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Update: SavingStar shut down on November 30, 2020!
Thanks to the wonderful invention of mobile shopping apps, people don’t have to bother mailing in rebate coupons anymore.
One of the companies that helps prevent that hassle is SavingStar, an online rebate company.
In this review, we will look into how SavingStar works, how much you can save, and if it’s worth the effort.
What is SavingStar?
This company makes getting rebates off receipts and grocery purchases easy.
You don’t need to print or clip anything because its all done digitally through their website and smartphone apps. They’ve been featured on the Wall Street Journal, NBC News, and The Boston Globe for their successful rebate program.
One great thing about this program is that it takes into account your store loyalty cards. Once you set it up, it can actually give you rebates by monitoring your card—no scanning necessary.
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The rebate offers they have aren’t random stuff you normally don’t buy either.
You can get deals on products such as:
- Kellogg’s cereal
- Barilla pasta
- Poptarts
- Honey Nut Cheerios
- Yoplait yogurt
- And many more name brand products!
How Do I Join?
Joining can be done in only a few simple steps.
- Step 1: Click here and press the “Join Now” button.
- Step 2: Fill out the account form and confirm your email address.
- Step 3: Download the app, available on either iOS and Google Play.
That’s it!
You’re ready to start saving money.
Once you have your account, you can connect your various loyalty store cards to it, so that way you don’t have to worry about scanning your receipts. Every time you make a purchase with one of them, the app will automatically be notified and apply any available rebates to your account.
How Does SavingStar Work?
The app takes very little effort to earn money back on your purchases. It’s like a grocery reward program.
Step 1: Add stores that you shop at so you can redeem deals from there. You can also link store cards to the app to get even more deals.
Step 2: Activate rebates before you shop. You can do this on a computer or on your smartphone app. There are three types of offers:
- Regular offers – Products that are available for a specific amount of time.
- Always on programs – Products that are always available for rebates.
- Healthy offers – Fresh fruits and veggies you can get rebates on.
Step 3: Redeem your rewards. You can use your store loyalty card to earn automatic rewards or scan your receipt after a purchase.
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Step 4: Get cash. Once you reach a balance of over $20 you can cash out.
What stores participate in SavingStar?
The great thing about this company is that it has over 100,000 stores that participate in its program.
There are over 100 retailers, including brands like:
- Walmart
- Target
- Walgreens
- Winn-Dixie
- Publix
- Stop and Shop
- Sam’s Club
and so many more!
To see the full list of retailers, click here.
How Do You Get Paid from SavingStar?
Once you accumulate over $20 in your account, you have several options in regard to payout.
- Cash: You can get the money directly deposited to your bank account or PayPal account.
- Gift Cards: If you’d prefer gift cards, they can send the money in either a Starbucks, iTunes, or AMC Theatres code.
- Donation: The final open for payout to simply donate your earning to a charity, which will go to the American Forests charity.
No matter what payout method you choose, it will take 24 to 48 hours to receive your money. Gift codes will be sent directly to your email address associated with your SavingStar account.
If you are worried that getting to that $20 mark will take to long, don’t be! Most of the rebates pay back at least $1, and there actually several that pay back $5!
You can easily get about $10 in rebates each shopping trip, depending on what you buy.
Better Business Bureau Assessment
According to the BBB, this business has been established for nine years.
It has a B+ rating, meaning that it has a fairly good standing.
There have been 19 complaints lodged against the company within the past three years, however, all of them have been resolved and closed between both the company and the customer.
SavingStar Reviews
Here are what users of the website and app have to say about the company.
“On iBotta you will find a lot of offers on products you might be interested in buying, but activating the deals can be very tedious. SavingStar makes it a lot easier. All you have to do is tap. Since there’s no limit to how many rebates you can activate, I recommend just activating them all. Check in to the app maybe once or twice a week just to activate offers. Even if you don’t plan on purchasing something, just add it in case you happen to buy it anyways,” said one Reddit review.
According to an Apple app reviewer: “Using Savings Star is so easy. I have a pantry that’s not overwhelming but is stocked so that the college kids can come and get things they need and then I get to go shopping again for that thrill of accomplishment. I appreciate that Savings Star helps me stretch out my funds!”
“I’ve had this app for a few years now. Probable gotten more than 50 dollars. Wish it had more of the stuff I buy. But all and all not bad,” said a Google Play review.
Overall, most users like the app and use it on a regular basis.
And why wouldn’t they, right?
I mean, if you’re going to shop anyway, you may as well get some of that money that you’re spending back as a rebate.
SavingStar Referral & Signup Bonus
Most rewards programs offer sign up bonuses. This can be anywhere from $1 to up to $20 or more depending on the program.
They also have referral programs where you get paid for every friend you refer to the site.
So it’s natural to assume SavingStar also has these two features. Unfortunately, as of the time of writing this review of SavingStar (January 2019), the program doesn’t offer a signup bonus nor does it offer a referral program.
If and when that changes, I’ll update this post.
By the way, if any SavingStar people are reading this, please add these features to the program. They give people more incentive to sign up and refer their friends. It’s a win-win for everyone. Users get more out of the program and you guys get more users.
So, is SavingStar Worth It?
Considering how little effort it takes to set up and use, I’d say yes.
If you purchase a lot of groceries for your family, you might be able to earn back $20 every single month.
That kind of saving on groceries is totally worth it when you consider how much it would be in the long run.
Best of all, the app doesn’t take that much monitoring. You don’t need to fill out surveys to get access to rebates. There aren’t any annoying ads you need to sit through. In many ways, this makes SavingStar better than some receipt-scanning apps such as Ibotta.
Have you tried the app before? If so, how would you rate and review SavingStar? Are there any other rebate apps you like to use? Let us and our readers know about them in the comments below!
Petra Teeter
I’ve had this app for 6 years and it is NOT hassle free. If you don’t constantly check you will not notice how many rebates don’t get credited to your account. The receipts go through fine and the products scan and show as eligible, but you never receive the credit. The same with the auto-connected stores. You must spend a lot of time checking the receipt of your rebates.
When you have to contact customer service it takes them a while to answer. Today I received an answer from what I assume was a robot response OR whoever answered didn’t read the one sentence of my problem.
The problem is that they forget to add UPS codes for eligible products on their end when it comes to crediting you the rebate. Your correct product will scan when you submit the receipt, but on their end (since the forgot to add the UPC) the system just rejects it and doesn’t give you credit.
Their solution: After 1 1/2 months I am supposed to gather my eligible receipts and circle the eligible products. REALLY???? Do you keep your grocery receipts that long AND can remember which rebates Savingstar provided during that time?