So what's Quidco?
Quidco is a UK cash back site and app.
Quidco reward you with cash back on a purchase made via their website, or app, with one of their 4,500 + retailer partners.
The concept is that you when you are looking to place an order with one of the 4,500 + retailers, partnered with the Quidco, rather than going straight to the retailers website, as normal, you actually go to the Quidco website, (or app), and enter the name of the retailer in the search box.
Quidco will then bring a page dedicated for that particular retailer. Let's use Debenhams as an example.
I enter Debenhams into the search bar, this then shows me a link to the Debenhams information page on the Quidco website.
This page then shows me that by clicking through to Debenhams, via Quidco, I could earn up to 4.67% cash back on my purchase.
The cash back rate varies, depending on any current promotion that the retailer may be offering. So as an example, the chart below, shows the cash back being offered by Debenhams, (at the time of writing this post), and as you can see, if you were to purchase something from the menswear, home or beauty departments, you can expect to receive a 4.67% cash back rate on your purchase. If, however, you purchased something from a different department, such as home electronics, you would receive a cash back rate of 2.8%.
To take advantage of the deal, simply click on the Get Cashback button, this will then forward you to the retailers normal website. At this point, you need do nothing further. Quidco has tracked you leaving the Quidco site, and going to the retailers site. Quidco will then be able to see any purchase you make, and will take care of claiming the cash back from the retailer, on your behalf, all you need to do is to shop as normal.
Now 2.8%, or even 4.67% cash back, may not seem like a massive amount of cash coming back to you, it all adds up! If you spend £100 in Debenhams on a mens suit for example, you are going to receive £4.67 as cash back. Use Quidco regularly and grab cash back on all your online purchases, and all of a sudden it really adds up, and you have a nice chunk of money sitting in the account, that you can withdraw and spend as you like.
You can withdraw your cash back, once you have as little as £1 in your account, if withdrawing your funds direct to your bank account, or to PayPal. You also have the opportunity to withdraw your money in the form of gift cards, that can be redeemed at one of dozens of different UK retailers. The minimum withdrawal amount via gift cards, is £10.
The benefit of gift cards is that you will get an extra bonus for using the gift card option. As an example, if you withdraw via a Amazon gift card, Quidco with give you a bonus of 2%, on top of your £10. Other gift card options have different bonus amounts, and at the time of writing, you could get a 12% bonus, by getting a Pizza Hut card, or a 25% bonus by getting a Virgin Experience gift card, so it's very much worth looking at the withdrawal options when it's time to cash out.
It's very important to understand that cash back isn't instant. As with all the cash back sites, and apps, you have to wait for the cash back to be paid to Quidco, from the retailer, before the cash back will hit your account. The amount of time that this takes will vary from retailer to retailer, and it could just be a couple of weeks, or it could take 6 months! The Quidco website will tell you the average payout time for each specific retailer.
Why does it take so long? Well the answer is every retailer has different rules on paying out. Some retailers offer an instant service to you, such as you using Quidco for sending a parcel via a courier service. Chances are the parcel will have been delivered within a few days and the cash back will be paid faster. Lets say you buying a coat from a retailer, who has a 90 day return policy. The retailer isn't going to pay out cash back before the return period has ended, otherwise people will take advantage, by getting the cash back, and then returning the goods, so the retailer loses out on the cash back they have paid you. Therefore the retailer will not pay out till after the 3 months is up.
Another good example is holiday companies. You may book a holiday in October this year, to go away in September next year. The holiday company aren't going to pay out until you have actually taken your holiday, as again you may well cancel before the holiday date, and if you've already been paid your cash back, the holiday company are losing money. Many holiday companies give 3% to 10% cash back, and base that on say a £3,000 holiday cost, the amount of potential losses to the company, could be considerable!
Your purchase, will however, 'track' on the website within 72 hours. What this means is, that you will be able to see the transaction, the expected cash back amount, and the expected amount of time for the cash back to be available for withdrawal, via your Quidco account. This way you can keep an eye on your cash back claim, and all your other cash back purchases as well.
How does Quidco make money? Quidco will receive a larger amount of cash back on your purchase, from the retailer, than what they give you. The difference between what they get, and they give you, is the profit for Quidco, and helps cover their costs such as staff, buildings, etc.
The important part of Quidco, and the other cash back sites, is that it's money for nothing.. You are already going to buy the product or service anyway, and so why wouldn't you look at getting some money back on your purchase, it's a real no brainer!
Quidco are one of the big boys when it comes to cash back. You can expect to find some very competitive cash back rates, as well as some exclusive cash back deals, that you won't find on a rivals site. If you want to be super savvy and extra frugal, you will make sure that you are a member of Quidco, and also of it's main competitor, Top Cashback as well. That way you can hop between the two sites, to see who is offering the best cash back deal at the time. Some retailers are exclusive to certain cash back sites, and so you want to be able to use a different site, if Quidco, for example, isn't currently offering cash back for the retailer that you want to buy from, but Top Cashback is, then use them instead... It's never good to keep all your eggs in one basket, have some cash back options...
Is it free to join? Yes indeed, the basic membership package is totally free to you! Quidco also offer a premium membership as well, which offers some extra benefits, most importantly, being higher cash back rates on purchases and gift card redemptions. This costs £1 per month, and this £1 is taken from your months cash back earnings. If you don't earn £1 of cash back one month, then you aren't charged anything, which is fair enough! I've gone premium, as I do notice the uplift in cash back percentage, which 'can' be as much as 10% extra, and easily covers the £1 per month charge.
Quidco do offer a referral offer, for new sign up's. If you use our link, you will receive a £10 bonus, once you have earned £5 of cash back, which is a nice sign up bonus!
