Shopping portals: How long does it take to get paid?

Cash back portals have been pretty generous for the past month, though the highest payouts is now down to 3%. Usually, there isn’t much difference between what the major portals are offering in terms of points/miles or cash back. When you’re determining which portal to buy your Amex gift cards from, two things are important (aside from payout amount): The portal’s reputation for tracking purchases and the amount of time it takes to get paid.

Reputation aside, you should always take screenshots of your transaction as proof in case your purchase isn’t tracked. Below is a summary of the major shopping portals and how long it takes to get your cash back/points:

Barclay RewardsBoost

Barclay RewardsBoost removed American Express gift cards from the portal a few weeks ago. If you’re keeping your fingers crossed that they will come back, it’s worth knowing that miles are usually paid out within 8 weeks.

This has been consistent with my experience using Barclay RewardsBoost. Once your points become available, you’ll receive an email notifying you the points are on the way before they are deposited into your account.

BeFrugal

BeFrugal offers payouts within 90 days of purchase, though you will need to earn at least $25 to be eligible for payment. This certainly won’t be a problem when you’re buying American Express gift cards regularly, but worth noting. You can claim your cash back either via check or PayPal. PayPal payments will be sent out by the 15h of the month.

Big Crumbs

Big Crumbs has been pretty disappointing. Their cash back offers for Amex gift cards have been comparatively low lately. And it has taken a very long time to get paid. According to Big Crumbs, credits usually appear in your account within 1-2 weeks. Payments are processed on the last day of the month. Payouts are scheduled so that cash back earned in June will be paid out in August.

Lucky Rewards

Lucky Rewards got on everyone’s radar this past month when it increased payouts on Amex gift cards to 4%. Cash back is processed four times per year: February (cash back earned through December 31), May (for earnings through March 31), August (for earnings through June 30), and November (for earnings through September 30). Payouts are made to members who have earned at least $15.

TopCashBack

It can take up to three months to get your cash back through this site. According to TopCashBack‘s help page, retailers get invoiced for the cash back at the end of the calendar month, and it may take the retailer 1-2 months to pay out the amount due.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping

In my experience, the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan portal has been the fastest in terms of paying out rewards. I made a purchase on May 14 and the points had posted on June 6. According to the Mileage Plan portal site, miles will post “typically post within 3-5 days” though certain merchants can take up to 45.

Delta Skymiles Shopping

As with the Alaska portal, points are supposed to post within 3-45 days. I’ve never used the Delta Skymiles portal. It’s on the same platform as the Alaska portal and thus I assume it will be equally reliable.

I was really happy with the Barclay Rewardsboost portal and will probably use it again for other purchases. Hopefully they will bring Amex back into the fold and we can go back to earning 6.6 miles per $1 spent with the Arrival card. Aside from that, I’m going to use the Alaska portal when the payout is decent (i.e. 3 miles per $1) or whatever cash back is payout out the most at the time.

Disclosure: I will earn a small commission if you sign up and make a purchase with BeFrugal, Big Crumbs, and TopCashBack.