I’m almost certain there’s a good chance you get a receipt at least once a week. If you’re anything like me, you probably toss it in the trash and never think about it again.
Well, what if I told you that some apps will actually pay you to upload your receipt, no matter where you shop?
Yes, it is true, and Receipt Hog, one of the largest companies in this game, is one to highly consider. Just take a picture of your receipt and get rewarded. It’s as simple as that.
In this review, I wanted to talk about Receipt Hog and how you can make money uploading any receipt. I will talk about how it works, what you can make and what others think of the app as well. I talked about them briefly in my make money online via PayPal without surveys and 63+ free gift card posts, but I will do so more in depth here as I do in all of my reviews.
So, if you want to make a few bucks with your receipts, then it’s time to strap in and see how the Receipt Hog app works.
Receipt Hog Review
What is Receipt Hog?
In short, Receipt Hog is a free app that will reward you to upload any receipt. In exchange for doing so, they will then use this data to help collect research on spending habits and give you “coins” and/or spins for every receipt you upload.
Since most of your receipts don’t have any personal information printed on it, you can be assured that none of your personal information will be sold. After all, you can choose which receipts to upload, so if one does seem to have too much personal information, you can simply not upload.
The app is owned by Numerator, a market research company founded in 2011. According to their company description, they were founded to better understand how brands and consumers engage. Yes, it’s a legitimate company that has been around for quite some time.
To date, the app has more than one million downloads with a 4.4/5 average rating on the Google Play store.
Downloading and Signing Up
Signing up for the app is fairly straight-forward as you will download it as you would any other app.
Once installed, they will ask you to turn on your device location as well sign up, either via email or Facebook. It probably will take you a few minutes to do this. It’s not long at all.
Keep in mind that there is often a wait list, so you may not be able to join right away. If you do see that there’s a wait list, don’t worry as you should still sign up and expect a response within the month. It will come faster than you think.
Luckily, when I signed up about a year ago, I was able to gain access right away.
Your Receipt Hog Dashboard
When you load the app, your dashboard will look something like this…
On the front page, you can view your current level, the available bonuses as well as tips, tricks and even your entries in any upcoming sweepstakes. Near the bottom, you can upload your receipts with your camera as well as play the slots and view available rewards.
Below, I’m going to talk about every section as to how it works and how you can take advantage.
Bonuses
On the app, the more receipts you upload, the more you can potentially earn in the way of bonuses. As there are new bonuses every month, you will want to check out the first section on your dashboard as seen above.
For example, as I was writing this review, I could earn a spin on the slot machine for every receipt I upload in a week. This could increase if I were to increase my level. I will talk about this next.
If I were to upload once a week for the four weeks in November, then I could earn a total of four spins. Later on, I will talk about what the slot machine is all about.
Up Your Levels to Earn More Bonuses
Receipt Hog offers levels, as mentioned, similar to that of a video game as you level up. This level, according to the app, is based upon how often you upload your receipts. As you level up, your bonuses can increase. It’s that simple.
For example, if you were to reach level 10, you could receive 20 spins instead of one! If you were to reach level 40, then you could receive a 480 coin bonus. This was a screenshot of some of the bonuses you could earn, for instance…
Increasing your level isn’t all that hard as you just need to commit to scanning at least one receipt a week. Every time you upload, the app will then notify you when your bonus posts to your account.
On your dashboard, you can then see your current level status.
I would make an effort to keep these bonuses going as you can earn quite a few spins and even bonus coins. All you need to do is make it a habit to upload once a week to keep your bonuses going, so it’s not that hard at all.
Connect Accounts
If you want to earn some quick coins, Receipt Hog will add bonus coins to your account if you connect your Amazon account and Email.
According to the app, they will use this information to help better understand shopper behavior, both online and offline.
If you were to connect your email, the app will extract any purchase data, such as receipts and shipping confirmations. They will not see any personal information, such as your credit card numbers or shopping log-in information.
This is entirely optional, but they will pay you 36 coins to connect your Amazon and another 100 to connect your email. Again, it’s up to you, but it’s an easy way to earn a few extra coins.
Sweepstakes
Like a lot of your research-type companies, Receipt Hog also offer sweepstakes opportunities, giving you a chance to win big. For every receipt you upload, they will give you one entry.
At the end of each month, they will choose a winner, usually 5,000+, and add a number of coins to your account. You will be able to see the current prizes as well as the number of entries inside the sweepstakes page. You can also read the rules as well as glance at past winners if you choose.
For instance, while I was writing this, their October sweepstakes had more than 5,505 winners, with the grand prize winners earning 5,000 coins.
These sweepstakes will always change, but just let it be known that every receipt you upload is essentially a raffle ticket thrown in the hat.
Taking Pictures of Receipts
This is probably the most important part of the app — using the camera to take pictures.
At the bottom of your app, you will see a toolbar, which looks like this…
In order to upload your receipts, you will have to use your phone’s camera, all of which you can directly access from that bottom toolbar.
Whenever you have a receipt, and yes, it can be anything that prints from a cash register, Receipt Hog asks that you include the store, items, prices, total and the date. This is 100% necessary to get credited. Aside from those restrictions, it’s also important that your receipts are real and are no older than a few weeks old.
You will not get credit for hand-written receipts, old receipts, non-standard receipts as well as receipts from non-retailer businesses. There are some restrictions, but as long as you buy from a retailer that prints the receipt from a computer, then you shouldn’t have a problem getting some sort of credit.
In the case your receipt is larger than the camera, then you will be asked to take your first picture from the top and move onto the next part until your receipt is snapped in full. It’s okay if you overlap.
The Receipts Tab
Once you upload your receipt, you will then be able to check on your status via the “Receipts” tab.
In this section, you will be able to see your approvals as well as what you earn. This is what it will look like…
The number next to it is the total on the receipt, not the amount you’re getting.
Generally, as long as you follow the directions as specified earlier, you shouldn’t have a problem getting approved.
Spin the Wheel with the Slot Machine
Every time you upload a valid receipt, the app will give you what’s known as a “spin.” You will be able to use these spins via the “slots” tab found on the bottom toolbar.
Yes, just like the casino, you can test your luck to win some pretty cool prizes, such as cash, coins and much more. On the slots page, you can take a look at the current prizes as well as the daily winners.
Don’t expect to win much here as your odds are just like that of the casino, but you could win a few coins here and there, nothing spectacular.
How Much Can I Earn?
The number of coins you earn will greatly depend on what kind of receipt you upload as some tend to be more valuable than others. For instance, I read that one user received five coins for a gas station receipt while another user only received one spin and a sweepstakes entry for her department store receipt. From my research, it appeared that grocery store and gas station receipts seemed to have the greatest payouts.
Not only will the location matter, but your spending can affect your coin value as well. The more you spend at the store, the more you can earn as well. So, if you find a $20 Walmart receipt earning less than a $200 Walmart receipt, this would be the reason why.
Let it be known that you won’t always earn coins, but a sweepstakes entry and slot machine spin is almost guaranteed, no matter what kind of receipt you have.
In the end, plan on your scans being worth anywhere from no coins to as much as 10+. Again, no matter what receipt you upload, you can always get at least a spin and sweepstakes entry.
Rewards
Ah, the fun part.
What are my coins worth? And, what can I earn?
Unfortunately, Receipt Hog uses a confusing points system. It’s not like Swagbucks or Survey Junkie, where one point equals a penny, so you’re going to have to do some math.
Let’s break it down.
As of this review, Receipt Hog offered three reward options: Amazon gift cards, a Visa gift card as well as PayPal cash.
Regardless of which option you choose, here’s how your points would break down:
- 1,000 coins = $5 ($0.005 per coin)
- 2,900 coins = $15 ($0.00517 per coin)
- 4,300 coins = $25 ($0.00518 per coin)
- 6,500 = $40 ($0.00615 per coin)
As you can see, the longer you wait for a payout, the more your coin can be worth, albeit it not that much.
In the end, each coin is worth about $0.005 each, but this can change at any time.
Upon redemption, the company will send your reward within seven days.
Is Receipt Hog Worth It?
Let’s say that you’re lucky enough to upload one receipt a day and earn 10 points for each one. This will be hard, but let’s just use that for math purposes.
30 receipts would equate to 300 points, not even enough for a $5. At this rate, it will take you 100 days to earn $5.
To me, it’s not worth it, but if you make it a habit to quickly upload a receipt or even do three receipts a day, it could add up, especially if you add in the bonuses and/or even win a prize from the slot machine. There is a limit, however, so don’t plan on uploading 100 receipts a day.
There’s no right or wrong answer here as we all value our time differently, but I just wanted to include this scenario to show you what you could earn.
What Others Are Saying
I can only say so much about the app, so I went ahead and did some digging online to see what the online world had to say.
As in all of my reviews, I highlight the pros and cons I found on multiple review websites. Most of them are noted below.
The Pros
- 100% free to download
- very little effort to earn
- fun!
- operated by a real company that pays
- very easy to use
- pays cash
The Cons
- waitlist to join (most of the time)
- don’t always earn coins
- takes a while to earn
- way too many entries in the sweepstakes, making it hard to win
- poor customer service
Final Thoughts
Receipt Hog is, indeed, 100% legitimate, but don’t expect it to pay the bills. I would only expect a few dollars a month, if that. This can be said about the many money-making apps out there. As long as you have this mindset, you won’t get stressed with the final results.
Nonetheless, it’s a fun way to quickly upload your receipts before throwing them away and at least earn something. Worst case, you can always spin the wheel and test your luck. Again, expect a few bucks.
In the end, Receipt Hog isn’t the only game in town as there are many other apps that you can download that pay you to scan receipts. And, yes, you can upload your receipts to all of them to really maximize your earnings!
If you have any experience with Receipt Hog and/or you want to share your thoughts, then, by all means, you’re welcome to do so in the comments below.
In the meantime, start saving your receipts and make it a habit to upload them to earn a few bucks in your spare time.
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