Normally, signing up for this TopCashback cashback site does not come with a bonus, but now TopCashback has a $15 sign-up bonus (no bonus on the public link). You need to spend $20 through the cashback portal within 90 days before you can withdraw the $15. The promotion runs through the end of the year!

If you prefer a Chinese-language page, you can also sign up for the Chinese site. The U.S. site and the Chinese site bonuses can both be earned, and the merchants are basically the same.

I tried signing up, and the $15 is already showing as pending confirmation

About TopCashback

There are now more than a dozen cashback websites on the market, and their usage and money-making logic are very similar. If you're interested, you can read “How do cashback sites make money”. To stand out among so many sites, a site has to be competitive in every area and also highlight its own strengths. Today, we're introducing a cashback site I use often—TopCashback.

I have used this site for more than ten years. They often offer relatively high merchant cashback, and withdrawals are quite flexible: as soon as a cashback entry is marked confirmed, you can withdraw it, unlike Rakuten, which requires waiting for a quarterly payout. Their best cashback guarantee is also quite good, and they can match the higher cashback rates offered by other cashback sites.

Basic Features

Cashback site

TopCashback’s most basic function is, of course, a cashback site. Each time you shop, search for the merchant you want to visit through TopCashback, then click through to the merchant’s website within TopCashback to complete the purchase, and you can earn cashback. If you are not familiar with this process, you can refer to “Cashback site basics”.

  • For example, if you search for Sephora, you can see that it offers 4% cashback

Tracking time and cashback time

Generally speaking, tracking is very fast. After the item ships, TopCashback will show the entry as pending confirmation. Of course, this mainly depends on the merchant.

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If you see pending confirmation, it means your purchase has been tracked in TopCashback’s system. Once the merchant confirms the purchase (depending on how quickly the merchant processes cashback, usually between 3 weeks and 2 months), your cashback will change from pending confirmation to confirmed. Not long after that, it will become available for withdrawal, and you can get the money. TopCashback does not pay out once a quarter like Rakuten; instead, as soon as your cashback becomes available for withdrawal, you can take the money. Some sites process faster (for example, eBay) and can go from pending confirmation to available for withdrawal in about a month, while beauty retailers are slower and usually take about 2 months.

How to get paid

TCB currently has four payout methods. Using an AMEX gift card as payout can give you a 3%-6% bonus, while using an Amazon gift card payout gives you a 3% bonus. If you don’t want to deal with extra steps and you have a checking account, ACH is the most convenient option. After entering the checking number and routing number, the money can be transferred directly to your bank account. Of course, if you do not want to provide bank information, you can receive payment via PayPal and then transfer the money from PayPal to your bank or use it directly in PayPal.

Recently, TopCashback has added the option to redeem cashback for gift cards. Redeeming Amazon, AMEX gift cards, and Sephora can get an extra 3% bonus, while redeeming nike, hotels.com, Gap, and petco gets an extra 5% bonus.

Note that AMEX gift cards can be spent directly in physical stores or online as a form of payment, for example to pay utility bills or mobile phone bills. TopCashback cashback can now be withdrawn through a Virtual Visa gift card, and there is now a 5% bonus. This Virtual Visa gift card can be used directly online. If you can use Amazon gift cards, then through this Visa gift card you can also buy Visa gift cards directly on Amazon’s website; the 5% bonus is a little higher than the direct 3% Amazon bonus.

Missing Cashback

For purchases that were not tracked, TCB also provides an online submission feature. If your purchase has not been tracked within 7 days, you can use this feature to submit a claim step by step. You can also find this feature under Account——Customer Care.

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To be honest, I have hardly ever used this feature because large cashback amounts are tracked very well. But I have heard people who have used it complain that the processing is very slow, with no movement for several months.

Cashback rates and merchant coverage

Basically, you can find cashback for almost any site you can think of on TCB, and the cashback rates for bags and beauty products that women often buy are especially high. Sometimes they also offer very high limited-time cashback, like the 20% cashback for Rebecca Minkoff below, which is basically equivalent to 20% off!

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Best Cashback Guarantee

With so many cashback sites out there, the cashback rates offered by each site for the same merchant are often different. Isn’t that annoying? You can’t always choose the site with the highest cashback, because then you may not have enough to reach the minimum withdrawal amount, and it would be a problem if you can’t cash out anywhere. For this reason, TCB offers a Highest Cashback Guarantee feature. In short, if another cashback site offers a higher rate for that merchant, TCB will match the same rate after you submit a claim.

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In Account——Customer care, we can find this Highest Cashback Guarantee feature. Click Claim to get started.

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Please note that TCB only matches cashback rates from the following major cashback sites

Only some merchants participate in this matching program (only part of the list is shown here)

The basic process for matching cashback is as follows:

  • Shop through TCB
  • TCB tracks your purchase (it appears as pending confirmation)
  • Find a higher cashback rate than the one TCB offered you on another cashback site (copy the merchant page from that cashback site)
  • Fill out the form above, select the merchant and the corresponding time, choose the cashback site you want to match, and paste the copied link into the URL field
  • After submitting, it is usually processed successfully within a few days
The screenshot below shows that I made a $500 purchase on eBay through TCB. At the time, TCB only offered 1% cashback. I found that shopathome offered 2% cashback, so I submitted a claim, and TCB quickly added the extra cashback. tc10

If you plan to use this match feature, pay special attention to the following:

  • You must wait until the purchase has tracked before submitting a claim, and you must submit the claim within 7 days after it tracks.
  • The other cashback portal must have offered the higher cashback rate on the same day you made your purchase.
  • For other details, see the official explanation: official link

Very High Cashback on Bank Accounts

Right now, signing up for SoFi through TopCashback offers a $350 bonus. See details below:

Free Items

TopCashback often has deals where items become free after cashback (mostly for new users, though sometimes for existing users too). For details, see some of the deals below:

Cashback Portal Series

Comparison and Reviews of U.S. Cashback Sites

Cashback Site Sign-Up Bonus Quick Take
Rakuten $20-$40 sign-up bonus Great customer service, reliable tracking, and in-store cashback; payouts take longer
Rebatesme $20-$40 sign-up bonus Chinese interface available, many payout options, and high cashback rates on beauty purchases
Topcashback Up to $20 bonus Fast tracking, quick payouts, highest-rate guarantee, and frequent promotions; customer service is average
ShopBack $20 sign-up bonus Offers cashback at Amazon, easy browser extension cashback, and very high rates at some merchants
GoCashBack $5 sign-up bonus Chinese interface available, gift card payout option, and exclusive discounts
Extrabux $20 sign-up bonus Chinese interface available, WeChat withdrawal option, and students get a VIP card
Mr. Rebates $5 sign-up bonus Accurate tracking and good customer service
SimplyBestCoupons $5 sign-up bonus Good for niche stores and has strong promo codes
Befrugal $10-$20 sign-up bonus Good customer service and fast payouts

Sign-up Link