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I love to save money, especially with apps, and Dosh is my favorite. The reason Dosh is my favorite is that it's nearly effortless. I check in once in a while to deposit the cash I've earned and let the app do the rest. Keep reading my Dosh review to learn more about this app and why I recommend downloading it now.
In This Guide:
What is Dosh?
It seems like a funny name. You may have run across the Dosh app and not paid attention. It probably gathered your attention through an app review, and you likely asked yourself, “What is Dosh?”
Dosh is money-saving application that allows you to earn cash back at your favorite stores, restaurants, and even local gas stations. You can find the app in the Google Play and Apple Apps store. Dosh is free and extremely easy to use and earn.
Is Dosh legit?
I wanted to see if I could earn money with Dosh, but I kept wondering, “is Dosh legit?”. I started my investigation by checking out the reviews on Google Play and the Apple App Store. It was comforting to see that Dosh had excellent ratings and millions of downloads.
Feeling a bit emboldened by my findings, I downloaded the app and created an account. I will get into my earnings later but rest assured I found that not only was Dosh legit, but it was also perhaps one of the easiest ways to earn cashback on your purchases.
Getting Started with Dosh
To get started with Dosh, just go to your phones app store and download the Dosh. Once you create an account through the app, you will be asked for your mobile phone number when you register. Then confirm your account via a text they send you, and you are ready to start earning money.
You will be prompted during the setup to link a credit or debit card to get started. As a bonus they will start you off with one dollar in your account for linking your first card!
Is Dosh Safe to Use?
Dosh's terms of service state that they use the latest bank-level, encryption technologies like Cash Flow Solutions and Plaid to gather data from financial intuitions. This ensures that Dosh does not store password, debit or credit card information, or bank data information in the app or on their servers.
How Does Dosh Make Money?
As mentioned, Dosh is entirely free for the end-user. There are never any costs associated with earnings offers, and you can collect your rewards at no charge as well. Dosh makes money by connecting merchants with consumers. They allow merchants to give cashback directly to consumers instead of using it for inefficient advertising.
Dosh Deals
There are many ways to save with Dosh deals, but it's essential to realize the two main types of offers. Both are rewarding, so you don't want to miss out on your chance to earn cash back.
The first type is automatic cash back offers. The second is cash back opportunities that you must click to activate through the app.
Automatic Dosh Deals and Offers
When you create your account in the app, it will ask you to turn on location services. The app does this so it can quickly notify you of “local offers.” Local offers come from participating retailers in the nearby area.
Within just a few miles of my house, I can save at several places, including Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, and BP. By paying with my linked credit card, I automatically earn cash back when I purchase from these places.
Within minutes of completing my purchase, my cashback is pending in my account.
Offers that Require Clicking through the App
The other way to earn cash back is to click on a online offers in the app and follow the link. When you open the app, you'll see the local offers discussed above, and then you'll see a variety of offers.
Usually, the other offer types are for online stores. You can earn the advertised cashback reward by selecting the online offer. This will direct you the website or app for the retailer. Then you would just shop like you normally do. Be sure to complee the purchase with a debit or credit card linked to your Dosh account.
Unlike local offer cashback rewards, offers that require you to follow a link to earn cash back don't hit your Dosh wallet as fast. You'll see the cashback offer pending as soon as your online order is pending. Cash back with these offers can take up to 90 days, although I have found it to be quicker than that in most cases.
It doesn't bother me that I have to wait a bit longer for cash back from online shopping offers. It takes so little effort that I only open the app when I'm ready to do shopping or get an email that there's a new offer in my area. When I open Dosh and select Wallet, it immediately gives me the ability to deposit all earned rewards and gives me an overview of what's still pending.
Cash Back Categories
No matter how you shop and spend, you can find a cash back category that helps you earn money. If you're like me and your favorite brands and retailers are online, you can quickly rack up cash rewards.
My local offers also include my favorite coffee shop, so I earn money every day. Even though it's just a few cents per day, it averages to be about $20 a month. That is not a bad way to profit from my ice coffee addiction.
I have also earned cash back from online shopping, booking vacations, and shopping around town.
Hotel Cash Back
You'll see a tiny suitcase icon with the word “hotels” written under it at the bottom of the app's screen. If you click on the hotel's icon, it will redirect you to the booking page.
Here you will see featured destinations and trending travel deals. The featured destinations deals have huge cash back offers. Some of the US destinations include Disney resorts, hotels, and luxury areas of Miami and New York.
The featured destinations change often, so it's a good idea to check back often. I saved over $600 when I booked my last stay in Las Vegas.
The trending travel section of the booking page highlights locations that people in your area booked. It's also another good reason to activate location sharing for the app when you download it. Here you can scroll to see the travel location deals with a per night cost and a cash back estimator next to it.
When you book a featured destination or trending travel deal, your cash back will be deposited to Your Dosh wallet right around the end of your vacation.
If you don't find a deal you're in love with, you can always search for vacation destination deals from the hotel icon. Use the scroll up to the search bar on the hotel icon page to search for your next getaway.
You can put in your desired location, the dates you're interested in, and the number of adults and children going on the trip. If there is a Dosh deal available that meets your search requirements, it will pop up and allow you to schedule it.
Earning Cash Back for Shopping Online
I've mentioned it a little bit, but now is the time to tell you just how much I love shopping with Dosh. This app's creators have partnered with some of my favorite retailers, including QVC, Old Navy, Nike, Journeys, Sam's Club, and many others.
What this means is when I'm ready to buy online, I go to the app, make sure I'm on the Offers page, and use the search bar to search for my favorite store. The offers available from online partners vary often, so I always search in case one of my favorite stores doesn't have an offer right now.
Or sometimes to my surprise, a store I frequent does have an offer. The app also lets you favorite the brands you love, which means you'll get emails and notifications when your favorite stores have special offers
Retail Offers
Like online shopping and local offers, you can use the Dosh app to save money when you shop in-person at local retail stores. The best part about shopping like this is you don't even have to open your app to shop in-store and save money. Instead, check out the app before you go to your favorite store and shop as usual. When you complete your purchase, your cashback rewards will go directly to your app and will be ready to be deposited into your Dosh wallet. All the offers merge in terms of rewards.
How do I cash out my Dosh Rewards?
As soon as you hit $25 in your Dosh virtual wallet, you're ready to withdraw your rewards and deposit your earnings. Just select Transfer within the app. Currently, Dosh offers cash out via a linked Bank Account, Venmo, or PayPal.
Dosh App: Pros & Cons
More Cash Back Apps Like Dosh
While Dosh is relatively unique when it comes to local offers and automatic cash back with linked credit cards, other apps can fill in some of the gaps. If you want to learn about additional ways to earn free money, here are some reviews of other great apps that make earning cash back easy.
- Rakuten: Large Selection of over 2500 retailers online and in-store.
- Ibotta: Cash back at grocery stores and online.
- Swagbucks: Like Rakuten, with additional ways to earn
- Fetch Rewards: Scan your grocery receipts for easy cash back.