Dosh Review: Earn Automatic Cash Back When You Shop, Dine, and Book Hotels

Bottom line: Dosh will reward you with automatic cash back when you shop, dine, and book hotel stays. Rewards can be earned from in-person and online shopping.

At a glance

What is Dosh and how does it work?

Dosh is a free cash back app that rewards you for shopping, dining out, and booking hotels. Purchases can be made in-store or online. How does Dosh work? One of the standout features of this cash back app is that most rewards are automatically earned when you're shopping in-store with linked cards. Unlike other apps, you won't need to upload a receipt after you shop. Adding this app to your personal finance routine is an easy way to earn extra cash for free.

Offers vary depending on the retailer, though many stores offer a cash back rate of around 5%. Some retailers offer upwards of 10% or more. But you'll also see some retailers offering as low as 2% cash back.

You must link your credit or debit card to earn automatic rewards. You can do this by entering the card information within your Dosh account. To earn rewards for online shopping, you will need to click through offers within the app. If there are any restrictions or rules, they will be listed within the offer.

You can also earn rewards by booking hotels. The Dosh app has a hotel booking system within the app where you can search for hotels and easily make a booking. When you book a hotel, it will clearly show how much cash back you'll be earning.

Dosh also offers additional rewards earning opportunities for Visa credit cardholders. These offers will appear in your Dosh account as "Tap to Activate Offers" if you have a linked Visa card. For these cash back reward opportunities, you must activate the offers first.

Any rewards will be deposited into your Dosh wallet. You can cash out your rewards when you reach $15 (and there are no fees when cashing out). You have the option to have your money transferred to the following payment app accounts:

• PayPal
• Venmo

Dosh pays you for referring others to the app. After a newly-referred user links their card, you'll earn a referral bonus. When using your referral link, new users can earn a $1 reward after linking their first card.

The Dosh app is easy to use and for most of your shopping, earning rewards is automatic. There's no need to enter coupon codes or upload receipts to earn cash back. Plus, you can maximize your rewards and pay with rewards credit cards to earn points and miles too. Keep reading our detailed Dosh review to see if this is the right cash back app for you.

Top perks

Rewards are automatic

Some cash back apps require you to put in extra work to earn rewards. Maybe you have to upload a photo of your receipt when you're done shopping. This task takes time, and if you forget to upload a receipt -- you won't earn rewards. With Dosh, most earning is automatic, which makes things simple. There's no need to submit a receipt because your cards are already linked to your Dosh account.

Earn rewards for referrals

Like many other cash back apps, Dosh rewards you for referring friends and family. For every person who uses your referral code or link and links their card, you'll earn a referral bonus. Most users report receiving $10 per referral, but referral rates vary by account. Some users may earn less money for each referral. Sending your referral code to others is an easy way to make money to boost your savings account balance.

Earn rewards for making hotel bookings

Most of the other cash back apps focus on cash back rewards for grocery shopping, retail shopping, and dining. Dosh is unique in that it also offers cash back rewards for booking hotel stays. The app features 600,000 global hotels, and you can get a great hotel rate while earning cash back rewards. If you travel frequently, this is a nice perk that can put more money back in your wallet.

RELATED: Want to earn travel rewards when you book hotel stays? Check out our list of the best travel rewards credit cards.

Features many popular retailers and local retailers

Dosh features many brands that you know and love. Dosh also features local businesses, so you can continue to support your favorite local stores and earn cash back in the process.

Multiple payout methods

Once you reach $15 in cash back rewards, you can cash your funds out of your Dosh account. The app offers more than one payout method -- PayPal and Venmo. Or, if you prefer, you can donate your cash back earnings to charity within the app.

What could be improved

This is not an app for cash spenders

Since you can't upload a receipt to verify that you've made a purchase, cash spenders cannot earn rewards by using Dosh. You'll need to link debit or credit cards to earn cash back. For people who like to pay for things with cash, you'll need to choose a different app.

Linked debit card must be used as credit to earn rewards

When using your debit card to shop, you must run it as a credit charge to earn rewards. So if you want to maximize your earnings, it's best to avoid using your PIN. If you regularly use a debit card, it may take some time to get into the habit of using your debit as credit.

Inactive accounts are subject to maintenance fees

Dosh charges a $4.99 maintenance fee to accounts that have been inactive for 12 months. This fee will automatically come out of your Dosh wallet. If you don't have money in your Dosh wallet, your debit cards or credit cards will not be charged. Be sure to link the cards that you regularly use to avoid inactivity fees.

Limited availability

At this time, Dosh is only available in the United States.

You can't link all cards

While Dosh does support a variety of cards, you won't be able to link them all to your account. You can link Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards, but not department store cards, prepaid cards, Discover, and Apple cards. If you use any of these kinds of cards, that will limit your earning potential.

Other referral programs pay more

Getting paid to refer friends to apps is a nice feature, but the $10 that Dosh offers is low. Dosh also notes in its FAQ that not all users will see the same rate, so some users may earn less than $10 per referral. Other cash back apps may provide higher rewards for referrals. At the time of this writing, Rakuten pays $30 per referral. Similarly to Dosh, some apps switch up their referral rate offers, so those numbers may change over time.

If you want an app that is good for cash spenders: Ibotta is an alternative cash back app to consider. This app allows you to earn cash back rewards when shopping at grocery stores and other popular retailers. The nice thing about Ibotta is you don't have to use a debit or credit card to earn. Since you'll verify your purchases by scanning a photo of your receipt, you can use cash or any other payment method that you prefer. But you may want to stick with Dosh if you don't want to deal with having to save and upload all of your receipts.

If you want an app with a strong focus on online shopping rewards: Rakuten is an alternative cash back app. While there are some in-store cash back options, the majority of the app focuses on online shopping. There are over 3,500 retailers featured on Rakuten. You will need to activate offers to earn rewards, but there are many popular retailer options. If you do most of your shopping online, this may make more sense for you. But you may want to stick with Dosh if you want flexibility with how often you receive your cash back earnings. Rakuten pays out quarterly, while Dosh pays out as soon as you hit $15.

The Dosh app is free to use. If your account is inactive for 12 months, Dosh will charge a $4.99 maintenance fee, which will be deducted from your Dosh wallet balance. There are no other fees.

Dosh is a good choice for anyone who likes free money and wants to earn automatic cash back rewards while shopping, dining out, and booking hotel stays. If you typically use cards instead of cash, this is the rewards app option for you and your everyday purchases.