I have been a big credit card churner for quite some time. It is just too simple, straightforward to earn massive credit card rewards points with limited work. This allows me to travel the world and explore for little to no cost. But why does it only have to be from credit cards? I’ve found a shopping hack that will earn you some serious cash back at Whole Foods.
Shopping Hacks: How to Earn Serious Cash Back at Whole Foods
If you want to be a money grown-up, you need to demonstrate a habitual pattern of saving and investing. Saving money on ‘low-hanging fruit’ (no pun intended) is step one of becoming smarter with your money.
I’m going to outline the steps that you should take to earn at least 11% cash back at Whole Foods every time you shop there.
Good news! 11% is just the minimum. At times, I have earned as much as 20% cash back just for doing my grocery shopping! Maybe I am too much of a nerd, but this actually makes me WANT to go to the grocery store. Make sure to do these steps BEFORE you go to Whole Foods.
I love saving money on routine expenses by conserving resources, but also by using apps to hack shopping rebates. Most of the below shopping hacks mean that you will have to use cashback apps tied to your method of payment.
Here are the best cashback apps in my opinion if you’d like to read more about them.
Does Whole Foods Offer Cash Back?
The easy answer is yes! The complex offer is that it is through multiple gateways. However, if you follow my three steps, you can ‘stack’ multiple forms of cash back on top of each other as a shopping hack. This can be a great way to earn money for your ordinary purchases. I use that cashback to reinvest into stocks, pay down debt or put into retirement accounts.
Honestly, cashback from grocery shopping is one of the most satisfying ways to save.
Three Steps to Earn Cash Back at Whole Foods
There are three easy steps to earn awesome cash back at Whole Foods. This can save you significant money for routine purchases… Food! These three steps take some signing up in order to obtain the cash back and you must have the Uber app.
Step One: Open the Uber App and Ensure You Are Connected to Visa Local Offers
If you didn’t know this already, Uber and Visa have teamed up to give you cash back in the form of Uber credits every time you use your Visa at select locations. Currently, Whole Foods qualifies for 5% cash back (in Uber credits) instantly to your Uber account. To sign up for Visa local offers it is simple:
- Open your Uber app and tap the bottom of the screen to see your messages
- Scroll down to the ‘Visa Local Offers’ message
- Tap ‘Get Started’ and then tap ‘Count Me In’
Make sure that you use a Visa card that is linked to your Uber count. Otherwise, you will not receive the Uber credits.
Step Two: Download the Drop App in Your iPhone and Link Your Visa Card
Drop is one of my favorite ways to seamlessly earn gift cards for no additional work at all. Drop presents you with offers at places you shop at every day such as Chipotle, Target, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Uber and more! You accumulate points based on per dollar spent. As you work your way up you earn more points, which can be redeemed for gift cards at Starbucks, American Airlines, Amazon, and more! All you have to do is sign in with your bank accounts and poof you are now eligible to earn points at all your favorite spots.
With Drop and Whole Foods, you earn 10 points per $1 spent. This is equivalent to 1% cash back on every dollar spent. To get started with Drop:
- Download the Drop app from the app store and sign up (Get 1,000 points just for signing up here!)
- Link the bank account that you use with your credit card. I use Chase, so I just link my account and it earns me points!
- Start shopping at Whole Foods to earn 1% cash back!
Step Three: Download the Ibotta App in Your iPhone and Add Cash Back Offers
Ibotta is one the easiest apps to earn money for doing things you already do. You can earn cashback on mobile or local purchases by scanning the receipt on the app. Ibotta will literally Paypal your earnings as you go. No strings attached.
This is a variable cash back earning stream at Whole Foods, so it depends on if you purchase the items that are offered. To get started with Ibotta it is a bit detailed:
- Download the Ibotta app from the app store and sign up (Get $10 free just for signing up here!)
- First, you need to add offers on products which you want to buy
- Then, buy the products on the participating stores
- After you get the receipt, take a photo of the receipt and upload on the Ibotta app
- You will get your cash back in your account within 48 hours.
With Ibotta at Whole Foods, sometimes I only receive $0.75 and other times I get around $5. It all depends on what you are purchasing that day.
Bonus CASH BACK at Whole Foods (Limited Time Only)
If you use the Chase Freedom card, I’m sure you know about the quarterly 5% categories. Until March 31, 2018, you can earn 5% cash back anywhere by using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or even Cash Pay.
When you go to pay at Whole Foods, use the Apple or Samsung Pay option and you will receive cash back at Whole Foods! This is another great way to earn cash back at Whole Foods and it COMBINES with all the three previous steps. That is some serious rewards just for shopping for groceries.
Bonus CASH BACK at Whole Foods Part Deuex
Now, through the Amazon Prime Visa Credit Card, you will earn 5% cash back permanently at all Whole Foods. You need to be an Amazon Prime member.
If you pair this Visa credit card with the above offers you STACK your cash back earnings at Whole Foods permanently. This is just way too good of an opportunity to pass up. You receive 5% cash back on every purchase at Whole foods. This is a move that Amazon hopes customers will prefer to shop at Whole Foods over competitors.
“We are excited to launch the Amazon Rewards Visa Card in our stores, offering benefits to our customers on all of their purchases at Whole Foods Market,” said Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in their press release mentioning the benefit.
Conclusion: Earn Cash Back at Whole Foods Now
Whole Foods has slowly been moving to a more common place to shop. More so now that Amazon has slashed some prices it is even more reasonable to shop at Whole Foods. Combine that with the fact you can earn 3 to 4 additional cash back methods on your groceries. Who doesn’t love cash back at Whole Foods?
Well, you’ve got some serious earnings potential. Instead of saying, why do I have to go to the grocery store you will be saying when can I go back to the grocery store? This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t set a budget and plan accordingly. There is nothing worse than wasting more money than what you are earning in cash back. Remember, we want to profit from our cash back!
Are you earning cash back at Whole Foods? Let me know in the comment below. Also, feel free to let us know of any questions.
See Also:
- 16+ Ways to Obtain Free Stickers from Brands You Love
- 7+ Different Money Giveaways to Win Prizes
- 15+ Online Jobs From Home
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1 Comment
This is awesome. I didn’t realize you could earn cash back at Whole Foods at all.