How Earny Can Save You Lots of Cash With Little Effort
What's better than getting money back on a purchase you've already made? One of the best — most overlooked — part about credit cards is price protection. Select credit cards offer travelers the comfort of knowing they're eligible to pocket the difference if the price of an item drops after purchase. Still, there are steps involved in order to actually get ahold of that saved cash — and it often requires a lot of back and forth with the issuer and filing claims.
Thankfully, there's a service that will go through the process and do the filing for you. Earny is a (virtual) personal assistant that follows your credit card's price protection guidelines and files a claim with the issuer for you. What happens if a price on an item drops? You'll get a check in the mail or credit for the difference in price. Currently, Earny covers all Chase and Citi credit cards that come with price protection. According to Earny's website, each of the issuers have different policies:
- Chase cards: Allows you to request up to $2,500 of price drops per year. The request must occur within 90 days of the initial purchase.
- Citi cards: Allows you to request $2,500 of price drops per year. The request must occur within 60 days of the initial purchase.
When you sign up for an Earny account, you'll link your email account along with your credit card. Once you have an account, Earny monitors your purchases via e-receipts in your inbox and checks back on those items to see if there is a price drop. Earny, a yellow figure whose eyes follow your movements in the app, automatically tracks every purchase you make at any of its partnered retailers.
Currently, Earny covers the following retailers: Amazon, Best Buy, Bloomingdale's, Carter's, Costco, the Gap Group (including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta and the factory stores), J.Crew, Jet, Kohl's, Macy's, Newegg, Nike, Nordstrom, Overstock, Sears, Staples, Target, Walmart and Zappos. Earny monitors your email for purchases from any of the above retailers and if it spots something, it's able to automatically track the purchased item(s) for the next 60 or 90 days, depending on your credit card issuer.
How Does It Work?
The app itself is easy to use: Once an account is created, Earny starts tracking all any purchases you make with its included retailers. In the example below, Earny is tracking purchases made via Amazon over the course of a few days. These purchases will appear in the "Tracking" option at the top of the screen.
If the price drops on one (or more) of your purchases, Earny will automatically file a claim with the credit card company, allowing you to pocket the difference. Once the price of something has been reduced, it moves to the "Claiming" option (shown in the image on the left). If the claim is approved by the credit card issuer — which could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks — it will then move on to the "Refunded" tab, indicating the amount of the refund. If and when any claims are approved, you'll receive an email from the "assistant" alerting you of a refund.
So where does the money go? Soon after an item appears in your "Refunded" tab, you'll either receive a physical check in the mail or the payment back in another form — depending on the issuer. Since Earny files the claims on your behalf, the credit card issuer will send you the check for the refunded amount (it won't come from Earny). Some of the earnings will be bigger than others: TPG Chief of Staff Adam Kotkin tried out the service and reported overall good results; some of his refunds totaled less than $1, while others netted him more than $60 on a single purchase.
At the end of each month, Earny comes to collect his dues. While there's no annual or monthly fee for the service, Earny takes 25% of the total amount refunded for the month. Note: Earny doesn't take a chunk of each refund (i.e. 25% of a $0.77 refund), but rather the total amount refunded for the entire month (i.e. 25% of $93 in total refunds). Earny will then charge the credit card on file the amount of commission from your returns; the company won't take it directly from the refund you've earned.
Bottom Line
Earny offers a service that helps you earn some cash without any real legwork and if you're interested in signing up, you can do so here. You'll be prompted to enter your email so Earny can monitor for e-receipts to track your purchases and a credit card so Earny can take advantage of the price protection and file claims on your behalf. There are no other costs involved.
Where can Earny grow? As of now, it's only available for purchases made at select merchants. In order for the app to excel — especially for road warriors — it will need to grow to include travel purchases. If Earny could eventually track a hotel rate or airfare changes, there could be the potential to save even larger amounts of cash. But as it stands, Earny is a great way to pocket some extra change every month just for making purchases as usual.
Would you try Earny? Let us know in the comments below.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.