. If you want to register, it is best to log in to your account first, then click the "start now" link in your account to sign up.

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Basic Features

Cashback Portal

The most basic function of upromise is, of course, as a cashback portal. Each time you shop, you search for the merchant you want in upromise, then click through to the merchant's website from within upromise and complete your purchase. That way, you can receive cash back from upromise. If you are not clear on this process, you can refer to the steps for ebates in "Cashback Portal Basics." Of course, you need to log in at upromise.com first and then search for the merchant there, rather than using ebates.

Tracking Time and When Rewards Post

Generally speaking, it takes 1-2 weeks for your cash back to track online. It usually displays like this:

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Based on my rough review, most orders seem to fully post about three months after the posted date. Once the reward finally posts to your account, you can withdraw it. In fact, a three-month payout timeline is about the same as ebates.

Ways to Cash Out

Upromise currently offers three ways to cash out.

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check request is the most commonly used option, with a $10 minimum. The check usually arrives in about 3 weeks. student loans, saving plan, and saving account all require the corresponding account; after linking them, you can automatically transfer your Upromise cash back into the corresponding account each month.

Extra Features

Besides the basic cashback function, upromise also has a lot of extra small perks. Here are a few examples:

up4Upromise Credit Card

When used together with the upromise website, this credit card is a hidden gem. As long as a merchant on upromise offers cash back, if you shop through the upromise website and pay with the Upromise credit card, upromise will add an extra 5% cash back on top of the original portal rate. For example, eBay only offers 1% cash back on upromise, but with this extra 5%, you can get 6% cash back total.

Of course, the conditions for earning the extra 5% are: 1. the stores where you normally shop online can be found on upromise (that is, they offer cash back there); 2. your purchase is eligible for cash back (for example, buying gift cards at some sites does not earn cash back).

Local store and service

After clicking in, you can see a large number of merchants. Sometimes there are some extra small perks, such as the one below.

up5upromise restaurant

If you are familiar with dining rewards programs, this is essentially one of those. The idea is that you register a credit card you often use for dining, such as PRG (which earns 2x MR points). In addition to earning the usual rewards or cash back from the credit card itself, upromise will also provide an extra 5% cash back. Of course, you should first check whether the restaurants you actually visit are in upromise's list; otherwise linking the card will not help.

Email Promotions

Sometimes upromise sends extra promotions to certain groups of users, for example:

  • Add a credit card to upromise restaurant and earn an extra $5; make one purchase and earn another $5 (already received)
  • Use the cashback function once and earn an extra $5 (already received)

Best Strategy

If you are like me and just use upromise for normal shopping and dining, you do not need the steps below (though it is still fine to read them to understand how it works). If you make a large volume of purchases, such as buying for resale or if you simply spend a lot, you can refer to the following method to maximize your cash back.

  • What you need
    • upromise credit card
    • upromise account
    • upromise saving account
  • How to use it
    • Go to the designated merchant through the upromise cashback portal (earn a% cash back)
    • Pay with the upromise credit card (earn 5% cash back)
    • After receiving the cash back, transfer it into the saving account (receive 110% of the cash back at year-end)

Example:

Buy $100 worth of merchandise at Staples and earn cashback of 100*（5%upromise+5% credit card）*1.1 (saving bonus) =$11, which means you spent 89 to buy $100 worth of goods.

Cashback Portal Series