Rebate apps are one of our favorite ways to save money, but it turns out Ibotta can deactivate your account without warning. When loyal Krazy Coupon Lady user Amy had her account deactivated recently, they waited until Friday at 6 p.m. to send her an email. She was told they reserve the right to close any account at any time. She had $236 in her Ibotta account, and it was lost forever. So let’s break down exactly what happened to Amy and how you can avoid this happening to your Ibotta account as well.
Amy's Story — Her Ibotta Account Was Deactivated With No Warning
Just recently on a Friday evening, loyal Krazy Coupon Lady user Amy received an email out of the blue from Ibotta saying her account had been deactivated for violating Ibotta’s Terms of Use.
Amy considered herself a consistent user of Ibotta and told me she was close to hitting the $1,000 mark in earnings over the past five months. So as you can imagine, she was pretty shocked. Fortunately, she had been withdrawing cash from her account along the way, but still stood to lose $236 if this unannounced deactivation stood.
She immediately reached out to Ibotta for an explanation of why she had been deactivated. She told me that “the only thing that makes sense to (her) is that (she) shopped too much, but even that makes no sense.”
To their credit, Ibotta got back to her the next day, but their explanation left Amy with more questions than answers. They told her that their automated system flagged her account for one of the following reasons, “Ibotta Saver data, shopping behavior, payment activity, or account audits.” They also said that they’d decided to make her deactivation permanent.
It would have been nice if they could have told her exactly why they made the decision to permanently close her account. Without that, we're all left to guess, which means your Ibotta account could be next.
I've come up with some logical conclusions as to why this happened to Amy’s account. Hopefully you can use this information to make sure this doesn’t happen to you in the future.
Ibotta doesn't have a time limit on withdrawing cash back.
Maybe you're wondering if she let her earnings sit in her account too long without any activity and they expired.
But Ibotta puts no time limit on withdrawing your earnings. They’ll hit you with an account maintenance fee if you let 180 days go by with no activity, but that’s it.
FYI, another popular cash-back app, Fetch Rewards, has a policy that if your account sits inactive for 90 consecutive days, ALL your points will expire. Fortunately Ibotta doesn't have a similar policy.
What can cause an Ibotta account deactivation?
Unfortunately, Ibotta users like Amy might not ever know why their account was deactivated. But she’s definitely not alone, as many Ibotta users have had their account blocked in recent months.
Here are the top speculative reasons as to why this might be happening.
Don't have more than one Ibotta account.
It's a big no-no if you have more than one Ibotta account on your smartphone. It will get one or both of your accounts deactivated.
Don't try to redeem a rebate on a product that doesn't qualify.
Don't buy the wrong size or variety of item. For example, don't buy a trial-size item if it needs to be full size, and don't purchase a multipack instead of a single item if the Ibotta offer prohibits multipacks.
Try not to scan too many receipts on the same day.
Some users have gotten notices from Ibotta after they scanned too many receipts from one store in the same day. They think you're scanning receipts you found. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how many receipts trigger an automated response.
Don't use a receipt that isn't yours or scan the same receipt twice.
If it was an accident, contact them at accountsupport@ibotta.com , and they should reinstate your account.
Try not to trigger an account audit (when your balance gets over a certain amount.)
This one is purely speculative, but some users have noticed a correlation between a high account balance and an increase in account audits and notifications.
Watch out for unusual spikes in activity.
If you don’t use the app for two months, then all of the sudden you scan 20 receipts, one after another, it could trigger a fraud alert and get your account deactivated.
Be careful about combining manufacturer coupons with Ibotta rebates at certain stores.
Namely at Walmart and Dollar General, Ibotta has buckled down on letting shoppers combine some offers. This has resulted in negative balances as Ibotta will remove your cash back after the fact or deactivate your account if they notice an ongoing pattern.
How to Avoid Getting Your Ibotta Account Deactivated — 5 Smart Tips
First of all, Ibotta is still the best app out there for earning cash back, both in terms of the number of grocery offers they have, the number of stores they work with, and how easy it is to use.
But if you take one thing away from Amy’s experience, it should be that the money in your Ibotta account isn't actually yours until you withdraw it.
1. Withdraw earnings once you meet the $20 minimum.
While it takes a little more effort on your part, get in the habit of withdrawing your earnings as soon as they reach $20.
2. Space out your receipt scans.
Ibotta gives you seven days from the purchase date to scan your receipts, so don’t dump them all at once. Scan a couple now and a couple later in the week.
3. Stay consistent with your usage.
Aim to submit at least one receipt each week and keep claiming small, easy wins (think any-brand milk, bananas, tortillas, etc.). Regular Ibotta activity protects your account from triggering any fraud alerts associated with usage spikes.
4. Add rebates before you shop.
Get in the habit of tapping “+” on every offer you plan on buying and use the in-app barcode scanner to make sure the product is an exact match so you don’t get denied after the fact.
5. Keep your account safe and boring.
Use one Ibotta account on one primary device, avoid VPNs, make sure your PayPal name matches your profile, and keep receipts clear and full-length. All of these steps will help prevent fraud flags and payout delays.
The bottom line is that Ibotta still pays, and it’s a great app to have in your money-saving arsenal. But you have to play by their rules, now more than ever, even if we're not always 100% sure what those rules are. While Amy won't get her money back, hopefully we can all learn from her situation and avoid any headaches using Ibotta moving forward.
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