This post was written in collaboration with Quidco cashback site, but words are mine. If you sign up to Quidco using the affiliate links on this review, you will receive a new member bonus of £10 (follow the instructions in this post) and I will receive a small commission. More information on affiliate links can be found here.
When it comes to making a bit of extra cash, I’m a huge advocate of cashback sites. Whenever I do any shopping whether it’s online or in store, I try to check first whether I can use an app to get something back. If you’re going to be spending anyway, it’s basically free money.
The first cashback site I ever used was Quidco, which I joined back shortly after it launched – so I’m writing this Quidco review from a position of experience! It has long been my go-to cashback site for getting a bit of cashback on yearly insurance premiums, new finance products, broadband etc, as well as saving money when it comes to online shopping at birthday and at Christmas time.
Over time, and with very little effort on my part, I’ve managed to earn almost £2500 in cashback which is paid directly into my bank account, or cashed out as vouchers with a little extra cashback on top. Not too shabby.
Quidco review: Here’s how Quidco works!
When you’re making a purchase online, be sure to log in to Quidco first.
Search for the site or product that you’re looking for on Quidco; there are over 5000 retailers which offer cashback which you can see here. When you click through to another site via their links (the big ones which say ‘Get Cashback’; they’re hard to miss), Quidco tracks your purchases and pays cashback on anything bought. This is because Quidco will be making an affiliate income on your spend, and rather than keeping it all, they’re sharing it with you!
Is Quidco free to use?
Quidco is entirely free to use as a basic member. You can also sign up as a premium Quidco member, which costs £1 a month when you’re active. Many retailers will have enhanced cashback rates of up to 10% more, and you can receive up to 20% bonus when cashing out transactions. The best bit is that Quidco Premium is automatically paused when you aren’t active on the site. Several years have gone by when I’ve not really visited, so I wouldn’t have been charged at all for these periods.
How much could I save on Quidco?
On your Christmas gift shopping, you’re likely to save a few percent. It may not be huge amounts, but if you’re making purchases at shops like Argos and Boots anyway, it’s definitely worth logging in.
There is often bumped up cashback for new accounts; for example on your first purchase at Just Eat, you’ll get a rather specific 18.75% cashback, and then 0.75% on all your takeaways from there on if you remember to buy via the site. Annoyingly, I had no idea Just Eat was even on Quidco until around 2 minutes ago, and I’m now wondering how much I could have saved over the years. Not that I love a takeaway or anything…
On big ticket items, a few percent still adds up to a good chunk of cashback; that 2.25% cashback on a new fridge freezer from AO big enough for all the festive food could get you £20+ cashback. Some companies offer higher rates of 7-12% even on big purchases, so if the chill of winter is too much for you then a last minute holiday booked via TUI could get you over £100 back in your pocket.
There are also voucher codes which you can apply at checkout to save money, in addition to any cashback offered. Check out the current voucher codes tab to see the savings on offer.
If you happen to be looking for new financial products such as credit cards, insurance premiums, breakdown cover or utilities like broadband, you can often get a set sum for signing up and often these can be well worth it. Using Quidco Compare you can search to find the best deals for insurance, loans, energy, mobile phone contracts and other utilities and then get cashback on top. For example, when we moved we had already decided to take on a new broadband contract, and I got £67.50 cashback for signing up via Quidco at no additional cost to myself.
How do I get paid by Quidco?
Once your cash back is confirmed, in my experience it takes up to six months to be paid into your Quidco account – but it’s often sooner and is displayed on each retailer’s page.
When you reach your minimum withdrawal threshold (of £1 to £10 depending on your preferred withdrawal method) you are able to get your cash back from the site paid directly to your bank account via a bank transfer, withdraw it to a PayPal account, or you have the option to cash out to a voucher which has the bonus of up to 25% additional cashback.
This differs by retailer. For example if you have £10 in your account ready to cash out and want it in Halfords vouchers, you can get an extra 8%, so can get a voucher worth £10.80. If you want Amazon vouchers you’ll get an additional 2% (£10.20) and if you’d like your Withdrawal in Café Nero vouchers you can get an extra £1.20 on top of your £10 cash back.
Make Quidco cashback simple with the browser extension or app
There is nothing more annoying than forgetting to log in and use Quidco, and missing out on your cashback. If you use your desktop, you can add a free browser extension which will remind you to make purchases via the site to make sure you get your cashback whenever you can.
For example, I bought a picture yesterday, and managed to get 91p cashback which I would otherwise not have known about.
If you Google something, the extension will show you the current rates of cashback above the listing. It’s really handy!
If you mainly do online shopping via mobile, there’s also a Quidco app you can download, which you can click through in the same way as the website, and will send you push notifications of great deals.
Is Quidco worth it?
In my opinion – absolutely! I would give Quidco a positive review – both on this website and in person to my family and friends. It’s free and there’s no voucher purchase necessary – all you have to do is ensure you make purchases via the Quidco links.
With this one little extra step in your online shopping and you’ll soon be building up a little pot of extra cash. Used in tandem with an in-store cashback app you could quickly save yourself hundreds and make Christmas that little bit easier.
Just make sure that you don’t end up buying things just for the cashback – do you really need that new dress? Although, I’m not your mum – if you want it, you probably deserve it. Treat yourself.
How can I join Quidco cashback site?
If you fancy joining Quidco after reading this cashback site review, then click here to register on the site. You will receive a new member bonus of £10! Follow the instructions in this post.