We have all heard of cash back programs where you can earn cash back for your normal purchases, such as shopping in stores and eating out at restaurants, but what about buying gas? Well… With the GetUpside app you can actually earn cash back when buying gas, which is almost unheard of.
Sounds pretty awesome doesn't it?… Being able to get gas at a lower price than is advertised that the pump.
But is this app really that great? What are the downsides? Is it possible that it is just one big scam in one way or another, or that is going to be a waste of your time? In this GetUpside review I'll be going over all you need to know beforehand.
Overall I like what this app is doing and it is something that I recommend if you have a car and pay for gas regularly, and live in the right area, but there are a few downsides I'll be going over that you should know about as well.
GetUpside App Review
Name: GetUpside
Availability: iOS and Android devices
Type: Cash back on gas & more
Recommended?: Yes, but there are some downsides
After downloading the app you can enter my promo code - KYLE6775 - to get an extra $0.15 per gallon off on your first use.
What Is GetUpside?
GetUpside is an app that is available for iOS devices as well as android devices that you can use to get cash back when filling your car up with gas. For example, you can potentially go to your local BP gas station and pay 9 cents less per gallon than it is advertised. And since many of us have our own vehicles and pay for gas regularly, this can be a huge deal in a really nice/easy way to save/make a little bit of extra money.
Additionally, with this app you can also earn cash back doing things like shopping at grocery stores, eating out at restaurants, and even on car-washes, all of which I will be going over in much more detail.
How Is It Possible To Save Money Like This?
But how is this possible? You may be wondering how they can possibly give you cash back for gas like this?
Well... It works in the same way that many other cashback programs out there work, like BeFrugal, DOSH, and Ibotta for example: GetUpside partners with gas stations all over it and helps to advertise their gas prices through the app. This in turn helps drive more traffic to these gas stations and brings them more customers. The gas stations then pay GetUpside a percentage of the payment made for gas by customers for help bringing them these customers in the first place.
It is a win/win for everyone. The gas stations get more customers and make more money, GetUpside get paid for helping drive these customers to the gas stations through their app, and we (the customers and users of the app) get cash back on gas, which we are going to buy regardless.
Overview of How It Works
I'll be going over everything in much more detail, but first I want to do a brief overview of how it all works… How you will be able to get cash back you go to the gas station and fill up your car.
Step 1: Download the Free App
The first step, of course, is to download the app which is free to do at getupside.com. You can do this by going to the App Store if you have an iOS device, or the Google Play store if you have an android device.
After downloading the app and installing it, you will be able to enter a referral code. If you use my code, which is KYLE6775, you will be able to get a bonus $0.15 off your first use… Meaning you get an additional $0.15 off per gallon on top of the discount that is already in place.
Step 2: Find Offers in Your Area
Once inside the app you will be able to find offers (cash back offers) in your area. The app will automatically detect your location and will display all the offers nearby.
Step 3: Claim Offers
When you find an offer that you like claim it. You will have to claim your offer before actually purchasing the gas or whatever it is that the offer has to do with.
Step 4: Verify Purchase
Next up you will have to verify your purchase. This is done by uploading a receipt, which is a very simple and straightforward process.
Step 5: Get Cash Back!
Once your purchase is verified your account will be credited with cash back. You will then be able to withdraw your cash back by a variety of different methods that I will go over shortly.
Location Restriction: You Must Live Here to Use This App!
One of the big downsides that this app has is that it is only available in certain areas of the USA, which include states on the East Coast. Well I guess ancient say that the app is only available in these areas, but there are only offers available in these areas… Meaning that GetUpside is only partnered with gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, etc. in these areas.
Currently, the following states are listed on their website as having a good amount of offers available…
- Delaware
- Florida
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- New York
- South Carolina
- Virginia
That said, there are offers in other states as well. For example, I live in Pennsylvania and there is a Sunoco gas station nearby that I can use to get cash back with this app. Also, I was browsing the map and found that there are also offers in states like Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and more.
So just because your state isn't listed above doesn't mean that there aren't any offers in your area and that you can't earn cash back on gas… It is just that the states listed above are the "main" states were offers exist. The states are full of cash back offers.
Don't Live In Any of These Areas? Then check out the Ibotta app which you can earn cash back with nationwide.
Cash Back On Gas
Since cash back on gas is the "claim to fame" over this app, let's go into more detail on this.
When you first open up the app be able to choose what type of gas you normally buy, meaning the grade of the gas. You can choose from the following:
- Regular - 87
- Mid-grade - 89
- Premium - 91-93
- Diesel
- Other - (E85, Super Premium, etc)
After selecting the grade of gas you are interested in the app will then do its thing and find all of the available offers nearby.
As you can see below, the only offer available to me is cash back of $0.09 per gallon at Sunoco, but this is because I live in Pennsylvania as I mentioned above.
But anyways, when you click on an offer to claim it, it will then provide more details about the offer and will provide you with a map and directions via Google maps.
And just to give you an idea of how good this app is in certain areas, take a look at the screenshot displayed below. I was browsing the map and this is just a section of Florida that is filled with different cashback offers. If you live here there are plenty to choose from and that the more I zoom in on the map, the more pop up.
This is just an example I wanted to give to show you the potential of this app. Where I live it isn't very good, but for some people it could be well worth the download.
The Process of Getting Cash Back on Gas
So after you claim an offer you will have four hours to make your purchase and then you can upload your receipt. Why is there a time limit? I don't really know… That's just how it is.
When you go to upload your receipt it is very simple. The app uses the camera on your phone and you will be able to easily snap a picture to verify the purchase.
Cash Back on Groceries, Restaurants, and more..
As I mentioned, getting cash back on gas is by far the main part of this app, but you can also earn cash back on groceries, restaurants, and more. However, getting cash back for groceries and at restaurants is only available for people in the DC area.
The way you can earn shopping for groceries and eating out at restaurants is the same as with buying gas. You will be able to see the offers available in your area and you will then be able to claim them, upload a receipt after purchase, and get your cash back.
Luckily when it comes to getting cash back on groceries you are not required to make your purchase within four hours. This would be rather difficult for some people and would require you to be in a frenzy within the grocery store.
It is also advertise that you can save up to 20% cashback at convenience stores and up to 60% cashback on car washes, although I have yet to actually see these offers myself.
Referral Program
This app, like most apps, has a referral program that you can make money with by referring your friends to download and use the app.
When you refer a friend in they make their first purchase they will get an extra $0.15 off per gallon and you will make $0.15 per gallon that they buy. However, after that initial purchase you will only make one cent for every gallon that they purchase. So it is nice to have a referral program, but this is probably not something many people make much of any money with.
How You Get Paid
And now on to what we all need to know… How you actually get paid. It can be exciting to see money coming into your account within the app, but this money doesn't really mean anything until it is in your bank account or able to be used in some other way.
Luckily, there are a good amount of withdrawal options available. You can choose to cash out your money via PayPal, choose to get a check, or even choose to have an e-gift card emailed to you.
One thing that is very nice, which I think is worth mentioning, is that there is not a minimum withdrawal threshold, meaning that you can withdraw your money even when you only have a couple dollars. However… If you do withdraw less than $15 to PayPal or choose to have a check sent to you of less than $50, there is a one dollar fee applied. This fee can be waived if you cash out above the said amounts, or it can be waived in cashing out via PayPal if you refer at least one friend to use the app.
When it comes to e-gift cards there really aren't all that many choices. However, they do have Amazon e-gift cards available which is nice to see, because you can buy pretty much anything with one of them.
The Downsides
As I said in the beginning, overall I really like this app and what it offers, but there are definitely some downsides to it. Some of which worth mentioning include:
Location Restriction
The fact that this app is only available in a small number of states is a real disappointment. I am sure it will continue to expand if it keeps doing what it's doing, but as I am writing this the majority of people in the United States are not going to be able to make any use of it.
The Fine Print
And there is also the fine print, which I have not whenever yet. The fine print mentions that you must use a credit or debit card, you must make your purchase within four hours of claiming the offer, that an offer is only valid for the first 50 gallons of gas purchased, cashback is reduced when combined with other discounts, and so on…
Now some of this is no problem. For example, I see no problem in having four hours to make a purchase. I think that is ample time to fill up with gas after claiming an offer.
However, the fact that an offer is only valid for the first 50 gallons of gas purchased is a bummer, and I am also a bit confused about this. Does this mean that after purchasing 50 gallons of gas at a particular gas station you can no longer get cash back at the gas station? Or does this just mean the offer is only valid for 50 gallons of gas for anyone purchase, meaning that you could purchase gas a couple days later at the same gas station and still receive cash back (because this would be a different purchase). If anyone knows the answer to this and could clear it up for me and my readers that would be great.
Complaints About GetUpside
When reviewing an app like this I always like to make sure to write a section about complaints, complaints that are common among other users.
Overall this app has really good reviews and a really good rating. On Google Play it has an overall rating of 4.5/5 stars, which is very good. But there are some complaints worth mentioning and these include…
App Crashes
There are a fair number of complaints I came across about the app crashing when you go to open it… Which of course makes it unusable and is a major problem. However, most people seem to have absolutely no problem like this.
I'm not what the technical problem is behind this, or if it happens on specific devices, but it is just something worth mentioning.
Gas Grade Problems
Another complaint that I came across multiple times when doing my research is that some people are getting cash back for a lesser gas grade than they actually bought. For example, people are buying premium gas which usually offers a higher cashback percentage, but instead getting credited for buying regular gas and getting a lower cashback percentage.
Now GetUpside does state that if a receipt does not specify the particular grade of gas purchased then you will be credited as having bought regular gas, but some people complaining claim that their receipts did state the particular type of gas purchased.
It appears that this could be a problem with the app reading receipts or something of this nature.
Update: It seems that this issue has been fixed.
Support Issues
As with just about every app out there nowadays, this app does not offer very good support. This is just the world we live in nowadays… Full of automated answering machines and prewritten email replies.
If you do end up having some technical problem with the app or are not rightfully credited with the cashback you deserve, it is probably going to be a bit of a pain getting things sorted. That said, it does seem that the support team is honest and what they do, it just might take them a while to get around and actually support you.
Scam or Not?
The big question… Is GetUpside a scam?
Absolutely not. I know there are some people out there calling this app a scam, but I don't see it being a scam in any way. Sure, I bet some people have been screwed over due to some technical glitch or something along these lines, but that the stone not make a scam and you will have this sort of thing with any app out there, regardless of how good it is.
Is This App Worth Your Time?
Do you purchase gas? Do you live in one of the areas mentioned at the beginning of this review, where there are lots of offers available? Do you like to make/save money and do you think it would be nice to earn some cash back when you go to the gas station, which you are going to do regardless?
Well, if you answered yes to these questions then this app is worth your time, but of course this is just my opinion.
There are people making $15-$25 in a little over a month's time with this app, but of course this completely depends on how much gas you purchase on a regular basis and on how good of offers you have in your area. But the point is that with this app you can make a little bit of extra money doing what you already do and what you are going to continue to do even if you don't download the app.
So why not download the app? After all, it's free to do and very easy to use.
And again, if you do want to download the app you can use my promo code KYLE6775 to get an extra $0.15 off per gallon on your first purchase, which can really add up. This would also help me out so that I can keep this site running and keep writing awesome reviews.
But anyways… I hope you enjoyed this review and found it helpful. Please leave any comments or questions down below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can 🙂