Cashback comparison 2013: Starthere vs. Qwibble vs. Bucksback vs. Cash Rewards vs. Chill vs. Prplness
neil on 17/06/2013 at 12:07 pm, filed under CashbackWe last compared cashback sites in September 2012. Since then, we have had three more players join the cashback marketplace.
Cashback sites are a great way to make purchases cheaper for consumers. Some websites that you make a purchase from (the merchants) are willing to pay “commission” to affiliate networks and other website publishers to gain sales. The idea behind cashback sites is, as a website publisher themselves, are rebating/refunding a portion of the commission they’ve made from the merchants back to the customers.
| Merchant | Starthere | Qwibble | Bucksback | Cash Rewards | Chill Cashback | Prplness |
| Amaysim Unlimited | $15.00 | $39.00 | $22.50 | $24.00 | N/A | $23.00 |
| Apple | 1.00% | 1.60% | 1.50% | 2.50% | N/A | N/A |
| Appliances Online | 1.00% | 1.60% | 2.00% | 1.50% | N/A | 1.50% |
| ASOS | 3.50% | 5.60% | N/A | 7.00% | N/A | N/A |
| Big W | 2.00% | 3.20% | 3.20% | 3.25% | N/A | N/A |
| Bonds | 4.50% | 7.20% | 8.00% | 8.00% | N/A | 6.00% |
| Booktopia | 3.75% | 6.00% | 5.62% | N/A | 3.75% | 3.75% |
| Dan Murphy’s (spirits / wine) | 5.25% | 7%/8.8% | 8%/10% | 8.75%/7% | N/A | 7%/10% |
| Deals Direct | 2.50% | 4.00% | 5.00% | 4.75% | N/A | 4.00% |
| Dell | 3.50% | 8.00% | 3.00% | 2.50% | N/A | 3.00% |
| EzBuy | 1.80% | 1.20% | 3.80% | N/A | 2.25% | N/A |
| Groupon | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4.00% | N/A | N/A |
| Hotelclub | 3.00% | 4.80% | 5.00% | N/A | 3.50% | 6.00% |
| Hotels.com -Merchant Hotel | 3.00% | 4.80% | 5.00% | 4.75% | N/A | 3.00% |
| Kogan | N/A | 0.60% | 0.60% | 0.50% | NA | NA |
| Lenovo | 2.50% | 2.80% | 3.35% | 2.75% | N/A | NA |
| Menulog-Home Delivery | 1.50% | 2.40% | 3.00% | 2.50% | 1.25% | 1.50% |
| Rebel Sport | 3.75% | 6.00% | 7.50% | 7.25% | N/A | 4.00% |
| Shoppingsquare | 1.00% | 1.60% | 1.50% | N/A | 1.00% | N/A |
| Stawberrynet -New Customer | 7.50% | 12.00% | 12.00% | 12.00% | 2.00% | 8.00% |
| The Iconic | 6.00% | 9.60% | 10.00% | 12.00% | N/A | 8.00% |
| The Mens Shop | 5.00% | 8.00% | 8.00% | 8.00% | 5.00% | N/A |
| Member Fees (annual) | 0 | 0 | $10.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minimum Cashout Amount | None | $20.00 | Unknown | None | $20.00 | $25.00 |
| Pricematch | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Sign Up Offers | No | No | No | No | $3 credit | $5 credit |
Information current as of June 10, 2013.
Each company has it’s advantages and disadvantages which can affect the amount of cashback you receive.
Prplness:
Pricematch other cashback website’s rates.
High minimum cashout. For our sample merchants, the average rate is 4.8%. You would need to make $454 (inc $5 credit) in purchases to receive your first cashout.
Chill Cashback:
Not many of the popular merchants listed.
Uncompetitive cashback rates.
High minimum cashout. For our sample merchants, the average rate is 2.7%. You would need to make $629 (inc $3 credit) in purchases to receive your first cashout.
Cash Rewards:
Very competitive cashback rates. Top rates for 4 of our sample merchants and top average rate.
No minimum cashout amount. For our sample merchants, the average rate is 5.3%.
Bucksback:
Very competitive cashback rates. Top rates for 8 of our sample merchants.
$10 member fee will eat into the cashback. Only company with a member fee.
Unclear if there is a minimum cashout amount (company was unresponsive). Assuming no minimum, at an average rate of 5.1%, you would have to make $196 of purchases just to break even.
Qwibble:
Competitive cashback rates. Top rates for 4 of our sample merchants
High minimum cashout. For our sample merchants, the average rate is 4.8%. You would need to make $416 in purchases to receive your first cashout.
Starthere:
Multiple tiers of membership.
For new or casual users (white level), average cashback rates are poor at 3.3%.
At the founder level (former Moneybackco members), the average is bumped up to 5.6%. Top rates for 9 of our sample merchants.
No minimum cashout amount.
For the casual user Cash Rewards provides the best value. If you have founder status at Starthere then this may be a better option for you.
Always compare the merchant at each cashback site before purchasing. Rates often vary and some sites list merchants that others don’t.