When you book a trip there are two ways to save: a voucher code and cashback through a portal. Both sound good, but with some providers they rule each other out. If you do not know that, you either give money away or end up with nothing credited.
What the difference is
A voucher lowers the price immediately. You type the code at checkout and see the discount on the invoice. Cashback is credited later. You click a partner link to the provider, book as usual, and part of the commission the provider pays the intermediary is credited to you. For hotels, cashback is often only confirmed after the stay, not at booking.
How the tracking works is the deciding point. The provider recognises through the partner link click that the booking came from the portal. If you also enter a code that comes from another source, it can override the cashback. Some providers state this in their terms.
Three cases you meet in practice
- Both at once. With some providers voucher and cashback apply together, for instance when the code is a discount from your account rather than from a voucher site. Then you can take both.
- The code wipes out the cashback. Some providers only pay cashback if you book without an extra code. A discount code from another channel sets it to zero. The condition is in the provider's cashback rules, often worded "without voucher only".
- Only the voucher is available. Some providers pay no cashback on certain booking types, such as promotional rates or packages. Then only the code counts.
A worked example
You book a hotel for 600 EUR. Two routes:
- 4 percent cashback: 24 EUR back.
- 10 percent voucher: 60 EUR off at once, but the 24 EUR cashback is lost because the code excludes it.
Here the voucher is 36 EUR better. If the voucher were a fixed 15 EUR, cashback at 24 EUR would win. The break-even is where discount and cashback are equal. With 4 percent cashback on a 600 EUR booking that is 24 EUR. Anything above that is better as a voucher, anything below is not. The percentages in this example are made up. The actual rates are on each provider's page.
If both work together, the sum is simple: discount plus cashback on the reduced price. On 600 EUR with a 10 percent voucher you are left with 540 EUR, and 4 percent cashback on that is 21.60 EUR.
How to go about it
- Read the provider's cashback terms, especially the line about vouchers.
- Work out both routes for your booking value.
- Open the partner link in a fresh browser window, without an ad blocker that interferes with tracking.
- Do not hop to another price site in between and come back later, or the click may become invalid.
- Keep the booking confirmation in case you have to ask about the cashback later.
Cashback in practice: what often goes wrong
Most problems are mundane. The browser blocks the tracking, the link was opened in an app instead of the browser, or the basket was already open before you came through the portal. On trips there is the added issue that many bookings go through apps. A click through the partner page often does not work there because the app does not take over the cookie. Book in the browser if you want cashback.
The booking type matters too. Cashback is often paid only on the price of the accommodation, not on taxes, fees or extras. On a 600 EUR booking with 100 EUR in taxes and fees, perhaps only the part without charges counts. Cancelled or rebooked trips do not earn cashback either. Allow for that before you count on the saving.
Vouchers from your account
Some providers credit vouchers themselves, for example after a first booking or through a loyalty programme. These vouchers are usually tied to your account and do not cancel the cashback, since they are not an outside source. Whether that is true is in the terms. If in doubt, ask support before you book.
On TripPrice you see for every provider whether a voucher affects the cashback. Cashback is paid out through your daily cashback account.
Read more on daily cashback: How Cashback Works Step by Step and Cashback and Coupons: When You Can Combine Them.