How cashback portals work is simple in principle: you start your shopping from the portal’s site or app, the portal tracks your purchase through a link and a browser cookie, and the online store pays the portal a commission. The portal passes part of that commission to you as cashback, or as miles on some portals. The catch is timing and tracking: cashback can sit as “pending” for weeks or months, and it can disappear if the store does not record the sale.
Below we explain each step using the terms that two portals operating in Singapore publish on their own help pages, as at November 2026.
The short version: Click through from the portal every time, turn off ad blockers, and do not use promo codes the store does not allow. Expect cashback to stay pending for a while: at one store we checked, about three months. Count it only once it is confirmed and withdrawn.
How Cashback Portals Work, Step by Step
- You click through. From the portal’s site or app, you tap through to the store. This attaches a tracking link and sets a cookie in your browser.
- You buy within the cookie window. ShopBack’s guide says tracking cookies commonly last from 30 minutes to 30 days, depending on the store.
- The store reports the sale. The portal shows the cashback as tracked, then pending. ShopBack says cashback can take up to 48 hours to appear.
- The store confirms it. After the store’s checks, the cashback moves from pending to confirmed. Confirmation times are set per store.
- You withdraw it. ShopBack’s help centre states a minimum withdrawal of S$10 of confirmed cashback and a maximum of $300 a day, by bank transfer or PayPal, arriving within 10 calendar days.
Portals that pay miles work the same way. HeyMax’s help page, for example, says you must tap “Shop & Earn Miles”, tracking takes up to three days, and miles stay pending before being approved or rejected within 90 days.
Why Cashback Goes Missing
ShopBack’s help pages list the usual reasons a purchase is not tracked:
- You did not click through from the portal before buying.
- Ad blockers were running.
- You clicked a third-party advert or edited the link after clicking through.
- You used a promo code the store does not permit. Whether a code works depends on the store; ShopBack’s Guardian page, for example, excludes vouchers or promo codes not featured on its platform.
- The order was cancelled, returned or exchanged. Cashback is then not available.
If a purchase does not track, ShopBack says you can report missing cashback from seven days after purchase, and the investigation can take up to 120 days. Keep your order confirmation until the cashback is confirmed.
Pending Periods: Why the Wait Is So Long
Cashback stays pending while the sale can still be cancelled, returned or exchanged, since ShopBack says cashback is not available for those orders. Times are set per store. ShopBack’s Guardian page, for example, shows “Tracked in 2 days” and “Confirmed in 100 days”.
What this means for budgeting: do not treat pending cashback as money you have. If you spend $200 expecting $10 back, budget for $200 until the $10 is confirmed and withdrawn.
ShopBack also states that cashback can expire if no purchase is made within one year, so check the expiry terms if you shop with a portal rarely.
Stacking: Portal, Card and Store Promotions
Cashback portals are usually one of three separate layers:
| Layer | Who pays you | What can stop it |
|---|---|---|
| Portal cashback or miles | The portal, from the store’s commission | Tracking failure, disallowed promo code, return |
| Card rewards | Your card issuer | Merchant category exclusions, caps, minimum spend |
| Store discount | The store | Terms of the sale or voucher |
Worked example (illustration only, hypothetical rates): a $200 order with 5% portal cashback ($10) and a card earning 1.5% cashback ($3) returns $13 in total. If the store’s own $15 promo code is not allowed by the portal, using it voids the $10, so the code is worth more only if it beats the portal cashback.
Our guide to cashback credit cards explains caps and minimum spends, and our cashback vs miles calculator helps compare reward types.
When Cashback Portals Are Not Worth It
- When the cashback pushes you to buy. A 10% cashback on something you did not need is 90% spent.
- When the portal price is higher. Compare the final price, including delivery, with buying direct or elsewhere.
- When tracking risk is high and the amount is large. For big purchases, take screenshots of the cashback rate and keep the order details in case you need to file a claim.
Year-end sales are where portals are busiest. Our guide to year-end sales without overspending covers how to set a cap first.
What To Do Next
- Before your next online purchase, open the portal first, disable ad blockers for that session and check the store’s promo-code rules.
- Note the store’s stated confirmation time, and do not count the cashback until it is confirmed.
- Withdraw confirmed cashback regularly rather than letting it build up.
- Track what you actually received over a few months in our monthly budget planner.
