Cheddar referral: get a £5 bonus with code REFERAS
A Cheddar referral is one of the simplest ways to add free money to a UK cashback account before you've spent a penny of your own. Sign up through the Cheddar referral link or enter the code REFERAS during registration, and once you've earned £5 in cashback on the platform, Cheddar tops your balance up with an extra £5 bonus. It's a genuine two-for-one: you get paid for shopping the way you already do, then get paid again just for having joined through a referral.
Cheddar has built its reputation in the UK cashback space on one distinctive idea: instant rewards. Rather than waiting weeks or months for cashback to "track" and clear, as with older cashback websites, Cheddar pays cashback into your balance the moment you buy a gift card for one of its 100+ partner retailers. That immediacy is the entire pitch, and it's why a Cheddar referral is worth taking seriously if you're going to download the app anyway.
This article walks through exactly what the current Cheddar referral offer includes, how the app itself works day to day, and who is likely to get the most value from it, all based on Cheddar's own referral page, website and terms.
What new customers get: A £5 bonus, credited once you've earned £5 in cashback on the Cheddar app (this can come from a single qualifying purchase or build up across several).
Referral code:
REFERASReferral link: get.cheddar.me/app/REFERAS — the code applies automatically if you sign up through this link; enter it manually during sign-up if it doesn't.
How to activate: Download the Cheddar app via the referral link, register an account, then buy a gift card for one of Cheddar's partner retailers and use it to spend as normal. Cashback is added instantly; the £5 bonus unlocks once your cumulative cashback reaches £5.
Qualifying criteria: You must be a new Cheddar user completing a genuine, qualifying purchase through the app. There is no fixed minimum spend stated beyond earning £5 in cashback, which typically requires only a modest gift card purchase given Cheddar's 3–10% instant rates.
Timing: Cashback is added instantly at the point of purchase, and the £5 referral bonus is credited as soon as the £5 cashback threshold is met — no 30 to 90-day waiting period as with traditional cashback sites.
Cheddar referral offer at a glance
| Detail | What applies |
|---|---|
| New customer reward | £5 bonus once £5 cashback is earned |
| Referral code | REFERAS |
| Referral link | get.cheddar.me/app/REFERAS |
| How cashback is earned | Buy a gift card for a partner retailer in-app; cashback (3–10%) is added instantly |
| Minimum withdrawal | £5, paid instantly to your UK bank account with no fees |
| Partner retailers | 100+ UK brands, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Costa, Nike, M&S, Currys, Asda, Uber Eats and Waitrose |
| Regulation | Cheddar Payments Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 940075) |
| Platform | iOS and Android app, plus cheddar.me website |
| Eligibility | New Cheddar users signing up in the UK with a UK bank account |
How to claim your Cheddar referral bonus, step by step
- Open the Cheddar referral link, get.cheddar.me/app/REFERAS, on your phone, or download Cheddar from the App Store or Google Play directly.
- Register your account with your email and phone number. If you didn't come through the referral link, enter the code
REFERASmanually during sign-up. - Connect a UK bank account using Open Banking so you can pay for gift cards directly from the app.
- Browse Cheddar's list of 100+ partner retailers and pick a brand you'd shop at anyway — a supermarket, coffee chain or clothing retailer, for example.
- Buy a gift card for the amount you want to spend. Cashback of 3–10% is added to your Cheddar balance instantly, before you've even used the card.
- Use the gift card as normal — scan the barcode in-store or enter the code at checkout online — instead of paying with a debit or credit card.
- Keep earning cashback on qualifying gift card purchases until your balance reaches £5, at which point your £5 referral bonus is added on top.
- Withdraw your balance to your UK bank account whenever it reaches £5, with no withdrawal fees.
Cheddar review: how the app actually works
Cheddar is a UK cashback and payments app built by Cheddar Payments Limited, a company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Its core idea is to flip the usual order of cashback: instead of buying something and waiting for cashback to be validated afterwards, you buy a digital gift card for a retailer through Cheddar first, receive your cashback the moment you pay, and then use that gift card to actually make your purchase. It's a subtle but meaningful change, because it removes the tracking failures and lengthy waits that put a lot of people off traditional cashback sites.
Products and core features
- Instant cashback on gift cards: Buy a digital gift card for one of 100+ UK retailers and get 3–10% cashback credited to your balance immediately, rather than after a tracking and validation period.
- Open Banking payments: Cheddar connects to your UK bank account via Open Banking, so you pay for gift cards directly from your bank rather than by card, which is also how it verifies genuine, qualifying purchases.
- Instant withdrawals: Cash out your balance to your bank account once it reaches £5, with no withdrawal fees.
- Referral programme: New users get a £5 bonus once they've earned £5 in cashback; the friend who referred them also receives a reward, encouraging both sides to keep using the app.
Onboarding and everyday use
Setting up Cheddar takes a few minutes: download the app, register with an email and phone number, and link a UK bank account through Open Banking. There's no card to physically link and no separate wallet to top up in advance — you simply spend from your connected bank account each time you buy a gift card. The retailer list covers everyday essentials like Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Waitrose, as well as high street names such as Nike, Currys, M&S, Starbucks, Caffè Nero and Sports Direct, along with services like Uber, Uber Eats and Deliveroo. For most UK households, that's broad enough to make a genuine dent in weekly and monthly spending.
Pricing, fees and delivery
Cheddar is free to download and free to use — there's no subscription and no fee for withdrawing cashback once your balance reaches the £5 minimum. The only money that leaves your account is what you choose to spend on gift cards themselves, which you then use in full, just like a normal debit card, at the retailer in question. Digital gift cards are issued instantly inside the app, so there's no waiting for a physical card to arrive in the post.
Rewards and loyalty mechanics
Cashback rates on Cheddar vary by retailer, generally sitting in the 3–10% range, and the app has previously run boosted-rate promotions on specific brands or during particular weekends. The referral scheme sits on top of this ordinary cashback: a new user's £5 bonus is triggered purely by reaching £5 of earned cashback, meaning the faster you shop through the app at retailers you already use, the sooner the bonus lands.
Support and trust signals
Cheddar highlights a 4.7-star Trustpilot rating, more than 250,000 app downloads and recognition as a British Bank Award winner on its own marketing pages. As an FCA-authorised firm, it's also subject to standard UK financial regulation around how customer money and Open Banking connections are handled, which is worth knowing if you're cautious about linking your bank account to a newer fintech app.
Security and eligibility
Because Cheddar uses Open Banking rather than storing your card details, payments are authorised directly through your own bank's secure login each time, rather than Cheddar holding your card number. The Cheddar referral offer is aimed at new UK users signing up for the first time; existing account holders won't be able to apply the referral code retroactively.
Limitations worth knowing
- You need to actually spend through Cheddar's gift card system to earn cashback — it isn't a simple card-linked tracker that works passively on all your spending, so it takes a small change of habit compared with some other cashback apps.
- The retailer list, while broad, won't cover every shop you use, so cashback is limited to the 100+ brands Cheddar currently partners with.
- Cashback rates can vary between retailers and change over time, so the amount you earn on the way to unlocking your £5 bonus isn't fixed.
Cheddar referral: practical scenarios
- Scenario — the weekly shopper: Someone who does a regular Tesco or Sainsbury's shop could buy their weekly gift card through Cheddar instead of paying by card directly, banking instant cashback on spending they were doing regardless, and reaching the £5 threshold within the first couple of shops.
- Scenario — the coffee and lunch spender: A commuter who regularly buys coffee at Costa or Caffè Nero could pick up small gift card top-ups through the app, earning cashback on habitual daily spending that would otherwise generate nothing back.
- Scenario — the online shopper: Someone planning a purchase from a retailer like Nike, Currys or M&S could buy the gift card through Cheddar first, get the cashback instantly, then use the gift card code at checkout as normal — turning a planned purchase into extra balance.
- Scenario — the cautious first-timer: A reader unsure about linking a bank account to a newer app could start with a single small gift card purchase at a retailer they trust, confirm the cashback lands as promised, and build up to the £5 referral bonus gradually.
Cheddar versus other UK cashback options
| Feature | Cheddar | Traditional click-through cashback sites |
|---|---|---|
| How cashback is earned | Buy a gift card in-app, spend it at the retailer | Click an affiliate link before purchasing, then wait for tracking |
| Speed of cashback | Instant, at the point of gift card purchase | Often 30–90 days for cashback to confirm |
| Payment method | Open Banking, direct from your bank account | Usually pay by card as normal, no bank connection needed |
| Retailer coverage | 100+ UK brands | Often thousands of online retailers |
| Withdrawal | £5 minimum, instant, no fees | Varies by provider, sometimes with minimum thresholds and slower payouts |
Who gets the most from a Cheddar referral
The Cheddar referral offer suits UK shoppers who already spend regularly at big-name retailers and would rather get paid instantly than wait months for cashback to clear. It particularly fits:
- Regular supermarket shoppers who can route their normal Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda or Waitrose spend through a gift card each week and bank the cashback immediately.
- Coffee and takeaway regulars who spend small, frequent amounts at brands like Costa, Caffè Nero, Uber Eats or Deliveroo and want that everyday spending to start working for them.
- Comfortable Open Banking users who are happy connecting a bank account securely to an FCA-regulated app rather than only linking a card.
- Anyone planning a purchase at one of Cheddar's partner brands, since buying the gift card first turns a purchase you were making anyway into free cashback plus progress towards the £5 referral bonus.
Referral FAQs
How do I use the Cheddar referral code REFERAS?
Sign up through the referral link at get.cheddar.me/app/REFERAS, and the code applies automatically. If you download the app another way, enter REFERAS manually during registration.
How much do I get for using the Cheddar referral link?
New users get a £5 bonus, credited once they've earned £5 in cashback on the app through qualifying gift card purchases.
Do I need to spend money to unlock the £5 bonus?
Yes — the bonus unlocks once your cumulative cashback reaches £5, which happens automatically as you buy gift cards for partner retailers and earn Cheddar's standard 3–10% instant cashback.
How quickly is Cheddar cashback paid?
Cashback is added to your balance instantly at the point you buy a gift card, rather than after a tracking or validation period, and the referral bonus follows as soon as the £5 threshold is met.
Is Cheddar safe to connect my bank account to?
Cheddar Payments Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 940075) and uses Open Banking to connect securely to your bank, meaning payments are authorised through your own bank's login rather than Cheddar storing your card details.
How do I withdraw my Cheddar balance?
Once your balance reaches £5, you can withdraw to your UK bank account instantly with no withdrawal fees.
Can existing Cheddar users claim the referral bonus?
No, the referral offer is intended for new users signing up for the first time; it cannot be applied retroactively to an existing account.
Which retailers can I earn cashback at with Cheddar?
Cheddar currently partners with 100+ UK brands, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose, Costa, Caffè Nero, Nike, Currys, M&S, Uber, Uber Eats and Deliveroo, with new retailers added periodically.
Verdict: is the Cheddar referral offer worth it?
The Cheddar referral offer is a low-effort way to add £5 to your balance for spending you'd likely be doing anyway, and the mechanics behind it — instant cashback via gift cards, Open Banking payments and fee-free withdrawals from £5 — make it one of the more genuinely fast-paying cashback apps available to UK shoppers. Because the £5 bonus is tied to earning £5 in ordinary cashback rather than requiring a separate hoop to jump through, most people who commit to buying even a couple of gift cards for retailers they already use will unlock it naturally. If you regularly shop at any of Cheddar's 100+ partner brands and don't mind connecting a UK bank account via Open Banking, using the referral code REFERAS costs nothing and starts paying you back from your very first gift card purchase.
