How Does FreeShipping.com Work?
A few weeks ago I shared a deep dive into FreeShipping.com with you. We will give you a little refresh in this article as well, but be sure to check out the for a more in depth explanation of the program. I wanted to take that breakdown a bit further and answer the question, how does FreeShipping.com work? In this article I will share my personal experience over the last few weeks using the platform. I will also give you some more in depth analysis and thoughts on the programs I have yet to use.
***This is a sponsored post by FreeShipping.com. They also gave me a free 90 day membership to test out the program.***
What Is FreeShipping.com?
FreeShipping.com is a money saving platform that covers many areas of shopping online. You can earn cash back at over 1,000 stores, shipping rebates, price match coverage and even rebates on food delivery costs. That covers a lot of our digital shopping / consumption needs.
FreeShipping.com does run a subscription model, which means you pay a monthly fee to gain access to the perks of the program. The cost is $19 per month. With your membership you will get shopping portal rates that usually beat the competition. The other online programs you use don’t have the variety of coverage that the FreeShipping.com lineup offers in terms of rebates and protections either.
Remember to check out my complete breakdown of the program should you need more detail on the aspects of the program.
Shopping Portal
The area of the program that will be top of mind for most of our readers is the shopping portal. With FreeShipping.com you gain access to 10% cash back on your online shopping purchases at over 1,000 stores. They also offer one-day boosts to 15% cash back for individual stores, and seasonal 20% cash back weekends including- several top stores at a time, that coincide with the biggest shopping times of the year. This perk is capped at $1,000 in cashback earned per year.
My Experience
With the weather warming up I needed to make a few purchases at Home Depot recently. We needed some new zero gravity chairs and one of our window air conditioner units went kaput at the end of last year. These ended up being in two separate purchases a week or so apart.
One purchase for the air conditioner showed as tracking in My Savings within a day or two, and the $17.78 in cash back is currently pending in my account.
The other purchase was the zero gravity chairs for around $100. I did run into a snafu with this order, as it did not track properly for the 10% back. After waiting a few weeks for it to show in the My Savings section of FreeShipping.com I reached out to customer service to have them look into it.
The customer service department has been very responsive, usually responding within 24 hours, but never more than 48 hours. I needed to submit proof of my purchase and they are working with Home Depot to get it straightened out. They ended up correcting the issue and added the purchase to My Savings about a week later.
I will say that other shopping portals I checked at the time were offering 1% – 2% back, or nothing at all, for purchases at Home Depot. It was amazing to be racking up 10% in cash back instead!
Shipping Rebate
Funny enough, I ended up testing out the shipping rebate feature on Amazon. I say funny enough because I have an Amazon Prime membership. Why in the world would I need to use a shipping rebate then? Because I needed the item first thing in the morning! Normally I throw in some other stuff I probably don’t need to reach the $25 minimum to make an early delivery free. With FreeShipping.com I didn’t need to do that though.
My Experience
I clicked through the FreeShipping.com site before making my purchase at Amazon. Then I purchased the $7 product I needed first thing in the morning and paid the $2.99 early next morning delivery fee. Once it was delivered I submitted the order info on my FreeShipping.com account, and the $2.99 went pending shortly after.
This perk is good for up to $10 per claim on any shipping charges you pay on any online purchase made through the program. Earnings are capped at $500Â per membership year
Return Shipping
I have not had to return any of my purchases over the last few weeks, but it is nice to know I have this type of coverage. Especially since Amazon charges some people for return shipping if they have a high return rate recently. If you are a serial returner, then this FreeShipping.com perk could be worth its weight in gold to you.
The return shipping coverage is good for up to $10 per claim on any return shipping charges you pay on any online purchase. Earnings are capped at $500Â per membership year
Food Delivery Rebates
With our recent travels we haven’t had the need for a food delivery order to test out this rebate. I am looking forward to taking advantage of it this summer with the kids home though. It will be nice to know that I can order them some lunch without needing to take a break from working to get it. With the FreeShipping.com food delivery rebate I will be able to keep some of that hard earned money in my pocket.
This should pair up perfectly with some of the credit card perks I have too. Whether it is my monthly Grubhub credit from our AAdvantage Executive card, or our UberEats credit from our Amex Platinum & Gold cards, I know this will be useful. It does have to have a delivery fee on the order to trigger the food delivery rebate.
Yes, all three major food delivery programs are eligible for the food delivery rebates. You just need to click through FreeShipping.com before making your order and then submit the information after receiving your food. I assume the process is pretty much the same as my Amazon shipping rebate discussed above.
Rebates are good for up to $5 per claim on delivery and service charges when you order through participating delivery services. Earnings are capped at $250Â per membership year
Price Protection
I think the price protection perk may be the most valuable for people, outside of the shopping portal of course. Just two claims per year could offset most of your membership cost. That is because the rebate has a healthy cap of $100 per price protection claim. There is also a cap of up to $1,000 in price protection claims per membership year with FreeShipping.com.
The best part of this perk, at least in my opinion, is that the new price doesn’t need to be on the same site you bought it from. Plus, you can claim the rebate even if it wasn’t made through FreeShipping.com as long as you were an active member at the time of purchase. That offers much needed peace of mind when you are making a larger / expensive purchases.
Payout Experience
Cash Back and rebates you earn in the current month will be paid to you on the 15th of the following month. You can choose to get paid via check or PayPal.
My Amazon shipping rebate was submitted with a few days left in May. It was approved for the June 15th payout, even though the purchase was at the very end of May. I selected my payment via check since I don’t use PayPal. Much to my surprise, the check was in my mailbox on June 15th. I had expected the check to be mailed on the 15th and show up around a week later. It looks like FreeShipping.com tries their best to get the checks to you around the 15th each month. For what it is worth, my check was dated and mailed on the 10th of the month.
The best part is the check was for only $2.99. That is great because there are no minimums for payments with FreeShipping.com, and you don’t need to wait 3 months etc. for a payout. I know many people will appreciate those aspects of the program.
How Does FreeShipping.com Work: Final Thoughts
Thank you again to FreeShipping.com for sponsoring this post and giving me a chance to test out the program. Hopefully my breakdown of how FreeShipping.com works is beneficial for all of you as well.
There are a lot of positives of the program if you shop online often. Whether it is from the best in class cash back on the purchase, a discount on expedited shipping or covering your butt should the price drop elsewhere after your purchase. I also love that it lets me take something off my to-do list because I don’t feel bad about paying for shipping or delivery with the rebates FreeShipping.com provides.
Happy shopping, and happy saving!
