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Quidco
Quidco brings its voucher code website to the iPhone, and offers further deals and a check-in for cash deal. But is it any good?Quidco
App: Quidco
By: Maple Syrup Media
Price: Free
Available on: iPhone
What is it?
A money-saving app offering discount vouchers, in-store deals and cashback.
Who is it by?
Quidco is "the UK's largest cashback and voucher codes website".
What does it promise?
"The UK's first 'check-in for cash' tool, the Quidco app provides the user with all of the money-saving offers available nearby, including vouchers, bar code vouchers and in-store cashback deals. It also presents cash incentives and bigger offers for users who enter certain restaurants and high street stores and check-in".
How does it work?
There's a lot going on here. On the one hand it's a simple voucher app, offering instant discounts when users flash a voucher code or barcode on their iPhone screen at the point of sale. But the app is boosted by a cashback for purchases facility that means users can obtain cash simply by buying products at participating stores listed on the app.
Even better is the addition of a check-in cashback facility, whereby users receive cash merely for entering a store – you don't even have to buy anything. Participating retailers and restaurants have provided Quidco with the coordinates of each of their branches so the app is able to detect when you are on one of the premises for a valid check-in.
Is it easy to use?
Using the app itself is straightforward. I went into a branch of Halfords and was rewarded with 20p merely for walking through the door, looking at a bottle of Turtlewax and then leaving. But I only did this after trying to kid the app by "checking-in" at Majestic Wine from the comfort of my desk – sadly, the geo-location was accurate enough to spot I was nowhere near the store. After leaving Halfords, I immediately walked back into the store to get another 20p but you can only check-in to a retailer once a fortnight.
To make yourself eligible for cashback on purchases, you of course need to register with Quidco and input the long number on the front of your debit or credit card into the app (or on to the website). Then, after 24 hours, any purchases made with that card will earn you cashback at the likes of Debenhams, Sports Direct, Halfords, NCP, Blockbusters, Cineworld, Little Chef and Austin Reed. The highest rate of cashback is on offer from Halfords (7.8%) and Austin Reed (up to 5.4%), though NCP car parks and Cineworld both offer 4.5% – which is 90p in your pocket if you spend £20 on movie tickets.
Is it fun?
It's great to get money for nothing, but perhaps the most amusing part of the app is the discclaimer users get when they download it: "You must be at least 17 years old to download this application" due to "frequent/intense alcohol, tobacco, drug use or reference to these" – it's a freakin' discount voucher app not a torturous adult movie about heroin addicts.
Is it pretty?
An aqua blue-on-white colour scheme is certainly refreshing, like surfing a Quidco wave or popping a Quidco mint, but though the clarity of design aids navigation it is a tad monotonous. But who cares when you're getting 25p just for darkening Gap's door.
Should you download it?
A small quibble would be that Quidco charges a £5 membership, meaning it keeps the first £5 in cashback that members earn each year. This applies to any cashback earned through the website, and any in-store cashback earned (although once you've earned £5 the rest is yours from then onwards). However, with the cash check-ins, the.....................Click HERE to read more
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