If you're
the sort of person who enjoys earning extra money with rewards apps, you've
probably already seen some of the popular services like Ibotta that let you earn money for
shopping. Today we're going to talk about ReceiptPal, another major contender in this
category.
RecieptPal
was created by the NPD group, one of the oldest and most revered market
research companies.
They use
ReceiptPal to study your purchasing habits so they can provide major companies
with data that will help in the development and marketing of new products.
In return
for sharing your data, you'll get points that can be used to purchase gift
cards, along with a chance to earn cash rewards.
How does
ReceiptPal work?
There are
a few different ways to earn points with ReceiptPal. The primary method you'll
probably use in most situations is to save your physical receipts when you go
shopping, and then use the app to snap pictures of them.
NPD Group
will then validate the receipt to make sure it's legit (a process that usually
takes less than 24 hours) and if everything checks out, you'll get points
credited to your account.
You can
also connect an email address to your ReceiptPal profile to have E-Receipts
automatically added to your tally. And if you shop frequently on Amazon, you
might find it beneficial to connect your Amazon account as well so that all
those purchases are automatically logged.
Are there
any restrictions about which receipts I can use?
Yes, there
are a few rules you'll need to keep in mind when using ReceiptPal. First and
foremost, you have to make sure the pictures you take are sharply focused with
decent lighting. If they can't read the receipt, you won't get any credit for
it.
Second,
the receipt needs to have certain information listed, including the store name,
the purchase date, the total amount of money spent, and a phone number or zip
code. If any of those is missing, the receipt will be ruled invalid.
Third,
they don't take every kind of receipt. Just about any store or restaurant
purchase should work, but you can't submit a receipt for something like a cable
bill, or a doctor's visit.
Also, you
can only use receipts for purchases made within the last 30 days, and you're
not supposed to submit receipts you received from someone outside your
household.
How much
can you earn with ReceiptPal?
I did a
bit of research around the web to get a sense for how much money you can make
with this app.
From what
I can gather, it's very possible to earn in the neighborhood of $80 to $100 per year with ReceiptPal, paid out
via gift cards, which doesn't seem too bad.
It would
probably be possible to earn more if there weren't restrictions on the number
of receipts you can submit in a given time period.
According
to the FAQ, the current number is 12 per week, which will net you about 300
points. You can submit additional receipts beyond that number for
cash-sweepstakes entries, but your chances of winning anything substantial in a
big drawing like that are pretty low.
What are
the technical requirements for ReceiptPal?
This app
won't work with tablets, so you'll need a smart phone (either Android or Apple)
with a functional camera.
What are
people saying about the app?
Based on
my research, the reception for ReceiptPal has been pretty mixed. Some people
find it very easy to use, and are quite happy with the rewards.
Others
feel like the company is beginning to clamp down, adding new restrictions that
make it harder and harder to earn anything substantial.
From what
I've read, it sounds like NPD Group has been changing the rules constantly
since the app launched, and most of the changes have made things slightly worse
(from a user perspective) instead of better, which has gradually turned off a
lot of early adopters.
Some
people are also bothered by the increased emphasis on email monitoring, which
naturally raises privacy concerns.
It's very
clear from reading user comments that the rules are still very much in flux,
and by the time you read this review it's possible that the situation might've
completely reversed.
It seems
like the company is testing different approaches to see how users respond, so
it's possible they might decide to change their tactics for the better.
Even with
the current state of affairs, I think it's safe to say that the app is not a
scam. You can use your points to buy gift cards, and as long as you take good
pictures, it's usually possible to get your receipts validated.
You
probably won't be able to earn a lot of money in a hurry, but it's not really
that hard to take pictures of receipts. There are plenty of people who swear by
this app and have a great time using it, so it shouldn't hurt anything to give
it a try.
How do you
get started with ReceiptPal?
If you
think ReceiptPal sounds interesting enough to warrant further investigation,
you can go here to read more
about the app and download it on your phone.
We also
have a big list of other sites you can use to make money/save money all at the
same time if you want to try some others!
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