How to Earn Yelp Cash Back
This article was last updated Aug 28, 2018. Terms and conditions may have changed. For the most accurate information, please consult the issuer website.
If you thought you needed a credit card to earn cash back, you’re wrong. Yelp offers a cashback program where you can earn up to 10% cash back at participating businesses like restaurants, florists and salons. The program is a simple and free way to earn cash back from shopping at some of your favorite establishments.
In this guide, we’ll review how you can earn and redeem Yelp cash back, as well as provide ways to maximize your cashback earnings by linking a cashback or rewards credit card to your Yelp account.
How to earn Yelp cash back
It’s fairly simple to earn Yelp cash back — follow the steps below to start earning:
- Create a free Yelp account here. If you already have a Yelp account, skip to the next step.
- Add a credit or debit card as payment. You can add multiple cards, too.
- Use your linked card at participating businesses to earn cash back. You can place orders online or at the store and earn cash back as long as you use a linked card. Learn how to find participating businesses in the next section.
What cash back rate you can expect
In a review of Yelp cash back offerings in several cities, we found most restaurants tend to offer 5% cash back while other types of businesses — like jewelry, florists and salons — tend to offer 5-10% cash back.
There’s no cap on how much cash back you can earn on Yelp.
Take note: Your transaction data is shared
Yelp does mention in the program’s terms of service that your transaction data will be shared with Yelp’s third-party service providers like Empyr, Inc. and payment card networks like Visa and Mastercard. But the main reason is so they can monitor your purchases to see when a qualifying cash back purchase is made and send you targeted offers. However, you have the option to opt out.
Find participating businesses
Yelp states there are “thousands of restaurants” that offer cash back through their program. There are also some other types of businesses like salons and florists that offer cash back. To search for participating businesses, you have two options:
1. Type “cash back” in Yelp’s search bar. This will take you to a page where all of the businesses displayed offer cash back.
2. Or, check for a “dine here for X% cash back” banner on the business’ Yelp page.
3. Filter for “cash back” after searching for something.
On the Yelp app: Once you enter a search, select the icon in the top right corner of the app. Then, under “General Features” find “Cash Back” and slide the bar to turn it on. Click on the word “Search” in the top right corner to filter.
Online: Once you enter a search, select “All Filters” and navigate to “More Features” (this is listed under “Features”). Then, select “Cash Back” and “Search” to input your filter. Now, you’ll see businesses with your search criteria offering cash back.
How to redeem Yelp cash back
When you use a linked card at participating businesses and earn cash back, you don’t have to take any action to redeem it. Yelp cash back is credited to your primary card (the first card you linked) by the 18th of the following month.
And, you’ll receive a notification when your account has been credited. This makes Yelp’s cash back program simple to use compared with typical credit card rewards that require you to select a redemption option and may set minimum redemption amounts.
How to maximize rewards
While the Yelp cash back program is great on its own, you can earn even more rewards when you link a cashback or rewards credit card, compared with linking a traditional non-rewards card or debit card. There are cards that offer up to 4% cash back on dining purchases, in which you can maximize your earnings.
If you link a 4% cash back card to your Yelp account and spend at a participating restaurant offering 5% cash back, your effective rewards rate would be a fantastic 9% cash back. And, if you come across a restaurant offering 10% Yelp cash back (which is hard to find), then you can increase that to an effective 14% cash back.
Here are some of our top credit cards for dining purchases:
Images are from Yelp.com
