Try-for-free promotions in Germany: how to get the purchase price back

With try-for-free promotions, known in Germany as Gratis testen, you buy a product and then get the purchase price back. Depending on the promotion, you receive the full price or an amount up to a fixed limit. These promotions are also called Geld-zurück-Aktion, which means money-back promotion.

The process is quickly explained in most cases. The differences are in the small print, though. This article is therefore based on the terms and conditions of 16 promotions. They were running on 1 November 2026 or had been announced for the following day.

You will not find a list of current promotions here. Some promotions only run for two weeks. Instead, the analysis shows you which rules these promotions follow and at which points a refund can fail.

How does a try-for-free promotion work?

To take part, you need a smartphone for the photos and a bank account. All 16 promotions are also aimed at people aged 18 and over. Most of these promotions additionally require a place of residence in Germany.

Let’s say you spot a sticker reading „Jetzt gratis testen“ on a pack of dishwasher tablets in the supermarket. Before the pack lands in your trolley, you quickly open the promotion page. The terms are listed there and in many cases there is also a counter showing the remaining places. If both fit, you buy the product and take the receipt with you.

At home you photograph the receipt and, depending on the promotion, the pack as well. You then enter your name, your email address and your bank details on the promotion page and upload the photos. The organiser checks your details and then transfers the amount.

1. Finding a promotionin a shop, in an app or on a manufacturer's page
2. Reading the termsperiod, retailer, maximum amount and free places
3. Buying the productand taking the receipt with you
4. Uploading the photosreceipt and, depending on the promotion, the pack
5. Receiving the moneyby bank transfer after the check

By the way, the manufacturer is often not alone behind a promotion. With claro, Herta and yfood, for example, acardo Group runs the promotion and handles the refund. With BiFi, Pepsi, Schwartau and Zewa, the payment service provider Secupay is involved in the transfer according to the terms. Your bank statement may therefore show a name you would not connect with the product.

Where can you find try-for-free promotions?

Manufacturers publish their promotions themselves. You will therefore find them in several places.

There are also collection sites and deal forums where running promotions are gathered. These sites save you some searching. The terms on the promotion page are what counts, though. These terms can also change, as BiFi and Herta expressly reserve the right to do so.

Do you always get the full purchase price back?

Not always. With 8 of the 16 promotions the refund stops at a maximum amount. These limits ranged from €1.99 to €10.00. If the product costs more in your shop, you pay the difference yourself.

€5.49price in your shop

−

€4.95maximum amount of the promotion

=

€0.54you pay yourself

The other 8 promotions do not state a fixed maximum amount. Here the refund is based on the price on your receipt. There are still a few details to look at, though.

• Deposit: With Pepsi you get the purchase price back without the bottle deposit. If you buy several bottles in a crate, Pepsi refunds a flat €1.39.
• Several products: With Huel, several bottles on one receipt do not bring you more than one refund. KRAFT and Schwartau only refund the cheapest promotional product on the receipt.
• Delivery: If you order online, you may have to pay for delivery yourself. Wagner, for example, expressly excludes delivery costs from the refund.

What do daily and weekly quotas mean?

A quota is the number of entries an organiser accepts in a certain period. Once all places are taken, the promotion pauses until the next release. In most cases, what counts for your place is the moment you upload your receipt.

Quota per week7

Quota per day6

Overall total only2

No limit stated1

As of 1 November 2026. Zewa states an overall total of 40,000 refunds in addition to its weekly quota.

Daily quotas ranged from 333 to 555 entries. Weekly quotas ranged from 500 to 5,000 entries. New places usually open in the morning for promotions that state a time. Simply V releases them daily at 7 am, BiFi at 8 am and yfood at 9 am. With KRAFT the new weekly quota starts on Mondays at 8 am and with claro on Mondays at 9 am.

A full counter is not a drama at first. The terms of Pepsi and Wagner expressly say that you can submit your receipt later. You then simply cover the purchase price for a little longer.

A full counter becomes critical towards the end of a promotion. BiFi, claro and TENA state that the promotion ends as soon as the last quota has gone. If you have already bought the product by then, you pay for it yourself. Shortly before the end of a promotion I would therefore look at the counter first and go shopping afterwards.

Whether an early alarm is worth it for a place probably depends on the amount as well. I personally would not set one for €1.99.

What has to be on the receipt?

The receipt is your proof of purchase. If it is incomplete or illegible, your entire entry can be invalid. The terms of Arla, claro, TENA and yfood say this almost word for word. Which details an organiser wants to see differs from promotion to promotion. The following graphic shows what the 16 sets of terms ask for most often.

Sample Market ¹

1 Sample Street

 

Promo product ²2.49

Milk1.19

Bread2.29

TOTAL ⁵5.97

 

01.11.2026 10:42 ³

Receipt no. 4711 ⁴

1. ¹Retailer: The place of purchase has to be recognisable. Zewa even asks for the branch and its address.
2. ²Promotional product with price: The product has to be on the receipt so that the organiser can assign the amount.
3. ³Date and time: The purchase date has to fall within the promotion period. BiFi, BILLY BOY, Dove, Pahmeyer, Schwartau and Zewa also mention the time.
4. ⁴Receipt number: Arla, BiFi, BILLY BOY, Herta, Pahmeyer and Schwartau expressly ask for the receipt number.
5. ⁵Total: In many sets of terms the total of the purchase is required as well.

With 7 of the 16 promotions the receipt alone is not enough. There you also need a photo of the product and the requirements differ. With BiFi, BILLY BOY, yfood and Zewa, the receipt and the product have to appear together in one photo. claro and Herta, on the other hand, ask for two separate photos. claro and yfood expressly reject a photo collage.

There are also differences in how the receipt itself is treated.

• Markings: With Wagner the receipt must not contain any crosses, circles or markings for technical reasons. It is best to leave the highlighter in the drawer there.
• Blacking out: Pahmeyer lets you black out other products on the receipt.
• Long receipts: KRAFT accepts folded receipts as long as all details remain legible.
• Digital receipts: BiFi and Zewa accept digital proofs of purchase. Huel, on the other hand, only accepts the original receipt from the shop.

Can you combine try-for-free promotions with coupons and PAYBACK?

Sometimes yes and then you are even slightly ahead on paper. Let’s say a product costs €4.00 at a PAYBACK partner and you have activated a coupon for 10 times the points. As a rule there is one point per €2, so 2 points here. The coupon turns them into 20 points and therefore 20 cents.

€4.00price at the till

−

€4.00refund from the promotion

−

€0.20value of the 20 points

=

€0.20 aheadif the terms allow it

This calculation depends on the terms of the promotion, though. 8 of the 16 promotions expressly address coupons or discounts, the other 8 say nothing about them. None of the 16 promotions mentions PAYBACK by name.

No rule stated8

Coupon reduces the refund5

Cannot be combined3

As of 1 November 2026.

With BiFi, claro, Herta, TENA and yfood, the price after coupons or discounts counts. A discount at the till therefore reduces your refund by exactly that amount. The terms of Schwartau, Simply V and Zewa, on the other hand, say that the promotion cannot be combined with coupons or other promotions.

Whether a points coupon counts as one cannot be read from these texts with certainty. Points do not change the price on the receipt. With a promotion marked „nicht kombinierbar“ (cannot be combined) I would still not use a points coupon, because a few cents would otherwise put the entire refund at risk.

What happens to your data?

You also pay for a try-for-free promotion with your data. Your name, your email address and your bank details are usually required. Arla also asks for your date of birth and home address. Herta’s form contains market research questions as well, for example why you would buy the product again.

Depending on the promotion, you do not have to subscribe to a newsletter. With Huel, consent to advertising is expressly voluntary and with Dove, withdrawing your newsletter consent has no effect on your entry. The storage period differs too. KRAFT states three months after the end of the promotion at the latest, while claro, TENA and yfood state 180 days from the closing date. Statutory retention duties remain unaffected in each case.

If there are doubts about an entry, organisers can ask for further proof. claro and yfood mention a copy of your identity card, for example. In the case of a justified suspicion of manipulation, Dove even reserves the right to compare your ID in a video call.

Where can a refund fail?

The 16 sets of terms show these pitfalls. You can go through the list once before you go shopping.

• The wrong retailer: 4 of the 16 promotions apply at one single retail chain only. Dove, for example, only refunds purchases at dm in Germany.
• The wrong product: With Huel only bottles with the promotional tag count. With claro you need a photo of the product with the promotional sticker.
• The wrong sales channel: Herta and yfood exclude online retailers. TENA excludes Amazon and pharmacies, among others.
• The missed deadline: With Arla, KRAFT and Schwartau, not only the purchase has to fall within the promotion period. The upload also has to happen by the end of the promotion.
• The second entry: 6 of the 16 promotions limit participation per household. With 15 of the 16 promotions you only get the purchase price back once. Pepsi is the exception and allows two entries with two separate receipts.
• The typo in your IBAN: With BiFi the organiser is then not obliged to try again. With BILLY BOY your claim even lapses.
• The account in another name: With Zewa the participant and the account holder have to be the same person.
• The missed extension: If a detail is missing with Pahmeyer, you have 14 calendar days to supply it. After that your claim can lapse. It is therefore worth checking your inbox.

I would not use additional accounts or other people’s names to get around a limit. Dove expressly names multiple submissions with the same IBAN or similar names as a sign of manipulation. The consequence can be exclusion from the promotion.

When does the money arrive and what can you do if it does not?

The terms state very different periods. 4 weeks or 30 days are the most frequent.

Up to 4 weeks or 30 days7

Up to 6 weeks4

Up to about 8 weeks3

Up to 12 weeks1

No period stated1

As of 1 November 2026. Pahmeyer is listed under „up to about 8 weeks“ with 30 days plus 30 days. Schwartau states both four and eight weeks on its promotion page and is therefore listed there as well.

The starting point of this period differs from promotion to promotion. With most promotions it only begins after your entry has been checked. Dove, on the other hand, counts its 6 weeks from the end of the promotion. How long the check itself takes is rarely stated in the terms.

You cannot rely on a message either. Zewa, for example, writes that there is no notification about the payout. And with Schwartau the terms make you responsible for checking the receipt of payment yourself.

I would not wait too long, though. With Arla the claim to a refund lapses 6 weeks after the end of the promotion. With Schwartau you can no longer make claims three months after the end of the promotion. If a payment does not arrive, the contact address in the terms will help you. Arla, for example, states its own email address for this.

I personally like to track the promotions in an Excel spreadsheet or in Outbank. The columns you need are on the cashback page.

When is the effort worth it?

Let’s say the photo and the form take you 5 minutes in total and the promotion refunds €1.99. Extrapolated, that is €23.88 per hour. That is a decent rate for a few photos.

This calculation only works if the product was on your shopping list anyway. In that case you really do save €1.99. If you would not have bought the product otherwise, you save nothing at all. You then get a product to try out and give your data and your time for it. That can also be worthwhile if the product interests you. Driving out specially for it hardly pays off with amounts like these.

A big difference from a product test is covering the cost up front. With a try-for-free promotion you pay first. With a product test you apply and, if accepted, receive the product or a voucher.

Conclusion

With try-for-free promotions you have the chance to get the full purchase price back. The analysis of the 16 promotions also shows that half of them have a maximum amount and that 15 limit participation in some form.

If a promotional product is on your shopping list anyway, there is little against taking part as long as you read the terms first. If it is only the word „gratis“ that tempts you, I would first ask myself whether I would have bought the product without the promotion. If you do not want to pay up front, product tests probably suit you better.

The overview of cashback providers shows which other methods there are. The cashback starting page helps you with the question of which of these methods suits you.

Frequently asked questions

What is a try-for-free promotion?

With a try-for-free promotion you buy a product and then get the purchase price back. Depending on the promotion, you receive the full price or an amount up to a fixed limit. In most cases you upload your receipt to a promotion page for this.

How long does the refund take?

The 16 promotions analysed state between 4 and 12 weeks. One promotion does not state a period at all. Depending on the promotion, the period only begins after your entry has been checked.

What happens if the quota is full?

The promotion then pauses until the next release. With a daily quota this is usually the next day and with a weekly quota often the Monday. If the last quota of a promotion has gone, the promotion ends and you pay for the product yourself.

How often can I take part in a promotion?

With 15 of the 16 promotions analysed you get the purchase price back once. Depending on the promotion, this limit applies per person, per IBAN or per household. Pepsi is the exception and allows two entries with two separate receipts.

Can I also buy promotional products online?

That depends on the promotion. Arla, claro, Wagner and Zewa allow online purchases. Herta and yfood, on the other hand, exclude online retailers. With an online purchase you submit the retailer’s invoice, depending on the promotion.

How long do I have to keep the receipt?

I would keep the receipt until the money has arrived in my account. Some terms state longer periods. With Zewa, for example, the proof of purchase has to be kept until 28 February 2027.