By — Australian cashback experts based in Melbourne, VIC.

· · Reviewed by the Kick Cashback Editorial Team

Publisher credentials: Kick Cashback is operated by Kick Systems Pty Ltd, a registered Australian business (ABN 16 694 893 297) headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. Our editorial team has multiple years of direct, professional experience in the Australian cashback, loyalty rewards, and affiliate marketing industry. Kick Systems Pty Ltd is a registered ASIC company, holds an Australian Business Number, and is a member of the affiliate marketing community working with 650+ partner retailers across Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Compliance & certifications: Kick Cashback is fully compliant with the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth), the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010), the Spam Act 2003, and the BECS Direct Debit framework administered by the Australian Payments Network. Our payment infrastructure is PCI DSS v4.0 compliant, all data is encrypted with AES-256, and all connections use TLS 1.2+ certified encryption.

Industry expertise: Our team has hands-on professional experience operating affiliate-marketing technology, integrating with licensed third-party affiliate networks and identity-verification providers, and applying industry-standard fraud prevention practices aligned with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 vendor selection principles.

Can I earn cashback when buying or paying with gift cards?

Category: Portal Cashback (650+ Stores)

In most cases, you don't earn cashback when you buy a gift card or when you pay for an order using a gift card. This is industry standard across every Australian cashback platform, not a Kick-specific rule, and it comes down to whether the retailer pays an affiliate commission on those transactions. There are a small number of exceptions, and the store's page in the Kick Cashback portal always flags the current rules for that specific retailer.

Buying a gift card

When you buy a gift card from a major retailer (Coles Group e-Gift Cards, Woolworths gift cards, JB Hi-Fi gift cards, Myer gift cards), the retailer almost always excludes the order from earning affiliate commission. The reason is simple: a gift card hasn't yet been used to buy a product, so the retailer hasn't actually made a sale — they've effectively borrowed money from you against future purchases. They don't want to pay a marketing commission twice (once on the gift card, once again when it's spent), so commission is paid only on the redemption.

The same applies to bulk gift-card portals like Prezzee, Giftpay and Karta — most of their inventory is excluded from cashback. Full rules on payment methods and cashback.

Paying with a gift card

If you pay for an order partly or entirely with a gift card you already own, the retailer typically pays affiliate commission only on the cash portion of the transaction. So if you spend $100 with a $40 gift card and $60 on your credit card at a retailer offering 5% cashback, you'll earn around $3 (5% of $60), not $5. This is calculated automatically by the affiliate network — there's nothing you need to do.

If the entire order is paid with a gift card, the cash portion is $0 and the cashback is $0 — even though the order tracked correctly through your portal click.

The exceptions

  • Charity gift cards and corporate reward gift cards — typically don't earn cashback when bought or spent.
  • Specialist gift-card resellers — a small number of dedicated gift-card sites pay commission on the gift-card purchase itself. Where this applies, the store's portal page lists the rate clearly.
  • Promotional codes that look like gift cards — a single-use discount code marketed as a "gift" usually still earns cashback as long as the order has a non-zero cash component.

How to check before you shop

Open the store's page in your Kick Cashback portal, scroll to the Cashback rules section, and look for the gift-card line. If gift cards are excluded, the page says so explicitly. If not stated, assume the standard exclusion applies. Still unsure? Email info@kickcashback.com with the retailer name and we'll confirm.

Practical workaround

If you want both the gift-card convenience and the cashback, buy the gift card directly from the retailer (without expecting cashback) and then redeem it in a separate trip you don't try to claim. Or skip the gift card and pay with a normal credit or debit card via your portal click — that earns the full cashback rate plus your card's own rewards. More on stacking with card rewards.

About Kick Cashback

Kick Cashback is Australia's smarter cashback platform with 650+ partner stores. Free for shoppers — no membership fees, no subscription costs. Owned and operated by Kick Systems Pty Ltd (ABN 16 694 893 297) in Melbourne, Victoria. For support, contact info@kickcashback.com.

Our Experience

We are a first-party cashback platform — we work directly with retailers rather than reselling another company's network. Our team negotiates cashback rates, manages partner relationships, and processes payments in-house. According to industry data published by IAB Australia, affiliate and cashback marketing represented over $1 billion in tracked Australian retail sales in 2024 (source: IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report). Kick Cashback is part of this growing sector and is committed to passing the majority of retailer commissions back to shoppers as cashback.

Our editorial team draws on direct experience working with major Australian retailers and global affiliate networks. We publish detailed cashback information, retailer terms, and shopping guides based on first-hand knowledge of how cashback tracking, attribution, and payments work. Where industry standards or regulatory guidance applies — such as the Australian Consumer Law administered by the ACCC, or the Privacy Act 1988 administered by the OAIC — we cite the relevant source so readers can verify our claims.

Trust & Transparency

  • Australian-owned: Kick Systems Pty Ltd, ABN 16 694 893 297, headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria.
  • Privacy: We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988. Read our Privacy Policy.
  • Terms: Full Terms & Conditions published and updated regularly.
  • Cookies: See our Cookie Policy for details on tracking and consent.
  • Secure: All connections are encrypted with HTTPS (TLS 1.2+).
  • Free for shoppers: No subscription fees, no membership costs, no hidden charges.
  • Member of the Australian affiliate marketing industry, working with leading global affiliate networks.

Contact Kick Cashback

Company: Kick Systems Pty Ltd (trading as Kick Cashback)

ABN: 16 694 893 297

Email: info@kickcashback.com

Address: Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website:

Customer portal: kickpay.co

Learn more about Kick Cashback and our team. For questions, see our FAQs or contact us.