Cashback portals compared: who pays fastest
Six portals, the same 40 purchases, a spreadsheet of payout dates. Rates are only half the story — the other half is how long your money is hostage.
Every cashback portal advertises its best-case rate in a big green font. None of them advertise the number that matters more: how many days between “purchase tracked” and money you can actually spend. We ran the same 40 purchases through six portals and kept score.
Tracking speed is the real ranking
The spread was absurd: the fastest portal confirmed 38 of 40 purchases within 48 hours; the slowest took eleven days to notice a hotel booking and then declined it. A portal that tracks reliably at 4% beats a flaky one at 6% every single month.
Payout thresholds are a retention trick
High minimum payouts exist to keep your balance captive. Two portals held our money 90+ days across threshold resets. Check the minimum and the payout calendar before you route a big purchase — or your “6%” is an interest-free loan to an ad-tech company.