If you're looking for a way to earn money for shopping then you may want to read my SavingStar Review down below. I feel like this is deja vu because it reminds me a lot of ibotta and ebates which are companies that offer similar services. But we're not here to yap about them. Let's dive into why you should or shouldn't try SavingStar.
What is SavingStar?
SavingStar.com is a legitimate shopping website rewarding consumers with cash back on eligible grocery store purchases. The company also has a mobile app for both iPhone and Android devices. The company's website began in April 2011 in Waltham, Massachusetts. According to the corporate website, SavingStar currently serves over 7 million customers. The company has the backing of numerous investors such as American Express, DMC, Flybridge Capital, and a few others.
How Does SavingStar Work?
First you must create an account at their website or mobile app which costs you nothing. Next, you link one of your loyalty shopping carts. Or you can submit receipts from participating stores to earn cashback. Cash back rewards accrue in your SavingStar account. Once you've reached $5 you cash out a payment.
The cashback will come to your bank or PayPal account. Or you can redeem your rewards as a gift card to AMC Theaters, iTunes, or Starbucks. Cash back also may be used to make a donation to the American Forests charity. Payouts are usually within 24-48 hours after a request. The company sends gift codes to the email address used for opening the SavingStar account.
SavingStar Features:
Free Account: There is no charge to create or use a SavingStar account as long as a customer remains active. Consumers do not have anything to lose to try the service out. If they don't like it, they can simply cancel.
Mobile App: SavingStar provides its customers with a mobile app downloadable on either iPhone or Android devices. This makes it easy for customers to upload receipts right after making purchases.
Extensive Grocery Store Savings: Listed offers on the website show that customers can save a lot of money on groceries. For example, one offer states you can save $11 on Garnier products. Other offers include $4 off on Little Debbie, Goya, and Lucky Leaf products. These offers can definitely help those on a tight household budget. To make even more money, you definitely will want to see my Top Free Work At Home Recommendation.
What I Like About SavingStar!
Tons of stores to choose: At the time of this review SavingStar.com features over 100 participating retailers consisting of more than 60,000 stores. These aren't bootleg companies either. We're talking about well-known retail chains such as Walmart, Costco, Kmart, and Target.
Frequent New Offers: Chances are, you'll always find something appealing. Because savingstar posts new offers on the first of the month. Offers also appear on Thursdays and Sundays frequently. Every Tuesday, a new Healthy Offer of the Week is available on the SavingStar website.
Easy to Use: To earn rewards on eligible grocery store purchases, a customer just snaps a picture of the receipt and uploads it to the site. Customers who use loyalty reward cards have it even easier. Cash back rewards from these cards are deposited to a SavingStar account within 3 days.
Positive BBB Rating: At the time of this review, the company has a B rating with the Better Business Bureau. SavingStar has only received 23 complaints in the past three years. The company response to many of these complaints indicates a willingness to resolve issues to the customer's satisfaction.
SavingStar Complaints:
Of course, no company is perfect. So we had to list some of the complaints and concerns we found against saving star. You have to decide if they are deal breakers or not for you.
Hard Time Claiming Credits and Rebates: Folks have complained about trouble with receiving earned credits and rebates for various reasons. Apparently the high purchase volume activity can lead to your account getting shut down and prevent you from getting your hands on your hard own rewards.
You better use it or else…: If there is no activity on your account for 12 months, a $1.99 fee is charged against any account savings. To remain active, a you must activate or redeem an offer or select a payout at least once per year.
Scanned Receipts Are a Pain In The…: Cash back rewards from scanned receipts can take 2-22 days to post to a customer's account. You have to activate offers first in their account before a purchase is made. High demands on popular offers reduce offer availability quickly with reduces the ability to earn and receive cash back. Customers using receipt scanning must activate an offer on the sale day of making the purchase. That sounds like a lot of hoops to jump to me. If it does to you, you may want to check out my Top Free Work At Home Recommendation.
Restricted on How You Can Earn Rewards: Online grocery store purchases are ineligible for cash back rewards. Customers cannot use SavingStar offers at the same time with any other manufacturer offers. Customers also need to make sure to use the email address they used to create their SavingStar account when uploading receipts.
So Is SavingStar Legit Or Not?
Saving Star is definitely legit from what I can see. If you shop a lot the website can truly help you save money on eligible grocery store purchases. But this definitely isn't a way to make a consistent supplement income or replace your income. If you're looking to do that, I would highly recommend checking out my Top Free Work At Home Recommendation and my Work At Home Courses. Having multiple streams of income will help you earn more than using SavingStar on a regular basis.
Well, that's it for my online review of SavingStar. It's up to you decide if this is right for you or not. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with me down below.
Until next time,
Eddy with a y
Hey Eddy with a “y”,
Thanks for this review. This is my first time hearing about this site. Is it only available in the US market?
From what I gathered out of your review, it sounds like using SavingStar is quite a bit of a hassle. And it also seems to be more of a money-saving campaign than a money-earning one. Is this correct?
I think it’s only available in the US at the moment and it’s not really a money maker per se. It’s more of a way to help you save money which some view as making money. So it all depends on how you see it.
Thanks for this informative post. This really sounds interesting to me as I never heard of Saving Star until now!
I’ve never heard of a system where you get cashback on groceries so this really is cool stuff.
It is definitely worth trying. Who doesn’t love cashback? I know I do!
Best wishes.
I’m glad I can share this with you Bea. You’ll probably like ibotta as well then.
Hi, thanks for all the info on SavingStar, it looks like a fantastic website, I am definitely going to tell my wife about this as she loves to do couponing and whatnot. From what you said in your review, they seem like a very credible website, Thank you once again for all the great information!
You’re welcome Mike!
I knew about ebates but I didn’t have even a slight idea about Saving Star.
Thanks a lot for writing a review on this. Although, the cons you mention are quite scary ones lol, but if I can earn some bucks doing almost nothing, it certainly isn;t that of a herculean task for me lol.
Or maybe my younger brother can do it. He’s always free for tasks like this. After all, he can keep a share of all the earnings lol.
Thanks once again for reviewing this, my little brother is gonna be thankful to you for some bucks in his pocket.
Good day pal!
You’re welcome Prince. I’m glad I could introduce something new to you.
As a bargain hunter, I love finding out new ways to save and the idea of saving while you shop sounds ideal. I like the simplicity of taking a photo of my purchase receipt and then getting offers and coupons what a great idea. Since the account is free I’m definitely going to check it out.
Fran
Sounds good Fran!
Seems like a nice way to leave some extra in the monthly budget. (Like you mentioned)
One thing I’m curious about is (sorry if you mentioned it) the minimum amount to get a cash payout.
Is it based on the amount of offers you take or does the payout just correlate with the amount of purchases you make with their partnered stores?
I know some of these programs have HUGE payouts making them almost a waste of time.
Would appreciate hearing your input on this.
Thanks!
Hey Tyler,
You can cash out at $5. So it’s very attainable. You earn based on the offers on products you buy from their associated partner stores. Not every product you purchased from a partner store qualifies. You have to purchase the product that have a savings associated with it.