In my quest to maximize my credit card spend, I always want to stack offers where I can through shopping portals or Amex Offers. Whenever I’m making a purchase, I go over each option to make sure I’m earning as much as I can by using the right credit card, portal, and any bank offer I have on my cards. There’s another great app out there called Upside to earn cashback on gas purchases as well as some restaurants and even grocery stores.

Upside partners with gas stations, restaurants, and a handful of grocery stores around the country to offer cash back on your purchases. I primarily use it for gas but there are also some good options for restaurants as well. While they advertise grocery stores, I haven’t found any near me.

Earning Cash Back on Gas

Whenever I need to fill up, I’ll hop on the Upside app to check which gas stations around me are offering cash back. It can range from 1 cent per gallon all the way up to 25 cents per gallon. The nice thing about it is you can see what the current gas price is so that you can see what the effective gas price is including the cash back. If the station is offering 20 cents back but is 25 cents higher per gallon, you’ll be better off going to a different station.

You load your credit card into the app so it can track your payment. Just be sure to select the right one. I have a number of different cards in the app as I’ll occasionally have additional cash back or points that I can use from Amex Offers.

Next, all you have to do is hit “Claim”, pump your gas, and you’re good to go. The app tracks your purchase and automatically adds your cash back into your Upside account.

Once you have at least $25 of cash back, you can cash out to your bank account or use those funds to buy a gift card from a number of different retailers.

My lifetime earnings so far is over $280! You won’t get rich with Upside, but it’s a great way to double dip on a few purchases you would already make. Just be sure to use the best card for gas like the Citi Strata Premier to get 3x points on all gas purchases.

Earning Cash Back on Restaurants

More and more restaurants are joining Upside. When they first launched their restaurant partners, there were only a handful of them. The process for earning cash back on restaurants is very similar to that of a gas station. The one difference is that after you claim the offer, you may be asked to upload a receipt of your purchase which you can easily do in the app. Don’t forget to use a card like the Amex Gold to earn 4x points on your restaurant purchases.

You’ll see a number of national restaurant chains on Upside as well like Moe’s Southwest Grill or Starbucks, however the process for making your purchase is a bit convoluted and may confuse the person checking you out at the restaurant. You’ll need to buy a digital gift card in the app and use it to complete your payment. I haven’t done this yet as it is seems clunky to me and the cash back you earn is usually only between 1% and 3%.

Upside Bonuses

For the past 6 months or so, I’ve gotten targeted bonuses to earn an additional 10 cents per gallon on my first fill up in the month following after making at least 7 purchases in the current month. Once I complete the required number of purchases, the following month I’ll have an an additional 10 cents off. So, I find a gas station that is offering 15 cents off per gallon, they’ll automatically up that to 25 cents per gallon. I’ll take it!

Earn $7 Back on Your First Purchase

Upside has a great referral program where you can earn an additional $7 on your first purchase with a referral. Use mine: QUINN9276 or feel free to drop yours below in the comment section. Or just click this link: Upside Refer a Friend

Wrapping Up

Upside is an awesome app to earn additional cash back on gas station or restaurant purchases. Best of all, you can still use a credit card to earn points on your purchase as well as stack any offers you may have.

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