Today I’m sharing tips on how to save money using online cashback websites – a fantastic and free way to save money on all sorts of different things!
Cashback is not a new thing – but it’s something a lot of people forget exists. It’s a great way to save money on all your online purchases, particularly coming up to Christmas.
Please note: this post is not sponsored, but all TopCashback links include my own referral code – this means I get a little bit of money once you reach £10 if you sign up using one of my links and this goes towards my blog’s running costs. Even better – YOU get some free cash too!
There are a few cashback sites out there, but I rarely make a purchase online without checking TopCashback (when I don’t it’s because I forget!) and although they don’t cater for every single site out there, there are a hell of a lot that they do support so I’m going to let you into some secrets on how to save money on travel.
Accommodation
I use TopCashback on my hotel and hostel bookings ALLLLL the time!
It took me two months into our long-term travels to realise that I could get cashback on Hostelbookers, and I was so annoyed when I found out because I could have saved loads! Luckily, they still have Hostelworld on there, meaning that even though hostels are already the cheapest option around, you can go even more budget.
At present, you can get 40% off the deposit for Hostelworld booking.
You can also get money off:
Hotels.com (9% on a desktop or 10% if you book on your mobile)
Booking.com (4%)
LateRooms (5.5%)
LastMinute (10% on hotels, but various amounts on other bookings)
Travelodge (2%)
Expedia (8% on hotels, various amounts on car hire, flights etc)
ebookers (various amounts depending on what you’re booking)
All % correct at time of posting but subject to change – they also offer regular flash deals
There are a whole host of others but these are the most popular ones in the UK. It’s very easy to search on the TopCashback website if you find a deal with another provider.
Flights
Margins for flight providers are generally very low, so the cashback offers on these aren’t much at all – but anything is better than nothing!
British Airways (£8.25 off long-haul flights, lots of other deals on packages)
Emirates (1.26%)
Netflights (1% but more on other bookings)
Thomson (1%)
Thomas Cook (£5 – £9)
Aer Lingus (1.5% – 2.2%)
Transport – buses, trains & ferries
This is one I often forget to check – transport! I always use them for the Trainline and Megabus, but they offer tons of others, too.
Megabus (2%)
Direct Ferries (4%)
National Express (3%)
The Trainline (3% on first purchase only so great for something long distance, but doesn’t include Eurostar)
Virgin Trains (2%)
P&O Ferries (7% from Dover to Calais, 4% from Liverpool to Dublin)
Gatwick Express (4%, excludes season tickets)
Car rental
Of course there are plenty of car rental companies, but all the big ones are on here.
Avis (9% only awarded once car is returned)
Budget (currently 11% but may be a promotion)
Hertz (up to 12%)
RentalCars.com (4%)
Holiday Autos (8%)
Europcar (7% in certain countries only)
Alamo (11% or £3 depending on how you pay)
Thrifty (7%)
Other
Activities, airport parking, transfers, insurance & currency – you name it, it’s definitely worth checking just in case!
Viator (4%)
Travelzoo (10% on first purchase, 2% thereafter) – Travelzoo ALREADY have great deals and discounts, making this even sweeter
Holiday Extras (10%)
Airparks (10%)
Purple Parking (15%)
Hoppa (15%)
Insurance
Post Office insurance (up to £14)
Holiday Extras (15%)
Explorer Insurance (17.67% – these are the guys I used on our RTW trip, however I never had to claim with them so I can’t say whether they’re good! I also didn’t realise I could get cashback with them – d’oh!)
Currency
That’s right, you can even get cashback on currency. At the moment it’s only really on Travelex (0.5%) but they’re one of the best currency companies anyway. You can also get some crazy deals on international transfers, for example Western Union gives you a whopping £13.75 if you transfer £50 or more – and £1 just to register with them.
Things to remember
– You usually cannot use TopCashback in conjunction with a voucher – but it should work on sale items, including Black Friday deals.
– You must use the same email address as you sign up with on TopCashback otherwise they can’t track your purchase.
– Some deals are temporary promotions, some of them are excellent so keep an eye out! (for example Hotels.com were doing almost 15% a few weeks ago, and right now GoDaddy.com are doing 42% cashback on domain names!)
– You can get cashback on ALL SORTS of online purchases, I’m just focusing on the travel ones for the purposes of the blog. I’ve saved loads of money on Christmas presents, I got cashback on MoonPig cards I sent to family while I lived in Australia. You can even get cashback on Groupon. Plus whenever I cash out, it’s a nice little bonus towards more travel. 😉
– You don’t even have to make purchases to earn cashback! There are loads of free ways to get money including signing up to some offers (it’s not like these money making sites where you sign up to the same old crap), getting quotes on comparison sites, and many more. If you’re happy to part with a tiny amount of cash, there are lots of lottery sites and gambling sites that offer you loads of cashback when you deposit something with them (I just got £7.70 cashback for playing a single pound with one of them!). Do be wary if you think you’re going to get sucked into those kinds of sites though. A few pounds is not worth a gambling addiction.
– All links in this post are for the UK site, however the US has their own version too! Which apparently includes Amazon! Ka-ching!
Please note: all TopCashback links include my own referral code – this means I get a little bit of money once you reach £10 if you sign up using one of my links and this goes towards my blog’s running costs. This is NOT a sponsored post and TopCashback don’t even known I’ve written this post. I have genuinely used them for years and think they’re a fantastic way to save money on almost everything. 🙂 Thanks for your support!
An Orcadian Abroad 
Great info
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