Earny – The App that Puts Your Credit Cards to Work for You

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Most of the time, we don’t think that credit cards can do us a whole lot of good, aside from financing large purchases and helping us build credit. While these two things are extremely important, most credit cards come with a whole slew of benefits that can help you in other ways. These types of benefits are usually listed in the fine print of cardmember agreements.

One of these little-known features that most consumers don’t take advantage of is price protection. This benefits you by putting money back in your wallet on certain credit card purchases, which can be valuable when you’re looking to save money.

That’s where Earny comes in. Earny is an app that automatically matches items you bought online with your credit card by searching through your e-receipts. If that item costs less with another merchant, you’ll be refunded the difference. Depending on the issuer, this refund can come in the form of a credit, a check, or a deposit into your bank account.

What is price protection?

If you’re wondering whether you have price protection, you can search for it in your cardmember agreement. This feature allows cardholders to be refunded for up to a certain amount in purchases if they find the same item elsewhere for cheaper. Most issuers allow you about 60-90 days to use their price protection feature, so usually you have at least a couple of months to do your research and be refunded if you find a better deal.

To give you an idea of how price protection works, let’s say you purchase a pair of shoes for $100 with your credit card, but after you’ve paid for them, you find the same exact pair of shoes elsewhere for $75. You can submit a claim to your credit card company and be refunded the $25 (as long as the purchase is eligible, which is determined by the card issuer). This type of research can be time-consuming, and you have to have a lot of patience. That’s where Earny comes in by making the research a lot more convenient.

How does Earny work?

Earny is an app that you can download for free through GooglePlay or the App Store. It connects to your email address – ideally the one you use to receive e-receipts on purchases. Earny scans your e-receipts to see what you purchased with your credit card and researches other merchants’ websites to see if the same items are sold cheaper elsewhere, or if the price drops. The app automatically claims the difference from your credit card company on your behalf, and if eligible, you are credited the amount through a PayPal account.

The app does claim 25% of the amount you are refunded, but this is a small price to pay compared to the potential amount that Earny can save you (with the shoes you’re still saving $18.75). The best part is that Earny is partnered with over 30 popular merchants including Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Earny also works with some of the biggest credit card issuers like Chase, Citibank, Visa, and Mastercard. If you’re looking for a credit card that Earny partners with so you can start saving, credit.com has you covered.

Chase Freedom

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Price Protection: Up to $2,500 annually

Why We Like It: With the Chase Freedom card, you can earn a sign-up bonus of $150 cashback after spending $500 in purchases within the first three months. Cardholders earn 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on up to $1,500 quarterly in revolving categories. Usually, one of these categories includes Amazon, as well as some department stores that are also partnered with Earny. You can also shop through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards Mall to earn additional cash back at certain merchants and still use Earny to scan your e-receipts in order to see if you’re eligible for a refund on any of your purchases. It doesn’t get much better than that. The time frame to use price protection is 90 days.

Citi Double Cash Card

Price Protection: Up to $2,500 annually

Why We Like It: The Citi Double Cash Card gives you incentive to pay your balance each month. You earn 2% cash back: 1% for purchases, and an additional 1% when you pay off the balance, giving you 2% back. The card also offers an introductory 0% APR for 18 months on balance transfers (although you do have to pay a balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the transfer balance, and balance transfers don’t earn points). Citi also has a Bonus Cash Center that allows you shop over 400 stores online to earn additional cashback. Earny is partnered up with some of these merchants (like Kohl’s) to make sure you’re paying the lowest price on your purchases. The timeframe for the price protection is 60 days.

Whether you’re interested in credit card rewards, or in making sure you’re paying the lowest price possible, Earny can help you get the best deal on your purchases, putting your credit cards to work for you by saving you money.

If you’re interested in applying for one or more of these cards, you’ll want to make sure your credit is in the best shape possible. Both of these cards require good-excellent credit. You can check two of your free credit scores updated every 14 days for free at credit.com.

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“At publishing time, the Chase Freedom and Citi Double Cash cards are offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com is compensated if our users apply and ultimately sign up for these cards. However, this relationship does not result in any preferential editorial treatment. This content is not provided by the card issuer(s). Any opinions expressed are those of Credit.com alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer(s).”

Note: It’s important to remember that interest rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products frequently change. As a result, rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products cited in these articles may have changed since the date of publication. Please be sure to verify current rates, fees and terms with credit card issuers, banks or other financial institutions directly.

Image: Cecilie_Arcurs