The Ultimate Guide to Using SavingStar App (How Does SavingStar Work?)

SavingStar is one of the Cashback Apps that gives you money back for select purchases made in stores. You can also activate and submit receipts from their website (the App is not required).  Cashback apps are a convenient way to save money on groceries and household purchases, without needing to cut coupons or use printable coupons. In some cases, you can use Cashback Apps in addition to coupons for extra savings!

This Free smartphone app allows you to earn money on products you’d already be purchasing. Simply add stores you shop at, activate your offers, purchase, submit and get paid. This guide will document everything you need to know to get started.

Start by creating an account on the SavingStar website here, then download the Free SavingStar app – available on the App Store or Google Play.

You can redeem offers from over 70,000 stores, including my favorites – Target, CVS and Kroger affiliates. Then cash out once your account reaches a $20 balance. You can see a full list of all the participating stores once you are signed into the SavingStar website.

#1. How to Start with SavingStar:

• Click here to create an account
• Download and install the SavingStar app. Sign in from the app to the account you just created.
• Activate offers (aka “Rebates”) you want to do (or SavingStar offers we’ve posted on this blog) – Note that SavingStar requires that the offer is Activated before purchase.
• (Important Concept) Depending on the store you plan to shop at to redeem the offer, you may or may not need to submit a receipt to claim that cash back. This is an important distinction. Let me explain. There are two types of stores in SavingStar for redeeming offers:
  • A) Automatic-Savings Stores – For stores with loyalty card program that you can sign into, you only set up once to link to your loyalty card. And then you get automatic cash back after purchasing the item (it takes several days). You do not need to submit receipts to claim.
  • B) Receipt-Scan – For stores without a loyalty card program, you’ll need to submit a picture of your receipt to claim.

Let’s cover each of the two store redemption types in detail:

A) Automatic-Savings Stores (ie. CVS, Rite Aid)

Automatic-Savings Stores are select retailers where loyalty cards are available, eliminating the additional process of scanning and submitting your receipt. Automatic-Savings Stores include CVS and Rite Aid.  

All you have to do is set up once by linking your loyalty card with SavingStar, and then you’ll be set without ever needing to scan your receipt for purchases in these stores. Just activate offers, purchase, and you’re done!

To Setup Automatic-Savings Stores:

• From SavingStar App
• Click on “Redeem”
• Click on “+ Add Store” (example: try CVS or Rite Aid)
• Select the stores you shop at by clicking on the “I Shop Here” button. If the store is an Automatic-Savings store, it’ll give you options to link to your store card. Follow the steps to link store card to SavingStar.

How to Redeem SavingStar Offers at Automatic-Savings Stores:

At checkout, simply present your loyalty card or enter your phone number as usual. Within 2-10 days, the offer will automatically be credited to your SavingStar account – no additional steps required!  Just remember to activate the offer before you shop. Here are the steps on what to do:

• Activate the offer in the SavingStar app or from SavingStar.com
• Purchase the item in the store. Enter your store loyalty card or phone number at checkout
• The offer will be automatically processed to your SavingStar account within 2-10 days!

B) Receipt-Scan Stores (ie. Target, Walmart, Everywhere else…)

For all other stores that SavingStar supports that are not Automatic-Savings Stores, you would redeem those offers by taking a picture of your receipt and submitting it in either the SavingStar app or on SavingStar.com

This method is similar to other cash back apps, such as Ibotta or Checkout51. Popular receipt-scan stores include Target, Publix and Walmart. To redeem:

• Activate the offer in SavingStar app before purchase
• Purchase the item. You will need to submit receipt no later than 3 days after rebates expire.
• Click on Redeem
• Select the Store you shopped at. ie. Target
• Click on “Submit a Receipt” button
• Click on “Verify Items You Bought” – Scan barcodes of items purchased to verify
• Click on “Snap pics of your receipt” and capture your receipt picture(s) thru the app. You can take multiple pictures for long receipts.
• Click “Done” when you are finished capturing the entire receipt.
• The offer will be processed to your account within 1-5 days!

#2. Types of SavingStar Offers:

There are two main types of offers in the SavingStar app:

A) Individual Product Offers:

Individual Product Offers allow you to earn rewards on single, specific products. Please note that most offers are for one-time use only. You’ll receive credit within 2-10 days with the offer amount.

How to Redeem:

• Activate offers by clicking the “Activate This Rebate” button.
• While shopping, use the SavingStar app to scan product barcodes. This will ensure that the product you are purchasing qualifies for the offer selected.
• Load-to-Card offers: Allow 2-10 days for processing.
  Receipt-Scan offers: Allow 1-5 days for processing after submitting your receipt.

B) One or Many Offers:

One or Many offers are offers where you can make purchases in one trip or many trips at any stores participating in SavingStar. These offers have a spending threshold, where you earn a larger reward when the spending threshold is met for a specific brand or set of brands.  

The BEST part about these offers is that items can be purchased in separate transactions at ANY participating store, allowing you to work towards the offer over time.

For example, I recently activated an offer on Del Monte Fruit Cups: “Save $4.00 when you spend $12 or more.” These offers also tend to have longer expiration dates than individual offers. With longer valid periods, you can work towards the goal over several shopping trips!

How to Redeem:

• Activate offers by clicking the “Activate This Rebate” button
• Scan barcodes and shop for qualifying items – remember, this can be done over several days and at different stores if desired!
• Keep an eye out for “boosts” that will help you reach your goal faster. These are typically small tasks: for example, watching a short video and receiving $2 toward your offer.
• Load-to-Card offers: Allow 2-10 days for processing.
  Receipt-Scan offers: Allow 1-5 days for processing after submitting final receipt.

C) Healthy Offers:

After redeeming two offers on SavingStar, keep an eye out on Tuesdays for healthy offers each week! This is an easy way for qualified members to earn rebates on fresh produce. Nice!

#3. How to Cash Out in SavingStar!

Once your SavingStar account balance reaches a credit of $20 or more, you can request to cash out! Send funds to your bank account, PayPal or redeem on gift codes to Starbucks, AMC and more. Allow 24-48 hours for processing.

#4. Can You Combine SavingStar with Coupons or Cashback Apps?

Sometimes… it depends.

Stacking with Other Cashback Apps

Check the fine print of individual offers from the SavingStar mobile app to see what restrictions it has on combining with Coupons or Cashback apps.  If there are restrictions, it will state it. Not all offers will have restrictions.

Currently, what we know is that SavingStar and Checkout51 share user data. They match users via email address. So if you use the same email address for all cashback apps, they will be linked. I’ve seen the situation where the same offer exist on both apps, and once you claim the offer on one app, it’ll disappear on the other app. Or if I activate an offer on SavingStar, it’ll say “0 available” in Checkout51.

For other Cashback apps on the market like ibotta or fetchrewards, it seems that you can stack with SavingStar (at the time of this writing).

Stacking with Manufacturer’s Coupon

Manufacturer’s coupons (like the ones you find from Sunday inserts), Printable coupons & Digital Coupons can SOMETIMES be stacked with SavingStar.

Again, you’ll need to check the fine print for each offer inside the SavingStar app. Look for restrictions in the “detail” section such as “Cannot be used in conjunction with other coupons” or similar notes. If you see those restrictions then you can’t. However, if you don’t see any fine print or don’t see restrictions in the fine print, then you can stack with manufacturer’s coupons.

You can also stack SavingStar offers with in-store discounts and sales.

#5. Helpful SavingStar Tips

• Activate Hot Offers Quickly – All SavingStar offers have a limit to how many people can activate it. Although this limit isn’t publicly disclosed, we have seen hot offers hitting the limit quickly. So if you see an offer you are interested in, make sure to clip it by clicking on the Activate button. “Claim it” before they are gone!
• Scan Products in Store to Verify – I like to double check while I’m in stores, to verify that I’m buying the correct item before actually making the purchase. You can use the SavingStar app to scan the product’s barcode to see if the product matches the offer. This double checking also makes sure you have activated the offer before purchase.
• Submit Receipt While In-Store – This is just a personal preference and habit I highly recommend for ALL cashback offers. Instead of waiting until you get home to submit your receipt, I like to make the habit of submitting to cashback immediately after I purchase, while I’m still in the store. This way you won’t forget to do it later, and you won’t miss out on offers that might expire (or get pulled early) overnight. #LessonLearned #FirstHandExperience 😂
• You Don’t Need a Smartphone – You can actually submit rebate claims and activate offers without the mobile app. You can do everything online at SavingStar.com – including submitting a picture of your receipt. So for those of you without a smartphone, you can still save with SavingStar.
• Check 1st of Month, Thursdays, Sundays – While there are new offers released at random times on random days, many new offers are released on the first day of every month. Also, new offers are released on Thursdays and Sundays. New healthy offers are posted every Tuesday for qualifying members.

#6. Step-By-Step Guide:

Still confused? or need extra hand-holding for your first time? Follow along with this step-by-step guide:

• Activate offers in the FREE SavingStar app.
• After purchasing products for the offer, click on the redeem tab in the App.
• Tap the store where you want to redeem (for example, Target)
  

• Verify the product purchased by scanning the barcode
• Snap a picture of your receipt
• That’s it! Submit your receipt and expect your rewards in 2-10 days.

If you’re shopping at an Automatic-Savings Store, simply link your store card by scanning it or entering the number manually. Then, check out as usual and see the credit in 2-10 days – so easy! 🙂

NEXT UP: 6 Reasons You Need a Target REDcard