Is Dosh a Scam? My Honest Dosh App Review

by Anton

Welcome to my Dosh app review.

Dosh is currently one of the most popular cash back apps, with millions of installs. I heard about Dosh back in 2017, and downloaded it in early 2018 to see what all the hype was about.

Since I’ve been using Dosh for quite a while now, I feel that I’m in a good position to give a thorough, honest review based on both my experience and what I have heard or read from others.

Table of Contents

Dosh App Review

Dosh is mainly a service that guarantees you money back when you make a purchase from any store that is a part of its partner program.

And the best part is you don’t have to upload or scan the receipts to get these cashback rewards. It’s designed in a way that the moment you link your debit or credit card, Dosh will take care of the rest for you.

Dosh works with online stores, restaurants, retail stores, hotels, and many other places where you can have access to your banking cards.

Dosh is available for both Android and iOS. Dosh is unlike most other cash back apps in that you don’t need to scan your receipts in order to earn cash back. Instead, you connect your credit/debit card and bank account to Dosh, and then cash back is automatically added to your Dosh account whenever you make a qualifying purchase.

Download Dosh Here

Dosh Safety and Security

Since you have to link a card and your bank account, it’s especially good to be concerned about privacy. Privacy has always been important, but it is becoming an increasingly mainstream issue now, with frequent reports of various hacks and data leaks.

In the case of Dosh, there have been no security issues. They take security very seriously, as evidenced on their homepage. Dosh cannot even store credit card information since all the data is securely tokenized and vaulted using Braintree, a PayPal service.

Dosh also uses services called Cash Flow Solutions, Inc. and Plaid to, according to Dosh’s Terms of Service, “gather users’ data from financial institutions.” These services are used in part for verification and require users to submit their bank account login information to Dosh (Dosh does not store the information by itself).

The Dosh app is also secured with 256-bit SSL encryption, meaning the data it stores cannot be intercepted by hackers.

Is There Any Possibility of a Scam?

Dosh has an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and works with major companies such as Sam’s Club, Forever 21, and Pizza Hut.

With that said, there are always possible risks associated with using anything online, and with Dosh requiring sensitive financial information, it’s especially good to remain vigilant. However, it doesn’t mean Dosh is not safe, or there are chances of scam.

How Does Dosh Work?

Part of shopping for many people is looking for opportunities to save money on purchases by finding and using coupons, discount codes, and cash back apps.

The problem with these methods that deters most people is the work involved. The regular run-of-the-mill coupons and discount codes for 1-5% cash back can be too much of a hassle to even bother with. And most cash back apps require users to submit a picture of their receipt before they can receive any cash back.

This is where Dosh comes in.

Dosh is essentially a “set it and forget it” application. All you have to do is sign up, link a card, and then whenever you use that card you get cash back automatically applied to your Dosh account. No digging around for coupons, no scanning receipts, no hassle.

Download and sign up

The very first thing you need to do is go to your App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android) and download the application. After the installation is complete, open the app and sign up with all your basic information.

Link your card

After you’re done with the signup, link a card, and then whenever you use that card, you get cash back automatically applied to your Dosh account. No digging around for coupons, no scanning receipts, no hassle.

Browse through different offers

Once Dosh is installed on your phone and your first card is linked, you can browse all the offers available on the app. You can browse through specific categories, view a map or a list of all the in-store offers near you, or view a list of online offers.

In-store offers are from businesses that have partnered with Dosh. Next to each listing is the cash back percentage the business offers.

Note: if you live in a less populated area, there may not be many nearby offers available. If you’re in a decent-sized city however, there should be plenty.

There is a decent selection of online offers available through Dosh, including offers from big names like Pizza Hut, Sephora, and Forever 21. For those who do a lot of online shopping, this would be a great way to cut down on some costs.

Merchants that work with Dosh — A sampling of merchants that work with Dosh

Best Features of the Dosh App

In this section, I’ll talk about the best features the Dosh application has to offer.

Auto cash-back

Without question, Dosh’s cashback is a huge draw. Your linked cards can easily help you to earn automatic cash back. And the best part about this feature is that it doesn’t require any paperwork. Once you hit the $25 milestone, use PayPal or Venmo to withdraw this cash.

Restaurant offers

Restaurant offers and cashback are other passive earning methods that this app offers. When you browse through the different restaurant offerings and make a confirmation, you can instantly get 10% cashback from local restaurants.

Make sure you look for special offers, as this can provide you with more cashback.

Aids you in making reservations

Another nice feature that Dosh offers you is it lets you book hotels and earn cashback as a reward. This is an excellent way to earn passively even when you’re on vacation. You can easily get from 20 to 40% during your hotel stays. A cherry on the top income process, don’t you think?

Ways You Can Make Money with Dosh

Dosh is good for more than simply getting cash back from stores. There are other ways to earn money with Dosh, some of which can be very lucrative.

Link a card for a free $1

When you link your first card, you will immediately get $1 for free. If you regularly use more than one card, you may want to link the others in order to get cash back for purchases you make with them. Each additional card you link will earn you an extra $1.

Refer your friends to Dosh

In the Dosh app, you’ll notice a menu item called “Refer”. When you click this, it will display your unique referral link/code. You can send this to friends and family through SMS, email, and social media, or you can manually copy and paste it wherever you want.

When someone clicks your unique referral link and downloads Dosh (or enters your referral code when they sign up), and links a card, you will get a referral bonus – in other words, free money.

The referral bonus is currently $5. Sometimes Dosh will run promotions and increase the referral bonus to $8, $10, or even $15.

The income potential for simply referring others to Dosh is quite high. Let’s say you send the link to 100 people. Even if only 20 of them sign up and link a card, you’ll earn $100. Obviously, this scenario is not realistic for many people. But earning $5 for simply having a friend sign up using your code isn’t too bad (and it’s very easy).

In July 2019, Dosh introduced cash back on hotel bookings and along with that, another referral incentive: $25 in your account every time a referral of yours books a hotel.

Book hotels through the app

If you are planning a trip somewhere, you can use Dosh to save money on hotel stays. In the app, click the “Hotels” menu item. From there, you will see a list of popular hotels and the average cash back per night you can earn using Dosh.

Most show savings of $40-50/night, but some (the more expensive ones) offer over $200 back per night.

The Advantages of Using Dosh

Passive income and various rewards aren’t the only advantages of using Dosh. There are many other notable benefits that add to the list.

Widespread coverage across the United States

Dosh is only available in the US. However, this app works at over 100,000 locations across the nation. Even when you’re surfing through different deals and offers in Dosh Travel, you’ll be amazed that there’s no opportunity shortage to earn different rewards with Dosh.

Nice cash rewards

The best part about Dosh is that it doesn’t provide you with gift cards; the only way it rewards you is through cash. So, when you reach $25 in your account, you can easily cash this amount out. It’s plain and simple!

Different ways to make money

The best and one of the most effective ways to make money is by spending on Dosh partners. And one of the significant reasons that make this app a great pick is its various money-making offers.

Whether you stay in a hotel, purchase from resellers, or go to restaurants, you can make a nice passive income with this app.

How Does Dosh Pay?

Once your Dosh balance reaches $25, you can cash out by Direct Deposit, PayPal, or Venmo. Usually the funds take several business days to transfer, but sometimes it only takes a few minutes.

There is one caveat though. You have to get cash back from a Dosh merchant at least once before you can cash out, even if you’ve hit the $25 minimum with referrals. There are a decent number of offers available on the app though, so this requirement shouldn’t be too prohibitive.

I took the below screenshots to show the process of cashing out, as well as to show payment proof.

Drawbacks and Complaints of the Dosh App

Here are a few shortcomings that you’re likely to face when using this application.

Comparatively high minimum cash out amount

If you compare it with different other applications like Checkout 51, you’ll know that these apps let you redeem the cash when you’ve earned $20. However, Dosh’s minimum withdrawal requires $25, and this may appear a bit high!

The offers and special deals Dosh offers are indeed worthwhile. Yet, the high minimum redemption amount is a drawback.

No department store or Discover cards

If you’re into department stores or Discover cards only, then Dosh is not for you. This is because Dosh doesn’t support such credit cards.

Cards link to a single Dosh account only

A single credit card will only link to one Dosh account. So, if you have share cards or even a joint card, then only one person can add the card to their account. Although this isn’t much of a drawback, every member of your family are active card user.

If you’re still uncomfortable linking your card, there are plenty of other cash back apps you can use, such as Ibotta and Rakuten – neither of which require users to link a card or bank account.

Not getting cashback for online purchases

According to Dosh, it takes about 30 days to receive cashback for online purchases. But some users reported that after making an online purchase, it did not even show up as “Pending” on the Activity page in the Dosh app.

Limited amount of offers, especially in rural areas

Dosh used to work with gas stations and even Walmart, but that’s no longer the case (at least as of September 2019). Longtime users, including myself, have noticed the number of offers available in the app start to dwindle. There should still be plenty of offers available in densely populated areas though.

Some offers are no longer available

Sometimes certain merchants will stop working with Dosh. This can be frustrating as a user if you are accustomed to receiving cash back from a particular store.

Alternatives to Dosh

Here are some Dosh alternatives that you may want to consider.

Drop

There was a time when Drop was like Dosh, but now it’s pretty much less passive, which is not good news. But that doesn’t mean Drop isn’t a good cashback app. You can earn sweet rewards from this application as well.

In addition, you can redeem Drop points for free gift cards. Moreover, signing up for new services can aid you in making $50 to $100 with Drop. You can often get 5% or even more cashback when purchasing through the app.

Fetch Rewards

This is another must-try Dosh alternative app, especially if you’re into food shopping and groceries. Fetch Rewards isn’t as passive as Dosh, but still, it’s pretty good.

Fetch Rewards compensates you for buying their partner-brand products, and you also need to upload a receipt as proof (not something that you need to do while using Dosh). Moreover, you can get 3,000 points or $3 for easy and free gift cards.

Ibotta

Ibotta is a cash-back app just like Dosh, and it gives interesting cashback offers. Although some enable cash back for buying any brand of a certain product or for any purchase at a specified store.

Unlike Dosh, you may need to scan your receipt and upload it to the app to obtain the cash. However, some stores do let you attach a loyalty card to this app to avoid scanning receipts.

Is Dosh a Scam? Final Thoughts….

Dosh has millions of downloads and a 4.5 star rating on the Google Play store. There have been no security issues with the app, despite the sensitive personal and financial information it requires. Dosh is working hard to address any issues with the app, as evidenced by their replies to every review.

I downloaded Dosh, linked a card (and at the time was not required to also link my bank account), and have cashed out numerous times and have had no trouble. It is one of the best and easiest cash back apps I have used.

Dosh provides a good way to earn a little extra income just by shopping like normal. I would recommend Dosh to most people, but for those who are more concerned about privacy, I would recommend using a less intrusive app such as Ibotta or Rakuten.