Receipt Jar Review – turning receipts into cash

Receipt Jar is an app for both android and IOS smartphones. Users scan their shopping receipts in order to earn eGift cards. Is it really worth it as a side hustle idea? Read on for the full review..

Verdict: Easy way to earn money back from purchases, though a little slow to accumulate a decent amount worth redeeming.

Introduction

Receipt Jar is an app that allows users to scan their shopping receipts to receive points which go towards earning eGift cards from a wide range of stores. The app also provides users with ways to earn extra points, so even if you do not do a lot of shopping you can still earn points. The information gained from these receipts provides valuable market research that Receipt Jar can sell. User privacy is maintained in a number of ways. If you do a lot of shopping, then Receipt Jar is a good way for you to earn a little money back in return for your shopping information.

What is Receipt Jar?

Receipt Jar is an app where you can upload receipts to earn points which you can use to get eGift cards.

How does Receipt Jar work?

Receipt Jar allows you to gain points that you can exchange for eGift cards. After registering for an account, you can earn points by scanning your receipts and uploading them to Receipt Jar. There is no waiting period between registering for a free account and being able to scan a receipt. The number of points that you receive will depend on the amount of the receipt.

Less than $10 = 5 points

between $11 and $50 = 10 points

between $51 and $100 = 15 points

Over $100 = 20 points

Once you have accumulated enough points you can use the points to get a variety of eGift cards. You can choose from a long list of eGift cards on the Receipt Jar app.

1,000 points = $5

2,900 points = $15

3,900 points = $20

9,500 points = $50

19,000 points = $100

How does Receipt Jar make money?

 Receipt Jar makes money through market research. There are a lot of companies that are very interested in finding out more about their potential customers. What you buy and how you pay is of interest to these companies and Receipt Jar earns money by selling this information. To learn more about market research, see this article on Investopedia.

Where is Receipt Jar based?

Receipt Jar started in Australia in 2019 and is owned by Feedmee App Pty Ltd, and they trade as The U Group & Co. It has also been released in the USA and Canada.

Can you use receipts from overseas?

Receipt Jar will not accept receipts from outside Australia. Since Receipt Jar is also used in Canada and the USA, it seems that you can only scan receipts for the country where you registered your account.

What are the rules for using Receipt Jar?

Receipt Jar has quite a lot of rules. The most important ones are about the receipts that you scan to earn points.

• The receipts must be your own.
• There is a limit of 3 receipts per retailer per day
• The receipt must show the retailer’s name, purchased items and prices, purchase date and time, and total spent.

“When you upload receipts to ReceiptJar, we aggregate the receipts information with millions of other receipts. Your information is also de-identified in the process, meaning we do not use your personal information in market research.”

Receiptjar.com

What stores can you use receipts for?

There are a lot of different stores whose receipts are accepted. ReceiptJar accepts receipts from:

·        supermarkets

·        restaurants and cafes

·        convenience stores and petrol

·        specialty foods

·        alcohol

·        eBay

·        Amazon

·        Food delivery

·        Fashion retailers

·        health and beauty

·        Apparel and General Merchandise

·        Electronics

·        Online pet supply

·        Fast food

·        and more..

How much cash can you make with receipts through Receipt Jar?

Receipt Jar does not actually give you cash, but the eGift cards that you receive function in the same way as cash. When you choose your eGift card, be sure that it was from a store where you want to buy something. There are a large number of different store eGift cards, so you will be sure to find one that you can use.

There does not seem to be any limit to the number of eGift cards that you can receive from Receipt Jar, but the number of points you can get for each purchase is not high, so it could take a while to accumulate enough points to cash out. There is a weekly limit of 120 points. After that, each receipt will only give you 5 points, no matter how much you spend. The smallest eGift card amount is $5 and the largest is $200.

Advantages of using Receipt Jar

• Receipt Jar keeps a copy of the receipt you have scanned on your phone and this might be a good way for you to keep track of your receipts. You can view your receipts at any time. You can even sort them according to category.
• User friendly App; very easy to use and the instructions for how to scan your receipts is easy to follow. I had no trouble at all uploading receipts to the app and they were accepted very quickly.
• You can easily earn additional points through the in-app activities which do not take much of your time.
• There are eGift cards from a large number of retailers, giving you a lot of choice in the types of products you can get. Not only that, you can also get eGift cards for charities such as Lifeline Australia.
• Easy way to earn some extra money (gift cards)

Disadvantages of using Receipt Jar

• When you are shopping at regular stores you have to get a physical receipt that shows the name of the store.
• EFTPOS receipts are not accepted. Even some well known stores only give these receipts when you buy products. When I went to Terry White Chemmart I did not receive a receipt that I could use, whereas the receipts from Chemist Warehouse are fine.
• You can’t use online receipts from PayPal, utilities, subscriptions, rent, ride share, and travel. I do most of my online shopping through PayPal for an additional layer of security, so I can’t use my online shopping receipts with Receipts Jar.
• You can only add 2 email addresses for receipts from online purchases. If you have a number of email addresses, you will have to remember to make your purchases from your registered email addresses. Otherwise the receipts will not be accepted.
• The minimum you can cash out is $5, but there are very few retailers which offer an eGift card for this amount. This means that you need to accumulate a much larger number of points to actually get your eGift card.

FAQs about Receipt Jar:

Do receipts have an expiry from the date of purchase?

You need to upload your receipts within 14 days of purchase. Some Receipt Jar reviews have mentioned that the receipt may be rejected on the 14^th day after purchase, so actually, you should upload them on the 13^th day, just to be sure.

Once you have received your points, they will not be available forever. In fact, if you are not active on the app for 30 days you will lose your points. Even if you become active again, you will not be able to get your points back.

What devices can you use?

Receipt Jar is a smartphone app and is available for both Android and iOS phones. Receipt Jar can be downloaded for android on Google Play and for iPhones on iOS.

Can you earn more points any other way (surveys or games)

There are 3 different ways that you can earn more points on Receipt Jar.

The first way for you to earn more points is through the Refer a Friend program. On your account page, you will see a referral code that your friends can enter when they register for Receipt Jar. When someone you refer scans their first receipt, you will get 200 points. For more information about referral programs, read this article from Shopify.

Another way that you can increase your points is by playing an in-app game called Shakes. As you get points from scanning receipts, you will receive a level. Every receipt is worth one point which goes towards your level. Each week you will be able to shake your “jar” and win extra points. The number of shakes you get will depend on your level. Once you have done this 3 times, the next week you will be able to shake the “golden jar” and win more points depending on your level. Level 1 users receive 25 points whereas level 30, which is the highest level, will award you with 440 points. The higher your level, the more quickly you will be able to earn an eGift card.

Receipt Jar also has a monthly draw where 5 winners will get 2,000 points, 200 winners will get 200 points and 500 winners will get 100 points. Participants gain entry to the draw from scanning receipts. The more receipts you scan, the more chances you have to win.

While the Receipt Jar website claims that it is possible to do surveys in order to earn more points, there does not appear to be any way to do surveys on the Australian Receipt Jar app, so this may be limited to either the USA or Canada.

“You can submit your own receipts or receipts from your household, this includes your spouse and children under 18. You can only submit receipts that are the direct result of your own shopping behaviours.” 

Receiptjar.com

Is Receipt Jar safe to use?

Receipt Jar does everything it can to ensure that its users’ privacy is respected. Receipt Jar puts all of the receipt information from the different users together and de-identifies it at the same time. This means that your personal information will not be sent on to any of the companies that buy this data. The staff who work for Receipt Jar have signed legally binding confidentiality agreements. To see more about the way Receipt Jar uses data, read Receipt Jar: How we use data.

Conclusion

Scanning your receipts and uploading them to Receipt Jar gives you a way to earn a little extra money. The number of points that you get is not very high but the more you use the app, the higher your level and the more points you can earn through in-app shakes and the more chances you have to win the monthly draw. Receipt Jar sells the data that you provide by scanning your receipts. Receipt Jar has a number of ways to ensure your privacy while still using your data. Since your shopping data is valuable market research, it makes sense for you to share in the profits.