Fetch Rewards Review: Earn Free Gift Cards When You Shop

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Fetch Rewards is a free shopping app that allows you to earn free gift cards for scanning your receipts. In this review, we explain how it works and whether it is worth it.

If you’ve been following Club Thrifty for a while, you know we get pretty excited about rewards. 

Whether we’re using credit card rewards to travel for free or stacking rewards with the best cash back shopping apps, we’re all about getting more for our money.

So when my daughter sent me a referral code for Fetch Rewards, I was pumped to see what it’s all about. 

I’ll get into the nitty gritty, but here’s the gist: Fetch Rewards is a free (and legit) shopping rewards app that pays you points every time you scan a receipt from any store. No catch. The points get you free gift cards for your favorite retailers and restaurants. 

In this Fetch Rewards review, I’ll explain how the platform works and show you how to earn the most points. 

Let’s do this!

Fetch Rewards at a Glance

• Free shopping rewards app that awards points for every receipt from any store or restaurant
• Score extra points when you buy participating brands or complete special offers
• Earn a hefty bonus for referring your friends
• Redeem points for your favorite gift cards

How Fetch Rewards Works

Fetch Rewards is a free shopping rewards app that awards points when you scan receipts. There’s no need to load offers before you shop, and any receipt from any store or restaurant is accepted. As long as you upload your receipts within 14 days, you’re good to go. Points are straightforward and redeemable for popular gift cards.

Getting started is easy: Download Fetch Rewards at the App Store or Google Play and sign up for free. 

How to Earn Points

Scanning shopping receipts is the main way to tap into Fetch Rewards, but that’s just one way to earn points. There’s actually a ton of options at your fingertips. You can stick to the basics or maximize your points with these strategies.

Scan Paper Receipts

No matter where you shop or dine, you can snap a picture of your receipt and upload it to the Fetch Rewards app within 14 days to earn a minimum of 25 points. Scanning receipts is also the key to getting rewarded for shopping partner brands and completing special offers (more on that below). 

Submit Electronic Receipts

Big online shopper? No problem! When you link your amazon and email accounts to your Fetch Rewards profile, it scans for e-receipts and awards points based on your purchases. 

Shop Partner Brands

Whether you shop online or in-store, you can earn extra points by purchasing items from Fetch Rewards’ hundreds of brand partners. I’m talking about big names like Huggies, Cheerios, Kleenex, Dove and many more. For a list of eligible brands, check out the “Discover” tab in the app. 

You can also connect some brand programs to your Fetch Rewards account to earn even more. For example, GoodRX is a free price comparison and coupon finding tool for prescriptions. When you connect your GoodRX account to your Fetch Rewards profile, you earn points every time you use it at your pharmacy. 

A few notes: 

• Points are awarded based on the final price paid. That means before taxes but after any other discounts. 
• Receipts must show an itemized list of what you purchased to qualify for brand rewards. 

Complete Special Offers

The Discover tab in the app has the details on special offers you can complete to earn even more points. It might be specific items for a given brand, and you’ll have to make a qualifying purchase in a certain time frame. 

While I wouldn’t make my purchasing decisions based on a special offer, I’m happy to earn extra points on something I was going to buy anyway. 

Refer Friends

One of Fetch Rewards’ coolest features is the generous reward it offers for referring new users. It’s actually how I got into Fetch Rewards — my daughter sent me a referral code. 

When a friend uses your referral code and scans their first receipt, you both get 2,000 points. You can refer as many friends as you like, and there’s no cap on the points you earn. 

Use Fetch Pay

Fetch has partnered with One Finance to offer members rewards for shopping in-store or online with a debit card linked to their Fetch Rewards account. You can use the Fetch Pay card anywhere Mastercard is accepted, and you’ll earn one point for every $1 you spend. 

Note that using Fetch Pay does not replace scanning receipts — you still need to do that to earn your base points and get credit for special offers or brand purchases. Fetch Pay is just an extra way to earn. 

How Much Are Points Worth?

Some reward systems are hard to figure out, but not Fetch Rewards. One thousand points are typically worth $1. So when you earn 2,000 points for referring a friend, that’s worth $2. 

When you consider this, it’s easy to see that the 25-point base reward rate for each receipt will take a while to add up if that’s all you do. But by shopping partner brands, considering special offers and referring friends, points can add up fast. 

Join Fetch Rewards and start earning points immediately. 

Redeeming Rewards

First of all, let’s get one thing straight: Fetch Reward points are redeemable for gift cards, not cash. The good news is there are tons of options. These include Amazon, Visa, Sephora, Starbucks, Best Buy, and more. 

To redeem your points, navigate to the Rewards tab in the app and search for a gift card by category. You’ll see options for $3, $5, $10, $25 and $50 gift cards, depending on the retailer. The ones you have enough points for will be circled in yellow. Once you select the gift card you want, tap the Get My Reward tab on the bottom of the page and confirm you want to redeem your points. 

It can take up to three days to process your reward request, so hold tight. When it’s ready, you’ll get a notification and will find your gift card in the My Rewards section of the Rewards tab. All that’s left to do is follow the instructions to activate your gift card with the vendor. To claim certain gift cards (like Amazon), you’ll need to copy and paste a provided security code. But don’t worry, it’s easy. 

A couple of notes:

• The first time you redeem your points, $3 and $5 gift cards won’t be available — you’ll have to wait until you have 10,000 points to redeem a $10 gift card. After that, the smaller gift cards will be available going forward. 
• Points expire after your account is inactive for 91 days. This is important! To keep your account active, scan a receipt, redeem points, use GoodRx or complete a FetchPay transaction. 

Pro tip: Don’t let your points build up too much. Redeem them as soon as you have enough for a gift card you want. Otherwise, you risk losing your points if you fall off the receipt wagon for a few months. 

Who Should Try Fetch Rewards

People who like free stuff (AKA everyone): If you shop and want to get more for your money (ie: free stuff), Fetch Rewards is a no brainer. It’s free and easy to use, so why not try it? 

Networkers: You don’t need to be a social butterfly, but you can earn a ton of points if you refer a lot of friends. The more the merrier! People with a large network of friends and family (or a large social media network) will have prime earning potential. At 2,000 points per referral, hooking up just five friends scores you enough for a $10 gift card. 

Brand loyalists: Fetch Rewards pays extra points for shopping their partner brands and allows you to connect brand loyalty programs through the app. If you’re loyal to a partner brand, that means you’ll earn more points for something you were buying anyway. That’s the holy grail of rewards!

>> Join Fetch Rewards and refer your friends here. 

Who Should Avoid Fetch Rewards

Shoppers who can’t be bothered to scan receipts: If you know you’ll never actually scan your receipts, you won’t get much value from FetchRewards. And remember, you have to scan them within 14 days. It’s no good to let them build up for months and then do it in one go. 

People who want to get rewarded fast — When you redeem your points for the first time, only rewards valued at $10, $25 and $50 will be available. That means you will have to bank 10,000 points before you can redeem them. Some people might lose interest before they get there. If you can stay the course, $3 and $5 rewards will be available to you at every redemption after that. 

Cash purists — FetchRewards can be redeemed for gift cards for your favorite retailers — Amazon is a favorite of mine since it’s so versatile. For the closest thing to cash, you can get a Visa gift card. But if you prefer a PayPal deposit, you should look elsewhere. Our Ibotta Review might have what you’re looking for. 

Final Thoughts on Fetch Rewards

At the end of the day, Fetch Rewards is easy to use. While some apps make things complicated, earning points on any receipt from any retailer couldn’t be simpler. Throw in automatic rewards for shopping your favorite brands and a sweet referral program, and you’ve got yourself a winner. 

While redemption options aren’t as quick or versatile as some other platforms, the gift card selection is impressive. And hey, if you’re earning cash rewards with another app, go ahead and upload your receipts to Fetch Rewards, too. I say stack rewards whenever you can!

Try Fetch rewards today and start earning free gift cards on your everyday purchases.