Last updated on March 6th, 2025 at 05:59 pm
Upside (originally GetUpside) is a free shopping app that pays cash back when you buy gasoline, eat at restaurants, or shop at convenience stores or grocery stores featured in the platform.
Yes. Upside is a legit app that rewards users with cash back on purchases made through the app. As of March 2025, Upside has a 4.8 out of 5 star rating in Apple’s App store and a 4.6 out of 5 star rating at Google Play.
Upside offers currently reach more than 35 million users who collectively earned $245 million in cash back in 2024.
- Open the Upside app when you are planning to get gas, visit a convenience store or are going out to eat.
- Tap ‘Claim’ when you’ve found an offer you like.
- Go to the business and make your purchase using one of the credit card(s) or debit card(s) that you have linked to your Upside Wallet. Or use Upside Pay.
- Click the “I’ve Paid” button associated with the offer you claimed. (In some cases, you may need to submit a picture of the receipt showing your purchase).
- Wait for your purchase to process and for cash back to appear in your Upside account. Cash back is typically deposited within 24-48 hours.
- Cash out your earnings to your bank account or PayPal, or to a digital gift card.
Pro Tip: Hold onto your receipt until cash back is received, so you can provide proof of purchase if something goes wrong.
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In its Customer Support Center, Upside lists 5 different reasons why you may not earn cash back on a purchase.
- Each Upside offer relates to a specific location; make sure your purchase corresponds to the correct location.
- Make certain you claimed the offer before purchase.
- If a receipt was required, make sure the receipt you submitted contains the following information: Location, date, time and items purchased.
- Avoid purchasing products that don’t qualify for cash back. These include lottery tickets, gift cards, money orders and tobacco products. When part of a larger purchase, ineligible products are removed from the total before calculating your cash back.
- Avoid discounts outside of Upside: Using offers, coupon codes and promotions from outside Upside can void or reduce your cash back.
Upside has partnerships with a diverse array of gasoline brands and retailers. As of this writing, the list includes:
- Select Shell, Conoco, BP, Exxon, Chevron and Phillips 66 gas stations, as well as other gasoline brands
- Select RaceTrac, Circle K and Speedway convenience stores, among other brands
- Restaurant chains like Dominos pizza
- Grocery store chains like PriceChopper
Yes. Upside notes that retailers sometimes fail to submit transaction data; when this happens with purchases that don’t require a receipt, the remedy is to submit proof of purchase to Upside.
Receipts can also be resubmitted by tapping “My History” on the bottom of the home screen.
Then tap the offer and review why it was denied. If you feel the reason for denial is not valid, click on resubmit receipt.
Note: Offers can only be resubmitted within 21 days of purchase.
- 2 offers per gas station
- 1 offer per grocery store or restaurant
- 5 offers across all locations
Yes, it’s 50 gallons per gas offer.
No. In its Privacy Policy Upside says it does not sell the information it collects.
Per Upside’s ‘Where’s My Money?’ page, PayPal transfers and gift card requests can take 48 hours to process and bank deposits can take up to 7 business days.
According to its ‘Cashing Out’ page, Upside charges a $1 fee for cash outs under $10 (bank) and a $1 fee for cash outs of under $15 to PayPal. These fees are waived if you have referred at least one person to Upside and they are currently using the app.
According to Upside, “(i)f you’ve used PayPal to cash out this year, you’ll want to check with them directly about their parameters and regulations regarding taxes.” However, “simply getting earnings from your offers is usually considered a transaction discount and not taxable income. We here at Upside always recommend that you reach out to a tax professional in advance of doing your taxes.”
Yes. You can share your personal Invite code with friends, which as of this writing, gives them an extra $10 cash back the first time they use the app. Meanwhile, you get a onetime $10 bonus, plus one cent for every gallon of gas your friend purchases.
- Number of Users in the U.S.: More than 35 million, as of early 2025
- Founders: Alex Kinnier and Wayne Lin
- Founded: 2016
- Payout Options: Bank account, PayPal, select gift cards
- Minimum Payment Amount: None (though there may be fees deducted for cashing out small dollar amounts)
