Last updated on December 20th, 2024 at 10:34 am
Fast Facts About Upside App
What is Upside App?
Upside is a free cash back app that pays cash back when you buy gasoline, eat at restaurants, or shop at convenience stores or grocery stores featured in the platform.
Upside was founded in 2016, and as of May 2024 has more than 30 million users and has partnered with more than 100,000 gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants and grocery stores nationwide. It was founded by Alex Kinnier and Wayne Lin, who serve as CEO and Chief Product Officer, respectively.
How Does Upside Work?
Upside is free for consumers. It incentivizes consumers to choose their gas stations and stores over those of competitors by incentivizing them with personalized offers delivered within the Upside app.
How Do I Use Upside?
- 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 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 48-96 hours, at which point you can 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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Is Upside a Legitimate App?
Yes. Upside is a legitimate app that rewards users with cash back on purchases made through the app. As of May 2024, Upside has a 4.8 out of 5 star rating in Apple’s App store.
What Stores and Brands Does Upside Work With?
Upside has partnerships with a diverse array of brands and retailers, including:
- 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 discounts outside of Upside: Using offers, coupon codes and promotions from outside Upside can void or reduce your cash back.
- Select the offer(s) you’re claiming, then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on the green “Finish” button.
- It can take up to five days before WalMart e-commerce receipts are processed.
Can I submit—or resubmit—a receipt to Upside?
Yes. Upside notes that retailers sometimes fail to submit transaction data to them; 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.
I cashed out; how long before I receive my cash back?
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.
Are there fees associated with cashing out from Upside?
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.
Do I have to pay taxes on cash back earned with Upside?
You can earn cash back when shopping online via the “Shop” links under the “Online” tab in the Checkout 51 app. However, it’s a very limited list of online retailers.
How Does Checkout 51 Make Money?
According to Checkout 51’s FAQs, the app “partner(s) with brands to bring our members offers. They pay us to find new people … to try their products.”
If you like Checkout 51, you might also like Upside, Checkpoints, Shopmium, Tada and Pogo.
