Upside is a cash back app that is best known for offering cash back at certain gas stations (along with some restaurants and grocery stores). Any savings are welcome these days. Nationally, the average price for a gallon of unleaded was $3.12 when heading into in March, according to AAA. While this isn’t quite as high as last year’s average of $3.52 in March 2024, it’s still a large expense for many families.

Upside’s promotions stack with your existing credit card rewards. Like store coupons, shopping portals, card-linked offers and other cash back apps (such as Dosh and Ibotta), Upside is another way to save money.

And when you combine multiple savings strategies on the same purchase, the 1% to 6% cash back that you can get on gas, dining and groceries with a rewards credit card is just the beginning.

How Upside works: The fine print

Even though Upside’s website touts relationships with national brands such as Shell, BP, Phillips 66, Dunkin’, Burger King and many others, it’s important to note that only some of these retailers’ locations offer cash back via Upside. And in my experience, it’s a distinct minority.

You might get lucky and find something that works for you. I’ve found you’re more likely to strike gold with a restaurant deal than at a gas station or grocery store, but it depends. And it’s not just well-known franchises; many small local restaurants are on Upside, too. The app’s pitch to businesses is that it’s targeted advertising that increases sales and can be attributed to specific purchases.

If you see a deal you like on the Upside app, you need to do the following to take advantage of it.

Click “claim offer.” This has to be done before you make your purchase.

Proceed with your purchase using your credit or debit card. You only have four hours to make a purchase.

Click “I paid with this card.” Make sure your payment method on file is the same as the payment method you used to make your purchase.

After clicking on the “I paid with this card” button, the transaction will move into your “History” tab and be shown as pending. Upside will use partner data to confirm that you’ve paid with that card, so you won’t need to upload a receipt like you used to. Once you receive your cash back, you can redeem it as often as you like, with no minimum redemption amount. Keep in mind: If Upside can’t find your transaction in its partner data within 10 days, it won’t give you the cash back, even if you know you’ve paid. You’ll have to submit physical proof of payment, such as a receipt, within a certain time period in order to try and get your cash back paid out.

Can Upside help you save at gas stations?

In my area (a suburb of New York City), GasBuddy data and my personal experience indicated that a good price for a gallon of regular gas was around $4.25 in 2022. Upside was advertising an 11-cent discount off a $3.79 per-gallon price a few miles from my house. That sounded too good to be true, so I drove to the station to check it out. Sure enough, the price was actually $4.69 per gallon!

I visited another gas station touting 15 cents off $4.33 per gallon via Upside. The actual price was again higher than the app promised, but only by six cents this time. I elected not to fill up since I could have gotten a similar price at my usual station without the hassle of waiting to receive my cash back from Upside.

However, more recent deals in other parts of the country show more lucrative deals. In North Carolina, for example, offers can range anywhere between 56 cents to 61 cents in cash back per gallon.

Gas credit cards to pair with Upside

In general, gas rewards credit cards are my favorite tip for saving on gas purchases. I use the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express, which gives 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations. That’s solid, although not top of the line (my main reason for using that card is its exceptional 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets — on up to $6,000 in annual purchases, then 1% cash back after that).

You can use these cards to pair with the Upside app to save even more. However, I like to maximize my cash back by stacking my credit card rewards with gas stations’ loyalty programs whenever possible, instead. Most of the major gas brands have apps that reduce the price by 5 to 10 cents per gallon on top of the credit card rewards you earn. Whether those loyalty programs offer you more or less than Upside will largely depend on what deals pop up where you live.

But, you can’t fully combine loyalty program discounts with Upside discounts. Upside’s fine print section within each deal states that other discounts (aside from credit card rewards) may reduce your Upside discount.

What restaurant deals are on Upside?

In my area, I could’ve used Upside to earn 14% cash back at a neighborhood deli and 7% cash back at several other mom-and-pop restaurants (all of these rewards are capped at $10). None of my nearby Dunkin’ or Burger King franchisees appeared to be offering deals.

What about grocery store savings?

I was excited when I first heard Upside offers cash back at grocery stores since food is one of my family’s most significant spending categories. But this is the most limited of Upside’s three classifications. I couldn’t find any participating merchants in my area. Hopefully, you’ll have better luck. Upside’s website claims that it has deals from more than 175 grocery store locations nationwide. Some include:

Woodman’s Market

Piggly Wiggly

Gelson’s Markets

Vicente Foods

Cardenas Markets

Price Chopper

Northgate Market

The bottom line

I don’t see a lot of savings opportunities when I peruse deals near me. It also concerns me that the app doesn’t always show the latest gas prices. While you might fare better, my opinion is that Upside sounds better than it really is. Still, the app can help you save if you’re able to find good deals in your area — especially if you pair it with a cash back credit card. You’ll likely find deals at gas stations and restaurants before you find deals at grocery stores.