Cashback apps are a no brainer. Why not earn as much as you can off of your purchases?
Sometimes, cashback apps require extra steps that make it more of a hassle than a life hack. Some sites require you to navigate through them for every purchase while some don’t allow for cash back on in-store purchases.
When it comes to cashback companies, I am most interested in those where you can set it and forget it.
Enter Dosh, a cashback app that links to your debit and credit cards so that you can maximize your cashback potential on all your purchases.
It can be a little uneasy to link your bank cards to an app, and some people are afraid that this might be the sign of a scam.
So, is Dosh a scam or a legitimate way to earn cash back on purchases? Find out below!
What is Dosh?
Dosh is a cash back app that links to your credit or debit cards to earn you cashback from your purchases.
You can earn up to 10% cashback from thousands of stores, though many stores only offer about 2% to 5% cashback.
Some examples of partnering retailers include Sephora, Sam’s Club, Dunkin’, and Pizza Hut.
Dosh also partners with popular hotel chains, which means you can earn cashback when you book vacations.
How Does Dosh Work?
When you earn at least $25 on your Dosh balance, you can redeem your balance in the form of a PayPal payment, a donation to a charity, or a direct deposit to your bank account.
At this point you may be asking yourself about a catch. Free money sounds too good to be true, right?
Technically, it isn’t free. You are spending money to get a small percent back in cashback.
How Does Dosh Make Money?
Dosh makes money through affiliate marketing. This means that they are paid by partnering stores to encourage shoppers to spend money there.
When you shop at a retail partner’s store, Dosh earns a cut of that sale. As an incentive, they split the commission that they make with you.
In the end, everybody wins.
Dosh Earning Potential
Dosh is a completely free app to download and use, which is great! But do you actually earn the minimum in cashback? If you shop or eat out frequently, definitely.
Dosh works by examining your credit card purchases and rewarding you when you buy from any of their retail partners.
Like other cashback companies, Dosh waits for about 60 to 90 days after your transaction to credit your account. This is because they are giving you time to make any returns in case you are not happy with your purchase. After the waiting period is over, you should see the amount show up in your Dosh wallet.
Dosh requires that you accrue at least $25 before redeeming your reward. This is relatively average when compared to other cashback apps.
It should not take you long to accrue this because of how Dosh is able to track all your purchases through your card. Once you meet this minimum amount, you can choose to be paid through a direct deposit or a PayPal payment. You may also donate your earnings to a charity of your choosing.
Many users are interested in how long it takes for the money to hit your account. Dosh is quite quick to payout once they receive your withdrawal request. The process usually takes anywhere from three to five business days, depending on your bank. Because you do the majority of the waiting on the front end, you are able to receive your reward balance quickly.
Getting Started
If you have a smartphone, getting started on Dosh is quick and easy.
The first thing you will need to do is create an account. To do this, Dosh will ask you to provide your phone number so they can verify that you are not a robot.
From there, you will be prompted to enter your name, email, and a created password. This is also the time that you can use any referral codes. This can help spread the love to someone who referred you, and it can also help you get credit when your friends sign up for Dosh. We’ll cover that more below.
Once your account is created, you are ready to link any cards. I would recommend linking a card that you use for the majority of your purchases. This allows you to maximize your cashback opportunities. You can list more than one card if you would like, but I would recommend a debit and credit card.
After linking a card, you are ready to go! You can browse partner retailers based on their proximity to you or any online deals. Dosh will list all participating store’s cashback rate. It will also indicate if there are any cashback maximums.
In the wallet section of the app, you can view your cashback balance and account activity. Once you reach the minimum accrual amount, you can choose to redeem it or donate it.
Finally, there is a referral section that can help you spread the word and get referral payouts. You can easily send text messages to your friends with a download link. This will automatically link them back to your account and earn you a referral reward if they sign up and link a card.
DOSH Referral Code
As with many cashback programs, Dosh has a referral program that will pay you for getting friends to sign up. For every person that signs up for Dosh using your link and connects a card, you will earn $5 onto your overall balance.
This is a relatively low referral rate compared to other cash back sites. However, due to the nature of being able to double dip Dosh rewards, you can and should encourage your friends to sign up for more than one service.
One of the most unique ways to maximize your earnings is by encouraging businesses to join Dosh.
If you know a local chain that might benefit from Dosh, you can encourage them to join Dosh’s network of retailers. If the business ends up joining, you get to enjoy 20% of their Dosh fees for the next two years. This is truly exclusive to Dosh and an excellent way to earn extra income.
Is Dosh Safe?
It can be unnerving to be required to put in your credit and debit card information. You may be concerned that they will start secretly charging you or sell your information to a third party. These are all legitimate concerns to have, but in this case, there is no reason to worry.
Dosh’s need to connect to your bank cards goes back to being able to track your transactions. By tracking where you are making purchases, they are able to give you the most cashback. Security concerns aside, this is the most effective way to earn cashback on your purchases.
Dosh is serious about data security. They are so serious, in fact, that they have their data protection measures listed right on their homepage. It is literally one of the first things that you learn about Dosh.
- Bank Level SSL Encryption: One of the ways that they protect your information is through their bank-level SSL encryption. The app is secured with 256-bit encryption to make sure that your data is protected.
- Braintree: They also have safeguards in place to ensure that your banking data is protected. They do not store any of your credit or bank information, and they tokenize and vault all credit card information using Braintree. Braintree is a PayPal service that helps prevent data breaches with top of the line cybersecurity measures.
- Two Factor Authentication: Dosh also utilizes two-factor or multi-factor authentication methods to prevent unauthorized logins to your account.
- Do Not Sell Info To Third Parties: Lastly, Dosh does not sell any of your personal information to a third party. This can give you peace of mind that no solicitation calls will be coming through because of your Dosh account.
Customer Support
Dosh’s customer service is relatively limited compared to some of its competitors.
If you need to contact someone for a question or an issue, you are prompted to go to their “Contact Us” page. From there, you will find several sections for common inquiries, including “Your Account” and “Cash Back Offers.”
When you click on a given section, it will take you to a page with common FAQ’s for that subject. The answers for each question are in a blog format, which makes them informative yet understandable. There is also a purple popup in the corner of their desktop screen that helps you search for specific topics.
If you find that your question still hasn’t been answered, you can submit a request through their email ticketing platform. These are generally frustrating because there is little way to follow up on your inquiry. However, it’s better than not being able to reach anyone at all.
Overall, reviews of Dosh’s customer service seem to be positive. Their team is informative and timely in their response. Many users find that their questions and issues are resolved promptly by Dosh’s team.
Pros and Cons of DOSH
While it may seem that I’m singing Dosh’s praises, there are reasons why some people may want to avoid it. For a balanced perspective, here are some of the pros and cons of using Dosh.
Pros
- Easiest way to earn cashback: Because Dosh connects directly to your cards, there aren’t any extra steps to receive cashback. You don’t have to save receipts, shop with a browser extension, or activate any in-store credit. You simply have to link a card and forget about it.
- Double dip rewards: If you have credit card rewards or are using another cashback service that tracks its users through cookies, you can use Dosh to double dip rewards. If you add a receipt-scanning app on top of that, you could potentially triple dip!
- Flexible rewards: It’s always frustrating when your options for redeeming your cashback are limited to gift cards. This makes it difficult to put the money towards bills or reinvest it. Fortunately, Dosh lets you redeem your cashback in the form of a direct deposit or PayPal payment. You can also donate your cashback to a charity if you would like. Dosh allows you to truly get cash back on your purchases.
Cons
- Your card can’t be linked with competing apps: While you may be able to boost rewards offered by your credit card company, Dosh will not allow you to double dip with any cashback apps that also link to your credit card.
- Low referral reward: With sites like Rakuten offering referral rates of up to $25, it’s pretty disappointing that Dosh only offers $5 per referral.
- No extra income opportunities: Many cashback apps and websites offer alternative ways to earn cash, including watching videos, taking videos, and reading emails.
Alternatives to DOSH
Because you can double dip rewards with Dosh, you definitely shouldn’t limit yourself to just one cashback program. Here are some other apps you can try to earn extra cash.
- Drop App: Despite their similar names, Drop and Dosh are two separate apps. Both, however, can help you maximize your cashback opportunities. Much like Dosh, Drop is an app that connects to your credit and debit cards to give you cashback on your purchases.
- Rakuten: Rakuten, formerly known as Ebates, allows you to earn cashback in the era of online retail. Rakuten has become popular again thanks to its newly launched Hulu ads.
- MyPoints: Tired of spending money to earn cashback? MyPoints is a cashback service that allows you to boost your balance in other ways. MyPoints combines the services of a cashback app and survey site to create a wholistic money-saving tool. You can earn points by watching videos, taking surveys, and even playing games.
Is Dosh Legit?
Dosh is definitely not a scam. Their business model is completely legitimate, and you don’t have to worry about them stealing your information.
I will give the same caution that I do with all cashback apps. This is not going to make you rich nor should you go into a spending frenzy to chase cashback opportunities. These apps are simply tools that you can use to earn a little back from your everyday purchases.
You can put the money towards bills, investments, or just plain ole fun. But you should only use this as a set-it-and-forget-it way to earn cash.
With Dosh, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use it. You may even be surprised by how much you earn from your purchases. In the end, it’s easy and free so what’s the harm?
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