Dosh vs Fetch – Which Cashback App Is Better for You?

Cashback apps help you earn a little money doing what you do best – shopping. But there are hundreds of cashback apps out there today, how do you know which one is right for you. Two commonly compared apps are Dosh vs Fetch. Both apps pay you to shop, but you get rewarded for different activities. Dosh and Fetch have one major thing in common – neither require you to clip coupons or activate deals, which is nice.

But which is better for you – Dosh or Fetch? Check out my review to find out.

What is Dosh?

Dosh is a digital app that once you set up, you automatically earn cashback. You don’t have to activate offers or upload receipts. There’s one key thing to know though – you must link your most used debit or credit card to the app.

Not everyone is comfortable with this, so it’s worth mentioning right away.

How Does it Work?

Dosh tracks purchases made with your linked debit or credit card. If you use a debit card, only purchases run as credit will count.

The rewards vary by store, but typically you’ll earn 2% – 3% cashback. Some stores and restaurants, though, give a much higher percentage to get more people to spend money there. It’s not unusual to find stores or restaurants that pay 10% – 15% cashback.

Dosh also pays cashback for hotel stays with a huge cashback bonus of up to 40%. You must book through the Dosh app to get the cashback though.

You can also earn cashback shopping online, but you must shop through the Dosh app to get the rewards. You can view the offers right in the Dosh app, clicking directly on the offer you want to redeem. Read more about Dosh in this Dosh Review. 

Dosh accumulates your rewards in your Dosh account. Once you reach $25, you can cash out your earnings. Dosh offers the following options to cash out:

Where Does Dosh Work?

Dosh works at over thousands of stores and restaurants including Walmart, Sephora, Costco, Instacart, Backcountry, Home Depot, Pizza Hut, Thrive Market, GNC, Finish Line, and many more. You may check out all available stores from here. Offers are crurated especially just for users to get cash back.

The Advantages of Dosh

Each cashback app has its pros and cons. Here’s what we like about Dosh:

No Offers to Activate

If you’re like me, you are excited about a new cashback app and can’t activate offers fast enough. But after a few weeks, the excitement lessens and you forget to activate the offers.

This isn’t an issue with dosh. You don’t have to activate offers or upload receipts – you automatically earn cash back for any in-store purchases or any purchases you make online through the app.

Dosh Pays Well

Most cashback apps only pay a small percentage of your spending, but Dosh pays up to 40% on hotels and many retailers pay 10% – 15%. Sure, there are plenty that pay only 2% – 3%, but they are offset by the higher paying companies.

Dosh Pays you for Referrals

If you refer friends and family to the Dosh app, you’ll earn more cashback. This is another way to stack up the earnings, increasing your passive income.

The Downsides of Dosh

Just like each cashback app has positives, there are downsides too.

You Must Link your Credit Card

There’s no way to earn cashback from Dosh if you don’t link your debit or credit card. This can feel like a violation of your privacy and many won’t do it.

You Must Charge your Purchases

If you pay in any method besides a credit card or debit card (as credit), you won’t earn cashback. You also won’t earn cashback if you charge items on a credit card other than the card linked to Dosh.

Understanding the Dosh Referral Program

I love how simple the Dosh app referral program is to use. All you have to do is share your referral code with friends and family and you earn $5 for every person that signs up using your link and sets up their account, linking their credit card.

It’s easy to share your referral code too.

Go to your dashboard and click on ‘Dosh referral codes.’ You can text or email them to friends and family right from the app. You can also copy and paste the link, sharing it on your social media sites.

You can also refer businesses to Dosh. If they sign up, you earn 20% of their Dosh fees for the first two years. Read this Dosh referral article to learn more information.

What is Fetch?

Fetch is another cash back app, but it works differently than most others. Fetch pays you cash for uploading your receipts. They can be receipts from almost anywhere. You don’t have to worry about activating deals or finding special offers.

While the app does have ‘special offers’ that pay you bonus points, you don’t have to activate the offers – you automatically get the extra points when you meet the requirements.

How Does it Work?

It’s easy to earn points with Fetch. You can upload paper or digital receipts. You earn points for each receipt. Sometimes it’s as little as 5 points – so not much. But some purchases can earn you a lot more especially if you buy one of the ‘special offers’.

For example, today you can get 150 points for buying different types of bread. If you happen to buy the brand and type of bread offered, you earn the bonus points. You need only 3,000 points to cash in, but that’s the equivalent of $3. Yes, you can redeem 3,000 points for a $3 gift card to your favorite stores or restaurants. It’s not much, but every little bit helps, right?

When you initially sign up, you’ll have the chance to upload a receipt that day and receive 750 bonus points. Don’t miss your chance, though, the offer expires the next day.

The Advantages of Fetch

Fetch is unique, but it has several advantages including the following.

Works at most Stores

You can upload a receipt from most stores including big-name stores and small convenience stores. You can even upload receipts from liquor stores, drugstores, and pet stores, like PetSmart.

Easy to Sign Up

It’s easy to sign up for Fetch. It takes only a few seconds and you can immediately upload your receipts. I recommend signing up on a day you have a receipt to upload. Since you can upload receipts for 14 days, you can even upload from a previous purchase. Just make sure you get those bonus points.

Easy to Redeem your Points

You can redeem your points right in the app. It takes only a few seconds. Fetch offers gift cards to all of the popular stores and restaurants, so it’s easy to find something you’ll use.

The Downsides of Fetch

You’re Sharing Private Information

To make money on Fetch, you must upload the entire receipt, including the billing information. Most receipts only have the last four digits of your card number on them, but you’re still sharing private information. Fetch is clear in their guidelines that they sell your information too.

It’s Hard to Predict how much You’ll Earn

There’s no rhyme or reason to the number of points you get for each receipt. Sometimes you’ll earn a basic 25 points for uploading a receipt, yet other times you’ll earn hundreds of points but you may not know why.

Understanding the Fetch Referral Program

Like most cashback apps, Fetch will pay you for referrals you send to the app. You can share your code while your friend or family member is signing up or you can share the code by clicking ‘share’ in the app and choosing text, email, or social media.

You’ll earn at least 2,000 points for each person who signs up under you but Fetch often runes promotions where you can earn more. Here’s the full guide on the Fetch Rewards Referral.

Which is Better – Dosh or Fetch?

Of course, everyone wants to know, which is better Dosh or Fetch? Both are great cash back apps but work differently. You can even use both if you wanted, but if you want to choose just one, consider this.

It’s not a matter of one app being better than the other. Instead, it’s about what information you’re comfortable sharing.

Final Thoughts

I like to use as many cashback apps as I can because it increases my passive income. I like both Dosh and Fetch because you don’t have to make a specific purchase. For me, that means I’m not buying things I might not otherwise buy just to get the points.

Both apps reward you for shopping and give you plenty of ways to earn money. It all comes down to whether you want automatic earnings or if you don’t mind uploading your receipts.