InboxDollars: How to Withdraw and How Long It Takes to Get Paid

Before you try to redeem your InboxDollars rewards, check that the details for your account are correct, including your name and full mailing address (which InboxDollars requires as part of its terms and conditions). Update this information if necessary to make sure that your payment goes through.

When you’re ready to withdraw your rewards, follow this process:

• Navigate to your profile (either on the mobile or desktop version of the site)
• Click into the “Request Payment” page (note: this button might now say “Request Cash”)
• On the screen that pops up, click “Request Payment” again

Another screen will appear displaying various payment methods. Click on the one you want.

You have three withdrawal options, which we’ll describe in detail below.

1. Withdrawing InboxDollars rewards via PayPal

You can cash out your InboxDollars earnings as PayPay credit, although it’s a slightly finicky process.

InboxDollars says that when you make a PayPal withdrawal, you need to verify that your profile information on InboxDollars and the information on your PayPal account match exactly; otherwise, you might not be able to get your money. 1

For example, if your name on InboxDollars is “John K. Doe” but your name on PayPal is  just “John Doe,” then your PayPal payment request won’t process. The same applies to your mailing address. If your mailing address on InboxDollars is “123 SideHustles Street,” but on PayPal it’s “123 SideHustles St.,” then you’ll have the same issue.

The email address on your InboxDollars account must also be the same email that’s associated with your PayPal account.

Finally, your PayPal account has to meet one of two criteria:

1. Your bank account must be verified. (If it’s not, follow PayPal’s instructions to confirm your account.)
2. You must have a PayPal Smart Connect or a PayPal Plus MasterCard® verified.

2. Withdrawing InboxDollars rewards as a virtual prepaid card

InboxDollars also allows you to redeem your rewards in the form of a virtual prepaid card. We saw the following redemption options on offer when we tested the site:

• Mastercard: For our first InboxDollars payout, we had the option of redeeming our rewards as a $30 Mastercard. After our first payout, a lower denomination of $10 became available.
• American Express rewards card: We could also choose to redeem our rewards as an Amex card, with $15 being the lowest denomination on offer for our first payout. After we cashed out for the first time, we saw denominations as low as $5 become available for the next redemption.

As part of our test, we cashed out our rewards as an Amex card. To do this, we had to re-enter our account password and then click a button that said “Get Rewarded.”

After this, InboxDollars sent a message to our mobile number prompting us to verify our account, which we did. We then got a message saying that our order was processing.

You’ll probably need to complete the same steps if you redeem your InboxDollars rewards as a prepaid card.

3. Withdrawing InboxDollars rewards as a gift card

If you prefer to redeem your rewards via this method, InboxDollars has dozens of gift cards to choose from. Here are a few examples of popular retailers we saw:

• Amazon
• eBay
• Walmart
• Apple
• Starbucks
• Target
• Nike
• Gap
• Best Buy

Most of the options we saw were worth $10–$15, although some could only be redeemed in larger denominations.

You can send your gift card to your own email address or, if you’re feeling generous, send it to a friend or family member. The email will contain a link and a code, which you can use to acquire your card.

Note that all gift cards you can get on InboxDollars are virtual; the site doesn’t offer physical cards. Most rewards sites operate this way; it’s rare for them to be willing to send actual cards in the mail.

The InboxDollars terms claim that you can redeem your rewards in the form of a check (although the minimum payout is a sizable $30). However, when we tested the site, we couldn’t find a way to actually do this, and we suspect InboxDollars might no longer offer it as an option.

That said, even if you can’t directly request your InboxDollars rewards as a check, you can do so indirectly by withdrawing your money to PayPal first.

After that, you can order a check by signing into PayPal and:

1. Going to the Wallet screen
2. Clicking “Transfer Money”
3. Clicking “Request a check by mail”

You can also transfer your earnings to your bank account via PayPal. Do this by:

1. Going to the Wallet page
2. Clicking “Transfer Money”
3. Clicking “Withdraw from PayPal to your bank account”
4. Selecting “Instant (Free)” or “Standard (Free)”
5. Following the instructions

InboxDollars provides conflicting information about how long it will take to get your rewards once you’ve redeemed them.

This table gives you a general idea of how long you can expect to wait:

InboxDollars Redemption Waiting Periods

These estimates come directly from InboxDollars, but our experience suggests they’re on the conservative side. When we redeemed our rewards—in the form of a virtual prepaid card—we received the card within a day.

You need at least $15 in your account to withdraw rewards from InboxDollars for the first time.

This is a relatively high threshold, but InboxDollars will relax it after your first payment. 3 They say that you can request payouts in increments of $10+ afterwards, but we saw virtual cards in even lower denominations than that (such as the aforementioned $5 Amex card).

You may also be able to withdraw smaller amounts, but don’t count on it, since InboxDollars doesn’t guarantee it.

Don’t forget that the minimum amount you need in order to cash out depends on the payment method you go with. For example, certain gift cards may only be available in higher denominations of at least $20–$50.