I had to buy new appliances when I moved into my first house.
After doing lots of research, I found a great deal on a Samsung fridge and dishwasher. Less than 24 hours after I bought the appliances, I received an email saying they were now on sale. I was frustrated, to say the least.
I wasn’t able to get a refund on the item, and I hated knowing that I’d lost out on hundreds of dollars.
If I’d had the Earny app, it would’ve been easy for me to get a refund for the price drop. With Earny, you don’t have to worry about disputing a charge or contacting customer service when an item you’ve already bought goes on sale. This app can ensure that you get the best deal on your online purchases. Here’s how it works.
What is Earny?
The Earny app reviews the digital receipts in your inbox to analyze your purchases. When the price drops on an item you’ve already bought, Earny will submit a price adjustment request on your behalf.
Earny takes the time and hassle out of getting refunds when the price on an item drops. It does the work for you so you don’t have to research the policies of various retailers and claim refunds on your own.
Earny’s price protection only works for the following retailers:
- Best Buy
- Bloomingdale’s
- Costco
- Gap
- Banana Republic
- Old Navy
- Athleta
- J. Crew
- Kohl’s
- Macy’s
- Nike
- Nordstrom
- Target
- Zappos
- Home Depot
Earny is a good option for users who frequently shop online with these partner retailers and who want a way to save money with little effort.
Related: CapitalOne Shopping: A Full Review of the Money-Saving Browser Extension from Capital One
Earny Review: How Does the Earny App Work?
Earny’s price protection app is quick and straightforward. As long as you have a computer or mobile device, you shouldn’t have any issues using the app.
Download the app
You’ll download the Earny app on your Android or Apple device. It has a 3.5 rating on the Google Play Store and a 4.6 rating on the App Store.
You can also sign up on a desktop or laptop by visiting Earny’s website.
Link to your email account
You’ll have to create an account with Earny, choose your email provider (Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo, or other), and sign in to your account.
When you sign up, use the email address you always send your receipts to. If you sign up with one email address but send a receipt to a different one not associated with the Earny account, then the app won’t be able to track to the purchase and look for better deals.
Earny will then ask you if it can have access to your email. Choose “Allow” to agree to its terms of service and privacy policies.
You can add as many emails as you’d like, but you’ll need to create a new account for each f them.
Earny reviews your inbox for refunds
Earny will notify you when it finds a refund opportunity. It will take about 7 to 10 days to receive a refund. Chase, Mastercard, and Visa will mail you their refunds, and Citi will refund the money back to your account.
Keep in mind that you won’t receive refunds for any items you buy with cash.
Earny Hotels
After you book a hotel stay, Earny will use your confirmation email to look for price drops. If they find a lower price, they’ll notify you and let you know how you can rebook your stay at a lower rate. Also, as an Earny user, you can lock in exclusive rates of up to 60% off public prices.
Since your hotel room’s price may change a lot, this is a great perk if you travel frequently.
Earny Watch List
If you’re shopping on an Earny-approved site and see an item you like, you can add to your price watch list. The app will monitor the price, and you can see when it’s on sale.
Earny Cash Back
Earny has a cash-back browser extension that will notify you when you’re on a site that offers cash back. If you click on the Earny pop-up on the righthand side, you’ll activate Earny’s cash-back option.
The cash-back percentage will vary depending on the retailer. After 30 to 90 days, the cash back will be deposited into your account. You can then withdraw the balance on your PayPal account. This is similar to how apps like Rakuten and CapitalOne Shopping work.
Current cash-back retailers include:
- Walmart — up to 1.5%
- Target — up to 2.3%
- Sephora — up to 1.5%
- Groupon — up to 3.8%
- Warby Parker — up to 3.8%
If you use Earny’s cash back extension, you won’t be able to earn cash back from other cash-back sites.
Related: Rakuten Review: How Does the Cash Back App Work? Is it Legit?
Earny Referral Program
Earny has a referral program that pays out $5 for every person who joins the site through your link and makes a cash-back purchase. You need to have at least $15 to cash out.
Related: 17 Legit Ways You Can Get Paid to Shop
Earny Review FAQs
Once you download Earny, you’ll likely find it to be intuitive and easy to use. However, you may still come across some questions.
Is Earny safe to use?
Earny pledges that your information will be stored safely and securely. Rather than saving your email credentials, the app will authenticate directly with your email provider.
Earny also uses multi-level security encryption and VPN systems such as threat detection, dynamic data masking, and activity monitoring. In addition, its access is restricted by a firewall that blocks any unknown IPs and is secured by two-factor authentication.
Not all users like that Earny asks for refunds by sending emails pretending to be you. This makes some people uncomfortable. Plus, when you sign up for Earny, you give them access to your inbox.
Other Earny reviews claim that it’s hard to cancel a premium membership on the app and that you have to email customer service several times to get it canceled. Earny doesn’t have a Trustpilot account.
Who should use Earny?
Earny started when one of its co-founders bought a blazer for $129 at Zara and discovered a week later that the price had dropped by $65. Thanks to price protection from her credit card company, she was able to get a $65 refund, but it took her a while to get the money from her credit card.
After co-founders Dori and Oded realized how much money they could save through refunds, they wanted to help other consumers do the same. Anyone who shops with Earny’s partner retailers, including Walmart, Target, Costco, Sears, and more, may benefit from their services.
If you don’t have Earny (or an app like it), you’d have to keep a list of every item you buy and every store that sells it. Then you’d need to track every item for price drops in each store. If you do find a price drop, you’d have to submit a price adjustment claim by filling out a form. Earny does this on your behalf so you don’t have to waste your time and energy.
How much does Earny cost?
It’s free to create an Earny account, but you can upgrade to the Earny+ version, which provides double cashback at retailer websites. Earny+ costs $19.99 a year. You can also choose to keep the free version, which still comes with some cashback.
If you have a paid subscription, you can:
- Get money back on your purchases when prices drop
- Be compensated by Amazon when your packages are shipped late
- Lock in full protection on covered retailers and major travel booking sites
According to Earny’s founder Oded Vakrat, the average Earny user receives more than $300 back per year, so the cost may be worth it if you shop frequently enough.[1]
How does Earny work with Amazon?
Earny allows you to get cash back when an item you buy drops in price on Amazon. This is great news since Amazon doesn’t offer its own price protection policy.
You’ll need to link to your Amazon account through the app to ensure you’re protected. Perishable items, jewelry, and used items are not eligible for price protection through Earny.
Earny vs. Paribus: How do they compare?
Paribus is similar to Earny as it also scans your email for digital receipts and gives you automatic refunds when the prices drop on your purchased items.
Earny differs from Paribus because it shares your contact information with the company it partners with. This means you may get more promotional emails if you sign up with Earny. Also, it offers price protection for credit cards, a feature that Paribus no longer provides.
Related: 10 Best Shopping Apps for Epic Savings on Everything
Earny Review Summary: It Doesn’t Make the Cut
Earny is a promising app. However, after emailing back and forth with customer service, we’re still confused about some of the features. They also don’t display pricing and what features are included with which accounts prominently on their website. You have to dig into their FAQ articles to find this information.
Other cash-back apps can save you time and money without paid subscription plans. The idea of getting refunds on price drops sounds appealing. However, our ultimate review of Earny is that the lack of transparency and confusing pricing structure leads us to believe you’re better off using a different app.
$7.99/month
Price $47.99 if billed annually
Automatic refunds but doesn’t cover all credit cards
Earny is an app built to help users save money. The app scans and tracks your purchases for price drops. When an item you previously bought goes on sale, Earny will capture the savings on your behalf. According to the site, users receive an average of $75 in refunds.
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