Aussie traveller's trick to score $2,000 cash boost: ‘Like finding money in your jeans'
A self-confessed 'travel junkie' has revealed how she has saved thousands of dollars on overseas trips. With the cost of living weighing on many Aussies' wallets, she said 'every bit of money counts'.
Mukta Gwasikoti has been using Cashrewards for the past three years and has pocketed more than $2,000 through the platform. Cashback sites allow shoppers to earn money back on their purchases with partner brands, including travel sites like Virgin Australia, Flight Centre, Booking.com, Expedia and Viator.
Gwasikoti told Yahoo Finance she'd most recently used Cashrewards to book hotels and activities on a four-week trip to the United States in August. She said this saved her between $600 and $700.
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'A lot of things were covered. I booked day trips and special excursions that I wanted to do all through Viator,' the 35-year-old Melbourne business analyst said.
'In terms of the hotel, I use Expedia and Agoda a lot. Agoda had a 5.5 per cent cash back so I did all my hotel booking through Agoda using Cashrewards as well, so I saved a lot.'
Gwasikoti booked a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon for her and her sister, and got a boosted cashback deal that was running at the time.'That was one of the most magical experiences of my life. It was very expensive, it was $1,200 for just 45 minutes and including the stopover,' she said.
'I was very, very grateful that Cashrewards had a 20 per cent Viator boosted offer at that point in time.'
Gwasikoti said she used Cashrewards every time she travels, including for previous trips to Europe, the UK, Japan and Korea, and makes sure to see what deals are running and whether boosted cashback offers are available.
'I think it's one of the best ways to maximise the benefits for your travel. Every single dollar counts in today's age. Inflation is going through the roof and every bit of money counts,' she said.
Gwasikoti said she 'lived to travel' so it was one of her biggest expenses, along with everyday household bills and mortgage.
The major cashback sites in Australia are Cashrewards and ShopBack.
Both websites allow shoppers to earn cashback via their websites, apps and internet browser extensions. With Cashrewards, shoppers can get up to 20 per cent cashback from brands.
Retailers pay Cashrewards and ShopBack to be on their platform, they then take a cut of this and pay the rest back to customers as cashback.
The amount of cashback on offer depends on the platform and the brands they have partnerships with. The offers can also change over time, with the sites sometimes offering 'boosted cashback'.
With Cashrewards, shoppers are notified within seven days if their shop has "tracked" correctly. It can take anywhere between 14 to 100 days for cashback to be approved.
Gwasikoti said this means it could take some time for cashback to hit your account and she often forgets she is owed the cash.
'It's like finding money in your jeans pocket, which is always a good surprise. You're not expecting it and it comes in,' she told Yahoo Finance.
Gwasikoti said she always looked for 'boosted offers' related to travel.
She recommended people add the merchants they shop with regularly to their 'favourites list', so they can be notified when there are offers running.
She also recommended subscribing to the Cashrewards mailing list to see the latest offers that were running.
'Then you can plan it accordingly and do your shopping accordingly,' she said.Sign in to access your portfolio
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