RIP 5% cashback on Amazon purchases via Giving Assistant.
I really enjoyed getting that cashback on products sold and shipped by Amazon.
But, if you’re shopping at Amazon anyway, you should still click via Giving Assistant.
Why?
Donate 2% to charity
You typically don’t earn any portal bonus at Amazon. Cashback Monitor tells me you can still earn cashback on certain categories at Amazon:
Mostly shoes, and a few other items
The categories are shoes, handbags, and a few other things.
And on everything else… nothing.
Now, I’ve loved getting 5% cashback from both Giving Assistant and my new Discover It card.
I expect “All Time Donated” to go up in the next few months
Plus, the Discover It card will double the cashback after the 12th billing cycle, so it was more like 15% cashback… which is awesome!
(Feel free to share your Discover It referral links in the comments!)
But I’m happy to get 10% back at Amazon with my Discover It card this quarter, even though Jet just dropped membership fees altogether and may sway me in future quarters.
I don’t foresee my Amazon shopping slowing down around the holidays, and because I won’t earn cashback from any other portal at Amazon anyway, I’m going to continue clicking through Giving Assistant.
Select a charity and donate 2% of your purchase
That’s because you can select a charity to give 2% of your purchase to. It costs nothing to do this. If you can’t earn cashback, you might as well give to an organization that can put a donation to good use. And there are a lot to choose from!
There are also tons of other stores there.
I always check Cashback Monitor before I click through any portal because I’ve found they have the most up-to-date info.
That said, I’ve gotten cashback from Giving Assistant within a few business days on average. And some cases, the next day.
Add $5 to that!
In addition to giving to charity, you get $5 when you sign up for Giving Assistant via my link and shop through the portal. And I get $5, too. So you can think of it as getting $5 for clicking a link, and giving 2% to charity (assuming you shop at Amazon).
You’ll also get 10% back on your Amazon purchases up to $1,500 this quarter with the Discover It card (5% back when your statement closes and 5% back after your 1st year is done). I am personally loving my Discover It card and think you’re crazy to not get it. You can apply via my links (and thank you for doing so!) or any referral links you find in the comments.
And, when you combine all this with Paribus, you can save even more money!
Bottom line
I’ll miss getting 5% back from Amazon through Giving Assistant. But I’ll still click through because Amazon doesn’t usually have a portal bonus, anyway. And I’d rather someone else benefit because of Giving Assistant’s 2% donation of your Amazon purchase to a charity of your choice (you can select one in the Settings tab).
I’ve been really pleased with Giving Assistant’s payout speed and overall integrity so far. They’re a fantastic new portal. And it’s wonderful they’re donating to charity, especially during the holiday season.
Plus, you get $5 for signing up and shopping. It goes right to your debit card.
Combined with other 5% cash back categories (like those on the Discover It or Chase Freedom cards), it’s a great match. Always remember to check Cashback Monitor before you click through a portal to make sure you’re getting the best deal!
Feel free to post your experience with Giving Assistant, or your Discover It referral links, in the comments!
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Hi Harlan,
Thanks so much for the kind words about our change from 5% cash back at Amazon to a 2% charity donation.
Exactly what you stated is how we think everyone should use our Amazon page, as it is money you would not earn anyway outside the very few categories that offer cash back.
We also like this new cash back / donation hack:
1. Buy at Amazon and give 2% back all the time to charity.
2. Shop at our other cash back store pages and keep 100% of your cash back (Nothing goes to charity).
This allows you to give 100% back to your favorite charity on Amazon and keep 100% of your other shopping for you and your loved ones.
We have some of the highest cash back stores, so hope you enjoy shopping with us this holiday season to SAVE & GIVE!
Hope you enjoy that hack 🙂
Ryan Quiel
Cofounder at Giving Assistant
Thank you so much for your reply, Ryan! Love it!
This would be awesome since they get donated to charity but only if the purchases would track. My previous purchases tracked but none tracked during the last three weeks
Oh really? Mine have been tracking without issue (I shop at Amazon a lot).
Do you have Ad Blocker or anything like that? Or do you think the issue is on their end?
Hi Harlan! Actually, other portals do give rewards on specific categories, same as this. Giving Assistant stood out because it was across the board.
Hey Audrey! Hope you’ve been well! 🙂
They do, I just hardly ever shop in those particular categories on Amazon. But good to keep in your back pocket, especially when a card is offering 5% bonus as a quarterly category.
Thanks for adding!