UPDATE 08.2023: Booking.com is no longer a Rabattcorner partner. But there’s hotels.com instead, which may be of interest to you :)
I (re)came across a frugal and Mustachian tool recently: Rabattcorner.
Or how to earn even more cashback in Switzerland, in addition to that possible via our preferred American Express cashback credit card!
Like get back CHF 50 (i.e. 3%) on a hotels.com stay of CHF 1'700.
I don’t say no ;)
I knew that Rabattcorner was popular in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but I admit I hadn’t looked at their site in a while.
Today, they have 90'000 users, and have paid out over 2 million CHF in cashback in Switzerland. Not so bad ;)
Just to be explicit: I have not become a consumerist, eh!
Because clearly, Rabattcorner is partnered with a plethora of brands that I don’t like as a frugalist (e.g. Manor, Aliexpress, Wish, etc.)
But on the other hand, there are still good shops.
I put you below the lists that I wrote down while browsing the Rabattcorner website.
Cashback Switzerland list of Rabattcorner partner stores
Cashback shops Switzerland MP
| Shop | Cashback | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Europcar | 4% | |
| MediaMarkt | 2% | |
| STEG Electronics | 2% | |
| melectronics | 1% | |
| Do it + Garden Migros | 3% | |
| Coop Bau+Hobby | 2% | |
| Jumbo | 3% | |
| CFF | 2% | SBB gift card to buy train pass (not practical to buy tickets because impossible via the mobile app, you have to go to the ticket office or the vending machine…) |
| SportXX | 2% | |
| Micasa | 3% |
Cashback shops Switzerland Mrs. MP
| Shop | Cashback | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Zalando Lounge | 3% | For when she’s checking out private sales for kids |
| Fnac | 1-2% | |
| Maisons du Monde | 3% | |
| Import Parfumerie | 3-6% | |
| Marionnaud | 4% | |
| Ideecadeau.ch | 3-4% |
Cashback shops Switzerland rarer, but you never know when you might need them
| Boutique | Cashback | Commentaire |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels.com | 2% | |
| Lufthansa | 1% | |
| QatarAirways | 1% | If we move to the eastern side of the world, it can be interesting |
| Swiss | 1% | |
| Dosenbach | 4-6% | |
| Ochsner Shoes | 3% | |
| Ochsner Sport | 2% | |
| Avis | 5% | |
| Flixbus | 2% | |
| CenterParcs | 1% | |
| Esprit | 4% | |
| Manor | 2-5% | On the rare occasions when there are appliances that we want. |
| Lumimart | 3-4% | |
| Conforama | 3% |
Travel brands are clearly the most advantageous as a Swiss Mustachian (e.g. hotels.com, hotels.com, ebookers, Europcar, etc.), because the amounts of these bookings are high.
However, if you shop online a lot, it adds up quickly, even for smaller amounts.
We agree, it’s not going to make you a millionaire or financially independent either.
But hey, if it allows me to earn a few hundred francs a year, I don’t mind!
Is Rabattcorner a scam?
Money doesn’t fall from the sky, and Rabattcorner must earn money somewhere to be able to pay you.
Their operation is basically to be an affiliate marketing intermediary.
Basically, Rabattcorner negotiates an affiliate commission with each partner as soon as they bring a customer to the partner. And then Rabattcorner pays you a part of the Swiss cashback.
So no, Rabattcorner is not a scam. It is rather a Robin Hood who uses the marketing system of the companies, to make everyone benefit from it (and while keeping a margin for them to make their business).
How does Rabattcorner work?
How Rabattcorner works is really simple:
- You create your free user account in a few seconds
- Then you choose a store on Rabattcorner, access the store’s online store via their platform, and shop there as usual
- Once the order is completed, Rabattcorner automatically registers it and credits the cashback amount to the user’s account (you receive an email notification when this is done)
- From CHF 20.00 onwards, you can transfer the cashback to your bank account or PayPal
In video it looks like this:
Rabattcorner browser extension
While analyzing their site and thinking about my personal use, I said to myself: “Yeah well that’s cool, but I’m not sure I’ll remember to check their website every time I buy online… “
But they have thought through their concept, because they have identified this problem.
And they have created a browser extension that puts a big green banner at the top of the website if it is a Rabattcorner partner:
Except that, being a little bit anti-advertising and tracking, my brain couldn’t help thinking: “Yeah, well I don’t want Rabattcorner to have all my browsing history… no thanks!”
So I went to see the fine print when I downloaded the extension on my Mac, without much optimism to be honest… but, surprise! They did a good job, because they explain it all black on white:
Privacy is important to us! Our extension does not send or store any personal data and your browsing will not be affected or analyzed in any way for promotional purposes.
So I installed the extension :)
My concrete use of Rabattcorner
Of course, I stumbled upon this frugal Swiss tool after booking all our summer vacations… for once we decided to spend more than usual…
So, a bit of a bummer about the timing…
I still wanted to experiment their service with booking.com, by booking a hotel, then cancelling it. Again, I was quite impressed. Everything works as described. Even when you don’t complete the sale! — for booking.com, you have to have passed the date of the stay before you get the cashback, it would be too easy otherwise :D
So that’s it for my test.
We need to book a hotel for a weekend with our parents in a few weeks, so I’ll be happy to use Rabattcorner with hotels.com. And that way, I’ll have a dashboard that will look more like the one in the demo video 😄 :
💰 Rabattcorner bonus of CHF 5 upon registration
If you want to test Rabattcorner, you can use this Mustachian Post link to register.
It will credit your account with a welcome amount of CHF 5.
Mustachian Post special link for RabattCorner = CHF 5 welcome cashback
Conclusion
I’m thinking of using Rabattcorner on my big purchases like travel with hotels.com, or car rental with Europcar.
Since we are a frugal Swiss family, we will use the other partners less, although MediaMarkt for household appliances can be pretty cool.
In the end, Rabattcorner is a good Mustachian tool to keep under your belt. Especially if you pay with your American Express AND via Rabattcorner, it can quickly give you 5% discount on your big purchases.
Your opinion Rabattcorner?
I would be very interested to get your feedback on Rabattcorner if you have already used this Swiss cashback service?
You can use the comments section below for that, or reply to me directly by email if you’re subscribed to my newsletter.
