Do you have a CVS Extra Care card? What about a Stop n’ Shop card that’ll warrant you discounts and digital coupons? Do you clock points at Dunkin’ Donuts to earn that free coffee once a month?
Yup, we totally get it. Rewards programs are everywhere nowadays. You can’t go anywhere without the cashier asking “Do you have our card? Would you like to put an email or phone number into the pin pad?”
Fetch Rewards jumped on this bandwagon back in 2013, granting free gift cards to loyalty members. Rightfully so. All people were required to do was scan the receipts from purchases made. Get this: The receipt could be from any store, fast food chain, restaurant, etc. All that was necessary to capture was the location, date, total, and items bought.
There’s more to it than that, and we are psyched to fill you in on the details (especially considering Fetch has gained popularity recently). Keep reading to learn all about it!
What Is Fetch?
Fetch is a free downloadable mobile app for both Android and iPhone device holders. It’s used to build up rewards by taking photos of either printed or digital receipts. Once you hit a certain point tier, you’re able to “cash out” your faux money in the form of a gift card. GC choices include but are not limited to retail stores, entertainment experiences, food vouchers, charity donations, pet purchases, travel excursions, and so on.
How Does Fetch Rewards Work?
When you open the Fetch app, you’ll be welcomed with a homebase screen. This’ll showcase a plethora of deals, including “in progress,” “for you,” “most recent,” and “categorized” options. We’re just giving you a little heads up to the lay of the land.
To earn rewards, you’re going to want to look at the bottom of the screen. Here, you’ll see five different icons. Press the camera button, scan the receipt you have, then drag the photo up the screen. In just a few moments, the points will be logged.
If you happen to have one of Fetch’s featured items of the week on your receipt, you’ll get more points than the regular allotted amount – which is 25 points per receipt, if you were wondering. That means no matter what you buy, you’ll still get those base points. It only goes up from there.
Some people use the featured items strategically to make sure their earnings go up quickly. That could mean buying Sargento cheese this week to earn 1,000 points instead of their normal Land o’Lakes option. But you can personally navigate the app any which way you desire. It’s still effortless gift card money at the end of the day.
How Many Receipts Can You Snap in a Day on Fetch?
To be honest, it’s highly unlikely you’ll reach the cap. Fetch allows you to scan up to 35 receipts in a week, meaning 5 receipts per day. What’s more is that you get two weeks from the day the receipt was printed to photograph it. So even if you did a lot of shopping on one particular day, you have 13 more days to log it.
Are There Receipts That DON’T Get Accepted to Claim Rewards?
Yes, some receipts are considered unscannable. Those can include the following:
- Return receipts
- Utility bills
- Medical bills
- Prescription refill receipts
- Movie tickets
- Concert tickets
- Airline tickets
- Baggage receipt tags
- ATM transactions
- Wire transfer transactions
How Do Fetch Points Convert to Dollars?
Earning points with the Fetch app is easy, but getting enough to cash out a GC is tricky. Why? Because approximately 1,000 points is equal to one dollar. Are you picking up what we’re putting down?
What’s more is that you can’t request a gift card after hitting the dollar mark; in most cases, you have to wait until you’ve hit the $3 or $5 mark.
To take it even further, we have to clarify that affiliates almost always set up their point scale differently. Starbucks could say 3,000 points equals $3, but Applebees could say 5,000 points equals $3. Which means you need to be careful what you cash in your rewards for. Look for the “biggest bang for your buck.”
Pro tip: Don’t give up all your rewards for a cash VISA card; oftentimes, those are the most expensive, requiring you to give up much more points than you would elsewhere.
Can You Earn Rewards Without Scanning?
There are additional ways to wrack up those Fetch points, and they primarily revolve around you playing games and referring your friends.
To play games, click into the app and look at the top right hand corner of the screen. You’ll see a “play” button, where you can click and scroll through available options. Each game will warrant a different amount of points, if you win.
To refer your friends, click on the “lightbulb” icon at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Scroll until you see “refer a friend.” There, you can either text, email, or share your QR code directly from the app.