The overall concept of a cashback site feels like a bit of a scam. You can get some of your money back when buying stuff just for clicking through from a different website?

But cashbacks are genuine and can be a genuinely great way to save. That’s especially true when booking travel, where costs often run into the thousands. No matter how much you’re spending though, you can get a good chunk of your money back with a bit of time, effort and patience.

You might’ve already heard of ShopBack or TopCashback, two of the biggest cashback sites here in Australia. Basically, these sites receive a commission each time you buy a product or service via their site. Then they pass part of that commission on to you.

Right now, you could click through from one of these cashback sites to a travel company like Booking.com or Viator, make a purchase, then later get a percentage of your spend as a cashback.

The slightly tricky part is that cashback rates change pretty often. As an example, you might use Shopback today to make a booking on Expedia and get 6% cashback. This adds up to around $27 back on a $500 hotel booking (GST is typically excluded when calculating cashbacks).

But next week, the cashback for Expedia might jump to something like 25%, netting you about $113. If you need to make a booking right away, then 6% is certainly better than nothing. However, if you’re planning far in advance and can be patient, you can often get a much higher cashback.

Let’s go over some more of the basics of cashbacks as well as some things you should consider. I’ll also share my own personal experiences including how much I saved on a previous trip.

Cashback 101

Quick disclaimer: I’ve had good experiences with cashback sites and my withdrawals have always been successful. However, this may be different for you. These companies, like any, can fail, which could wipe out your cashbacks. In fact, this article has been revised to remove most mentions of Cashrewards, which abruptly shut down in September 2025. Thankfully, they have pledged to pay out pending cashbacks, but that won’t necessarily be the case if another site were to close.

If you aren’t already a member, sign up to ShopBack and TopCashback. Once you’ve joined, head to their travel sections to find out what cashbacks are currently available. Generally, different sites will offer different cashback rates. As previously mentioned, these can also change regularly.

The highest cashbacks often coincide with sales like Black Friday and Click Frenzy or other promotions run by the sites. These will usually be promoted through their newsletters, websites and apps. It can also be worth monitoring deals site OzBargain for the top offers posted by users.

Extra level

Adding an extra level of potential savings but also complexity, certain customers can receive bonus cashbacks. For example, ShopBack has partnered with Westpac and its subsidiaries St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA. The site will occasionally offer an additional percentage cashback to customers of these banks on top of the amount available to all users.

Note: ShopBack may cap the amount you can receive when a cashback is upsized and/or when a bonus cashback is available. This limit may apply per transaction (which would allow you to make multiple bookings) or per customer. Check the site carefully for details.

The 25% cashback for Expedia referred to earlier in this post is an actual example of a bonus offer like this. All ShopBack users could receive 17% cashback. Only St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA customers could receive another 8% cashback on top.

Signing up to a new bank just to get an extra cashback may seem a bit much, but I will anecdotally point out that some of the best cashbacks in recent times have fallen into this category.

Outside of bank-related cashbacks, sites often have other promotions and offers which you need to manually activate. Keep an eye on your inbox, cashback apps and OzBargain for info.

Additionally, ShopBack has a $4.99 per month subscription service called ShopBack Plus which provides higher cashback percentages and yet more exclusive offers. You do get $5 off gift cards each month to offset the cost but, like any subscription, you should be wary before signing up.

Before you book

First, start searching for hotel options and narrow them down into a shortlist. I think Google’s hotel search is the best for finding prices alongside handy information and reviews. I then cross check prices with Skyscanner and Momondo. Feel free to use other sites if you prefer!

Make a note of the best price you find for each hotel. If you can, keep an eye on whether this changes over time. Having a few options on your list can be helpful if one place suddenly sells out or gets significantly more expensive. A hotel might also become more appealing if its price plummets.

Monitoring prices is also important because, in some cases, hotels can be more expensive when booked via cashback sites. In my experience, the cashback usually more than offsets any additional cost. However, you should double check this and don’t book if it no longer seems like a good deal.

While doing your research, you may want to take into account the perks of each individual booking site. Many offer their own discounts to members or rewards programs that can add extra value.

In comparison to accommodation, I’ve found it easier to do research when it comes to activities. Prices for things like tours, tickets and transport tend to vary a bit less between different travel sites. They are often close to or exactly the same as if you bought direct from the supplier.

Viator is my go to for activities. If you’re patient, you can pretty reliably get a cashback of 20%. Before you book, search online to confirm that Viator’s prices are fair and in line with competitors.

Time to save

Now the big question is, what size cashback should you wait for? If I’m booking something far in advance, I wait for at least 20% and ideally closer to 25%. I’ve mainly seen these kinds of numbers a few times a year for Expedia and Viator. Most other travel companies will also have cashback percentages hovering in the mid-to-high teens every now and then.

When a trip is coming up sooner, you might settle for a lower cashback. This is a particularly good idea if accommodation is at risk of selling out. Even if you only get 6%, it’s better to lock something in instead of waiting for a higher cashback that never comes with barely anywhere left to stay.

Found a cashback you’re happy with? Search for the travel company you want to book through on ShopBack or TopCashback and go to their store page. Be sure to double check the cashback rate and terms. Also make sure that your cookies are enabled and ad blocking software is turned off. Then click the shop now button and complete your booking without leaving the window.

If you get sidetracked, go back and click the button again. When in doubt, always go back and reclick it. Visiting other websites or taking too long to book can mean your cashback won’t track.

You should receive an email when your cashback is tracked. This will include an estimate of how much you’ll receive. Contact the cashback site if you don’t receive this email within a week or so.

Cashbacks can usually be transferred into your bank account 2-3 months after your trip is completed. The exact timeframes can be found on each individual store page.

Cashback examples

To give you an idea of how much the savings can add up, I figured I’d share examples from a trip I took in 2023. SB = ShopBack and CR = the sadly now defunct Cashrewards.

As you can see, the cashbacks really add up over just a few bookings. In this case, I got around $700 or 20% of my money back on a spend of about $3,500.

• Four of the bookings (all made months in advance) are in the 20-25% range that I typically aim for.
• The 33.6% cashback for Viator through ShopBack is a bit of an outlier. I didn’t actually realise I got that much back until putting together this pos
• The 12.6% cashback for Booking.com is also an outlier. The lower rate is due to a reason I touched on above. Hotels were selling out in Fort William, so I chose to lock one in rather than wait.

Hopefully this information and examples will help you save on your next trip!