The Top Cash Back Apps for Techies in 2018
Part of being a techie is not just keeping up with all of the latest and greatest devices. That’s important, of course, but it’s also about following major tech companies, social media platforms, and app developers in the news. I kind of follow these companies like I do sports, looking out for the rookies that I think are going to become stars someday. I’ve even noticed that there’s a trajectory those companies tend to go through: they start with an idea, then they get funding, then they start developing their idea so that it also incorporates a public-facing component, and finally they find a way to generate revenue.
It’s a kind of tried and true trajectory of the tech development world at this point. What’s funny to me though, is that I recently realized that I’ve started to take a similar path as a technology and app user. Crazy, but true. This is my path: I discover or hear about a new app or device, I spend money to get it, I play around with it, and finally, I start to use it to make money. Sometimes that means using it to make my work day or my personal life more efficient, and other times it means exactly what it sounds like. This is especially true of cash back apps.
Now, you might just happen to be totally unfamiliar with the concept of cash back apps, and, believe me, that’s okay because that’s exactly what I’m going to talk about today. Cash back apps are exactly what they sound like: apps you can use to get cash back for certain activities. In fact, today I’m going to do you one better than simply sharing the definition with you. Today I’m going to be talking about some of the top cash back apps for techies in 2018. When you’re done, hopefully, you’ll find yourself on a path to earning some of your cash back.
The Top Cash Back Apps for Techies 2018: CoSign
One of the most common and classic tech success stories has to do with social media platforms. As the storyline goes, someone starts a website in a garage or on a college campus. At first, they think it’s just going to be for a certain group or type of person, and then all of a sudden it explodes and ends up being worth A TON of money. At various points, we saw this happen with Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram to name a few. I have to say though, my all-time personal favorite just so happens to be Instagram, because I love sharing my photos with friends. This is also why I like using CoSign because it is an app that offers rewards.
CoSign lets me get rewarded for upgrading pictures to social media, which, let’s face it, is something that I would be doing anyway. Using CoSign, I just tag images that I put up on Instagram (or on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc.) with information about any products that just so happen to be in my pictures—stuff like my sweet new laptop bag for work, or my cool new sneakers that I only wear sometimes because I’m not trying to get them scuffed. With CoSign, you can tag tech products, books, movies, clothes—even food. Then, if your followers and friends happen to buy any of the items that you post, you get a commission of up to 35 percent, depending on the product, which CoSign then pays you out through PayPal or gift cards, which are as good as cash at stores.
#2 Gigwalk
Gigwalk is fairly new to me. I just started using it somewhat recently (keeping up with the best cash back apps for techies like me is a never-ending battle), and I like it quite a bit. With Gigwalk, you just open it up on your phone, and you get a map of the area around you, a map that has a bunch of pins on it. Each pin represents a task that you can do and get paid for, and these tasks can take you anywhere from as quick as three minutes to as long as an hour to complete.
The actual gigs on Gigwalk are pretty varied in terms of what they entail, but they basically all have to do with helping brands make sure that their products are visible. It’s kind of like the app is briefly contracting you as a field marketing rep. So, as a user, you might get asked to go out to a store and take pictures of how a certain company’s branded displays look, or you might be asked to go out and verify that certain prices are still clearly listed on retail shelves. For your troubles, you get rewarded by getting cash back. I don’t usually get up and leave my home to do any of these gigs, but I do glance at the available tasks whenever I happen to be out and about running errands or getting some quick exercise at work by going for a walk.
#3 Ipsos
When I was younger, I used to have a reputation around my house for having strong opinions. It didn’t really matter what we were talking about—dinner, movies, toys, cartoons—I usually had something to say to my mom and my sister about it. I guess that’s why I like the next cash back app for techies on the list so much. This one is called Ipsos, and it is focused on gauging public opinion, especially when it comes to finding out what the population thinks about some weightier topics such as advertising, politics, and other things that often tend to be hot sources of debate on the national level, you know, the things that your parents maybe told you not to discuss in mixed company.
The average user of Ipsos gets about eight survey invitations a month, which can be accepted or declined. Like I said, someone like me who has a long history of voicing his feelings is probably going to accept all eight, but how many you do in a given month is really left up to your discretion. Users can earn points for completing each survey, and those points can then be cashed in for prizes, including gift cards that are 100 percent as good as cash, especially seeing as you get to pick which store the gift cards are from. The number of points earned per survey depends on its length, difficulty, and other factors, such as what demographics you belong to. I guess Ipsos can tell what I like to talk about because I often find myself getting a lot of surveys about one of my favorite things: technology.
#4 Shopkick
I don’t try to play favorites with my devices and apps—mostly because I have way too many and that would be really hard—but I think of all the top cash back apps that I’ve been using to make money in 2018, my favorite is this app called Shopkick. I don’t hate shopping, but it’s also not my favorite thing in the world. The reason that Shopkick has become one of my favorite cash back apps is that it has actually helped me look forward to my trips out to the store. If you would have asked me if I thought something could ever make me excited to go out to the store a few years ago, I probably would have laughed. I just always used to see shopping as a hassle, something that takes up too much of my valuable time.
How this app works is actually pretty simple: you go out and you do all of the same things that you do whenever you go to the store, things like physically walking into the store, scanning the barcodes on certain products for more information, and, of course, making your purchases. Once you’re finished, just use the app to scan your receipt, and Shopkick then dishes out all the points that you earned that day for your efforts. You can then trade in your points for gift cards to many of your favorite stores, and, as I’m sure you are well aware of, those gift cards are just as good as cash. Another really cool thing about Shopkick is that it also just so happens to have a grocery list functionality, which is really helpful for someone like me, who hardly ever uses pencil and paper these days to make lists. Without a grocery list app on my phone, I’d be a million times more likely to forget all the things I needed.
Finally, one last thing that I really like about Shopkick is that I can use it to get rewards for both shopping online and in person. In those cases, instead of getting points for walking into a store or for scanning the barcodes on a certain item, I instead get my points for watching product videos online, and, of course, for also making purchases. There’s just so many ways to get cash back with Shopkick.
#5 Swagbucks
It’s not quite as good as Shopkick, but another cool cash back app for techies that I’ve been using a lot in 2018 is Swagbucks. Most of the ways to earn your cash back through Swagbucks are things that techies like me (and I’m guessing you too if you’re reading this) do online already, including searching, playing games, watching videos, and taking surveys. All you have to do is incorporate Swagbucks into your daily digital routine. It’s that easy.
For example, I open up the Swagbucks app, just as I would any of my social media apps, and check out the many ways to earn points. I might take a survey, watch an informational video, or do whatever else the app is awarding points for. Swagbucks doesn’t pay that great—usually just $0.01 to $0.36 per task—but if you’re always on your device, like me, that can add up. Once you get at least $3 you can cash out via PayPal or gift cards.
It’s amazing how much we can do from the palms of our hands with smartphones. In the early days of smartphones, I can remember being excited because I was able to check and send emails for work from anywhere. Nowadays, there’s so much more I can do, including using a wide array of cash back apps.
I like using all of them, and they’re all a valuable part of my efforts to get cash back from using my smartphone, but if I had to choose one, it would definitely be Shopkick. Not only is it the most effective, but it helped me—that’s right, me—start to look forward to going out to the store. Now that’s a piece of technology that I can get behind.
Get to know the many different ways that techies can get cash back using Shopkick and start collecting your points to trade in today. Download Shopkick’s free app and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how much you can earn with the help of a free shopping sidekick.
And, if you’re on social media catching up with friends, be sure to also join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily fun and inspiration.
One of the best parts of all this, I have to say, is how you can take these apps with you, meaning that they aren’t just limited to your local grocer. Let’s say you’re on the other side of town for spin class, and after you make a quick run to a nearby store for a few items. You can do that. I’ve even used all three of the grocery shopping rewards app selections here while I 
So, I figure why not share it with all of you fine people out there today? In fact, you might like these apps that pay you real money for real-life activities just as much as I do. After all, what’s not to like about turning the things you do every day into some nice bonus income? With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of my favorites.
