Price protection is disappearing, but you can still save on your purchases

Price protection used to be a common perk of rewards credit cards, but it has seen significant cuts in the past year. One by one, credit card issuers are slashing the perk from their cards, with Barclays, USAA and Citi as the latest to follow the trend.

This can be a big drawback for cardholders, as the perk can save frequent shoppers hundreds of dollars a year. Luckily, there are several apps that serve the same purpose as price protection on a credit card – and won’t require that you open a new card account to access the perk

What is price protection?

Have you ever bought an item online, only to see it listed at a lower price just a few days later? Enter price protection, which covers the difference in cost if this happens to you.

Many popular retailers will refund the difference if the price on an item drops within a designated time period after your purchase – usually from 30 to 90 days. Price protection apps are designed to log your purchases and automatically scan merchant sites for a lower price and then notify you if the price goes down. Some then prompt you to file a claim with the merchant yourself, while others send the request on your behalf.

Apps that offer price protection

Though price protection is disappearing from credit cards more and more, there are several apps that any shopper can download to take advantage of the perk. These services scan your digital receipts to log your purchases and then monitor the merchant’s website for a lower price. If the retailer has a price drop policy, the app will then file a request for a refund on your behalf.

Here’s a quick look at some of our favorite price protection services. None of these options charge a fee for their services, though a couple keep a percentage of the refunds they acquire for you.

All three of these apps are designed primarily for online shopping, so you’ll need a digital copy of your receipt sent to your email address to trigger price monitoring. Luckily, most brick-and-mortar retailers allow digital receipts, so you can opt for email over paper when you shop in person.

After any one of these apps detects a price reduction online, they will contact the merchant on your behalf to request a refund – so you can just sit back and wait for any refunds to roll in. Earny goes beyond merchant claims to file with your credit card issuer (if your card offers price protection), for any difference in price not covered by the retailer.

Unfortunately, both Earny and Sift charge users 25 percent of their refunds, bundled into one monthly charge instead of taken from each claim. On the bright side, Paribus is completely fee-free.

Cards that still offer price protection

Though there are few cards left on the market that offer price protection, the benefit is still holding strong with on a couple cards. Check out our favorite cards for price protection below.

Final thoughts

Even though price protection is slowly disappearing from credit card benefits, shoppers still have plenty of ways to take advantage of the perk. To avoid spending hours manually checking for price drops for your purchases, try downloading one of these price protection apps to save on your shopping.

If your credit card still offers price protection, don’t forget you can file a claim even if the merchant denies it.