How we verify promo codes

Every code on A1 Promos is tried by a person in a real shopping cart before we publish it. The VERIFIED badge means the code was confirmed working at checkout in the last 30 days, by our team or by at least 2 extension users whose cart total dropped. Shopper reports flag failing codes for a re-test.

What “Verified” means

Verified: a code shows the VERIFIED badge when it was confirmed working at checkout in the last 30 days. A confirmation is either a test by our team in a real cart, or auto-apply runs in our Chrome extension that lowered the cart total, reported by at least 2 different people within 30 days. “Yes, it worked” votes never verify a code on their own. After 30 days without a new confirmation the badge drops and the card says “Last verified” with the date.

How a code gets onto the site

1. We find the code. From store websites and newsletters, from stores that send us their official codes, and from shoppers who submit a code.
2. A person tests it in a real cart. In a clean browser profile or private window, with no other code applied, at the store's own checkout. We note the minimum spend, eligible products, new-customer rules and end date.
3. We turn down what doesn't belong. Codes that didn't work, and personal, single-use, employee, student or referral codes, aren't published.
4. We publish it with its terms and test date. The card shows “✓ Verified” and when, next to the terms and the expiry.
5. Shoppers and the extension keep reporting. “Did it work?” votes and the extension's auto-apply results update the code's success rate and status straight away, and every live code is recalculated again each hour.
6. Failing codes are flagged for a re-test. The card gets a warning, the code sinks in the list and lands in our review queue. A person re-tests it and either confirms it or marks it expired.
7. Expired codes leave automatically. Within an hour of its end date a code moves out of the codes list, categories, search and the extension, into the shop's collapsed “Expired codes” section.

What each label means

A card shows at most two labels, in this order of priority: EXPIRED, EXCLUSIVE, VERIFIED, NEW, ENDS SOON.

• VERIFIED Confirmed working at checkout in the last 30 days, by our team or by extension users' carts as described above.
• NEW Published in the last 7 days.
• EXCLUSIVE Marked by our team as a code issued for A1 Promos shoppers.
• ENDS SOON The store's end date is within the next 7 days. The card also says “Ends today”, “Ends tomorrow” or “Ends in N days”.
• EXPIRED Past its end date, or ended by our team after a re-test. Expired codes only appear in a shop's “Expired codes” section.
• “Recent reports say this may not work.” The code needs review: it stays visible with this warning, sorted lower, until a person re-tests it.
• “Last verified” and a date The last confirmation is more than 30 days old, so there's no VERIFIED badge.
• “92% success” The share of shopper votes and extension results in the last 90 days that said the code worked, shown once there are at least 5 reports.

How deals are checked

A deal has no code to type: you click Get deal and the discount applies on the store's site, for example bulk pricing that kicks in automatically at a set quantity. Before we publish a deal, a person checks in a real cart that the discount appears under the stated conditions. The extension's auto-apply only tries codes, so a deal's VERIFIED badge comes only from our team's tests, and it shows “Last verified” once that test is more than 30 days old. Shopper votes on deals count towards their success rate and the review flag, just as they do for codes.

How shopper reports and the extension feed in

• Votes. After you reveal a code, the card asks “Did it work?”. Each answer updates the code's success rate. Votes never verify a code, because they're anonymous and self-reported.
• Extension auto-apply. At checkout the extension reads the order total before and after trying each code. A code that lowers the total counts as worked and can re-verify the code once at least 2 different people see a saving within 30 days. A code the store accepts without changing the total (free shipping not priced yet, a trial) counts as worked but doesn't verify. Results the extension can't read are ignored. Results are sent only while “Share anonymous results” is switched on.
• Counting fairly. We count each person (by a salted hash of their IP address, never the address itself) once per code per 24 hours, so one person can't verify or sink a code alone.
• When a code is flagged. A code needs review when it gets 3 or more failure reports from at least 2 people and no successes in 14 days, or when at least 10 reports show under 30% success with failures from at least 3 people. Only reports since our team's last test count, so a re-tested code starts fresh.

How long the VERIFIED badge lasts

30 days from the last confirmation. A new test by our team, or new savings from extension users, restarts the clock. Without either, the badge lapses once the last confirmation is more than 30 days old, and the card shows the date it was last verified instead.

What we don't do

• We don't publish codes nobody on our team has tested.
• We don't re-test every code on a fixed schedule, and we don't claim to. The date on each card tells you when it was last confirmed.
• We don't let affiliate relationships decide which codes we list or how we rank them. How we make money.
• We don't count “it worked” votes as verification.
• We don't hide terms: minimum spend, exclusions and expiry sit on the card.

Frequently asked questions

Does “Verified” mean a code is guaranteed to work?

No. It means the code worked at checkout within the last 30 days. Stores can end or change a promotion at any time, and many codes apply only to some products, a minimum spend or new customers, so check the terms on the card before you buy.

How often do you re-test codes?

We test every code before we publish it, and we re-test any code that shopper reports flag. We don't re-test every code on a fixed schedule. Instead, each card shows when the code was last confirmed, and the VERIFIED badge drops after 30 days without a new confirmation from our team or from the extension.

What happens when a code stops working?

Once enough shoppers report it failing, the card shows “Recent reports say this may not work.”, the code moves down the list and it goes into our review queue. A person re-tests it, then either confirms it (which clears the warning) or marks it expired. One “No” doesn’t remove a code, because a single failure is often a terms issue such as a minimum spend.

Do affiliate commissions affect which codes you list?

No. Some store links earn us a commission, but codes from stores that pay us and stores that don’t go through the same test, and commission is not an input to how we rank codes. Affiliate links are marked.

Why does a card say “Last verified” instead of showing the VERIFIED badge?

Because its last confirmation is more than 30 days old. The code may well still work; we just haven't confirmed it recently, so we show you the date and let you decide.

Can I send you a code?

Yes. Sign in with Google on the Submit a code page. We test every submission at checkout before it goes live, usually within a day, and we don’t publish personal, single-use or referral codes.

Found a code that doesn't work? Tap “No” under “Did it work?” on its card, or tell us.