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In their own words, “Fluz is dedicated to creating the most powerful buying group in the world, delivering on a promise to provide maximum rewards to our members.” Though the basic service is a cash back spending app, they promote it as a cash back app business.
Though its network of participating networks is admittedly small, at about 150, it gives you the opportunity to earn money when you make purchases through the app, AND when your invited friends make purchases through the app.
That gives you an opportunity to earn cash back in two ways. And that’s what distinguishes the Fluz app from similar services.
The app is available through download on Android and iOS devices, as well as by website or web browser plug-in. The company was only launched in June 2019, but they already seem to be moving in a very innovative direction.
Table of Contents
What Is Fluz?
Fluz is an app that not only allows you to save money by earning cash back on purchases made through the service, but also on the purchases made by friends you refer to the app.
That gives you an opportunity to earn extra cash from two directions. And you can add a third source, when you make your purchases through a cash back credit card.
The app has a rating of 4.2 stars out of 5 on both The App Store and Google Play. It also has a Better Business Bureau rating of “A-“, which is one notch below a perfect rating on a scale of A+ to F.
Get Cashback on Purchases Made with the Fluz App
Like other cash back spending apps, Fluz is compensated for referring customers to their network of merchants. As a Fluz user, you’ll be paid a portion of that compensation in the form of cash each time you make a purchase using the app.
As is typical with cash back spending apps, how much cash back you’ll earn will vary by merchant. Fluz does not provide a range of what cash back percentages will be.
In the only example provided, they indicate 3% cash back on purchases through Nike.
You can also stack your awards, by making your payments using a rewards credit card. You can even take advantage of coupon sites and affiliate programs, like Drop.
One limitation of the Fluz app is that it lists only about 150 merchants, though it more generally claims thousands (given that the app is only a few months old, our money is on 150). While those are some of the most popular merchants in their categories, the network is much smaller than that offered by other spending apps.
Other major merchants not shown on the screenshot above include 1-800 Flowers.com, Abercrombie & Fitch, Airbnb, Amazon, Applebee’s, AutoZone, Burger King CVS pharmacy Darden Restaurants, Disney, eBay, Fandango, Gap, Hotels.com, JCPenney, Kohls, Lord & Taylor, Lowe’s, Nordstrom, Overstock.com, Old Navy, Petco, Princess Cruises, QVC, Red Lobster, Royal Caribbean, Regal Theaters, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, T.J. Maxx, Target, Ulta Beauty, Williams-Sonoma and Walmart.
The Fluz purchase process looks like this:
- Shop online or in-store, then check out in the usual way.
- After your purchase has been rung up, open the app, then enter the exact amount of your purchase.
- Pay Fluz and get a gift card code.
- Present the gift card code to the cashier or paste it during online checkout, to complete the purchase.
Payments to each merchant are made through Fluzpay. Before making your purchase, you’ll need to load the necessary balance to complete the transaction.
You’ll need to do this for each merchant you shop at using the app. For example, if you load $50 onto Fluzpay for Barnes & Noble, those funds will only be available for that merchant.
Earn Income When Your Friends Make Purchases Using the Fluz App
This is the feature that sets the Fluz app apart from its major competitors. Not only will you earn cash when you make purchases at participating merchants through the app, but you’ll also earn cash on purchases made by friends who you invite to use the service.
When you invite friends to participate in the service, you are referred to as an Independent Fluz Network Member.
To qualify, you must invite at least two members who have qualified accounts. You will then receive a reward on every purchase made by Fluz Members in your network.
Your network can extend out to 15 referral levels, at least theoretically enabling you to build a business including as many as 65,535 participants using the app. And because the cash you will earn through your network will happen without any additional effort from you, it will be a completely passive income source.
The cash back calculation in your member network is complicated. Basically, you will be entitled to a share of 33% of the cash back earnings of any member you invite. But if that member brings in referrals, down to say, five levels, you’ll only earn a percentage of the 33% from the original member referred.
Real Cash Rewards
That’s cash rewards as in cash not rewards points that you accumulate toward gift cards for purchases at select merchants.
You can claim your cash rewards any time they reach $26, and there are no required fees to receive payment.
The funds can be transferred to your bank account using PayPal. In that way, you’ll be free to use your cash rewards any way you want.
Who Is Fluz for?
If you already use a cash back shopping app, and you’re familiar with the process, you may want to add Fluz to your “portfolio”. It’s often best to have more than one, so you can determine which will provide the highest reward with any particular merchant.
But Fluz is an even better choice if you have a large social media network, and an entrepreneurial flair. By inviting dozens or hundreds of others to participate in the service, you’ll be building a network that can provide you with a passive income.
That’s what separates Fluz from its competitors – it’s not just a cash rewards shopping app. It also gives you the ability to create an income generating network.
Even if you’ve never used a cashback shopping app before, you might want to give Fluz a try.
After all, it’s completely free to use. But if you find it works well for you, you can begin inviting others, and multiply your cash back earnings.
Fluz Requirements
To be eligible to sign up for the Fluz app, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be a minimum of 18 years old.
- Not have been previously suspended or removed from the Fluz Rewards Program.
- Have a bank account to link to the app.
- Provide a verifiable email address.
- Provide a verifiable phone number.
How Much Does Fluz Cost?
Despite the high earnings potential of the Fluz app, it’s completely free to use. There is no sign-up fee, no transaction fees when you use the app to make purchases, and no payout fees to redeem your cash rewards.
Fluz Alternatives
If the Fluz App doesn’t work for you, there are plenty of competitors in the cash rewards shopping app field to choose from.
Rakuten (formally Ebates) is perhaps the most popular. The app is completely free to use, and includes participation by more than 2,500 merchants.
They advertise cash back rates as high as 40%.
Another option is MyPoints. Like Rakuten, they offer a very large merchant network, with more than 2,000 participants. They similarly offer cash back rates as high as 40%, and allow you to receive your cash either in gift cards or transferred to your PayPal account.
Ibotta is another popular choice among cash back shopping apps. The service has partnered with more than 1,500 merchants, and is free to use.
Though each of the above cash back shopping app alternatives have larger merchant networks than the Fluz App, only Fluz offers the opportunity to create an income stream by inviting friends into your network.
But if you’re primarily interested in shopping, and want the largest possible network, any of the three apps above will get the job done.
How to Sign up for the Fluz App
You’ll start the Fluz app sign-up by downloading the app to your Android or iOS device. You’ll be required to supply your full name, phone number, email address, and to create a password for your account.
With that information supplied, you’ll need to create a four-digit code and establish a digital fingerprint to access the app.
You also need to link a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express) for payment purposes, as well as link a bank account to receive your cash rewards.
Fluz App Pros & Cons
Fluz App Pros
- Earn cash back at 150 major merchants (though Fluz claims “thousands”).
- Earn additional cash back from a friend you refer to the service. You can build a network of up to 65,000+ participants, and get a little bit of cash back from each. In that way, Fluz enables you to turn the app into your own business.
- Rewards are in cash, not points. The cash can be transferred directly to your bank account, to be used any way you like.
- Though Fluz is a new app, it has high ratings with Google Play, The App Store and the Better Business Bureau.
Fluz App Cons
- The list of participating merchants is much smaller than competing apps.
- Customer service is limited to regular business hours, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Eastern time. If you have an issue on the weekend, you’ll need to wait until Monday to deal with it.
- The earnings on your network members purchases can go out to 15 levels, with your share of the cash back declining at each level.
- Payments are loaded on an individual merchant basis through Fluzpay. You’ll have to load Fluzpay for each merchant where you make purchases. You cannot transfer funds from one merchant to another.
- The company was only launched in June 2019, so it’s largely still a work-in-progress.
Author:
Kevin Mercadante is a freelance personal finance blogger and the owner of his own personal finance blog, Out of Your Rut. A recent transplant to New England, he has backgrounds in both accounting and the mortgage industry.
