Last updated on July 28th, 2022 at 10:36 am
Upside is an app that gives you cash back when you fill up your vehicle’s gas tank at participating gas stations. My family can use this app at several different gas stations in our area, saving anywhere from 1 cent per gallon to as much as 10 cents per gallon. However, when we have taken road trips, we have seen offers much higher than those in our hometown–so it really depends where you live as to how high the savings at the gas pump will be with GUpside.
The Upside app is simple to use; it takes less than a minute to find a gas station, claim the offer, and then enter the information needed to start processing the cash back. Generally, it takes less than 24 hours to receive your cash back in the “Cash Out” area of the app. You can opt to receive your cash out through PayPal, a mailed check, or a gift card (starting at $10).
(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)
Use my referral code YG5ZB during sign-up and you will receive a one-time 15¢/gal bonus that gets stacked on top of the cash back offered at the gas station you first use it at. Go here to sign up for Upside.
Now that you know the basics of how to use the Upside app, let’s dive into all the different features of the app so that you can reap the greatest rewards from being an Upside user.
How To Use The Upside App To Save Money On Gas
What Is The Upside App
As I stated in the introduction to this post, Upside is an app that gives you cash back when you fill up your vehicle’s gas tank at participating gas stations. However, it doesn’t just work at gas stations. In some areas you can use Upside at restaurants and grocery stores as well as gas stations. The app works only in the USA and is available at thousands of gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores across the nation.
How To Sign Up For Upside
Use this link to receive a one-time text to download the app.
The link above is my referral link and when you use it, you will receive a one-time fifteen cent per gallon cash back bonus that can be stacked on top of the cash back offer that the gas station is offering.
Or you can go to the app store on your smartphone and download the app and then enter the code YG5ZB during sign-up to receive the one-time fifteen cent per gallon cash back bonus.
How To Use The UpsideApp
Step One: Get the app (if you didn’t grab it already when you read the “how to sign up” directions).
Step Two: Click on the “my wallet” tab and enter the first 6 digits and the last 4 digits of the bank or credit card you use to pay for gas. This helps GetUpside verify that it is indeed who paid for the gas. You can enter more than one card.
Step Three: Click on the map to see which gas stations near you are offering a cash back deal. In my area there are several and currently the cash back values vary from 2 cents per gallon to as high as 6 cents per gallon.
I like that the app also lets me know what the gas price will be per gallon after the cash back so I can get the best deal on gas, which might not be the gas station offering the highest cash back.
Step Four: Click the “claim” button on the gas station you want to fill up at and follow the instructions.
Once when we used the app, we had to upload the receipt and another time it worked with no receipt upload. So make sure to read the instructions carefully and grab a receipt just in case you need it.
Step Five: Wait for your cash back to process. If you look in the “help” area of the app, you will see under “How does checking in work?” that Upside says it can take up to a week for your cash back to be fully processed, but it usually takes two to four days.
So far our family has found it takes closer to two days than four.
Step Six: Cash out! Your balance will need to be at least $10 to cash out (more on what you can cash out for in a second), but it shouldn’t take long to reach that amount.
In just one fill-up of my husband’s F-250, we received $6.36 back! Your gas tank might be smaller or bigger than ours. You might fill up at the halfway mark, the quarter-full mark, or like me, the 50 miles left mark. This and how much per gallon the cash back offer is will affect how much your cash back will be per offer.
Ways To Receive Your Cash Back With The UpsideApp
You can receive your cash out from Upside as a PayPal deposit, a mailed check, or in the form of a digital gift card. Ten-dollar digital gift cards are available for numerous retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Starbucks.
For my first cash out, I chose a PayPal deposit. That way, I can spend the money wherever I find the best deals on the things I need or want.
How To Cash Out With The UpsideApp
Cashing out with Upside is super simple and reasonably quick. Click on the “cash out” tab, pick out the form of payment you want. If it is a gift card, click “choose.” If it is a PayPal deposit or a mailed check, enter the information asked for.
When I chose PayPal, I received my payment well within the 24 to 48-hour window that Upside says it will be delivered in.
I did notice that if you choose the check option, it can take at least 21 business days so that is something you may want to think about before choosing that option for payment.
How Upside Rewards You For Caring Enough To Share The Savings
Once you sign up for Upside and start using the app, you will want to spread the word–after all, who doesn’t want to save money on gas?
And Upside will reward you for caring enough to share. When your friends and family use your code (or link) during the sign-up process, you will each get a one-time fifteen-cent per gallon bonus that can be used on top of a participating gas station’s current cash back offer. Plus, every time your friend fills up and claims a cash back deal for fuel, you get one cent for every gallon they bought deposited into your Upside account.
Make sure you grab your one-time fifteen cent per gallon bonus by entering my referral code YG5ZB during sign-up.
Tips To Increase Your Savings Using The Upside App
- Make sure your gas tank is as empty as you feel comfortable letting it get to before filling. The discounts are per gallon, so the more gallons in your fill-up, the bigger your cash back (maximum of 50 gallons per cash back deal).
- Look at the final cost per gallon after the discount and not the discount itself. Sometimes gas stations offer a bigger cash back than others, but their gas is so much more expensive that it ends up costing more to fill up there even with the cash back factored in.
Apps That Pay You To Snap A Picture Of Your Gas Receipt
As far as I can figure out, these two apps below can be stacked with Upside offers to increase your savings a tiny bit more. You will need your gas receipt to use these apps.
Fetch
Most people think Fetch is just for grocery receipts, but it gives points for gas receipts. Plus, you get points for fast-food restaurant receipts and clothing retailer receipts.
It takes 5,000 Fetch Rewards points to cash out for a $5 Amazon gift card and it doesn’t take long to earn 5,000 points if you are fairly diligent about taking a minute here and there to upload your receipts.
Here is my referral code for signing up for Fetch: RE9FU. When you use it during the sign-up process, you receive bonus points after your first scan.
CoinOut
CoinOut offers you a few cents for every receipt you upload. There are a few receipts they don’t accept and you can find out about those in the app. CoinOut has an Amazon gift card option as well as a PayPal deposit option for payout.
Use this link to sign up for CoinOut and start earning money from your receipts.
Thrifty tip: Collect Amazon gift cards from these two apps as well as a few more places listed here and over the course of a year, you will have a nice stash of money to help pay for Christmas gifts.
Other Apps You Can Use To Save Money On Gas
You can use these apps below with Upside, but the reduction you receive from using them will be taken off the amount of cash back you receive from Upside. At least, that is what I understood from the question and answer section in the app that pertained to using Upside with another gas rewards program.
However, it is worth joining each of them as it gives you more options for receiving a cash back for gas no matter where you need to fill up on fuel.
GasBuddy App–There are a few ways to use the Gas Buddy app.
- You can open up the app when you need to fill up to find out the lowest price for gas near you.
- You can sign up for the free pay with GasBuddy card that you link to your bank card and use it to receive cash back when you pay at the pump with it. You can also use the card at participating stores to earn cash back that is then applied to your next fill-up (once the cash back clears).
- You can pay for a monthly membership ($9.99 when this was written) to GasBuddy Premium. This membership gives you higher cash back amounts with deal alerts. It also states that you will save at least 20 cents per gallon on up to 50 gallons per month and 5 cents after that (see the app for more details). Plus exclusive cash back offers from partner brands.
Right now, our family is trying out the free pay with the GasBuddy card option. If you want to sign up, here is the link to go and sign up for your card. When you use our referral code WEVPGST, you get $5 in FREE GAS on your first fill-up (limited time offer)!
Pilot Flying J App
If you are RVers like we are, using the gas stations that offer cash back deals through Upside or GasBuddy is not always an option as they are not always big enough for a truck and trailer to pull through or they are not near the major highway you are on.
This is when we use the Pilot Flying J app to save 3 cents per gallon.
Our referral code for the Pilot Flying J app is victoriah1164. When you use it during sign-up, you get a free pilot coffee or fountain drink.
BPme App
BPme Rewards offers users a savings of 5 cents on every gallon.
Go here to download the BPme app and use the promo code SAVINGS1 to receive an introductory one-time 50₵/gallon additional discount on your next fuel up after you complete your first in-app transaction of $10 or more.
There are more gas station specific apps like the ones for Pilot Flying J, and BPme so check and see if the gas stations you frequent have one.
Checkout51 App
Checkout51 is another app primarily known as a grocery rebate app, but it has a “gas” tab where you can grab cash back on your fuel purchases. However, you do need $20 in your account to receive a cash out and it is available only by mailed check.
Places Where You Can Earn Gift Cards To Gas Stations
Some people turn their noses up at earning gift cards through point rewards programs because they think it is too time-intensive for the number of gift cards you receive in return, but there are ways to earn gift cards doing things you already do online, like performing web searches, shopping, and printing coupons. There are also ways to earn gift cards through simple tasks like entering promo codes or answering one-question surveys that require just a minute or two of your time.
It is true that you won’t earn dozens of high-value gift cards by sticking to simple and quick ways to earn points with these programs, but you will earn a few lower value gift cards each month and that is better for your gas budget than earning nothing.
Here are two point reward programs that offer gift cards to gas stations as a payout option
Swagbucks
You can sign up for Swagbucks here.
Here is a tutorial I wrote about how to use Swagbucks to help you get started earning SB points that you can convert to gift cards for the following gas stations; ExxonMobile, Sunoco, and Chevron.
PrizeRebel
You can sign-up for PrizeRebel here.
Here is a tutorial I wrote about how to use PrizeRebel to help you get started earning points that you can convert to gift cards for the following gas stations: ExxonMobile, Shell, and Chevron.
I hope this article helps your family save money on your fuel costs.
More Simple To Use Cash Back Companies For All Your Shopping Needs
- A Step By Step Guide To Using Ibotta
- The Best Web Browser Tools For Saving Money
- Don’t Toss That Receipt: Here Is How To Make Money From Them
Do you want to save or earn money? Join my Thrifty People Of Snail Pace Transformations Facebook group, where I share tips for doing both.
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