Stacked Cash Back Layer Cake Recipe

Check out this recipe for Stacked Cash Back Layer Cake to earn as many different rebates as possible on every single purchase that you make, from groceries, office supplies, beauty products and household items to dining, entertainment, transportation and travel.

To earn the most cash back on all of your purchases, it’s important to stack your rebates like the layers of a cake.

You’ll want to start with a good base layer through which you make all of your purchases, like a cash back credit card, and then build upon that base with additional layers like online shopping rebates, credit card-linked rebates, and after-purchase rebates, plus don’t forget to top your cake with some extra frosting like retailer rebates.

By layering your rebates like cake layers, you’ll be able to maximize your cash back earnings on all of your purchases across different spending categories.

Layer #1: Credit Card Rebates

The base layer in any rebate earning strategy is to make all of your purchases through a credit card that earns cash back.

This includes purchases of groceries, apparel, gasoline, dining, entertainment, household items, utilities, and wherever else you spend your money.

If you’re paying for your gas with cash or you pay for your Internet with a recurring debit from your bank account, then you’re leaving extra money on the table in the form of the cash back rebates that you would earn if you were using a credit card.

So pick a credit card that offers you the most bang for your bucks and allows you to get the highest rebates possible for the purchases that you make the most.

For many people, this may be a card that offers a solid 2% cash back on all of your purchases, such as the Citi Double Cash Card, which gives you 1% when you make the purchase and 1% when you pay off the purchase.

You might also consider a card that offers a lower base rebate overall with higher rebates in select categories, where you might spend a majority of your money, such as the Uber Credit Card, which offers 4% cash back on dining, 3% on hotels and airfare, 2% on online purchases, and 1% on everything else.

Another option for heavy grocery shoppers and commuters would be the Blue Cash Everyday Card, which offers 3% cash back at supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, 2% at gas stations and department stores, and 1% on all of your other purchases.

All 3 of these card options have no annual fees, which is generally the best option for moderate spenders, but if you spend enough on groceries and gas to warrant the $95 annual fee, then the Blue Cash Preferred Card increased the rebate rate to 6% cash back at supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, 3% at gas stations and department stores, and 1% on all of your other purchases.

You could always consider getting multiple cards for your different types of spending, in order to earn the highest rebate tier in each purchase category, but if you don’t want make things complicated, simply choose the card that will benefit you the most.

Whatever you decide, just make sure that you make every purchase you can through the card, so that you’re always getting back money on your spending.

Layer #2: Online Shopping Rebates

The second layer spending strategy is to make sure that you make all of your online purchases through a cash back shopping portal, which is a free service that gives you rebates on all of your purchases for simply visiting your favorite stores through their affiliate links before placing your order.

Basically, online shopping rebate portals get a commission for referring you through their affiliate links, and they offer you a percentage of that commission as an incentive for shopping through their links.

All you have to do to get started is create a free account with an online shopping rebate portal and always shop through their links at participating stores, which includes a ton of major retailers like Target, Amazon, Kohl’s, Groupon, OfficeMax, Sam’s Club, Expedia, Orbitz and thousands of others.

The cash back network Ebates even has their own Ebates Hotels service, which offers 7% cash back on every hotel every day at top hotels in popular destinations around the world (10% with the Ebates Credit Card).

Another network TopCashback boasts offering 100% of the commission that they earn back to their members, and they’ll even match a higher cash back rate if you find it.

Both of these networks allow you to stack your store savings with coupon codes, and you simply redeem your earned rebates via PayPal and other methods, plus TopCashback gives you an extra 3% bonus when you redeem your rebates for American Express Gift Cards or Amazon.com Gift Cards.

Whichever network you decide to use, whenever you make an online purchase at a participating merchant, make sure to click through the store link from your network’s website before shopping and placing your order.

Layer #3: Credit Card-Linked Rebates

Another layer of rebates that can be stacked together are credit card-linked rebates, which are programs where you link your credit card to an account, and whenever you make a qualifying purchase at a participating merchant with that credit card, you will earn a cash back reward on that purchase, which you can redeem for cash rewards through your account.

You can link multiple credit cards to each account, and you simply make purchases as you normally would with your credit card, and you’ll get cash back on your spending at various locations.

These card-linked rebates can be used at local businesses and restaurants as well as at national chains and even for some online purchases.

Drop gives you cash back at Amazon.com, Starbucks, Uber, McDonald’s, Whole Foods Market, and other stores as well as special 1-time spending bonuses whenever you use a linked card to make a purchase.

Dosh offers cash back at your local pizza joints and taverns as well as 10% at Jiffy Lube, 2% at Sam’s Club, 7% at Hallmark Gold Crown, and 10% at Denny’s.

Swagbucks also offers cash back at local shops and eateries as well as for online purchases, travel purchase, and various other Internet activities, so they can be a good option as well if you want to have access to a variety of different rebate options in one service (please note that you cannot link the same card to both Swagbucks and Dosh at the same time).

Seated is a great option for those who frequently dine out at restaurants, as it offers you $20-$40 cash back in Amazon, Uber, or Dining Credits each time you dine out at a participating restaurant and meet the minimum spending requirement on your linked credit card.

The great thing about these types of credit card-linked rebates is that they can possibly be combined with your other online shopping rebates at stores like Amazon, where you could earn cash back from both TopCashback (by following their online link) and Drop (by using your linked card) on qualifying purchases.

Since you’ll also be using your cash back credit card, you’ll earn additional rebates on top of that for even more layers in your cash back cake.

Layer #4: Merchant-Based Rebates

Merchant reward programs can also add to your rebate total on your purchases, allowing you to earn cash back or rewards on all of your purchases at that merchant.

For instance, Overstock’s Club O Gold Program provides you with 5% Reward Dollars on every purchase along with free shipping on all orders, up to 40% in Extra Rewards, and 5% Dining Rewards, but it does have an annual fee of $19.95 to join, although it’s free for Active Military and Veterans, Teachers and Students, First Responders, and Overstock MasterCard Card members.

The CVS ExtraCare Program offers 2% back in ExtraBucks Rewards every time you use your ExtraCare card along with special deals on your purchases.

Many other stores also offer their own rewards programs, so when you shop at those merchants, you can stack the rebates that you receive on top of all of your other earnings.

Layer #5: After-Purchase Rebates

Just because your purchase is completed, it doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to earn rebates on your order with after-purchase rebates that allow you to get cash back when you submit your retail receipt on qualify purchases.

With after-purchase rebates, you simply make a qualifying purchase at a participating store, and then you submit your receipt for that order to earn cash back on your purchases.

Traditionally, a company sends you a rebate for a product or a retailer gives you a rebate form after you make a purchase, and then you submit that rebate online or by mail to receive a rebate check from the company or store.

The home improvement store Menards offers these on a regular basis, and many other businesses offer these types of rebates as well.

App-based services like Ibotta offer after-purchase rebates in a different way, allowing you to shop at grocery stores and and other merchants for participating products, and then you simply submit a photo of your receipt through the app to receive cash back on your qualifying purchases.

The Checkout 51 App is another option for earning grocery rebates, and you can stack theirs with Ibotta when they offer rebates on the same products.

The Upside Gas App (available in DC, MD, VA and NY) offers cash back on gas purchases, groceries, and restaurants, and their rebates can also be combined with any rebates that you earn from other services.

After-purchase rebates are another great way to make your cash back layer cake even thicker with rebates.

By combining and utilizing as many layers of cash back stacking as possible on each purchase that you make, you can save a ton more money on your spending and get more rebates on everything that you buy.

Please note that you won’t be able to enjoy every layer of Stacked Cash Back Layer Cake on every purchase that you make, although that is the ultimate goal, but the more rebate layers that you can stack for each purchase, the more savings you’ll be able to achieve across your different spending categories. If you have any other ideas or options for earning even more cash back, please feel free to share them in the below comments.