You spend money nearly every day of your life, and many of those purchases are on credit or debit cards. Why not get a little bit back for what you’re spending? That’s the philosophy of Drop, an app created to help you earn cash back for buying from the brands you love. With multiple awards under its belt and over one million members, Drop seems to be a popular way to get extra money. We did a little digging to see if it was worth the hype.
What is Drop?
The Drop app connects to your credit and debit card accounts. You get a varying amount of rewards points depending on which brands you buy and how much you spend. It’s similar to how a rewards credit card works, but without the fees and with more incentives to shop with particular brands. With the app, you don’t have to scan receipts or sign up for individual loyalty programs. All rewards are in one place.
Who can join Drop?
Although Drop’s marketing is targeted to millennials, you don’t have to belong to any particular generation to join. Anyone with a debit or credit card that has online banking functionality can sign up for a Drop account on the app and start earning rewards on purchases. You also need to verify your identity with a cell phone number, but chances are you definitely have a phone if you’re downloading an app. Don’t like shopping on your phone? Drop also makes a plugin for Google Chrome.
How does the Drop app work?
Earning points on Drop is pretty easy. After signing up, you can simply shop the offers in the app to start earning points. The app tracks all of your transactions to determine how many points you should get. In this way, it kind of reminds us of how Ebates works. If you want extra points and offers, you can link your credit and debit card accounts. When you link accounts, you get Power offers. Power offers are in-app offers that allow you to get extra points for purchasing from a particular brand or buying a specific thing. To earn even more points, you can ask friends to sign up with your referral code or sign up with the app’s partners like Rocketmiles.
Besides referrals, Drop has another fun way to earn more points. Drop Supercharge is a snake game that’s only available after you make 5 purchases with Power offers. If you’re good at the game, you get bonus points that you can use on real rewards.
How much are Drop points worth? Well, not too much. Every 1,000 points is equal to about $1.00. Once you’ve saved up enough points, you can search the “Redeem” tab in the app for an offer you want to cash in on. You can then use your Drop points to earn gift cards or discounts so you can save money on other brands, restaurants, or retailers. These aren’t exactly cash back rewards, but there are so many brands to choose from, they might as well be.
Is the Drop app safe?
The creators of Drop tout their security features as “industry leading,” and mention on their site that they were vetted by DigiCert, an online security leader. Everything is encrypted. Their site mentions that they use the same security measures as common financial apps like Mint and Acorns.
If you’re concerned about security, it’s always good to limit the number of apps you share your information with. However, if you trust the level of security on other financial apps, this is no different.
Pros and cons of Drop
No financial app is perfect, and this includes Drop. We searched through the top reviews to get the low-down on what real users think of this mobile rewards system. Overall, the opinions expressed were very positive – but make sure to look at both sides before you decide to download.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the reviews, it’s important to note that the pros and cons you experience may depend on which device you personally own. While 37,500 reviewers on the Apple App Store gave Drop an average of 4.7/5 stars, those on the Google Play store gave it an average score of 3.8/5.
Advantages
Positive reviewers of the app rave about how easy Drop is to use. They say it’s user-friendly and the support team is very helpful. Many of the reviewers noted that the whole process was much easier than scanning receipts, and that there were plenty of ways to earn extra points too boost your value.
One reviewer noted that she redeemed her points for gift cards regularly and really appreciated the customer support. Another said that he found it easy to sign up and earn rewards points on Drop without putting in too much effort. Overall, the highlights were ease of use and the availability of extra points.
Disadvantages
Common complaints about the Drop app include bugginess and missing points. Those with negative experiences claim that the app had trouble linking to their credit/debit accounts or that their accounts were repeatedly unlinked. Some also said that the app itself has many bugs, but this came mostly from Android users.
By far the biggest complaint we saw had to do with missing points. Many reviewers noted that they didn’t receive the points they were supposed to, and when they mentioned it to Drop’s support, the response they got was less than satisfactory. Those who did get their points still had issues, though. Many said that the amount of points you get from the app just isn’t worth it.
Final Thoughts
How well this app works for you relies on your goals going into it. If you want to make big bucks from their rewards system, you’re out of luck. If you just want some extra “fun money,” as one reviewer put it, then you’re in the right place. Especially when combined with a rewards credit card from regular credit card issuers, the Drop app could be a good way to give your earnings a little boost.
Curious to try it out for yourself?
