Tips for new Ibotta users

[Glammy]

IBOTTA: Tips New Users To Maximize Earnings. I posted this under “A Boatload of tips” but I think new users can benefit. I updated the post.

1. Download and use the Ibotta App
2. Add rebates to to your list in the App before going shopping. 
3. DO NOT Add rebates from the general tabs: Hot Items, Buy Again, Hot Items, Best For you. ADD ITEMS from the official categories: Dairy & Eggs, Pantry, Beverages etc. 
4. Note all rebates are not available at all retailers, the available rebates vary. 
5. Take a photo of your receipt in a well lighted area. Touch the screen of your phone to improve the focus when scanning. 
6. Submit receipts immediately, the same day, there is a time limit, I think it is 7 days from the date of purchase. 
7. Recommend logging in to the wifi at your store when shopping and check the “product bar codes” in the Ibotta App before purchasing rebate items. Also check that you have added the rebate to your shopping list for the retailer in the App. 
8. Linking your store card sounds good but they need to do better with this feature. This takes up to 3 days and often does not capture all the rebates. I tried it but have since unlinked my cards. It works about 50% of the time and have to submit a ticket with photos to resolve the missing rebates. 
9. It helps to use the store app. Add your items in the store App. It will give you the location by aisle and reduce your shopping time. 
10. I usually take a photo of the rebate offers in case I need to submit them if I fail to get the credit. Note if you use an offer it usually disappears for about 24 hours (from all retailers), even if you did not get the credit.  They reappear about 90% of the time in 24 hours if they haven’t expired. 
11. If purchasing a lot of items at the store, I recommend ringing up your rebate items on a separate (shorter) receipt. You can now submit a long receipt in parts, try not to overlap rebate items, it may cause your rebate to be pending to resolve. 
12. While you will earn the rebate  when Purchasing multiple items of the same offer, the purchase will only counts as ONE item for bonuses. 
13. YOU MUST purchase rebate items  On different days (24 hrs apart) to earn your bonuses. Remember that offers disappear for 24 hours (even if available from multiple retailers) when used before they can be added to your list again. Purchasing the item at multiple retailers on the same day will count as 1 for your bonus offers. 
14. Note you may use paper and/or electronic coupons on the rebate items you purchase if they are available. 
15. When redeeming Your rebates: If the first submission does not recognize all your rebates, resubmit the Receipt again immediately. That usually captures all the missing rebates without submitting a ticket. (I have submitted the same receipt 3 times with successful immediate resolution)
16. If you still did not get credit for all your rebates, submit a ticket to the help desk with a copy of your receipt for consideration along with photos of your offers if you have them.  This works about 95% of the time for missing credits. Be patient with the help desk. They are 100% responsive. If you do not agree resubmit with more details. This works 100% of the time. 
17. Check this forum often for additional tips. Ask questions if you have challenges, someone will offer helpful advice.  
    Be patient. This App works, you have to pay attention to the rules and organize your shopping trips and you’ll get better as you use it more often.  The cash back you earn will make the effort all worth it. 

[Glammy]

@LolaD76 
See the tips posted above. 

[MariaSB]

You state “DO NOT Add rebates from the general tabs: Hot Items, Buy Again, Hot Items, Best For you. ADD ITEMS from the official categories: Dairy & Eggs, Pantry, Beverages etc. “. Why?

[Faerietxn]

That’s what I was wondering! 

[mmoore01]

You CAN add items from the general tabs, but all of those rebates are repeated in the official categories.  It may save you time to start with Dairy and go all the way to Pets.

[mmoore01]

In reference to # 13:  I don't think I have ever tried this since you never know if the rebate will return, but can anyone confirm this? 

If I purchase the same item on the same day, but on another receipt, I would think it should count if you wait the 24 hours or so for it to return.  Is this documented somewhere?  This is the first time I have heard this.

[What-Shot]

@mmoore01 Yes, I have tried a variation of #13. Anticipating that the offer will repopulate in my gallery after 24 hours, I have purchased items for a particular rebate in the same shopping trip but on a different receipt.  

If the identical offer does repopulate, it works like a charm. But there is always the risk that the next offer is a variation of the original.  It may be lower value or need to purchase 2. 

The other bugaboo is that if the 2nd receipt is EXACTLY the same as the 1st receipt,  it typically gets flagged as submitting a duplicate receipt.  The way i get around that is to add a banana or anything else to make it obvious that it is a different receipt.  

[Glammy]

@MariaSB 

I have observed that sometimes when I add offers to my list from the general categories that when I purchased the item it was not on “my list” when I submit my receipt for the rebate. 
So, to be safe I check the general categories and then go to the specific category and make sure my items are added and are on “my list”.

Just a redundant step to ensure that I earn my rebates. 
Happy Shopping!

[Ibotta_alotta]

This happens to me as well ... I noticed I was adding the offer twice thinking the deals were double only to realize the original “+add” didn’t happen... 😆

[Glammy]

@mmoore01 

Nice. I will try that. Good tip!!👊🏽