{"id":137738,"date":"2023-12-08T14:00:41","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T14:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=137738"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:51:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:51:23","slug":"catch-payment-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/credit-cards\/catch-payment-app\/","title":{"rendered":"The Catch Portal Offers Rewards on Debit Card Purchases. Should You Use It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eligibility is limited for the Amex Offers discussed in this post. Enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.<\/em><\/p>\n

Update: The Catch portal shut down in 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shopping portals are a staple for many people collecting points and miles. These portals allow buyers to earn cash back, transferable points, or miles of their choice as they spend. Catch promotes itself as yet another way for consumers to be rewarded for their purchases. Users effectively earn a minimum of 5% store credit each time they buy through Catch. But are those potential earnings worth it to abandon other purchasing methods?<\/p>\n

Should you use Catch? Let's take a look at the pros and cons.<\/p>\n

Catch: The Basics<\/span><\/h2>\n

Catch offers users an alternative payment method for online shopping. Make online purchases directly from a registered bank account or debit card to earn 5% or more in store credit.<\/p>\n

Signing up for Catch is free and takes just a few quick steps. Catch links to a phone number, which is the first step in the sign-up process. You'll receive a code via text to confirm registration, and then you're done. As a pleasant surprise, I had a $15 off $15+ credit for Simon Premium Outlets in my account upon registration.<\/p>\n

\"Catch
Example sign-up offer from Catch.<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

Of course, adding a payment method to an account helps speed up the checkout process for users, too. Options are a bank account or debit card \u2014 no credit cards.<\/p>\n

\"Catch<\/p>\n

How can Catch offer such a high return on spending? By avoiding credit card processing fees, vendors can pass on savings to consumers in the form of store credit. By issuing rewards to consumers in the form of store credit, Catch users have an incentive to become repeat buyers.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Catch offers a very thorough FAQ page to address many of the questions users may have.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Catch?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The big catch<\/em> to Catch is that the only thing earned is store credit \u2014 and only at participating stores. Creatures of habit who shop with the same Catch partner brands extensively likely view this kind of reward as a big plus. However, others probably notice the limitations of this reward structure right away.<\/p>\n

Limited network of partners<\/span><\/h3>\n

Airline shopping portals and cash-back networks such as Rakuten<\/a> partner with thousands of retailers to reward their members. More often than not, these programs offer less than 5% back (but it can be more) for purchases, but a wide array of partners means users need not seek out other rewards programs. With Catch, partners remain limited for the time being, categorized into just five groups.<\/p>\n

\"Catch<\/p>\n

Beauty includes the most brands by far (33) of the five categories, followed by Apparel (15) and Accessories (14). For Men (10) and Athleisure (7) round out the collection of brands, though do note that the five categories include some overlap. That means fewer than 79 total brands partner with Catch at present.<\/p>\n

Related: Beginner's Guide to Shopping Portals<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Inferior form of rewards<\/span><\/h3>\n

If presented with the option of 5% back as store credit or as cash, how many would choose store credit? For perfectly rational consumers, the answer should be zero. While equivalent options of store credit and cash back do not exist in all cases, when they do, no incentive exists to use Catch over earning cash.<\/p>\n

Sometimes uncompetitive reward rates<\/span><\/h3>\n

Apart from the question of store credit versus cash back, Catch does not always offer a competitive reward rate for purchases. For instance, check out the current offer for Everlane, a clothing retail company. Catch currently offers 5% store credit for purchases.<\/p>\n

\"current<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Rakuten currently offers 6% back (or 6x Membership Rewards points<\/a>) on Everlane purchases.<\/p>\n

\"current<\/p>\n

While 6% versus 5% might not seem like much, 20% more rewards for the same purchases will add up over time. Plus, Rakuten will provide something more flexible than store credit. If Catch wants to compete in this regard, it may need to offer higher payouts to make up for the fact it's only offering store credit.<\/p>\n

No additional rewards on purchases<\/span><\/h3>\n

A distinct lack of rewards for using a credit card remains the most glaring exclusion for Catch users. A number of options exist \u2014 including some with no annual fee \u2014 for earning 2% cash back<\/a> or 2x points<\/a> with credit card purchases. Options for earning on purchases made with your bank account or debit card are very close to zero.<\/p>\n

On top of credit card rewards, users miss out on potential stacking opportunities<\/a> via avenues like Amex Offers<\/a>, Citi Merchant Offers<\/a>, and more. Forfeiting these opportunities requires greater compensation than store credit at a limited collection of retailers.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n

Catch presents a compelling idea of rewarding consumers for their purchases. However, compared to the available alternatives, Catch remains a very limited endeavor. Only the most loyal shoppers at a small collection of retailers will find Catch more rewarding than airline, cash back, and other shopping portals. And that's exacerbated by the fact you can't double up on rewards by earning from both a portal and your credit card if you choose to use Catch. Until Catch offers even greater rewards or a wider array of partners, it will almost always come second (or third or fourth) for serious points and miles collectors.<\/p>\n

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